Why did you turn down the PhD offer?
Was it because the funding was very little, or you are just not interested in doing a PhD?

Can you negotiate with your supervisor instead of an MPhil position to hire you as a research assistant for a year? In this way, it will appear as research experience (and not like a "stigma") in your CV.

Personally, I wouldn't do an MPhil if I had an MSc, because I don't see the point, not because I care what other people would think.

Hi plethoraldork,

If I understood well you have two different groups of participants (not-paired) tested in different conditions.
If I understood well, you have only one outcome that is a binary variable (either passed or failed?)

Mann-Whitney and independent t-test can be used when your outcome is a continuous variable (so no use for you).

Because you have a binary outcome (yes or no), then you need to do a Pearson' chi-square test (or Likelihood Ratio) to test if the difference between the two groups is significant.

So, say that you determined that the difference between the two groups is significant, then you want to see which predictors are significant. First of all, you need to know if your participants are independent. Assuming they are independent observations, you will need to do logistic regression, so you can include both categorical and continuous variables. So you will be able to determine to what extend substance use affects your outcome after controlling for place of residence for example.

It is very common in social sciences and epidemiology to have dependent participants. You can estimate the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to see if they are dependent. Even a small dependence will affect your results. For example, participants living in the same neighborhood might be more similar than participants living in different neighborhoods. In order to take into account the hierarchy of the data, you will need to perform multilevel logistic regression (binary outcome: yes/no). Multilevel modelling allows to take into account contextual effects (effect of neighborhood), and also individual effects (age), as well as the interaction between these factors. Multilevel logistic regression is very similar to traditional logistic regression. There are special-purpose software to deal with dependent data.

Another way you can analyse your data, is to pair them but I am not going to confuse you with that, unless you organised the experiment like that?

Hope it helps, let me know if you have more questions.

Hi mittow,

well done for collecting your first data!

I would recommend that you start reading a bit about statistics. My personal favourite for beginners is "Discovering Statistics with SPSS" by Andy Field. It is a bit bulky, but it is easy and enjoyable to read.

The first thing to do with the data is to run some diagnostics: is the data normally distributed? Are the observations independent? Do you have paired data (one participant is a control for another participant) ? Do you take repeated measurements? Is your outcome(s) binary, categorical (ordered or unordered) or continuous? All these questions will affect the tests you should chose.

After I know my data, I do some simple plots to visualise my data. I move on employing with some simple ranking tests, testing the null hypothesis. After that, I move to more complex statistics. After you know what you are doing, it is a good idea to have a chat with a statistician.

Hi toggle,

from the little experience I have, teaching takes away a lot of time. Together with having a family, I can tell that your day is pretty full already.

Part-time PhD students tend to do their PhDs as part of other research projects they are already involved (and getting paid for). I would suggest the alternative "PhD by publication" if it is an option in your university: normally requires 3 journal papers, and an introduction and discussion chapter that brings everything together. I think it is less time consuming than a traditional PhD, and to my opinion, more useful for the academic community.

Other things you need to consider is get some help at home, which will free up some time. (A person coming once a week and cleaning, cooking in bulk, ironing etc.) If you can work on your PhD the weekends and one day per week, I think it is doable. Good luck.

Hi Flower,

I also collected more data than I could chew, so I don't include EVERYTHING in the PhD.

My supervisor is happy to pay me a few extra months to publish a couple more papers AFTER the PhD.

Hang in there :)

It is quite normal to ask for a presentation, as it is easier than reading pages and pages of beginners' reports. Your supervisor is most likely a busy individual that tries to manage people, supervise a few students, bring money in, write research proposals, teach, mark, and spend time with their lovely family.

Also keep in mind that people lose their attention span after 15 to 20 minutes. Try to keep it short, and to the point without waffling around.
In the first slide start with the introduction (why is your topic important/ background).
Move to the aims and objectives. (3-4 bullet points)
Summarise the literature/ identify gaps.
Propose a methodology.
Think where you will find participants/ fieldwork
Present a time schedule/ publications/ conference papers you plan to produce.

Of course it is very early on, so you might not be able to answer all the above questions... just try to keep a very clear structure, and don't add more that 5 bullet points per slide.

I am sure you will be fine. It is an informal meeting that you just get to know each other. All the above will keep evolving every month.

I celebrated my 30th birthday while I was a Master's student, in a new city with no friends (my birthday is early in the academic year).

Some of the other students bought some cupcakes from the university cafe, and I treated them with frozen lemonade, and we stayed friends until today :)

PS. I was admitted unconditionally within two weeks in a very good university.

Hi mittow,

one month is a very short time period, and is only normal you are feeling overwhelmed!

1. Regarding the device you have to chose, if possible try to consult with a colleague that did similar work. I also had similar challenges, as different equipment may measure different properties (measurements depends on the equipment used!). Check the literature too, as other researchers may provide advantages and disadvantages of different methods/ devices. Get some quotations from commercially available equipment, price is a major limitation.

2. Regarding the statistics: it is very important to know which statistics tests you are using, as this will affect how you organise the experiments, the database and the population size. Is it possible to find a statistician, who could be involved in the project? I included a statistician in the list of authors of some of my publications, as they check my models, and also add validity to the paper (IMO).

3. Regarding the statistical software, it is a least important consideration, as once you know WHAT you are doing, it is relatively easy to find HOW to do it.

It is good that you started thinking about your methodology early on. Don't panic, everything will fall into place.

Hi PhDer,

my best suggestion would be to find a calm friend that sits quietly on their desks and work...
Having someone working concentrated next to me calms me down, and helps me concentrate.

Keep going (internet hugs)

In short, you need to have 3 considerations in mind:

1. What type of test you will use
2. How many participants
3. probability level you will accept as significant (p<0.05 is the most common)

You can do this calculations with G*Power, a free software available online. So based on the above 3 criteria you insert, you should achieve a power of 0.8 at least.

I have lived in the residence for the past 3 years because it is cheap, I can live in the centre, and I walk to walk everyday. I save in commuting, and also enjoy a stroll through the park. Moreover, I prefer it over flat shares, as I avoid all the friction with flatmates and compromises you have to make when you share a space. At least in the residence I am completely independent. In an ideal world, I would have a lovely, sunny studio all by myself, unfortunately I cannot afford it. On the downside, door slamming and fire alarms in the residence drive me mad. People in the residence are quite social too, they organise parties, film clubs and dinners, but I don't have time for that. It is so much fun when you try to finish but need to work to survive!

Hi rocket,

is it possible to start writing your methodology? Talking didn't help anyone, ever.

On the other hand, receiving specific comments on a draft that you can answer appropriately after having done research is more productive (I find). And also, verba volant, scripta manent.

Of course I do. But I am more creative than the plant pot :)

Besides, if someone wants to break into your house, picking the lock is not much of an issue.

how do you plan to analyse the data?

If you chose a quantitative approach, there are certain rules on how to select a sample size representative of a well-defined population. Your sample needs to be diverse enough to facilitate a meaningful analysis.

I have very limited experience in qualitative research designs, but I am given to understand that you might be able to draw conclusions from case studies. In this case, your results cannot be generalised (findings will be about these participants in these conditions). From the description of your research design, I think that grounded theory might be the best approach. In grounded theory, the sample size is as big as it is needed to achieve saturation of information.

Good luck

I think that children (especially younger children) learn more while on holidays than in school. Moreover, some children have families abroad so they have the right to spend time with their grandparents and cousins. On top of everything, tickets are ridiculously expensive during school holidays, almost as travel companies see families with children as prey.

I remember when I was a child we used to get three months off during the summer ( we didn't have mid-term holidays), and because my mother was a teacher, we would spend most of this time on the beach. I swear, this is the only good memory of my childhood.

I feel your pain.