My pre-PhD life was in an airport -between immigration issues, unaccompanied minors being forgotten, people travellling under difficult circumstances, death-emergencies, passengers who leave their false arm behind in their hotel (yes!!), tired and emotional passengers (read drunk) it's not just the passengers who might need a social worker; the staff could often do with one at times.

question my ability ... my research ... my topic ... juggling the guilt of studying vs parenthood - the whole darn kit and caboodle (sprout)(mince)(turkey), my turn ;-)

A lot of very helpful, honest posts here - seems like we're all tying ourselves up into knots. Good to know it's not just me!

I'm in Vivien Leigh mode today as in "tomorrow is another day". Let's hope it's the day when I crack the code to writing this PhD:-(

That's a valid point in one way Chococake. However, I don't see it as much as what you write now later being found to be incorrect (althought that can happen as well). It's more that you mature as a researcher as you go along and the level of abstraction you derive from something is likely to be more refined the further you are in the process. Plus, if you are industry based it would seem to me a good idea to keep an eye on current developments and include up-to-date literature. Mine is more practice based and even though my lit review is done, I have updated it with 2010/2011 publications. It also makes any recommendations you make more valid. No point recommending something that somebody else covers in a more up-to-date publication.

You certainly can write your lit review now but I think you should still expect to refine and update it as you go. Unless it's obvious from the start that yours is a historical examination of a topic, you could be criticised for just looking back, not forward. There is little that you write during your PhD that you do not re-visit, in some form or other.

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I agree with the others to write as you go if at all possible. I did (sort of) but having to do a load of assignments along the way made it difficult to really crack on. As a result my write up really started from scratch last December. I am on target to submit during the summer but it has been a full on process. I had completed my fieldwork which consisted of 60 interviews and 10 observations by the end of 2nd year. Despite my best efforts I fell behind with the transcription and even still it haunts my dreams! I'm not sure what methods etc you'll have but if you are going with your topic, I would advise starting to organise things. It takes time for potential particpants to come back to you and set things up. Maybe though you're based in the lab - in which case I know nothing!!

Hindsight def means I would do things differently if I had to do it all again (shudder) but hindsight is 20-20 vision and things happen which you can't forsee. To be honest, I don't think I would have done much differently - except for that darn transcription!

Hi Chococake

I 'locked on' (as it were) in my reserach about the same time in as you are thinking of doing. For me finishing in the three years was, and is a priority. That said, I do agree with your supervisor in one way in that it can inhibit your creativity to a degree. If you want to finish in three years I think you have to be quite ruthless about it and there are therefore limited opportunities to explore any juicy tangents that might crop up!

I had mandatory graduate education modules to take which I completed in my first two years (it was expected they would take three). I completed all of my fieldwork in second year (I'm in the social sciences). I am currently writing up and hope to submit this summer - if I do that wil be within the three years. I officially started writing up in December. During my PhD I have done quite a lot of teaching, attended 7 conferences and also done lots and lots and lots and lots of marking :-(. Publishing for me had to take a back seat as something had to give. However, as I don't see my future in academia I hope that won't be too much of a problem.

Doing it this way can be pretty relentless. If you want to finish in three years, you have to keep motoring just about all the time. Don't forget that life can throw the unexpected at you as well (as Bilbo so admirably demonstrates). I had a family tragedy during my second year which made me question just what is the point of what I am doing. I'll be dedicating my thesis to my sister.

I have kept going and come this summer please please please I will submit! My advice is don't get too hung up on the three years if it's not a massive priority. It sounds like you're really taken with your topic so I think, go for it

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Agree!

My emotions swinge wildly from thinking 'yes I can' to 'I'm going to found out as a fraud any day now'. Just lately it's the latter, not the former! I am soooo looking forward to finishing that I am terrified that I won't, if that's not a total contradiction.

I find the tacit pressure the hardest to deal with and can't stand questions relating to how many words I've written (hubs :-s) to 'how long are you at it now?' (annoying aunties et al) to 'what sort of job will you get out of it?' (pretty much everyone else!). I was at a party recently with loads of old work colleagues. The 'MC' for the night was also a former work colleague. At the speech bit he went around the room: 'there's John who's playing golf everyday now', 'there's Mike who runs his own company' ... 'there's Ady who's going to be a Doctor this summer' :$. I was so mortified that I nearly started crying!!

You and many others on here have published papers and I feel humbled in comparison. I have two (sort of) pubs pending but nothing else. I have been part of a compulsory Graduate Education programme and so concentrated on getting the necessary credits in two years and hopefully finishing this PhD in the three years of my funding. Each module was worth 5 credits and I had to get 60. The PhD still passes or fails on the thesis alone but to be allowed submit, you have to get the credits.

Am feeling very sorry for myself lately :-(

Agree with Emmaki - you'll see the whole gamut from people who are have gone a bit over the top to those who obviously don't give two hoots and are really casual. Hedge your bets and go for somewhere in-between ;-). If it was really formal you would have been advised.

Two HTML, saved as worddocs, on the way.

If anybody else could access the pdfs they would be better and easier to read. Hopefully keep you going in the meantime :-)

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Actually I did get them :-)

I got them via Google Scholar - the pdf wouldn't show but I clicked on 'view HTML' and there they were - not as attractive as a pdf but perfectly readable. I saved them and can send them to you if you want but you probably can get themyourself via Google Scholar. Pm me if you do need them.

A

Edit: tables and figures don't look great though :-( but text is fine

Sorry meant to post yesterday - I did try but no joy. I tried Diversity-Journal as well but no luck.

I only have access from 2001 onwards - sorry

Wow, Dunni, that's great news. Enjoy the rest with your parents, sounds nice, a bit of TLC is always welcome.

Sounds a bit like everybody else is slogging their way through their write-up - hope everyone still feels they're on target. I'm happy-ish with how it's going at the moment. I had wanted to present my findings altogether in one chapter made up of different discrete sections. I have seen it done this vway in other theses. However, my supv thinks it would be better in 4 separate chapters of about 7000 words each. I don't know why it threw me as much as it did, but it did. I mean it's still the same info being presented. I think it is the thought of four additional intros and conclusions that made my heart sink.

Anyhow - back to the grind, good luck all and Happy Submission Dunni :-)

Hi Mothy

Originally I was going to do teaching but then didn't. However, I did go through the process of organising my school before I had a change of mind. I later did my PhD pilot in two schools. My experience was that it is difficult (but not impossible). However, you have to follow your initial request up. One email or telephone call is usually not enough.

You could email and then follow up with a phone call two days later. However, if all you can get is an 'info @...' email address I wouldn't do this. I would probably telephone first and ask the school secretary whom to contact to ask about your observation. The risk you run with this is that 'she' (probably a 'she') may tell you school too busy etc etc. However if you do get a personalised email I would go with that approach but then def follow it up in two or three days time. Doing it this way round means that you can start the converstion off by mentioning your email. A letter, while certainly the personal touch, runs the risk of sitting untouched on somebody's very busy desk. At least with an email the person can just click 'reply'.

From my experience you have to be tenacious, yet polite. I contacted loads of schools before I got my teaching practice organised. The one I was successful in told me that people contact them way before they are officially supposed to. So get in there early and don't assume that silence means they have no place. It could, and very likely does mean they are very busy.

Good luck

(up)

Thanks for the reassurance guys, I was getting worried. Thing is I also have a fair chunk of lit review (of grounded theory) in my methodology :$. Am actually going to suggest to supv next Monday that I drop two words from my thesis title which would then mean that I could cut about 6,000 words at one fell swoop from my lit review. It would be akin to losing a kidney but I am now mid analysis and don't feel that I am addressing this area anyhow. If this happens I will slot those 6,000 words into my 'just in case' document which is currently running to about 20,000 words!!

Note to self for Monday: come up with convincing argument to drop key concept from thesis, ie bamboozle supv with strength of my thinking - yea right :-(