Welcome back Ev, good to have you onboard again :-). Try not to replay the outburst with your colleagues though that can be difficult I know. Great to hear the PhD is going well.

you probably have seen this already but if not it might be of some assistance...

'Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford and Tomera (2007)
http://www.d.umn.edu/~kgilbert/ened5560-1/Readings/Meta-Analysis%20of%20Responsible%20Environmental%20Behavior-2007.pdf

sorry Batfink, 1987 is a problem; I can only access that journal back to 1994 :-(

without knowing the specifics of the scholarship you have applied for, I would say that €18,000 is the entire amount; it would be very unusual if accommodation costs were also paid. €18,000 would be very tight in Ireland for a family of four to live on. Primary schooling is free but you would have to pay for books, uniforms etc. If your children are pre-school age, that is not free although there is limited assistance from the government for this. Have a look at www.daft.ie for an idea of accommodation costs. Scholarship monies are usually paid direct into your bank account, monthly.

======= Date Modified 25 May 2011 13:31:14 =======
Hi Keebean

just a word or two of support. Stress manifests itself in different ways for different people. The more stressed I feel the more I suppress it but then the more I resent people close to me for not recognising I'm stressed which is completely unreasonable on my part! I have a constant knot of fear in my stomach since I submitted a full draft to my supv last week. I can't stress how terrified I am that he will tell me how far from submission standard it is. HOWEVER, I was so stressed before I handed it over that I put on my airline face (previous existence!), put on the clothes I feel good in. As a result he said "how did you manage to complete a full draft, you must have worked very hard but you certainly don't seem stressed". Unreasonably, I drove home fuming!

You have gizzillions of publications behind you which should tell you how strong your work is. Your uni counsellor retiring at an inoportune time for you is really bad luck. However, that person may very well want to keep in touch with you considering you are so close to submission. Even if not, maybe it might be liberating to speak to somebody new. This write up and submission time is really stressful. I can't wait for it all to be over.

The thing I think that would be niggling away with me is the chance that the viva 'might' be say 8 weeks after submission. So if you are going away for six weeks immediately after submitting, in theory you might only have a fortnight to prepare which would be tough, especially after working so hard these last few years. If, however your supv et al can reassure you that it won't be 'til at least September, start packing those bags!

Can't think of anything else. Certainly don't think it would be a good idea to take any PhD related material with you as you are pretty unlikely to look at it and then the guilt sets in... Organise your papers etc so as to be able to start your viva prep when you get back.

Apart from the specifics of a person's topic, a lot of the PhD process is about effective project management. It is possible to not let it take hold of your life. Having said that, due to family committments it was not possible for me to work 9-5 and so I often had to work weekends, evenings etc. However, I don't think it took over my life. I try to keep a lid on my work when I am with people who don't really understand what's involved as I think it's pretty boring for them.

I think I would go but would advise my supervisor beforehand that you were going to be out of the country for that length of time. Also I would make sure to put 'an out of office' message on my email, just in case you were contacted by the exam board during the time you were away.

You sound close to submitting Pink, I'm really happy for you:-)

On its way :-)

Hi Rob

I can get it for you if you want to pm me your email :-)

You should be able to access the house style rules for contributors in both the hardcopy and online version of the journal. But I agree if in doubt contact the editor. As far as I know it's important not to embed your formatting (in cement!!) so much that it could present a problem bieng re-formatted.

======= Date Modified 20 May 2011 14:20:39 =======
I kept a methodology diary, particularly during my second year which was the year I did all my fieldwork. I found it quite useful, both at the time and also during my write up. I also have multiple notebooks and scraps of paper with reminders to myself. In hindsight it would have been better if I had gotten into the habit of putting all of this stuff in one place!

Hi Globetrotter

I am a social scientist, not a scientist but I can completely identify with the 'it's not good enough' thoughts. I have just handed over a full draft to my supervisor who says he will have it read in two weeks and get back to me. Some of it he has seen, some not. He knows my lit review and my methodology but not my findings so I'm nervous. All I can think about is what if he comes back and says there is a big problem etc. My family mean well and tell me that I always think the worst :$ and it will be fine but no matter how much I'm told that, I can't shake the sheer terror that this time I will be proved correct and them wrong. Others have said that the self-doubt is part of the nature of the beast that is the PhD and although I know that, I still think that while others may think theirs is not good enough, mine is the one that actually isn't good enough!

Good luck with getting your supv agree for you to submit. I know somebody who was told at the eleventh hour to include statistics in what up until then was a completely qualitative PhD. She completely freaked out and got the courage to refuse. She submitted and passed!

Good luck with the viva prep Pineapple, I'll be following your posts.

Your viva prep documents sound comprehensive but don't forget the positives of your PhD as well. On another thread you came up with lots (~15) ways in which you can identify that your thesis is unique or adds to knowledge etc - don't forget ALL of them :-)

Good luck(up)