Just wondering how long people suspect their thesis will be in terms of word count (those that are currently writing up or have submitted?)

My thesis is running very on the long side even with me being very selective over the themes and data discussed!

I'm sorry you had this experience, if it helps, I had a bit of a similar experience with my confirmation too! One of the examiners was fairly new to the university, and it was quite clear they wanted to grandstand. Yes, the asked challenging questions which I expected, and when I asked them to rephrase they looked at me like I was really stupid. They were also really patronising and kept asking me really detached questions in order to shift the focus on to their own published work. It knocked my confidence a lot so that, when the second examiner began asking me very straight forward questions, I felt so unsure of my answers that I came across as lacking confidence. I passed though, so try not to fret too much yet!

Sent my first findings chapter to my supervisor last week, they have provided feedback on just the first five pages but said they will get around to the rest of it soon. Today I have just started on the second findings chapter, just drafting a structure now and from the detailed notes I made last year, it doesn't seem as painful a task as I suspected it to be! The last findings chapter took MONTHS and was 20k, aiming for this one to be around 10 k.

Wishing everyone here a productive week!

I am currently writing up. I am aiming to submit one chapter every two months then two months to apply feedback which I feel is doable. However, if you can, budget time for 'unexpected life things'! I am going to be submitting my draft on my funding deadline rather than the final thesis as I landed in hospital during the first two months of my write up schedule requiring surgery which put me out of action. I was always on target until then, so it is always good to leave some additional time!

By the way, my thesis is in social science.

1. I privately rent, but it has been unstable as I have moved twice during my studies (past 3 years) due to landlords selling the property I was renting. International students in my department all have the university owned accommodation. I would recommend this over private as it is difficult, costly and stressful to secure a private rent even as a home student (high letting agent fees, required to supply lots of documentation and references just to be considered for a property etc.)

2. As others have mentioned, self-catering means you cook for yourself! The student accommodation that I have seen in Sheffield always has a small kitchen with cooking appliances.

3. I am on the same stipend and I manage just fine! It covers all my rent, bills, transport, food etc. Sheffield is reasonably priced as it is up North. If you were heading to study in London for instance, you would struggle on this amount but up North you will be comfortable on this.

4. NHS- usually when you enroll you will be asked if you would like to join the University health centre and asked to complete a (usually online) medical questionnaire.

Just looking for some experiences and advice I suppose. I am on my final year of my PhD and everything was going very smoothly actually until recently.

I was starting to write up my findings before I had entered my final year, I was submitting to journals and conferences etc. being very productive and balancing all of this very well with a demanding GTA position.

I had a few rubbish things happen in a short space of time around 6 weeks ago. A parent was diagnosed with cancer and I discovered that there is a very strong family history of this. I was then referred to a history clinic by my GP which I am still waiting to attend to discuss genetic testing. Less than a week later, I was advised I needed surgery for a different health issue that has been ongoing for many years.

A couple of weeks ago, the pain due to my health condition took an ugly turn and I was signed off sick until after I have had the operation and recovered. Although I have accepted I am unwell to the extent I cannot do simple daily activities, I felt a little like a let down for having to take time off from the teaching. I am on official leave from my studies for the next month due to the health issues.

I am struggling though with feeling as though my being very much 'on track' is slipping and I feel as though I am now dropping behind which makes me feel anxious. I am bed ridden a lot of the time and on narcotics and I have revisions to submit to journals and a conference next month to prepare for and lots of teaching prep.

I suppose I am just looking for some experiences and/or advice on how to 'accept' that it is ok to take a break from the phd due to such reasons? Have you ever had to take time out? How did you cope?

I receive quarterly payments which total up to 14k annually which is correct.

Or do you mean that your payment schedule only totals to 7k? If you are part time, you only receive half of the full stipend

I came across a reference that suggested women provided more qualitative data recently. Google 'Narratives of the night: The use of audio diaries in researching sleep'. It does not concern qualitative interviewing, but qualitative audio diaries and states that women's diaries were 15% longer than men's. So, it does not answer if women are 'more likely' to participate but that they may provide a little more qualitative data. Unsure how helpful this is though!

I think asking friends and family to proof read is a good idea Lemonjuice. Have you considered paying for some proof reading (if you are able to) for a couple of your chapters? I understand that there will not be enough time for the whole thesis to be professionally proof read, but maybe a chapter or two that you feel less confident about?

Thank you Chococake! A few of them do require major redrafting (literature review mainly) which I plan to tackle when the findings are done. I am finding writing the final few chapters very slow and tedious though; I am starting to drift into that 'I just want it done now' frame of mind!

I have also just begun my 3rd year- It has gone so fast!

Like Wowzers, my research is also a qualitative study in education.

I did vow not to take anything extra in my third year after my second year was crammed full of teaching. Yet, I have agreed to teach for the first semester and I am presenting at a conference in a few months time (and applying for another). Though, I am doing the conferences now as I had little time in my second year due to my teaching schedule.

Writing wise, I have five chapters drafted (as like others here, I wrote as I went along) but they still need revision. I have just begin writing up my findings, though it is going very slowly! I am currently applying major corrections to a journal article which is incredibly time consuming :/

I am aiming to have a full draft for next summer :)

Just to follow on from awsoci's point about revisions (and I know which post is being referred to here) the 'rounds' of feedback provided on chapters of your thesis is dependent on your supervisor. Yes, keep revising work; I have found a huge chunk of PhD time in the latter half is spent on revising, updating, editing and perfecting. Some supervisors will be happy to look at numerous versions of one chapter, whereas others may have preferences or rules for this. It is a good idea from the start to have a discussion with your supervisor about what both of your expectations are, as this can prevent problems later on.

Hi Wowzers,

I go for method (a) and I agree with Ellebelle's reasoning. Also, my supervisor will only read one draft of each chapter before a full draft is submitted. Yet, I like this method as it allows you to move on! I think I would have lost motivation many months ago had I been stuck repeatedly revising one chapter over and over.

Also MrDoctor's comments are useful- I have found that I often return to previously drafted chapters and add notes to remind me to incorporate new relevant material when I come to redraft the thesis as a whole.

Hi thank you for your replies,

Yes I believe I took too much on, and thankfully it will be finished in a few weeks until the next academic year (where I have agreed to just one role as opposed to the three that I am currently doing across two institutions!)

I am hopeful that it will balance out as you suggest glowworm, and TreeofLife- thank you for your comments on this. I have not completely neglected my PhD but feel as though there are not enough hours in the day I suppose!