I'm in social sciences, and it's also 80000-100 000. I'll be doing 100 000 - and also using transcription data. You can't get your words down with a really good edit?

Hi all

This is an interesting thread and one close to my heart, as I studied women's studies for many, many years and have worked in women's policy for the last 15 years. I'm really pushed for time and can't do an indepth response, but wanted to make a few points.

I also don't think article is odd. There has been a wave of women coming out in the past few years blaming feminism for them being told they can 'have it all' and then they've found they can't, that it's too hard trying to balance kids and a career. Or they've not been able to get pregnant as their fertility has declined while they were out building a career - as if a movement which seeks to expand women's choices is at fault because these women have not been aware that fertility declines in your thirties...So, yes, there are women saying that you can't have it all. And no, men don't get told this.

And Stressed, this is the same underpinning as your argument, blaming feminism for your mum not being available to you, and setting women up as superwomen. The thing that these arguments fail to take into account is that feminism is about expanding choices, so women can stay at home or work, but not about making women's lives harder. And the dichotomy between stay at home mums/working women is false anyway, as most women will do both throughout their lives. So while women now do have lots of choices, the underlying system has been slow to change and women have had to try and work within this. And society is very resistant to change and relies on women's unpaid labour, and for women to do all the menial work, so why should it accommodate women's increased aspirations? If, as others have mentioned, we had truly flexible working hours and gender equality in the workplace, with men also willing to work part-time and take time off to look after the kids etc, this would go some way to ensuring that women didn't have to do it all. This is just a start of course. The comment in the article that women 'might want to take a lesser job because their priorities had changed' is outrageous - the solution is not for women to accept lesser jobs - and women's skills are already undervalued in society - but for the quality of part-time jobs to improve, for higher status jobs to be able to be done part-time, for working arrangements to change to accommodate people's lives and for men to also consider working part-time.

Enough from me. I could go on forever about these issues, but don't have time...

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Hi

Glad you're feeling better! How long writing up takes depends on lots of things - how naturally fast you can go, the field you're in, how quickly your sup gives back drafts, how much other work you have on. I expect that writing up will take me a full year - and this is working almost every day, at least 10 hours a day. I write and write, but need to do lots of rewriting. I will also have written a few conference papers and a couple of journal articles in this year, and that's a lot of work. But I'd say plan for at least 6 months - it's better to have an end date and finish early, than have an end date and need an extension, as this places extra pressure on you.

I write one chapter as a time, and have the chapter numbers on my wall and cross them off as I write the first draft, second draft etc. If I did two at a time I wouldn't get to cross them off as quickly, so I do one at a time. I find it more helpful to really focus on one, but I know other people get bored and work on two chapters at a time.

My latest tip for avoiding procrastination is this: www.mytomatoes.com. It's a website that has a timer, so you work hard for 25 minutes, then have a 5 minute break and this site keeps track of how many 'tomatoes' you do each day. My current round of 'fun' is beating my personal best for tomatoes - sad I know, but whatever gets me through!

Hi again Bilbo and Chrisrolinski

I've decided to write this article after all. It should only take 3 weeks, and what's another few weeks in the scheme of things? Have decided that since there's only (!) 6 months to go for me, and I may never study again after this (wishful thinking!!?!) that I should make the most of opportunities. So, have said yes to doing an article and also agreed to present another seminar.

Must remind myself of this when I start to complain about my workload and being behind! Thanks for yor replies.

Well, I had Sunday night off - lovely!! Cooked a nice Mexican dinner, watched a telemovie about Jane Austin, and woke up to a missing dog. Turns out she'd climbed the fence to visit her best doggie friend and had spent the night there - bad dog! Now she's home, looking sheepish, and is doing her proper dog duty keeping me company.

Am eating Vegemite on toast (yes, a stereotypical Aussie) and preparing to start a new phase of the thesis! Hooray!

Thanks Bilbo - that's very sensible advice. And I agree, but then think that maybe if I did this article, it might help me get a job as a researcher in my area, which I'd love, just that in the year that I've been keeping my eye on the job market, haven't seen anything in my area. My field is so niche...

The article would probably take me about 3 weeks to write, then a lot of toing and froing with my sup...and it would mean I've completely missed my goals of what I wanted to achieve by the end of the year!!

...ahh, I hate having options!;-)

Yes, it appears some advertiser with nothing better to do has found this old thread and is now trying to sell us stuff. Why are we taking any notice of a thread that's 2 years old which has been resurrected by an advertiser??

Hi all

Ages ago my supervisor asked me to write an article with her, on a topic related to my thesis but not based on my research, and one which I know about and love.

I'm really in two minds about this - I'm writing up, am way behind schedule, am supposed to submit in 4 months but will need an extension. All I want to do (sort of!) at the moment is write the thing. But at the same time I'd love to write this article and hate to think I'm missing out on writing it if I don't do it.

I was wondering though, how much co-writing this article will help me. By the time I'll have finished my thesis, I'll have four publications - a single authored, a first authored, and two others with people which are on areas related to my thesis but not my research.

Should I grab every opportunity and co-author this publication, even though it's not on my research? Or should I concentrate on my thesis and just get it done? I'm also not really expecting to stay in academia once I've done the PhD, even though I'd love to - there's just no jobs, so maybe don't need this publication just to add to my cv. But I do love the subject matter - not to mention it's an easier way to get published, being a second author.

Thoughts? Thanks heaps.

Well done Matt! (up) Good to hear. Yes, get a plan in place and try and stick to it, just churn it out. Good luck!

Hi Srini

I don't know if my uni offers PhDs in IT - it's not my area. Have a look at this site for a list of Australian universities as a starting point: http://www.australian-universities.com/ .

Hi Pucko

I don't think you should change supervisors at this late stage - if you did, it would be doubtful that you'd finish in 6 months. A new supervisor would take a while to get up to speed with your work and could possibly want to change direction. Do you have a co-supervisor you can talk to about this? I think you need to have a really honest conversation with your supervisor and tell them what you've told us. It sounds like your supervisor is really insecure - competing with students is a classic sign of insecurity - so this could be more about them, than you. They might be unaware that they're making you feel like this.

So, I would be brave, and go and talk to them. There is the chance that this could make things worse of course, and in that case, that's why I think you also need to talk to someone else, like a co-supervisor to get some additional support. This is a tough situation.

You also sound like you've been coping and getting your work done without your sup's help, so well done you! You must be a strong person. If your relationship with your sup doesn't improve, it sounds like you're resilient and aware, and would be able to complete with just a little bit of help. You're almost there! Hang onto that, try and get some additional support, and good luck!

Hi KC

Doesn't your subject have a course outline which details how the assessment is based and what is required for each grade? The courses I've taught on have outlined what students need to do to get a distinction, credit, pass etc etc. Also, all the students should be being told the same thing, and in my experience, all student requests go to one person so they all get the same advice. I'd also be referring them to the course co-ordinators.

Hi Srini, I'm doing a PhD in social sciences in Australia. Is there something specific you'd like to know?

Hi there

I think it's inevitable that you doubt your work - lots of us do. We all harbour doubts and wonder if our work if PhD standard - that's natural, this whole process makes you question yourself. Your work is good enough - your supervisor hasn't said anything to the contrary have they? Have faith in yourself.

As for procrastination - this shows you're feeling overwhelmed. Break your work down into little tasks, and do them, tick them off, one by one. Get a timer, and work for 15 minutes, then have a break, then do some more work. Jojo's right, read Joan Bolker - she talks about this. Just do a little bit, then keep going. Plan rewards when you've done those little bits of work.

You say you have no idea when you're going to finish - have you done a plan for your thesis? If not, do this as a start. Not knowing how long you've got left would be a big demotivator, with no end in sight. And you don't want to keep going forever! So, draw up a plan, chapter by chapter, map it out, and work out your end date and the goals you need to meet.

As for people asking you about your thesis - I get sick of this question too, and normally make a joke about it not being proper to ask a PhD student how their thesis is going. I also have a t-shirt which reads 'don't ask me about the thesis!', which I love a lot.

Now money - yes, go cheap for Christmas. Go to bargain shops, 2nd hand shops, markets, pick up inexpensive things for people. Let people know there's a budget this year, and not to spend too much on you as well.

Hope some of this helps and you get back into the swing of things.