Sorry I meant to add, Daisy, I have did my BA, Masters and now PhD all with a biggish family (4 children, dog and hubby) in tow. I found that needs must and you really have to grab any time that you can. It might not be a solid block but the odd half hour here and there at times and you'd be surprised when pushed how much you can get done in a concentrated time.

Over time I adapted and the noise doesn't bother me [much!] - I can study and write with the radio, television and family around (well in another room). It's the fighting that gets to me though and sends me over the edge. My youngest are now twin boys of 13 and last night I totally lost it - they were 'killing each other' squirting shower gel that turns to foam all over themselves, the landing, their beds etc. That shouting you heard was me :$

Everybody has different things to contend with and it's all relative but I think people with children tend to be good PhD project managers - you have to be!

Camper van scenario is ace as I love that closeted feeling. Congrats on getting your thesis published as well(up), very impressive, all the more since you had to go against your supvs along the way.

I like the pen idea for the husband though ;-)

Hi Pink

good to hear from you :-)

I have relatives in my husband's family who are bi-polar so I have a sense of how tough it is, though I imagine unless you have been through it yourself, people don't fully understand. I have seen what two of my sisters in law and a brother in law have gone through over the years and it is hard, and they weren't doing a PhD. Don't do anything hasty but just try to hang on in there. We are all behind here in this thread and on the forum in general. Hopefully your supvs are supportive as well.

Take things easy

A:-)

2009??? I can get that if you want to drop me a pm with your email id

Hi Zak

My thoughts are that unless you already have a book I wouldn't specifically go out and buy one. This is one area where I think the internet has more than enough for anybody. Google 'how to write a research proposal' or a variation of and you will get loads of info. I would stick to those on university websites as an overall guide. You will probably find that you will use a bit of this, and a bit of that.

I don't know your geo-context but you could check out a scholarship website - while you may not be applying for that particular scholarship, most of the application forms will give you a good idea of the key ideas to hit on.

Other than that any of the 'how to get a PhD' books usually have the proposal at the start. 'How to get a PhD' by Phillips and Pugh has this info I think in it (sorry, I don't have my copy with me). This (and others) should be in your university library, shelved somewhere around the '378s' - 370s in the Dewey Decimal catalogue system all relate to education in some way.

Good luck with the viva prep Pineapple, remember you had loads of positives demonstrating how your thesis contributes to your own field and the wider field as well

(up)

Huge congratulations Dr. Stuff 8-)

======= Date Modified 27 Feb 2011 22:30:02 =======
just when I thought I had my philosophical orientation set...'post' and 'neo', two prefixes that always make me nervous. I had never thought of pragmatism as linked to postmodernism 'til you said it (thank you!!). I have lots of books on pragmatism and looking at the indexes alone, postmodernism is there but as far as I can in relation to neo-pragmatists (shiver) Richard Rorty and Hilary Putnam. So I would go with Walminski's answer, except to add that inquiry is also one of the core principles of pragmatic inquiry.

Edit: yet another ** pdf I had better add to my pile :-( 'Dewey and Rorty: Pragmatism and Postmodernism', at http://mypage.siu.edu/hartmajr/pdf/jh_collab03.pdf - Rorty okay but I'm not admitting to Dewey as a postmodernist.

Hey all

Another sunday, another day at the laptop :-(

Dunni, I can't believe your 3rd supv still hasn't gotten back to you - he/she def knows they're supposed to read it?? Would your main supv be able to give them a 'gentle' reminder for you?? It must be so frustrating.

Hi Corinne

Well done on assembling your thesis together.

My suggestions are similar to the others. I would definitly look at your lit review as very often info is repeated there. I would also have a look at the introduction to each chapter. Maybe you could signpost more clearly what's to come rather than elaborating on anything in the introduction, which you probably elaborate on anyway in the body of the chapter.

Finally at a sentence level, you are likely to save two or three words if you change from the passive to the active voice in many sentences. I was also advised long ago to do a 'which-hunt' and a 'that-hunt' as many of these can be eliminated altogether or at the very least, reduced. A lot of people have two 'thats' in sentences and generally one of these is superfluous. These extra 'thats' tend to slip in especially if the sentence is long.

Good luck with it (up)

Sounds great. The work of Glyn Daniels and Carl Sauer might be a good place to start re: tracing distribution of ancient civilisations.

======= Date Modified 25 Feb 2011 21:43:21 =======
======= Date Modified 25 Feb 2011 21:40:44 =======
I can see your point! I would be quaking if I thought I might get shoe-horned into an approach that I wasn't comfortable with. That said a quantitatively orientated supervisor woud be great if you do go with a mixed methods approach particularly as your own background is qualitative.

I think you're in Australia (??) and I'm not familiar with PhDs there but more and more [internationally] there are Graduate Education modules which students are encouraged to take, across the disciplines and across institutions at times. There are also summer and/or winter schools in qualitative methods and also schools in quantitative methods - perhaps you could take up one of these for the areas your supervisor is not an expert on? Also, a second supervisor could provide a balance for the qual side of things.

I would have thought the HoD teaming you up with this person is a good sign-any supv would want a 1st student who is likely to complete. I know in theory everybody should complete but my guess is that HoDs usually have a pretty good sense of these things at the outset, particularly if they are familar with your work. Possibly the HoD has enough faith in your qualitative abilities and that's why you got a quantitative supv to balance things out? It's also a good sign that your potential supv is quick to respond as we all know how frustrating it can feel to be forgotten!

My reply is a bit all over the place (sorry). I think you're right to be concerned but I don't think it's insurmountable (up)

Edit: two edits due to a plethora of typos :$ in my first reply. I think I need to head to bed!!

Good luck with it - keep us informed how things go:-)

======= Date Modified 25 Feb 2011 21:22:12 =======
My response to your original post and other people's really useful replies is that I can see links to what you're proposing and historical geography and medical geography. A lot of the work in historical geography has traced the spatial distribution and evolution of early civilisations. Medical geography has also done historical analysis in relation to the spatial distribution of infectious diseases.

I sense your unease at a 'desk-based' PhD but such PhDs are valid - everything doesn't have to take place in a lab, you know!! No, you're entire PhD can't really be an extended literature review but in analysing the work of others you can make suggestions for the future. It is also likely that you will be able to draw on your scientific knowledge to further analyse, perhaps at a deeper level to what was done historically, the results of other studies.

I think it will be through deep reading that you will be able to develop your unique contribution to the field, very likely perhaps in an inter-disciplinary sense

I think it all sounds fascinating :-)

Hi Kev

Yes the British library have theses online. Register (for free) and you can get pdf downloads.

http://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do