thanks guys for taking time to read my post and offer some advice.

i've decided to take some time off. a week or so. i don't know if thats really enough but i'll see how i feel after that.

i have also began picking myself up, exercising, spending time around people to avoid thinking too much, accepting all dates (its my way of getting myself to stop being hang up on this one guy) and just facing all these emotions and letting them out. am also trying to eat regulary.

i just hope this feeling can be over soon so that i can get some work done. i have thought of going to the office and telling them about this, but the people in my department are not the most understanding people on earth. my supervisor only expects work from me at the end of the summer so am tempted to just deal with this on my own. counselling is also a good idea. i will look into it.

thanks guys.. i have taken everyones advise on board... whether or not i've mentioned it. keep it coming.

hi guys, i know i've said a lot on this forum and i come on a lot when am struggling. right now am going through a difficult time. i've been unwell for the last month or so, fell in love with this guy who really cared for me during this time, yesterday i lost a close relative and today he's called it off and am just struggling to get my restarted on my writing up.

am writing because am looking for advice. i really want to finish by the end of this year and so i need to finish my chapters at the end of the summer. at the same time, so much is going on around me.i feel sometimes that i cannot work effectively, and i sometimes wonder if am just making excuses.

because am low on funding, i won't be able to travel to this funeral and because of time, i feel that i cannot take time off to grieve either of my losses. i just need encouragement from someone whos been through something similar yet been able to work and meet a submission deadline and from everyone else...

all advise will be appreciated.

hi guys.. work has been going well until recently when i got good feedback from my supervisor and annual review panel.. and took a week off. following that week i have been majorly distracted.. and unable to concentrate. its not helped by the fact that the weather is so good outside. anyone else struggling with this?

i need to put in two solid months to finish a draft of my thesis but instead of concentrating am so stary eyed. any tips?

Hi guys,

I went to this conference and made notes. Now am using the notes in my write up. :-) pretty obvious.

Am wondering, how do you cite comments made at conferences? Do you just cite as normal and say so and so said this at this conference?

thanks Bunnies!

hi guys.. hope everyone is doing well. am ok.. still writing up. thanks for your responses to my questions.

i have one more.. i have now written two chapters of my thesis, but the second chapter is 40,000 plus words long. am considering spliting it into two. however am at a loss as to what i should call it as it only discusses the context of the problem, what the issues are and touches a bit on the methodology, and its the later half of the theoretical framework.

here's my structure:

ch. 1 intro
ch. 2 theoretical framework
(it needs to come here.. am thinking of something like.. context of comparative study?)
ch. 3 case study 1
ch. 4 case study 2
ch.5 conclusion

i know this is a bit of a shot in the dark.. but just in case someone has something similar??:p

hello.. am in the process of rewriting my thesis under new supervision and this time i want to get things right.. i don't want any room for what happened last time. (for those who remember.)

my question is.. i've been hearing many things about the format of a phd. that the research question/s should be clear etc. so i made sure that mine were clear. then an american academic looked thro it and said that it didn't have a statement of the problem and a hypothesis. what on earth are those?

does anyone has a book with a format for a first chapter or a guideline i can follow to address these questions. i don't want to waffle in my viva trying to say what they are and where they are.

somebody help..

hi everyone, its jojo here. no excuse for being away for ages. i took time off to recover from the post-traumatic stress of my experience last year. am starting work on my thesis again today...

my thesis is a comparative case study of two countries. am finishing up the theoretical framework chapter this week and then working on the comparative chapters.

is anyone else doing a comparative thesis? any writing up tips? what must be evident in the chapters? any helpful books?

my new supervisor is really nice and gives me some breathing space... he's part time tho and that means he's not there to answer all these questions.

all suggestions will be appreciated.

hi everyone...

long time. hope everyone is well. am still writing up.

am currently revising my theoretical framework.

has anyone ever seen a theoretical framework based on one paper - i.e. i want to use three theories but they are cited in one paper so am going to be citing that paper a lot as it is a comprehensive literature review looking the pros and cons of each theory.

is that plagiarism or is that ok. do i run the risk of being told that i haven't done enough reading?

has anyone done this sort of thing?

thanks.

Jojo.

oh! i forgot to say that my first chapter has been approved! am writing the second of five chapters now. hope all goes well this time round.

hello everyone. sorry for the silence. a lot has happened since you last heard from me. i got a new supervisor, a year's extension to the writing up period of my thesis and took time off to recover from the trauma. its amazing how evil academics can be. am glad am over and done with my old supervisors and now i just want to focus and finish by the end of this academic year. i hope you're all doing well and those who wanted to finish last sept actually did.

take care everyone.

hello everyone, as most of you remember, i have had an awful experience during my writing up. my supervisors have pushed me for an MPhil after writing a complete draft of my thesis due to conflicting approaches to the work. i have spoken to the director of studies who has agreed to allow me to change to a supervisor who shares my approach subject to a few revisions to my current work. am doing those revisions this week. fingers crossed. thanks to all those who supported me.

sorry guys. i just stopped thinking about my phd troubles and since most lecturers were on holiday and just came back this week, there wasn't much to report. i have a meeting with a professor to request them to be my supervisor on wednesday. fingers crossed.

Jd - i wish you the best. i think quiting is a good decision. had i known that my supervisor relationship would have deteriortated to this point after three years, i would have quit a long time ago and found another institution. in my case, am interested in my project, but my supervisor has no clue about what am trying to do. as a result we have been going round in circles. like hairui - am trying to change the focus of my thesis from my supervisors interests to my own interests at writing up stage. as a result i have to look for a new supervisor.
re - confidentiality - that is overrated. my director of studies discussed my situation with my supervisors, the fact that I had decided to change supervisors, which was not very helpful. at this point am thinking of transfering to another university should i have to stay with my supervisor. it will cost me, but i need peace of mind to get my PhD. you don't need to go through all this. i have seen happy phd students with supportive supervisors. you can get yourself such a supervisor. do what you think is right. and don't grieve for too long. this is life. these things happen. as long as you get a PhD in the end... it does not matter the route you took, if the PhD is what you wanted. all the best.

sleepyhead - the trouble is my head of department is totally supporting my supervisors and the director of research who is supposed to be dealing with this is saying nothing. i agree - the reason am looking for a change is because i feel that someone else would be more suitable for my work. am tired of having a supervisor who has no clue what am trying to do and is constantly pushing me towards doing what he understands.

cheekym... as for persevering with my supervisor, i think i have already wasted enough time doing that, and i'd advice you to be careful not to make the same mistake i made by persevering.

hairui - i hope that i eventually end up with someone else. i really need this change to get through this PhD.

apologies for the typos and repititions.