Thanks Beajay- your words mean a lot to me. I think most of the negativity was just me dealing with the shock of having the goalposts suddenly shoved a lot closer to me, but I'm okay now and thinking much more positively. I know everything will get done and am reasonably optimistic about getting a positive outcome- from the PhD that is, the fellowship is out of my hands! I do try to be encouraged by other people's belief in me but it is the dreaded 'what-ifs' that haunt me (and everyone else no doubt!). Fortunately I won't have much time to concentrate on those in the next few weeks. I'm off to a pal's wedding abroad two days after my viva, so looking forward to having a complete change of scene for a few days once this is all over with. Just been doing my acknowledgements and trying to acknowledge the PhD forum without making myself less anonymous has been rather a challenge! Best, KB

Thanks peeps. Feeling much better today, getting stuck in. I think I just needed a day or two to get used to my new deadline (up) KB

======= Date Modified 16 Jun 2011 22:14:02 =======
Hey all.

Sorry, it seems like I am whining and stressing on here every day at the moment...I just don't know where else to do it.

Since my submission and viva date were moved so much closer a couple of days ago my head is just messed up. I have 6 weeks to submit and I know that if I keep calm I can do it. But one minute I'm fine, the next I'm feeling so anxious I actually feel physically sick. I think it's just the shock of having the deadlines brought so much closer- maybe I've just not got over it yet.

I think the other thing is that this just means so much to me. I spent 5 years in and out of psych wards with bipolar from 2000-2005, and I never thought I would ever get back on track. I could barely make it til the end of the day back then. Getting my PhD is just the ultimate dream and I'm so scared I could screw it up. The topic is also close to home- I did my dedication page today- hardly the priority but my head was too stressed to concentrate on anything else- my thesis is on Alzheimer's and I'm dedicating my thesis to my grandad, who is in the end stages of Alzheimer's and doesn't have long left to live. I guess that wasn't the best task to do seeing as I was emotional before I even started it.

Eeek. I know I just need to pull myself together and I'm sure I will do soon. Exams, coursework etc have never fazed me before because I've always been so prepared and organised- this will be the first time I'm really pushed in terms of the deadline. Going to make a big list tonight- a bit of organisation always help me panic less. I wish I could speak to my sup but she's away for a week now...

Sorry. I'm not sure what all this is about. Just needed to write it down.
Thanks....sorry for being useless. I'll be back to normal soon :) KB

I am planning to stick to my maiden name for academic stuff after I get married, although I will take on my fiance's name for everything non-academic. I don't like the idea of having a load of publications in one name and then when you change your name no-one realising that they are yours, although I am aware that some researchers use both surnames with a hyphen in the middle! Also, as petty as it sounds, my surname is quite unusual so I think it would be more memorable in terms of research purposes, whereas my fiance has a very common surname that wouldn't really be memorable. I know that is a bit silly but I just like my surname more! KB

Confusing stuff! Just to add to the confusion- I've presented at conferences in the UK and USA, and when they say 'paper' presentation, they basically mean an oral presentation as opposed to a poster presentation. For all the 'papers' I have presented, I have never once been asked for a written paper, the term 'paper' has just been used to mean 'oral' presentation. It looks like it's different for different subjects/conferences!

My sup has 'recycled' presentations plenty of times for different audiences, and I know other team members have sent their posters to more than one conference as well. I think if it's a different audience it doesn't matter so much. When I was in the states I saw presentations referring to work that had been completed more than a decade ago, so I'm assuming that they were repeating presentations as well. One very well known prof just churned out the contents of a paper that was published almost 20 years ago- I was really disappointed!

Best, KB

Hey! I didn't apply for a fellowship but as a team we applied for a large grant from the ESRC in December and were promised the results in July. Yesterday we were informed that results now wouldn't be available until January, meaning that they're taking over a year to process the application. Needless to say that is too late for the three of us named on the application and we are all now going to have to look for work elsewhere. I suppose they will have different processing times for the different types of award and maybe different committees who make the decisions, but I probably wouldn't hold your breath...good luck though. KB

======= Date Modified 15 Jun 2011 19:20:24 =======
I agree- I think 'methodolody' would be, for example, 'this was a mixed methods study, combining a cross-sectional quantitative study with a qualitative component analysed using grounded theory' ....whereas 'method' is much more precise, including details of measures and so on. That's a bit of a rubbish example, but you get the drift! Best, KB

Done! Good luck! KB

Thanks people! I know, I am 'sort of' relieved that this will all be over in 7 weeks or so. Just a bit of a shock to go from a deadline 3.5 months away to 6 weeks away, and having the viva so soon afterwards. I am completely putting trust in my sups on this one- if they believe I can do it then I'm gonna give it a damn good go. Even if I don't get the fellowship at least this damn thesis will be out of my way :) KB

Well it's done- my submission date is just over 6 weeks from now, with my viva just 6 days after submission. All so I can apply for this fellowship with the silly deadline.

I had gotten used to hoping my viva would be before Xmas and not just after, and now I will be facing it in 7 weeks from now on August 10th. I am terrified! Absolutely terrified. There ain't gonna be much sleep for the next few weeks.

Any words of comfort would be much appreciated :s
A very scared KB

Hey Gemnjam, I would just be honest and tell him you can't do it financially. I'm not sure whether supervisors forget that we aren't made of money or just don't worry about it because it's not their problem- mine is the same, assuming I can hang around for a year to wait to hear the outcomes of fundings applications whilst earning nothing and not applying for other jobs. Just explain the situation- you could see if there's any work going in your department or if you believe you can finish by September then tell him that and go for it! Best, KB

Hey Frew! Mine was actually very informal, and not even remotely scary. I gather it is more formal at a lot of other universities, but for me it was just a case of seeing where I was up to, what written work I'd done (basically my lit review), and whether I knew what direction the study was going in. I don't think many people fail these things unless there is something seriously wrong, so I wouldn't worry too much about it- they are not trying to catch you out and they certainly don't want you to fail. Most people don't know where they're headed for the first few months- I spent ages reading literature that turned out to be completely irrelevant, and so did most other people I know. As long as they can see that you've been doing something for the last year, and that you are closer now to knowing where you're headed with your PhD, you should be fine. Good luck with it- let us know how you get on! Best, KB

Thanks everyone- you've pretty much backed my instinct to go for it! I haven't heard from the external yet so it all depends on that really but if she's okay with it then I'm gonna give it a go! Still a bit scary though! Cheers, KB

Hey Terry! What exactly do you mean by 'positive' and 'negative' results? Do you mean that you didn't find anything that was statistically significant in one way or another? If this is the case then it doesn't necessarily matter- if your studies are sound then don't worry about not finding anything 'new'- even finding nothing can be a new finding if it disproves existing theories or contradicts previous studies etc. I've got a whole chapter where I don't find anything (i.e. no associations between variables or significant differences between two groups) but because this flies in the face of every piece of theoretical literature out there I'm still going to submit it for publication because in finding 'nothing' it potentially disproves a lot of theoretical work. So if that is the case then don't worry about it. If you haven't found anything because your experiments were flawed in some way then that would be different, but I don't think this is what you're suggesting. It might help if you could elaborate a little! What field are you in? Best, KB

Hey Bill!

It really depends on your subject and the university. At my department in the UK (and usually for my subject in general), an MSc is a formal requirement for a PhD application, and this is usually very strict. But for other subjects there is no need to do a masters and you will be able to apply for PhDs without one. I don't know anything about engineering, but I would contact a few departments and ask if they would expect a masters or not- it's the best way to be sure.

Good luck! KB