Pineapple, you don't just deserve a PhD, you deserve a bloody medal for persevering for so long. You must be so strong- I don't know that I could have stuck it out like you have. I look on here every day to see if you have any news, and I'm keeping all of my toes and fingers crossed for you. You're gonna get through this and hopefully very soon it will all be behind you and just a bad memory fading away whilst you pursue your career (and the rest of your life) further. Big hugs, KB

Hi there. Sorry to hear you're struggling, depression is rubbish, whether it's mild or severe. It sounds like your mood might be related to your circumstances though- is it worth seeking counselling (but not CBT)? There are lots of different approaches you could try. I have bipolar and saw a counsellor at the uni counselling service and they were great. It wasn't CBT as I really don't benefit from that, it was just tailored to what I needed. I was forced to tell my PhD supervisor about my diagnosis, but she was very understanding. My current supervisors also know and they are also pretty good with it, but then I work in psychology so I guess they should have a good understanding of it. If you feel that it is really affecting your progress and you are comfortable with your supervisors, it might be worth mentioning. It's a common problem and they may just surprise you with their understanding. Given that they're very supportive anyway it might give you some peace of mind to know that you've explained what's going on and they're okay with it- trying to be okay around everyone when you're not feeling okay can be tiring and stressful. Best of luck with whatever you decide. KB

Hey there!

It is really competitive to get funding, but with a 2.1 and a distinction you should have a good shot. Maybe including a transcript with your application to show your high marks in third year would help? I really don't think it will hold you back though- most people I knew when I was doing my PhD (psychology) had a 2.1 and a good MSc, and they had obtained funding (some of them from ESRC). Of course, you will be competing with people who have a first and a distinction, but excellent references and a strong project proposal will make a difference too.

Are you planning to write your own proposal from scratch and find someone to supervise it?

Best, KB

Hey Pineapple. Don't beat yourself up about it. The great thing is, you were shortlisted out of goodness knows how many applicants, and you don't have your PhD confirmed yet, so you obviously have a great CV. Once your PhD result is sorted you will be able to go along to interviews with that under your belt, and that will eliminate any concerns that people might have. I didn't get the first post-doc I was interviewed for, but I got the next one, and looking back on it I am glad it worked out this way. There is a reason for everything :) I've got all my fingers and toes crossed for your resubmission, and hope that you hear back really soon, all of the waiting must be horrendous. Big hugs, KB

Hi there! My understanding is that this can refer to both the volume of the work and the quality of the work. We were always told that we needed enough data to be able to write up three results chapters/papers (although obviously the data element of this won't be relevant in some disciplines). In terms of the quality, I agree with what Natassia said- I think you'd be offered an MPhil if it isn't likely that you are going to get the standard up to PhD level even with a revise and resubmit verdict. Best, KB

Hi there! It is definitely possible to have two or more publications by the end of your PhD if you get going on them early enough. They don't necessarily have to be results papers- you could publish a review paper if you have done an extensive literature review near the beginning of your PhD, or a theoretical discussion paper etc. Once your paper has been accepted, you can cite it as being 'in press'- you don't have to wait until it's actually out in print before you can cite it (an 'in press' publication still counts as a publication!). You need to allow a few months to get through the review process- that's one of the most lengthy bits! Good luck! KB

Hey there! Do you mean the clinical psychology practitioner doctorate (DClin) or a clinical psychology research-based PhD? I don't think not getting a merit/distinction will be the end of the world either way- what did you get for your first degree? Many people apply for DClin without having done a masters (although there are also many people applying who already have research PhDs)- the only time lots of places insist on a masters is if your original degree was graded lower than a 2.1. If you have a lot of good quality relevant experience it might not have too much of an impact on your application. If it's a research PhD you're after, you might still be fine. Of course, the higher the mark, the better, but I know a few people doing fully-funded PhDs with just a pass at MSc level. Good luck with the appeal etc. Best, KB

Hey Pineapple- I don't think this is unusual. I know that the university I did my PhD at and the one I'm at now both bin applications for research assistant jobs from people who have a PhD. They don't even look at them. Towards the end of my PhD I applied for 4 jobs. I applied for 2 research assistant positions, which were a great topic match, and I didn't even get interviews. I also applied for a research associate and a research fellow position and got interviews for both- I took the research associate position (which incidentally wasn't even a close match on topic!). So definitely aim for a higher level and don't take rejections from assistant posts to heart! Loads of luck with the job hunt and with the resubmission verdict! Best, KB

Hey there Azureray! I can only really second what the others have already said. The last couple of months of a PhD are especially stressful, and your other half is probably exhausted, anxious, and desperate to get the thesis finished. So best just to give him a bit of time and space until he's got through it! All careers have different routes- whilst I was doing my PhD several friends had already qualified as solicitors, medical doctors etc and it can make you a bit insecure about being 'behind' your peers, so maybe he's feeling that a bit too. In terms of jobs- is he wanting to stay in academia? It is actually quite unusual to have a post-doc lined up before you've finished your PhD. Some people are lucky and manage to get something sorted, but others have to hunt around for quite a while to find something suitable. Still others decide not to remain in academia and move on to something different. For now, just be as supporting and reassuring as you can- there's not long to go now.
Best, KB

Hi potatoes! I'm a post-doc now too and spent all of my PhD on the PhD forum, but you're right- this one is very quiet! I still post in the PhD one sometimes, it's nice to catch up with others who are still PhD-ing too!

Best, KB

Hi Lindalou! Supervisors, eh? Personally I would take a comment like this as a challenge. Given that your work hasn't been affected by your responsibilities of looking after your stepson, I would just ignore it and continue to prove your supervisor wrong. Sure, it's an insensitive and inaccurate thing to say by a supervisor who is possibly narrow-minded and whose career is probably the main focus of his life, but take it as a compliment because you actually ARE managing to do both. One of my best mates is a single mum to 2 kids and she completed her PhD very recently, and there are others on here with kids who manage superbly well. My supervisor had very old fashioned views and was fuming when I got engaged during my PhD, and she couldn't bear small children either. It really riled me but I managed not to react too much. I suppose you could complain but if it is really bothering you I would bring it up with your supervisor first- a complaint could just makes things very nasty and make the rest of your PhD more difficult. Good luck with whatever you decide! KB

======= Date Modified 12 Sep 2012 18:54:52 =======
Hey Phdee!

That sounds very similar to what I did- you won't have time to describe everything in loads of detail but that's fine. I showed a table with all of the themes on at the beginning of the results section showing which themes were present in which participants' interviews (there were only 12 pcps for my qualitative study so this was quite easy to do), and then showed the diagram of how they fitted together before I described each theme in more detail. This was because my 8 themes were in 'pairs'- there were 4 pairs of themes where 1 theme reflected continuity and one theme reflected change- so it was easier to explain this at the beginning of the results section. But I did go back to the relationships between them again at the end to explain it in more detail. What you've got sounds fine :)

Enjoy! Best, KB

Edit: I should have said, within each of the 8 themes I had a number of sub themes. I mentioned these when I wrote the study up as a paper but didn't go into them in the presentation due to time constraints!

Hey there Phdee!

Well done on getting your abstract accepted! My PhD was mainly quant, but I did have one qualitative chapter that I presented at a conference in the US last year. I was using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyse interview data, which is similar to a thematic analysis. I just had one slide summarising the method/analysis, but many of the people at this conference would have been familiar with qualitative research. If your audience is not, it might be a good idea to explain a little and also to emphasize how rigorous and thorough the analysis is, and how qualitative studies can complement quant studies- many people who 'look down' on qual research just don't understand much about how the analysis is done or why it is useful. I wouldn't spend ages doing this though- you can always recommend a reference for people who want to know more about the process. I spent most of the allocated 20 minutes presenting and discussing the results- after all, that's what people usually want to hear about. I developed a model based on the 8 themes that resulted from my analysis, and I showed a diagram of the 8 themes and how they related to each other, and then described each theme individually. I would definitely use direct quotes from your participants- this worked really well with my presentation, and I put the quotes into context by telling the audience a bit about the participant and his/her situation (obviously keeping it all anonymous!).

I don't know whether you are a confident presenter or not, but from my experiences of presenting quant and qual work, I always find the qual stuff more enjoyable. Somehow the quotations make the research feel more real and relevant to individuals, rather than some statistical results which can sometimes seem a little far removed from the raw data. Not to say I think qual research is more important- I think both are extremely valuable- but definitely more fun to present for me!

Good luck with it! Best, KB

Hi Lughna.

The dynamics probably vary a bit according to who your examiners are. I think it's usual for the external examiner to be a better match on topic than the internal, but (at least in the UK) it's the chairperson's job to make sure that the viva is fair and conducted according to relevant guidelines. In my viva the external examiner took the lead, but invited the internal examiner to put forward her questions at regular intervals, and in terms of number of questions it was probably 40% from the internal and 60% from the external. Having said that, the ones from the internal were tougher to deal with than the ones from the external! I'm not really sure if either has greater weight when it comes to the result, but I would imagine the external would do since they are more likel to be the expert on the topic. I got minor corrections (four sentences to add to the discussion) and I got the impression that both the internal and external contributed to that list since the external explained 3 of the corrections and the internal explained the reason for the other one. The chairperson was silent throughout except to tell us when the first hour had passed!

Best, Keenbean

Hey Anteloop,

Seriously, you don't need to worry about these sorts of errors. I handed my thesis in in a big rush as my deadline got brought forwards (long story) and afterwards I found so many typos etc I was mortified. Most of them the examiners didn't even spot- even one where the first 4 pages of a lit review table were completely missing due to a cut and paste error! Just take a list of them in with you, wait until the end and just say that you noticed some typos that you'd like to correct for the final version. They won't bat an eyelid! So concentrate on preparation and building your confidence up- don't give these sorts of errors another thought! And even if they request you to change them as minor corrections it really doesn't matter- you'll get them done in no time. Loads of luck with it all, KB