Have you identified a potential supervisor/research institution? It might be helpful to develop the proposal in consultation with a supervisor who can guide you as to what kind of level of content/detail is required for a PhD. It might also be worth looking at pre-funded adverstised PhDs; I imagine there would be a far number in this growing area.

[Part 2]
Though you will have undoubtedly acquired relevant research skills outside of academia, there are other benefits to affiliation with a university that you might regret lack of access to, especially if you aim to forge an academic career. A good supervisor/department will give you access to a network of other people in the field - and their name on your papers might get your work noticed by a wider audience. There may be free training on offer on various aspects of academic research, or travel awards for attending conferences. The support from other students you might find in a good department can be valuable. Internal peer review processes can save you a lot of wasted time when it comes to submitting research to journals. It may also give you a realistic view of the job prospects in your field - it isn't always easy to pick up on this from outside.

I have nothing against the concept of PhD by publication, but it's usually for people who have already been in academia for a long time and notched up a solid body of peer reviewed work. It's far less typical for people to plan to go down that route when the work has yet to be published. I just wonder whether you would be making things unnecessarily complicated for yourself by taking this path, when a more conventional route (albeit part time) might serve your aims just as well.

[Part 1]
I'd strongly suggest getting advice from a relevant university department/senior academic before proceeding any further. Although it is possible in some cases to be awarded a PhD based on retrospective work ('PhD by publication' - see: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/416988.article) I gather in most cases these are only awarded to people who are existing staff/students of an institution i.e. you can't just approach a university to which you have no affiliation and ask to be assessed for a PhD by that route. Some examples of university regulations here:

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/pgr-support/phdbypublication
http://www.york.ac.uk/about/organisation/governance/governance-documents/ordinances-and-regulations/regulation-2/#2.9
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=7422

Is there anything standing in the way of you approaching a potential supervisor at a relevant department and asking to do a part time PhD there, maintaining your current job and co-supervision from your manager? If the fees are a deterrent, consider it's likely that even the PhD by publication route will incur fees, and set requirements of written material beyond just the papers.

There are quite a few Stata courses at unis e.g.

Are you asking us to do your homework for you?

I would suggest using a search engine in the first instance to identify educational issues or sources of information in the relevant country, before moving on to searches of more scholarly resources. Ask your university librarian for advice on search strategies if you're unsure.

Alternatively ask the person who set the essay question for some pointers to resources.

I'd recommend talking to your dissertation supervisor in the first instance. If you seek external help, you may be lead off in the wrong direction. Really, any training you received during the course should be adequate for your dissertation - it may be that you're planning something too ambitious for the course requirements. The dissertation can just be a means to an end.

It's better to do something simply, but carry it out and write it up really well, than try something overly complex and not have time to meet all of the criteria on which you will actually be marked.

If you're just looking to learn/pass the time without any specific training goals, may I suggest checking out free online course providers such as Coursera, EdX or Khan Academy?

I quit a PhD and started another, but I was no where near as far through the process as you. I'd suggest just getting it finished, letting go on the 'corresponding author' issue (it's REALLY not worth making a big issue out if it - there will be other papers), getting it finished as soon as possible, and moving on to somewhere better. As long as you are the first author on your papers, having him as last author need not detract.

The bit that does raise some concerns is that your supervisor was trying to manipulate the data to imply that the experiments were working. This sounds like potential research fraud, which is a very serious issue. Don't get sucked into it. Make sure that any results in your papers and thesis reflect true results of experiments, or else it could have negative consequences for your career.

Estimate how long you think it will take you to get ethical approval. Now double that, and add six weeks.

That might sound OTT, but it really can be a painful process. Even 'low risk studies' can be a palava. Not the actual approval by the committee bit - that can be quite straightforward - but rather all the steps you need to do to get to that stage.

Are you applying to an internal ethics committee, or an external one? The latter will probably take longer as it might need to be reviewed and signed off by various people before it goes out.

So I would definitely get started now, even if you don't know all the details yet. It can actually help you organise your thoughts about your proposal. At the very least, identify all the relevant departmental/institutional signatories you will need to get to look at your form, and see if there is any general advice at your uni about ethics applications.

Did you explain to him why you cancelled?

One option might be to take the initiative to propose a new meeting date and state what work you intend to have finished by then. It will also give you a target to aim for.

Couple of sources of social science training here:

Ever feel out of my depth? Frequently! :-) (3rd year student, several years research experience).

In general it should be fine to discuss these things with your supervisor, but if you're feeling uncomfortable, is there a graduate tutor in the faculty? Or even a helpful post doc? Sometimes it just helps to have a chat with someone local.

Regarding training, if you can find an external course that you think would really benefit you, there may be ways of funding it from departmental/faculty funds, or even charitable organisations. If you know what you want to learn, but haven't found an appropriate training course, ask here or in a new thread and people might be able to point you in the right direction.

Finally, I always find this a reassuring read when I feel out of my depth: