Hi Cat

It does sound like the bar is quite high for that one. I hope you hear back from them soon. Good luck!

Tudor

I still think you should politely ask!

But if you don't want to (and I don't blame you!) just keep on working toward your postdoc - presenting at conferences and publishing where possible. At the end of the day it will be you who is applying for postdocs and if your research profile is good (in line with career stage) then you'll be competitive.

There's no harm in trying with the old school but be prepared that it might not get you anywhere. I can imagine they might just say you need to re apply like any other potential student and start from scratch if accepted. Did you downgrade your PhD to an MPhil when you left?

Hi Cat123

You will probably hear soon. It's still not too late to rule out interview - sometimes they take a while to shortlist and I think things might be slower due to lockdown. Good luck!

Ps. I am curious about the stipulation for 3 papers. I have never seen this quantified before. Was it an actual requirement?

Why is she suggesting that? Would be useful to know her reasoning. In the end, you can go for what you want. You might find that you are funneled toward one thing simply because of circumstances (e.g., not many postdocs and more industry jobs at a given time), but that doesn't mean you can't have Plan A goals. Have you let her know that you actually want to do a postdoc?

Just wondered - do you have supervisors or is this somehow totally independent?

I am not sure I understand your question. You will need to submit a thesis I think - either a traditional thesis or a thesis by publication (3 or so papers with an intro and discussion section to wrap them all up). I think there is a third option, which is PhD by publication without necessarily forming a thesis. I am not sure if that option actually exists anymore. This is for the UK anyway. May be different elsewhere.

Oh OK... I see! I normally take it very seriously and even say "in a prior study Bloggs et al did x" instead of "in a prior study we did x" so as not to reveal authorship. Thanks for the tips. I'll try the "redacted for anonymity" if I don't just state the name then. I didn't realise it wasn't really important. I guess it can be fairly easy to guess who the authors are anyway, if you are familiar with people's work. Thanks again.

Hello,

I know how to prepare blind versions of papers for submission to journals. But is there a way to really make it blind when you are referring to a sample of participants who are a subset from an earlier published study that you have to reference? (eg. the full sample is described in Bloggs et al 2019)?

Just wondering if there is any way around revealing my identity in this way (it would be obvious that I am Bloggs as it is a small sample of human participants and we don't usually share this kind of data).

Not sure if I've explained this properly...

Thanks!

Yes, I agree with the above. If you have a think about any general or specific questions you might have beforehand it might be helpful. You could ask about the lab and the other PhD students, and how the working arrangements will be. Congrats on your offer!!!

Definitely OK. Mine was pretty crap in my own opinion. The PhD is an apprenticeship in research (that's how I view it anyway), not your lifework or the best work you will ever do. Pass with minor corrections is a great outcome.

Something that could help might be to list the inadequacies of the research as you now see them. And also list how you would address each one / do it differently. That way you are learning from your experience and making something positive from it.

Maybe you could seek to address your feelings in different ways - like really challenge your thoughts that are taking you to that place. By the sounds of it you have done fantastically and are doing fantastically (recently passing the PhD and now polishing up papers for publication doesn't sound like being an inadequate researcher to me). Congratulations!

I understand your frustration but it is just one of those things. Use the 3 weeks to do some fun relaxing things and then just refresh on your thesis a day or two before. While it is unfortunate that your viva is delayed due to someone being unwell, you might also try and extend to them some understanding!

Hi Jamie

I hope you are staying well too. I am wondering if it's usually something done collaboratively - where editors of a book would contact people and ask them to author a chapter if they have knowledge on that aspect of the subject? A bit like presenting at a symposium at a conference - someone you know might ask you to present in theirs if your work is related and fits well? I haven't seen calls for book chapters (whereas I have seen calls for papers in a special issue of a journal, for example). This is why I assume it is done collaboratively, and probably led by the editors of the book, but I could be wrong.

Another option could be to write the chapters as papers in relevant methodological/applied or theoretical journals. I have often seen useful papers with people sharing methodological or technical expertise, that are quite detailed and seem to be akin to book chapters.

Tudor

I think it is quite common actually. In fact, sometimes it happens that a person leaves like a year in to pursue a different PhD project. Similarly, sometimes people accept a job (we need an occupation right...) - and then leave if their dream job comes up. It isn't exactly welcomed as it is a pain for the persons hiring. But usually funding is recyclable and so won't go to waste. I wouldn't say anything at this stage though in case the Australia one doesn't work out. Consequences... none I don't think unless you then want to work closely with them again in the near future - that probably wouldn't go down so well after leaving.

Ps. I understand the conflicting feelings. I was awarded funding for 2 PhDs and accepted one because I felt somewhat obliged to, when actually I should have accepted the other. It wasn't an identical situation but I think in hindsight it makes me think that you just have to do what's best for you sometimes (within reason of course - not at the personal expense of others). You could always make a decision once you hear back from the Aus one and just keep options open for now.

Is this an undergrad dissertation, Masters, or PhD?