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agree with the keeping the references bit -imperative. Also def keep to-do lists but make sure they are realistic - no point having 'write up literature review chapter' on your list, bettter to break everything down into tiny 'doable' chunks. I'm on target to submit (I hope, my gosh do I hope) to submit in the summer and I did it with four children, a dog and a husband so it can be done! You say you are willing to work at home and for anybody with a family you will have to do just that, otherwise your PhD will go on, and on, and on, and on...

Good Luck(up)

welcome to my world at the moment. Drew up schedule this morning for the next week which included item "draw up schedule for remainder of writing up". Even my 'to do' schedule has 'to do' things on it. Feeling a bit hung, drawn and quartered at the moment.

those first few months of a PhD are incredibly hard for most of us but nobody quite admits to it. It's hard to be motivated when you are not 100% sure what you're doing. Once you start to get a handle on your work, your confidence and motivation should improve. The motivated and confident ones around you have probably been there for a while. Being new anywhere is yuck but stick with it, things should improve as you get a better sense of what it is you should be doing.

...your guilty pleasure fails to bring about as much guilty pleasure as it once did. Programme I have on series link back on today after break for Christmas but it was very disappointing.

I can get the 2008 one. If you want to pm me your email id I can send you the pdf.

Re: 2006 article - I can access 2006 via another database but can't see that article. You're sure your reference is correct??

Just been asked to give 1st year tutorials this semester and I said 'NO' - therefore feel I have scored a 'No' goal :)

Generally an academic CV looks at qualifications first, all else after - the reverse in a way if you were applying for a job in the real world! There is lots out there via Google etc, you should be able to find a template to work off. Also probably examples on the Careers section of your university's website. Or better still the careers section of the uni you are applying for!

From my experience the advice is for work-style CVs not to run over two pages but that you can stretch it a bit for an academic CV, particularly if you feel to need to list your academic achievments module by module.

Any in-house publications would impress [a bit] but I wouldn't try to pretend you have something that you don't. Don't forget poster presentations if you have any. However, you either have a publication or you don't and no academic will be impressed by you trying to pretend.

Be sure to check, check and recheck for typos as they can be enough to get your application thrown in the bin. Also if you cite anybody make sure your referencing is 100%.

Good luck

I constantly have that problem, very annoying and yet tough to say 'No' particularly when it emanates from your own supervisor as is also my situ. You could do what she wants this week but then ask for a meeting to sort out your schedule for the months ahead, i.e. remind her that you're doing a PhD and are concerned about time slipping away etc.


Didn't manage to say 'No' to that Spots 'n Stripes bar I just had :-(

I too am panicking as have so many bits of things to do that I can't concentrate on just one thing at a time. Have just printed off calendar from now 'til end of June, that's my finishing goal - hopefully submitting August-ish!!! It looks a lot of days but time seems to go so fast these days.

Goal today is get realistic schedule drawn up to meet that end of June deadline.

you're right of course - just that's it's extra tough as request to mark comes from my HoD who just happens to be my supv as well!!

That's my goal for January then, i.e. to say 'No'

No / No thank you / No thank you very much / No but am flattered to be asked / On reflection No / Apologies but No...

I no I should but I no that I won't manage it if I am asked again.

NO*100

I will get paid but from experience when you work it out, it comes to a tiny amount per paper, less than the minimum wage in effect. Plus students have to do two questions from a choice of six and some of the questions I will have to 'gen' up on as it is a long time since I studied some areas myself. Also some of them do more than two questions and you mark all that they do and their mark is their best two questions. I think their exam is next week so I'll lie low and say nothing until I get another email - and I will :-(

Lately I feel I am becomming something of a marking machine - can you get a PhD in marking?!?

I think that although it's true your 2:2 will always be there, the more qualifications you acquire the more it can fade into the background. An MA in social research methods sounds good but how long will it take you?

Many universities (all in the case of my uni) have graduate education modules and there is usually research methods courses as part of these. There are also winter and summer schools on research methods which could be worth exploring. Usually residential for a week or so and the associated assignment but it would be done and dusted in a week and whatever length of time the assignment would take. I think many professors still struggle with the direction graduate education is taking in Europe and many traditionalists think that first hand, on the ground experience, is better than any qualification. I would see somebody with an Masters in reserach methods as being a method specialist which is not necessarily a requirement of a PhD. If you already have some level of research experience under belt, might that not be enough?

Sorry to be a bit rambling but these are my random thoughts.

my goal for today was to get back online after my internet disappeared from my laptop but mysteriously remained on the home pc. After speaking to very nice technican guy am now back online.

I achieved my goal of getting my tutorial class' reports marked and ahead of time. However have now been asked via email to mark some 1st year papers (probably c150). At the moment, I am (very immaturely) pretending I didn't see the email. Just at the moment I think I would prefer to transcribe some interviews than mark more papers - am I very unreasonable??

I'm pretty sad in that myself and a colleague compiled a booklet (21 pages!!) on the Harvard referencing system for our department in September 2010. It has since been picked up by another department at my university:-). We had great fun compiling references with oblique movie references which thus far nobody has spotted :-(.

My advice would definitely be to 'cite it right' from the start (right down to the page number for quotes) as it can take hours to tidy things up at the end and can result in you having to drop a reference, or two, or three, or four if you can't source them properly. If you know what referencing/citation style your department prefers general online guides are available via Google or similar. Even within colleges and universities referencing and citation styles differ (from Harvard, to APA, to Chicago, to Cambridge, the list goes on) - it normally depends on individual departments. If you are starting your PhD somewhere you haven't worked before it would be well worth your time checking out if it has a referencing guide available. Most departments have at least some sort of rudimentary guide on their website. Whatever the style keep it consistent and keep it!

There is referencing software available as others have mentioned, EndNote being one of the most common. There is also open source software, www.zotero.org - haven't used it myself but a colleague of mine swears by it!!

Happy Referencing(up)

Pretty sure he means references as in citations. Keep full references (citations) as you write as it is a nightmare if you have a paper written (or even your full thesis) but then have to go searching for the full citation details for the myriad of sources you will have utilised.

A:-)