True. But it is only a loss of character if you CHOOSE to take the morally dubious option

I wouldn't say it could ever be classed as an atocity - just a realistic glimpse of life "out there". Having been in full time employment and seen the best and worst of academia, there really isn't much difference that a little common sense and political savvy won't solve.

Screaming and shouting, whether in academia or the workplace, seldom solve anything but sure as Hell promote bad feeling. Sorry Stardreamer, I think you'd be over-egging the pudding.

How about assistance from the daughter? If she is old enough and responsible enough to care for a baby, then surely she is old enough and responsible enough to contribute more toward housekeeping and rent? That may free enough to allow you to get a room elswhere during the week which will be quiet, etc.
I think I speak for everyone here when we say a) we certainly don't envy your position and b) in YOUR life this PhD has earned the right to be selfish - it is not unforgivable for you to request and require some quiet space free from life's crap that will allow you time to focus on it.

(Personally I would wonder why your "daughter" and her partner haven't considered a home of their own now?)

Keep cheerful, we'ew all here for you.

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I'm gonna add "moving house" to your list and join you in a rant.

Grr...dammit.

Identify the seminal works in the area; read those first. Then read the references they cite. Then check their references. Keep to the facts and don't waffle on; go to original papers and don't rely on cited works as proof of an original concept until you have read the original. Read around the subject, don't just restrict yourself to your single identified aim. Learn to use Pubmed, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar properly and look to write about 30-40 pages for a decent lit review.
That should do it. Have fun ;-)

Have a go!

I work on the basis of "each to their own". I don't enjoy manual labour (day-in and day-out), am bored by retail, am useless at IT and can't stomach industrial work (ie: assembling lines) but gifted with an interest in all things around me. I do what I do, they do what they do. Years of academia have given me a dry, somewhat caustic wit. Denigrate me at your peril 8-)

Spot on reply. Most people will give consent there and then (providing "why" has been adequately explained), you just need to run everything through ethics, regardless of invasive or not.
Just make sure you have all the data handling checked off - the NHS can be anal about paperwork being filed and annonymised. I worked/did a MSc/doing a PhD all within the remit of the NHS so I've played with their ethics committees plenty of times :-)

Sigmaplot or Origin software.
Excel sucks.

Hi Delta:
It depends on your data; if your data is normally distributed - a Poisson curve - (as most "ideal" data tends to be) then you'll be looking at the following:
student's t-test (two independent variables)
ANOVA (multiple indepedent variables)

Mann Whitney is good if your data is skewed to the left or right (so not normally distributed).

Best thing to do is get some data, plot a histogram of it and then find the in-house statistician to give you a hand.

[whimper]

Can I do the grant proposal for the hat? :p

@ Pamplemousse:

But what happens when perceived ideas, such as "beta male" or a woman's reliance on a man are personal choices of the individual? In other words when the male is happy to be a full time carer and a woman happy to be subservient to the male, it is not their opinion that either state is denigratory to them, rather your (not YOURS per se) beliefs that they are subservient are in fact deeply offensive to them.

I put it to you that either view is an opinion and criticising it is somewhat inappropriate. What do you think?

My two-penneth regarding all this bickering over gender roles:
I always thought that as PhD students, ergo (relatively) well educated, we are taught to be open minded and consider other views, look at everything from all angles.  If you don't agree with someone's ideas, debate ensues. The operative word there being "debate", with inferences of polite consideration for opposing thoughts, not machine-gunning someone down merely because their opinion clashes with your own entrenched view.

Get a grip, people.  :-s