i share with loads of others - about 10. the problem with our office is the space. to many ancient computers occupying all the deskspace so it looks more like a store room than an office. no one really works there. about three people come in each day. i often work from home as i have more space here. and with 10 people in a small space, it is not easy to concentrate.

driven2insanity - thanks for that. i will probably do that at my next meeting. they know how important the feedback is coz they are the ones who require that each chapter depends on the outcome of the previous. my supervisors aren't the structured type where the student has a clear picture of the thesis structure. we did come up with one earlier, but again it was dismissed on the basis that each chapter would depend on the results of the previous. you all know what happened the last time i asked if i could continue with my work before the next meeting - my supervisors said i shouldn't coz my work is irrelevant. that 'irrelevance' turned out to be an unclear result and i had to do it again to try and find another result.

thanks guys. i think one of my mistakes has been not setting deadlines for my supervisor. i usually assumed two weeks would be enough for them to come up with feedback and so i spent the two weeks working on other stuff. i just didn't make it clear to them that i expected feedback in two weeks so they decided to take their time. now i find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. how do you set deadlines for a supervisor? what do you say? 'i hope to hear from you in two weeks?' erm, 'how about two weeks for feedback?' erm, ' when am i going to get feedback..' how do you do it? i have tried emailing a time plan which i tried to follow and they decided not to follow. it explicitly said i would submit on a particular date and start the next chapter by a particular date.

I guess, i've just decided to stick with them and try and find different ways to work. the usual, wait for feedback and then develop leads does not seem to work in my situation coz the leads just never come. a lot of people in my department have this problem and some resort to just getting on with the thesis - and usually finish in four years earliest - coz usually it turns out wrong leads were followed therefore a year or more was spent doing the wrong stuff. i just wish things were different. anyhow, i've emailed my supervisor. lets see what happens.

Krashty - in the last two weeks, i've been reading around the next chapter and structuring it depending on the possible outcomes that i can follow. But without feedback, there is nothing else I can do apart from keep reading. i have considered getting help on my supervisor issues, but i have already changed my sups once. I didn't change my second supervisor and this supervisor remains complacent and has no clue about my research. my first one is really good in my general field, but lacks interest in my work.

aliby - if it was possible, i wouldn't be asking in the first place. i ask because i want to know if other people do that when that is not common practice.

driven2insanity et al- i know you feel that this is the place to bring your sacarcism, but am not here to ask for negative comments. for your information, they aren't of help. approval is necessary in my case, because each chapter depends on the outcome of the previous and that outcome has to be agreed upon. i don't know how you do things in your field, but that's how things work in my field. so don't downplay my situation just because yours is different. you have no right to do that.

I have submitted three times to my second supervisor and not heard from them since February. Its May now. I emailed them asking about procedure about a week ago, and still nothing, not even an acknowledgement of receipt. And my first supervisor doesn't also give a damn. sometimes, i wish i never came to this uni in the first place. anyway, i'll just get on with my next chapter - it's me who wants a phd anyway. i don't see why i should acknowledge such people at the end of my thesis.

hello, am wondering how long your supervisors in the social sciences take to give you feedback on a chapter? mine has taken two weeks now and am wondering if i should email them, but I also don't want to appear pushy. what do you do in the meantime. i've been preparing for a meeting that isn't happening. should i just start the next section - what should i do?

thanks cc for sharing your experience. am going through much the same thing. i was thinking of starting to manage my supervisor as they aren't interested and that's not gonna make me quit. after all, am the one who wants the phd. so if they aren't gonna give me direction, i'll try to get it out of them with a list of questions.

are there any advantages of publishing in an edited book as opposed to a journal?

oops, meant spent {mother tongue interference }

such committment SixKitten . i spend my master's year try to figure out my thesis question and did my masters on my exact thesis topic. i managed a merit the dissertation and tried to carry on in the same direction in my PhD , but i came to a dead end and changed tact. what seemed fab to my masters supervisor was disregard as crap by my PhD supervisors and my own private pursuit of the same revealed my supervisor's sentiments. I guess what am saying ally is you might wanna do what Sixkitten suggests so that you're on the right track early or you avoid going down a lane that could lead to a dead end early enough - if you eventually decide to do a PhD. otherwise, am glad that my sentiments did help in some way. life is what you make it.

cc- what did you do to get their interest back? what has your progress been like in terms of writing up? did your supervisor relationship really affect the speed of your writing up? am asking coz am in my second year, pretty much going through the same situation.

me too. i just took last week off, and i've decided to get on with writing - though its not easy.

i thought of how good it felt when my last chapter came together and how i got myself to write up and did the same.

for me, that was setting small targets, for instance - read and summarise a paper a day. when the reading is done - start writing - a section a day. that way each day i get closer to handing in my next chapter and finishing.

So, i've decided to read ahead for my next supervisor meeting hopefully this week and start writing bits of my next chapter. its actually nice to work without being under pressure.. and am beginning to enjoy it. difficult to resist the telly though when there is no looming deadline. thank God for the weather! less temptations.