Hi Rick it is similar to that, but instead of assigning values to particular words it involves analysing the deep order of the interactional prosody of the talk in order to get an indications of how participants understand and interpret the other person's talk.

For example, a pause of more than one second in response to an invitation will signal to the asker that you are going to respond negitively, and might even prompt them to alter their invitation without you saying anything If you then say 'yes' they will probably doubt your answer. Next time someone asks you if you want to go somewhere, don't answer for a little while if you can and see how the asker reacts (a second seems a long time in conversation though )

I recommend looking up Garfinkel's breaching experiements, this is what inspired the creation of conversation analysis. He, as a lecturer, got his class to go home and violate social and interactional rules to see what happened

Lol! I think you might be right on the torture front! In a nutshell.. conversation analysis uses really detailed transcription techniques that capture the intracies of talk, such as the rises and falls in intonation, in and outbreaths, pauses (in tenths of seconds) etc. etc. using particular symbols to represent them. You can imagine why it takes sooo long!
The transcription does inform the analysis so I can't pay someone to do it (although who want want to do it!?? ). There is detailed analysis of the talk after its transcribed too so I'm not even let off on that front... actually I must be mad because even after almost 3 years I have to admit that I do love it

Ahhh I dream of my transcription taking 4 or 5 hours to transcribe per hour of audio Because I use a conversation analytic technique it takes me around an hour per minute to transcribe... and I'm considered quick at it!

Hi Olivia,

I didn't know anyone else found the hustle and bustle of coffee shops an ideal place to study! I refer to the couple I prefer in the town near me as my 'second office' and everyone knows where I mean no-one minds me as I carry on all day nursing a few large mugs of coffee, and the manager always smiles and looks pleased when I arrive (I think because I come in early and stay by the window it makes his coffee shop look popular?)

Hi kaymoy,

I haven't tried what you're doing, but reading your post reminded me of this chapter of a PhD writing book I have that I think tackles just what you're talking about. The book is called 'How to write a thesis', by Rowena Murray, and the chapter, called 'it is never too late to start' (chapter 8) walks you through the process of fast-track thesis writing. It says it helps writers who are starting the last phase of their doctorate but have not yet written much - or any - of their thesis. Good luck

I'm with bluberry and jouri. If you were supposed to submit your lit rev by Friday, then you should have kept to the deadline, or at least have the courtesy to email saying you're going to miss it. IMO you should apologise for missing it and explain what went wrong

Saw today's comic strip and thought of this thread

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=967

Personally I wouldn't pick an external known for giving students an easy ride because if I know they have a reputation for being easy then so will other academics and the value of my PhD and my ability as a researcher can be questioned. Plus I'd always be niggled by the worry that I didn't deserve to pass...

...also, re the time it takes to write a chapter, I found sticking to an 8 week turnaround worked for me, e.g. I spend 6 weeks writing a draft chapter, soop reads over it and we have a meeting 1/2 weeks later about corrections, then I have 2 or so weeks to resubmit. I found I made steady progress this way, and soop was happy to stick to it too but it is horses for courses though

My tip would be to just start getting stuff down on paper, don't be stalled by the bigger picture of actually writing these chapters, and start sketching out your broad ideas of what you would like to find/what you would like to address. Looking at your research questions will help for this, and the task will seem a lot easier once you get the broad strokes down. Good luck

Bit of a disservice to Londoners there. Being crammed into a train 'armpit to armpit' isn't really conducive to striking up a nice little chat is it, unless you really want to inhale someone's noxious odours, or risk talking to someone who'll stare at your boobs, dribble, or has the distinct possibility of being an axe murderer. Most people just keep to themselves to avoid weirdos, and not randomly chatting to strangers isn't weird, people just have places to get to and don't want to be held up shooting the breeze with someone they don't even know. As for the poor manners of your flatmates, it could be plain rudeness, or it could be their insecurities, lack of social skills or they are neck-deep in deadlines (you did say one of them had been there for years...) that keeps them at bay. Why don't you leave a note in the kitchen scheduling a flat meeting to break the ice, and get a bottle of wine in? Then you can make your judgements.

Good luck for your viva tomorrow fbll2002!

I'm blonde! Honey blonde extrovert

Hi Grey, been up sorting out my literature review, found myself on a (very rare) roll and stayed up to finish it just hope when I read what I've written it will stay brill and won't turn out to be a pile of poo Good luck for yours!

I'm currently battling with my final draft of my lit review before I submit. It's at 16,000 at the mo and trying (desperately!) to cut it down to 10,000... Sixkitten - any tips to make this process less painful?