Hi Nevyn! I'm in my final year doing a psych PhD, and did an MSc prior to this. The MSc is pretty important for getting a funded PhD in psych in the UK as they're pretty competitive, so I definitely think you're going in the right direction with this. In terms of funding for the PhD, there are a number of places you can apply to. Sometimes there are departmental scholarships (several people in each year here are funded by the department, and they offered to fund my PhD if I couldn't find alternative funding). Aside from this there are research organisations you can apply to such as the ESRC, MRC (depending on your project) or WORD (if you are in Wales). It is also worth looking for a 1+3 ESRC award which would pay for your MSc and PhD, but I'm not positive the scheme is still running so check it out. Sometimes there are one-off scholarships for PhD students to compete for, so have a good look on the internet to see if you can find anything like that. But I think the best thing to do is approach the potential supervisor for your first choice project and ask him/her about funding opportunities. If you do your MSc there you will have time to put together applications with your potential PhD supervisor throughout the year. I am in a really large department and nobody here is self-funding, so hopefully with a bit of perseverence you will find something. I wouldn't recommend taking on a full-time RA position and trying to balance your PhD with that- it would take you well over your three years to complete and you would most likely have to go part-time. There is always teaching work on offer but I think you would have to do a lot to cover your costs for the entire PhD. I would defo aim for full funding. Good luck with it! KB

And if they're lucky they might get a nice few publications with their name on out of it! KB

Hey GreenT, I don't have the same problem as you regarding supervisors (I have 2, and basically the 2nd one is only involved to help me recruit my participants!) but I can sympathise with you with the harsh criticism on your 'brief introductory essay'! It seems that some sups can't deal with anything that is meant to be a draft/preliminary work, and feel the need to mark it as though it is your final draft ready to send off for publication! I had this rather awful experience just last week after deliberately handing in a very basic framework that I was hoping might develop into a paper, only to have it thrown back at me with a whole load of patronizing (and irrelevant at this stage) feedback! But to get back to your main point, it sounds as though you need to have a chat with your main sup about the problems you are experiencing with having so many supervisors, and make it clear that you are struggling to meet all their different requirements. Hopefully you can sort out a plan of action with your main sup (including priorities and not-so-priorities) and try to stick to that one, instead of trying to please all 4 at once- that is enough to drive anyone mad. Having said that, you are lucky to have 4 such experts to confer with, so make sure you do your best to comply with their wishes as far as possible- you never know when you might need their expertise! Good luck with it, KB

I suppose I'm reasonably lucky- my family are pretty supportive, but then it's not like I have to live with them or they would probably drive me mad. They don't really understand much about my PhD but they always ask how it's going. My fiance is mostly understanding as well, but it does frustrate me that sometimes he'll just ask if we can meet up for a day in the week- I treat my PhD like a job so certainly don't take days off in the week, but he seems to think it's just like being a student and I don't actually have to work all day every day! Yet if I asked him to meet up on a day when he has a shift he would look at me like I was crazy! I suppose that's a pretty minor thing though. I will be dedicating my thesis to my grandparents (2 of whom had dementia- the subject of my PhD) and I suppose I will put a thank you in for the rest of my family, but I won't be going overboard! Best, KB

Hey Hector, sounds like you're in such a tough position, I really feel for you. How long do you have left to complete your PhD? I think you need to have a proper meeting with your PhD committee and discuss exactly what is going to go into your thesis, in terms of data and how you are going to write it up. It's great that you have made a discovery and only right that you would want the credit for it, although I can also see the need for others to become involved if there is a lot more work to be done in terms of interpretation etc. Still, I would fight to be lead author or at least to be able to present your finding at relevant conferences. But the main thing for now is to move forward with your PhD, then move on to another lab where you are happier and where you will not be exploited and your work will be recognised. There might also be a little tension because you have an MD...scientists are funny people sometimes, maybe one or two feel threatened by the fact you're already a doc? It wouldn't surprise me! Good luck with it, KB

Hey! I reckon so, especially if the examiners and supervisor know each other. The last student in my team to take her viva was told as soon as she went in that she had nothing to worry about. BUT I have another pal whose examiners and supervisor went out for a meal the night before the viva, and after the meal his sup phoned him to say he had nothing to worry about. But after a 4 hour viva the following morning he was failed and given a year to revise and resubmit (which he did, and passed the year after). So...I won't be trusting anyone's word until I've finished the viva and heard the result from the horse's mouth! Best, KB

Hey. I have had lots of fun with journal editor/reviewer comments since I am researching quite a controversial topic, but I have always managed to get them published in the end without compromising my argument. I think you need to get a balance- make the changes that you can bear to make even though you don't whole-heartedly agree with them, but I certainly wouldn't weaken the strength of your argment if you genuinely believe in it. If you give a good enough reason why you don't want to make a certain change, then often your defence will be accepted if it is reasonable. One paper I wrote was actually originally rejected by my first choice journal, but my sup said the comments from both one of the reviewers and the editor were unreasonable and unsound, so we wrote back to the editor who admitted we had made very gstrong points, and then the paper was sent to three further reviewers and eventually accepted. So I would concede a little and make some changes, but I certainly wouldn't change your argument to suit that of the editor or weaken your paper by making changes you don't agree with. At the end of the day, if it doesn't get accepted you will be able to send it elsewhere anyway. Good luck, KB

Hi sarah, I have presented preliminary findings at a conference although they were quantitative, but I did have to write an abstract to present a qualitative study once before I had done the analysis! I think it's absolutely fine to say that it's a work in progress and to just present any emerging themes and give an idea of how common the themes are if possible at this stage. I would definitely include quotes- I think doing that helps to keep the audience awake! You can also go on to say what you will do next and how you expect things to turn out. I wouldn't worry too much- plenty of people present work in progress and that won't make it any less interesting or valuable for the audience. Good luck with it, KB

Hi Dark_Jester! It is helpful to attend conferences to network and to disseminate your results, but it is definitely more important in most subjects to get some publications, although I don't know if this is true of your topic. Your supervisor will be able to tell you whether there are any suitable conferences in your area, I'd be surprised if there were not at all! However, I don't think conferences will be that important or have much influence over the viva so I wouldn't worry too much about that! Best, KB

Hey Natassia! I would just send them what you've done this Thursday (so they know that you've done something!) but explain the situation and tell them that you will send an updated version on Monday and you would prefer that they wait to look at the updated version if possible. I don't think it will be a problem at all- I know with my supervisor she always urges me only to send her stuff when I have done my best on it, rather than sending her a rough and hurried version, so I doubt they'll mind! Best, KB

Hey Hcark! I am also in the writing up phase, and it is of course hard work. I don't think it's fair of them to give you a hard time over not being able to go out with them every weekend, especially given that you are doing your best to keep in touch with them. I would just try to explain again that you have a lot of different pressures at the moment and you are doing your best to balance them, but ask for their patience for a few months until you are through with your thesis. Most likely they just don't really understand the type of work and the pressure- I went through this when I was doing my MSc whilst living with undergrad students. When you are done with your thesis and you've got the time to attend your usual nights out they will soon forget about the current time period. If they are good friends they will try to understand and not put you under even more pressure. Just make sure you keep in touch as best you can so you're not behind on any big news or goss, because that can make you feel even more alienated! Good luck with the write-up and the friends thing! KB

I'll certainly agree on that Eska, but given the last week of my life I'm not sure I want to get too involved in this particular debate! If a person's comments on a forum are persistently and unneccessarily viscious, aggressive and unpleasant, and cause the targeted poster to experience extreme distress over a period of time, and even symptoms of depression requiring medical attention- yes, I think that is bullying. I don't really draw much of a distinction between bullying and cyberbullying- I'm not sure how useful or relevant that distinction is. That is my opinion given recent events, obviously others will disagree (as we well know!!). Best, KB

Hey Sneaks, definitely do it! You just never know- a lad from our department recently got a lecturer post at another uni before he had his viva (I think he had 2 or 3 publications) with no additional experience. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. And if you don't get it- don't take it personally (says the queen of taking things personally) - they are interviewing for 2-4 lecturer posts at my department right now, and there were 120 applicants and they are interviewing about 16, so it's tough competition but you just never know. Loads of luck, KB

Well I guess I should comment on this since I'm at the centre of it. I absolutely do not believe that the sort of post CC made was acceptable by anyone's standards. And no, I am not that thick-skinned that things like that bounce off me- I found it incredibly offensive and downright insulting, which only adds to the difficulties I am experiencing already. That vicious type of post will never help anyone to just 'bounce back' and is actually extremely dangerous in respect to people who are already very vulnerable. Luckily I am tough enough to stand up for myself and put up a fight, but not everyone would feel able to. I can appreciate that it is okay to have differences in opinion and share those on the forum, but it is never okay to be so disrespectful and make so many incorrect and vile assumptions about a person. Only very bitter and narrow-minded people resort to this in my view. In fact, if you look at the posts left by CC, none of them are actually remotely relevant to the original post- it is just a vicious and aggressive attack based on absolutely nothing. and the same poster was also abusive to a number of other people last week. If this bullying is allowed to continue then I will not remain a member of this forum on principle, although I would be very sad because I have enjoyed being a part of it for the last couple of years. I agree that some of CC's comments are slightly more lighthearted and vaguely humorous, but this latest lot are a disgrace. I suppose there is some reason behind such appalling behaviour, but being at the brunt of it I can't find it in myself to be very sympathetic, no matter what the cause. Bullying is bullying, and CC has shown himself to have a very ugly personality. Many more people on the forum have thankfully shown themselves to be decent follk who will stand up for something they believe in, which gives me some of my faith back. Thanks to all of those people. I personally will not be returning to this site now until this has been dealt with, and will ask a couple of my trusted forum buddies to email me when that is the case. Best wishes all, and thanks for your support. KB

Hey Jenny! There are quite a few of us on this forum struggling with mental health problems whilst trying to do a PhD, and it can make a tough job even harder. I personally am struggling with bipolar disorder and have just also been diagnosed with PTSD which is making my life a bit tough right now. Although I don't know if anyone on the forum has OCD, I have a friend doing a PhD and she suffers really badly with it, but she is just about coping with the PhD. I know she has found it helpful to go to the uni counselling service, and she also sees a CPN and has recently gone back on medication which has helped to ease things a little. I don't know if you have tried any of these things? I think it would be a real shame to quit the PhD because you have obviously worked hard and coped with the OCD well enough to get to where you are now. Do your sups know about the OCD? If not, it might be worth letting them know- I have always been completely open with my sup about my health issues so she understands if I'm struggling a bit. It might be worth speaking to your PhD chairperson if you want some sort of idea of where you are up to without asking your sup's. I don't see mine often, but last time I saw her she was really reassuring and told me I was doing fine and running on time etc, so it might be worth noting down all the work you have completed and speaking to him/her. One thing I wouldn't so is compare yourself to other students, because everyone has their own pace and it's easy to think that people are further ahead than you when actually they are just doing things in a different order or something. I would def make sure you are getting maximum support with your OCD too, and maybe go back to your doctor for some more advice. Meanwhile, chin up girl :) KB