I'm another one for social sciences and literature review

Hi H_D, I can recommend the University of Essex for Criminology MAs, the Sociology Dept is one of the best (and biggest) in the country, not to mention friendly

P.S. To answer your other question, his first name has the initial A and middle name has the initial M

I'm sure you can ask your library to get this for you on an interlibrary loan:

Staub AM (1965) Removal of proteins – Sevag method. Methods Carbohydr Chem 5, 5–6.

Staub's first names will surely be on the original paper. Which you should read anyway if you're citing him in your paper. I do have to wonder though - why do you need to cite the full names of the author? Journal articles don't, they use initials, so surely you don't need to either. Unless of course your paper cites two Staubs with the same initials that both published in 1965?

Otto doesn't seem very banned to me...

lol rjb! No lab work for my PhD but no Summer either... not like it was in undergrad - weeks and weeks of freedom... there really shouldn't be time (and if you're like me then I'd feel too guilty to enjoy that kind of time off anyway) Having said that I was lucky this year and did manage a week in Norway in February and a week in Rome in September for my 'Summer' holidays

Hi AnnieG, I used a transcribing machine (foot pedals) for my interviews and I found it a lot easier than having to stop to fiddle with the machine by hand. I borrowed one from my department - perhaps check if your department does the same kind of thing, or your library. One of my friends wanted her own so she got one from ebay which was around 100 pounds, and plans to sell it again when she's done

Well done BB! xx Talk about the best Christmas prezzie ever!

Hi Jojo, good job handing it in, I know how difficult it is! I always cringe when I email a chapter to my soop but sometimes I'm pleasantly suprised by the comments

I had to write a comment coz it struck a chord with me. I handed in my literature review a little while ago, because I just couldn't bear reading any more, I hated it and I was at my wits end that even after so long writing it I could not make it work... so I handed it in I was so embarrassed and worried about the comments I would get but soop gave some really good comments on how I could restructure it and that just gave me the leg-up I needed

Hope you get a nice motivational boost for yours when you get it back! And enjoy being free of it for a little while

Absolutely well said H!!

Zweena, what a horrid response from your supervisor. I suppose what I would do is take the job despite her comments and not mention it to her again, since this provokes such an unreasonable response. If you think 8 hours paid work is do-able, go for it (I do a similar amount of data-entry type work, a couple of hours a day, and it actually provides some light relief from the drudgery of writing up!)
What you do outside of your PhD, and your domestic arrangements are none of her business.

best of luck x

Hi,

I bought 'How to write a thesis' by Rowena Murray when I first started a couple of years ago, and it's been really useful throughout my work so far (if a little general, but hey I suppose it has to apply to so many different theses). It's also quite a motivational read for when you're struggling to write, and its good to know a lot of your struggles aren't unique. Haven't read Phillips & Pugh, but I know lots of PhDers who love it.

...Cont... That way you know whether its a reference thing or an application thing, or you were just unlucky.

To really sort out what what written about you, you can, under the Data Protection Act, ask them to see the written references that have been submitted to them, although if the ref has 3rd party info in the document, they are then generally not obliged to disclose that info.

All the best

Hi Oliver, getting turned down totally sucks. It might not be about references though, as kronkodile says, many people get through to the late stages many times and end up dissapointed. Its so frustrating, and so totally understandable to think that to be turned down many times there must be something awry. Having said that, however, you could try and maximise your chances next time and find out on what basis they rejected you. Thank them for considering you and ask what they thought of your application and where it fell down - loads of people do this when rejected for jobs, it shows you're proactive and there's no harm in asking...

Woo! Many congrats cc! Bet you slept for a week after handing it over! I have a December deadline too - on 10th Dec I hand over my first full draft of the thesis - eek

...You can then discuss what your methodology can reveal of your data and why your methodology is best suited to the task (over all the other relevent methodologies that could be used). It's time and brain-energy consuming but totally worth it in the end - that you've chosen your methodology makes it much easier - you'll know why you use it and chose it already As for length... once you start looking in detail I found there was enough stuff to write about that for two essays of 4,000 words on different aspects of methodology (the essays situated CA in ethnomethodology and then situated ethnomethodology in criminology) hope this helped!!