Delta, of course you should be posting! That's what the forum's here for, good times and bad! And the posts can't get much more miserable than my recent ones ;) KB

Hey Delta...thanks for your comments on my thread earlier- it really helped! With respect to publications, I think it depends on whether you want a career in academia. Even if you want to move on to research something different it might be worth trying to get a couple of publications just to show that you are capable of publishing your work. It won't matter that they are not completely relevant to your new topic if you've moved on to something new, it will still be evidence that you can write for publication, which I'm sure you can given that you are at the end of your PhD. I had a fellowship interview a few months ago and although I didn't get the job, when I got feedback they said they had really considered taking me on even though the candidate who got the job had already done a post-doc, just because I had a good publication record. I've been lucky because (despite her 10 zillion shortcomings) my sup has encouraged me to publish from the start, and has always provided plenty of feedback so I've probably had it a bit easy, but you could def give it a go on your own once you've completed your thesis. Of course, if you want out of academia altogether then don't waste your time! Good luck! KB

Hey everyone, thanks so much for your support. I feel a bit better today, but so tired of eveything. I got an email from my sup at midnight last night saying how she thought I should be able to do the fellowship application, and listed a load of support she had 'offered' me which was factually completely incorrect. Basically she's written an untruthful email to me to cover her own back in case I complain, so she can demonstrate how much she had 'tried to help'. Needless to say, I won't be replying. I have 2 more meetings with her and then my viva, so hopefully I will only ever have to converse with her 3 more times. Interestingly I found out today about a position that will be be coming up in a few months on another team in the department (my second sup's team), which sounds v interesting, so even if I don't get any of the jobs I have applied for, I will have a good chance at that one. Also, someone from his team has said that she will offer me support if I would like to apply for funding for my 'fellowship' project to another funding council at a later date. I wouldn't ever consider working with my primary sup ever again after the experiences of late. So I'm gonna keep myself together and push on with things. You are right Pink_Numbers- I've been in worse situations that this before. Thanks so much everyone. KB

Hey all. I know I've been whining a bit recently but I simply can't take any more of my supervisor. After she refused me any more support with my funding council fellowship application, two days ago I decided not to proceed with my application. I simply cannot proceed without some support and she is unwilling to give me any.

I didn't hear back from that email, but today we were on a training day together, with 3 others from the team. I drove my sup and another of the team members there. She was pleasant to me all day then in the car on the way home she really laid into me. She said she was disappointed, ashamed and embarrassed of me for failing to proceed with the application after several people arranged for an early viva just so I would be eligible to apply. I said that I needed more support with it and didn't feel able to complete it, and she just shouted over me, lied about the support she had 'offered' me, and was incredibly nasty and personal. All with a colleague and a friend sitting in the back of the car listening. I repeatedly stated that I wasn't prepared to have an argument about it, especially not when I was driving in rush hour traffic on a dual carriageway I didn't know. The rest of the journey was in silence.

I simply don't know what to do any more. I got home, decided I needed some drink and some valium. A very bad solution I know. I can't stop crying. I just don't understand how it got this bad and I'm worried that she may actually be mentally ill. I know that sounds extreme but her behaviour has become increasingly erratic, and everyone on the team thinks there is something seriously wrong with her. I am trying to be sympathetic but when my own mental health is going down the drain is it getting increasingly hard. I think I'm going to go stay with my family for a few days because I just can't cope any more.

I don't know what on earth I'm expecting anyone to say, I guess I am just looking for support. I'm just 3-4 weeks from hand-in and viva and I'm losing it.

Cheers. KB

Hey Aaron, to be honest I think the main thing you need to do is make sure that whatever analysis you do answers your research questions in the best way possible. Whilst it's true that a few simple correlations or whatever wouldn't exactly set the examiners on fire, I certainly wouldn't go out of your way to use more complex statistics just for the sake of it, I really wouldn't. Obviously without knowing more about your research I can't really advise what you should do, but as long as you use an appropriate technique (and use it correctly) to address your research questions then I think you will be fine. My MSc used ANOVA and multiple regressions, and that was complex enough to answer my questions...most of my PhD quantitative work uses multiple regressions as well- you don't always need some complicated out-of-this world stats to do yourself justice. Just my opinion! Best, KB

I'd go with the 'researcher' label! My landlady refused to take undergraduates as her accommodation is all quite new, but she will take masters or PhD students, as long as they seem 'okay'. On a related note, I do get frustrated with my local GP surgery, because every time I ring up and ask them for an appointment they ask if I'm a student. Apparently students aren't allowed to take the early morning appointments since they are viewed to have all day to go to the doctor, obviously with nothing more important to do. I have tried explaining that I am a PhD student and that I therefore must be in the office between 9-5pm, but that only gets me anywhere with one of the receptionists! Grrrr! Best, KB

Hey again Hazy...thanks for your post. After a chat with my boyf and my family I've decided not to proceed with the application and have emailed my sup to tell her. When I made the decision to apply, I assumed I would have enough support to be able to put the application together, but that has just not been the case at all- I have had a half hour or so to talk about it and a refusal to provide any more time to focus on it. If it was just like a job application I'd be fine, but it's a research council funding application for which I have to develop my own proposal and fill in another hundred questions when I don't even understand half of them. With more time and support, I could have given it a shot, but without either, it's a waste of time. But it has made my mind up that I really need to get away from here after my PhD. So now I'm off to bed, and hopefully I'll wake up feeling a lot more positive. Thanks for your advice :) Best, KB

Hey Hazy...I have emailed her back and told her that since she is unable to offer me support I will be putting my PhD first and the fellowship application second. She hasn't responded, and I know she's on her email, so she's obviously mighty hacked off with me. I'm truly exhausted and close to breaking point...yet it's going to be another sleepless night. At the moment I just want to finish my PhD and get far far away from here. I'm going to have a breakdown very soon at this rate :( Best, KB

To make matters even worse I just got the email response I expected and I have been refused an extra meeting to discuss the fellowship proposal. I really have bitten off more than I can chew this time. I feel like shredding the damn thing and just forgetting it, just like I may as well forget about having any appropriate support to complete and submit the stupid thing anyway. KB

Hey everyone!

So I've got about 3 weeks until submission and 4 weeks until the viva. The PhD is going okay and should be finished on time. The problem is, I'm also working on a fellowship application which I only have another fortnight to complete, and it's not going well. I have to put my own project proposal together and the application form is about 20 A4 sides in total. Although I have an idea about what to do, I am a bit (well, a lot) out of my depth and am beginning to think I should just forget about it and concentrate on my PhD. The problem is, everyone has moved heaven and earth to bring my submission and viva forwards just so I would be eligible to apply for this fellowship, and a few people would be hacked off to learn that I didn't go through with it.

If I had more support from my sup I might be okay but she's so busy- she's very quick to give feedback on written work but getting a meeting with her is tough, and I really need to sit down and hash out this proposal with her support. I need to be submitting the finance forms about now, and I can't do that until I have a very clear idea about the proposal. I have one meeting scheduled between now and when I should submit the application, but it's just a few days before the deadline and I need to have the application written by then. I have emailed her to ask if we can have a meeting this week but am dreading her response...I doubt it will go down well. In all honesty I wish I could just forget about this application but I'm worried about the response I will get from the folk who have bent over backwards to give me the opportunity to apply...

Any words of advice? Please?!!
Cheers, KB

done- good luck with it! KB

Hi Delta- this was a decision I made just last week when my sup asked if I would like her to be in my viva. It was an absolute no for me, because even though she wouldn't be allowed to say anything, she has a whole repertoire of facial expressions which convey her disgust, diapproval and impatience! And the sighs and rolling of the eyes would just be too much for me! I think it's a personal thing, but having my sup there would make me twice as nervous, and I think if that's the case, then why stress yourself out any more than you already are? I think you need to make yourself as comfortable as possible in your viva. Best, KB

There's not much I'd change, but it would be nice if my supervisor had lost the ability to tut, sigh, and roll her eyes before I started my PhD! KB

Done it, only took 5 mins! Good luck with your project! KB

I'm happy because at this time, one month from today, I will just have completed my viva and will hopefully have a result! And I'm also happy because I had a peek at my first publication online earlier today and it has been cited 8 times since it was published at the end of last year....at least someone has read it! :) And two of my other publications have also just been made available online...so even amidst all the nerves and stress there are things to be happy about! Best, KB