Wow, chrisrolinski, you're almost there now! This time tomorrow, you'll have a whole load of thesis-related pressure removed. You can do it!

Right, I'm done for the night. I'm going to chill for half and hour, just mulling things over, and then get back to it in the morning. I've come to realise that there's no point in consistently burning the midnight oil because you pay for it the next day in terms of having to sleep in a little longer than you should and feeling generally tired.

Word of the day: lethargy.

Thought of the day: Should I buy one of those new Dyson cyclone fans?

Awww, glad you had a really good day off, Pink_numbers. More and more reading so far today. I'm starting to feel a tiny bit more confident about things though. I'll carry on and hopefully wrap up the matter of reading and not taking before the night is out. You know you're overdoing the reading when you get to a chapter in a book called, Feminism and Mixed Methods Research. Yer what!? Je ne comprends pas cette merde!

Happy birthday for tomorrow, slizor - hope it's a good 'un! I'd post on this thread properly but I don't deserve to after the day of zero progress I've had.

Hmm, not the best of days with regards to writing. I've essentially just read, read and read some more. I've also been fantasising about having different careers in alternative realities. Instead of writing up, I've imagined myself as a famous novelist, a gifted Shakespearian actor, a footballer, world's strongest man (only proper muscles - not a gut), brilliant but reclusive inventor, and because I was listening to the Bottom Line starring Evan Davis (Radio 4), CEO of a powerful multinational company. Then I came to and realised that I was staring at a blank word document. Oh well, a bit of sleep and then I'll get back to things.

Word of the day: Career.

Thought of the day: Will I be a student ever again after all this?

I don't usually read this paper, but this article about the match is quite funny. Look at the optical illusions picture: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1290060/World-Cup-2010-Virals-hit-internet-fans-react-fury-Frank-Lampards-disallowed-goal.html

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time, Keenbean. You work exceptionally hard and you're well on track, so don't worry about taking a week off to recharge your batteries. Health is the most important thing of all and you can't function properly (academically or generally) without it. I'm glad to hear that you have a supportive supervisor who fully understands your circumstances and is helpful. Don't worry about the corrections with your journal article. In fact, don't worry about anything work related. You're on top of it all. Just give yourself a week of tlc and relaxation. Just you with your friends and your family.
I think that so much is expected of you because you're so capable- see it as a form of flattery. Of all the posters on this forum that have discussed their history as it relates to their academic careers, I find yours the most inspiring. You have a steely resolve, great determination and a wealth of coping strategies. But honestly, Keenbean, you can't go on working without taking a break occasionally. And you know better than anyone that you'll get through this period because you've faced and overcome bigger challenges than this in the past. Just relax, try not to think about work and come back to it in a week with fresh eyes. Take care and have a nice break.

England 1, Germany 4. Alan Shearer spitting feathers on the BBC. What a way to go out of the World Cup.

Ignore the typos below. I have no 'edit post' button.

I day of ponderance and preponderance (in terms of reading journal articles). I can integrate my results, thus really satisfy my methodological approach by integrating the results chapters thematically. I can even do simple cross descriptive cross analyses. Anyway, I've read through some PhD theses today that claim to be mixed mothods but aren't. They're actually multi-method. So, there's life in the old dog yet.

Word of the day: pimples.

Thought or the day: Why the hell at age 29?

Pink_numbers, the truth is that I don't necessarily pay much attention to the audiobook when I'm working. I catch little bits of it here and there, so vaugely follow the plot.

Nice to hear it's going well for you, Pink_Numbers. And welcome aboard, Livvie. Haven't managed to do anything yet, as I've been shopping for essential food supplies, washing up liquid and deodorant. And, then, with it being such a nice day, I thought I'd go for a walk. So, then, it's a case of getting back to it now.

I think I'll finish my reading and note taking, today, and worry about writing tomorrow. I hate football, so the match will offer no distraction. I've been trying to find an audiobook to listen to as I work. I've got one called Giants of the Frost which, interestingly enough, is about a PhD student on an island writing up her PhD thesis. I thought, 'how apt!'. Then I read the description of it in a little more detail and it seems that an enigmatic stranger arrives on the island and it turns into a romance novel. No thanks! So, with the only other immediate options being 'How to Become a Millionnaire in 3 Yeas', 'Activate Your Sexual Magnetism' and 'The Assassin', I've opted for the last one.

Good luck for the rest of the day, everyone. ;-)

To make the parts greater than the whole,
To make quan and qual have soul,
Two strangers with opposing views who bicker,
I must pair them as lovers who glitter.

But how can I make them speak the same language?
When the Great Paradigm Wars leave me feeling so languid?
When one speaks numbers, the other words?
The thought that they could have a love child simply absurd?

Family planning should have been at the top of my research agenda,
Insead it has left my structural design looking like a bad game of Jenga.
Will it fall or will it stand?
Or has my research always been stuck in sinking sand?

Well, that's my writing up done for the day. Alas, it would seem that I might have overlooked a few critical technical details in the design of my research. I shouldn't have learnt to run before I could walk, basically. In learning the essentials of survey methology, descriptive phenomenology, pschometrics, cognitive interviewing and then some, I've overlooked how all the stuff should be integrated - a mainstay of the mixed methodologist. I think the problem of working within an emerging paradigm is that new rules and ways of doing things, superior explanations and insights, can emerge in the blink of an eye, while you're bug asking Mrs Friggingbottom what she thinks of your questionnaire. Apologies, I'm thinking aloud and possibly rambling. I'm strangely calm about it though because it means two things: a lovely reflective chapter on my use of mixed methods and fodder for my discussion. Plus there's lots of ways of integrating data. Maybe nothing fancy like a cross over analysis, since I can't spin gold from straw like old Rumplestiltskin could. It's just a shame that my viva examiner is a mixed methods supremo - and he really won't like this. I think a new meeting is in order with my supervisors to tell them how I've managed to mess something else up.

Thanks for your kind words pinknumbers. I wouldn't see it as a case of me being far ahead and you not, since things always have to be re-written and re-structured. So, I think we're both at the same stage. Keep me posted frequently on your progress and I'll do likewise on mine. It could prove really helpful with motivation. I'm still stuck making notes at the mo, haven't really done much writing. Things are getting more and more complicated; the molehill has become the mountain. Still, there's 5 or 6 hours worth of work left in me for today, so maybe I can turn things around.

And urrrghhh! I won't have anyone slagging off Rambo 4! That was actually a serious film, highlighting the issue of mass genocide in Burma. It's only because of Sylvester Stallone and his humanitarian efforts (through making thinking man's movies) that the world has been made more aware of of the crises happening there. Sneak's man should be applauded for taking her to see that movie and opening her mind to what's really happening in the far corners of the globe.


Walminski's thought for the day: If you were a world renowned expert in a particular discipline would you be helpful to research beginners and novices if the sent you an inquisitive e-mail?

Walminski's word of the day: : Asda.

I am hoping to get it handed in for chrimbo, yes. Sneaks, you'll my have to watch Rambo1,2,3,4 and 5 (coming out this autumn) to really understand why a vietnam vet is weary of war. Rambo is so sick of war in fact, he travels all around the world in his movies waging a one man war against entire armies with just a bow and swiss army knife premium edition. Algeaqueen, you'll get there - I'm certain.

Okay, have been making some notes so far. Almost finished doing that now.

For the rest of today, the mission is simple: finish the first draft of my methodology chapter and e-mail it to my supervisory team. If I do that today, I can use Saturday to plan out my results chapters.