No matter how thorough you are, you can miss something... hence I feel the need for a disclaimer. But I will only use it very sparingly, and ditch the "our"! Cheers

Is it OK to say "to my knowledge"/"to our knowledge" in the literature review of the PhD? I have read widely but I don't want to make the statement without that little disclaimer. But then I don't want to appear wishy washy or to lazy to have made 100% certain...
What do people think?

Thanks - approaching it with that attitude sounds more manageable. I've also sent my supervisor an outline (just a list of contents/subheadings) so will get their input.

I don't mean the one that is due at the end of the year - this is a sort of preliminary one I guess.

My first year lit review is due at the end of Jan... I can factor in 3 solid weeks for it and I've got a guide of about 5000 words. Do people think this is do-able? I've been reading and have a general grasp of the area and what is out there. I usually read and write slowly and labourously (?) over weeks and weeks and weeks. So I just feel a bit like oops, is this gonna work. Any thoughts/advice appreciated!

Good advice - thank you.

Hello
I wasn't really sure which category I should post this under...
I'm submitting a journal for publication and my target journal guidelines state: "authors should note that the journal uses a zero before a decimal number less than one." I had learnt the rule that when a value could not exceed one (e.g., a p value or correlation coefficient), the leading zero should always be omitted (e.g., .05). Do you think that this stipulation in their guidance should over-rule that rule, i.e., that I should include the leading zero regardless?
Thank you :-)

Hello

My advice would be to definitely apply for both (as funding is so competitive so best to put your eggs in more than one basket). If you have people in mind who could potentially supervise your project, I would talk to them about it and see if they are on board (by the sounds of it they would be!) and will support you in putting an application in. Be open at the outset that you are thinking of applying at two institutions to increase your chances of getting funding. Once you have their support you can draft the proposal (or two slightly different version of the proposal based on the different funding you are applying for and the different input/guidance that your supervisor may give). The beauty of getting them on board is that can give specific feedback on your proposal before submitting it.

My advice is based on my application for funding a year or so ago. Others may disagree but it worked for me. I would just emphasize the being open about applying at two universities part - especially as you will potentially be relying on each of them to provide you with references.

Good luck!

OK, I am getting support then if that is what is the norm. I just thought there might be more at the beginning in terms of the actual conceptualization of the studies. To help bring it up to that higher level (I can see that it could be better but I think I lack the experience to get it there - so that kind of support in the form of advice is what I mean).

I guess it depends on the field and phd. Mine is psychology and I'm taking the alternative thesis route, so my thesis should consist of a set of papers. We are expected to have submitted for the first publication in the first year. Any advice on my actual question? :)

I'm in my first year of the phd. I've planned some studies and will be collecting data for it, and I already have in mind the kind of journals that it could be published in. Their quality is average - to - low average. I want to do better than that but I don't feel I have the skill yet to accomplish it alone, given that I am a new phd student. But I feel 100% that I could accomplish it with some support. Is it normal in the 1st year that I should expect my supervisor to support me to do better than I could do alone / without support? I mean in terms of planning studies that could be submitted to high quality journals........

Hello, I'm not in your field, but for my undergraduate dissertation I had to draw on literature from several related fields to make a case for my study. It was coherent in the end. If you could never do research because an area is underresearch then no research would ever have been done! You could always ask your sup for advice on the reading/areas to draw on in writing your introduction.
Hope this helps.

No, I don't think so. They know it is from him since he has emailed it. As far as I recall neither of my references were signed. I don't think it will do any harm as long as it was not a specific requirement. If you feel really bad then just contact the admin team and check. And if they say a signature is needed, go back to your referee and request one.
Good luck.

Good point - and the reviewers comments will be helpful at any rate

Do you have an advisor? (at my institute we have both supervisors and an advisor)