ya! one variable should be ok! I tried andy fields book but even that was too much for my relatively limited brain, i don't understand why I can't get my head around stats...anywhoo, the book i use is Choosing and Using Statistics, A Biologist's Guide, by Calvin Dytham, it's a bit basic but is thorough enough to make sure you understand what test you need and that youre doing the right one and shows you how to do it in spss :)

yup, 'led' it is, 'lead' is present or future tense for this verb :)

hullo there!! I'm a bit thick when it comes to statistics but I have a very helpful statistics book in my office which i will check tomorrow and give you an actual answer, thought I'd stop in now and let you know cos I didn't want to leave you hanging!!

mmm I don't really have any better advice than what has already been given to ya here wally...I do feel very bad for you though, you're usually the life and soul of the PhD forum! I'm just a few months into my final year and haven't hit despair yet although I think I'm channelling all my fear and pissed-off-ness (I just made up a word...) into simple denial about any of the work I have to do... Just keep thinking, you are nearly there, you've enjoyed it at some stage so you do want to be here, it's just that the fun part is temporarily buried under a whole pile of crud...like when you're trying to tuck eagerly into the first tin of roses of the christmas season, but you just have to fight your way through the stupid sellotape around the edges first before you can get the joy inside ;-)

and you should totally take a break and watch some dvds. i love finding nemo, Dory is so wise...just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

Hi GB
I just wanted to say this is an issue that has always been a bit of a biggie for me. While not being very openly ambitious, I think there is a big ambitious streak posing as stubbornness hiding away in my subconscious somewhere.... I've always wanted to make the best of myself, and I know I have the potential to get a good job in what I apply myself to..however, I am a big sucker for relationships and tend to try to put other people first. Which is all good until it starts challenging or affecting how my own career is going to go then my ambition-posing-as-stubbornness rears up...
Generally I would say that having a relationship while doing a PhD is fine, especially at the start of careers, everyone tends to be very busy with work and if you find someone who you connect with and want to be in a relationship with then I think it's definitely worth making time for them. However the crunch comes when the big job hunt is on at the end. If you have both made it safely through the writing up phase, which I can tell you, as partner to just finished PhD student, is not a fun time at all, then the job serach is just as tough. As Chris has said, LDRs can work for a relatively short period of time, but endless additions to this can be very difficult. I have been apart from my boyf for nearly 2 years now, and it's very difficult. We will be apart for at least another year, and then depending on where I can get a job, we might be together or apart longer. However I do know that I have no intentions of spending the next 5 years apart, so something will have to give somewhere.
So I think my point is, personally, if you meet someone and you really want to be with them, don't fight it, but so long as you there may be some very tough choices ahead. It all depends on what you want yourself really.

Hi Bug, sorry I've been away and not on the forum, but for the future....when explaining to a non-academic audience, I agree with Bilbo, do it as if you're explaining what you're doing to your family or friends...to make it fit with the academic peeps though, throw in some technical phrases and find some simple means of defining them , as if you were teaching it, to show you know your field well but you're matching your audience. And finally for the nerves, Bachs Resuce Remedy is simply amazing! It's a herbal infusion of flowers-type thingy, basically an alcohol extract, but its great for settling
nerves!

the bus had driven into the warped space and time field left by the time-machine building and exploded....bits of metal and chairs and even bits of john went flying all over the place....the crisp packet he had been holding flew out of his unattached hand and into the space-time warp, the PhD bugs off to start a new adventure....

ahh....why is it only a matter of time before someone comes along and hijacks a thread with utter small minded nonsense? I do believe the reason caitlinbond told us about her unproductive day, was because it was, in fact, unproductive, and we don't needs the likes of cleverclogs being a smartarse....anywhoo, I've been quite non-productive this week also, Friday morning found out my aunt dies so was at home until Monday doing funeral stuff, then joy of joys, I got a horrendous stomach bug Monday night and have been in bed ever since...well since I could tear myself away from the toilet that is....and the really pathetic thing is....i just feel guilty about not being able to get to the lab...sigh...

Oooh!!  Once is a great movie!! And In Bruges is just brilliant!!  Also loving Amelie, When Harry met Sally and (I know I shouldn't but I can't help it...) Stardust!! And pretty much any old black and white movie, particularly The Seven Year Itch and Funny Girl!!  There is no way I could ever pick just one movie Wally!  Personally I love movies that are easy to watch, or are touching, or make me think about how people are and why they are that way...altho I'll watch pretty much anything! I never really "got" Lost in Translation though until I watched it on the plane after travelling by myself for a few weeks, after that, I though it was great! 

Hi Fairycakes, I had to go to New Zealand for a few weeks for some PhD work and i was so so nervous about going by myself!  I swear, the day before if you'd said to me that I didn't have to go I would have cried with relief! Totally ridiculous now though!  I went by myself, quite literally circumnavigated the globe for the flights and I had a great time. I was going to be in 2 places and I stayed in hostels in both which was great as I could meet other people and it wasn't anywhere near as lonely as I though it would be.  I'm not very good mentally when left alone for too long but meeting other people who were backpacking, or travelling on their own etc was just great. It also boosted my confidence no end, as other people have said, when you come back you'll be busting to get stuck in and find new places to go!  It's a bit difficult when you don't speak the language but if you get a handy guide book that give you an indication of the culture and where are good places to stay, eat etc that is a real help. Also learning a few phrases or just listening to the language in advance might help, at least you'll have an ear for it when you get there.
Good luck with it, doing fieldwork is nervewracking enough without throwing a complete new experience in the mix too, but when you do it you'll find you're enjoying it much more than you ever thought you would! (up)

What did her father do in this crazy place?! and why had she never heard about it before?! walking through the building she noticed shimmering lights to her left, just flickering dimly through a crack in the wall. Nudging the elf beside her she asked "what's that? see that light?" The elf looked but couldn't see anything. The light got brighter and brighter until it seemed the wall was about to break from the force of light squeezing through the crack. "How can you not see that?!" exclaimed Jemima. The elf looked at the wall but still couldn't see anything. Then he looked back at Jemima and was so surprised by what he saw he couldn't even believe it...

hmmm....14 year old girls....at that age anyone arriving with pizza, good chick flick and/or chocolate was a legend in my book! 1p penny bazaar tomorrow at marks and spencers, get tons of chocolates and yule logs there for 1p each! bargin!

hummmm..stupid question I'm sure, but what exactly is an ebook reader?! Is it like a computer screen only not as harsh?! Sounds great! Sorry I'm not actually helping here!

oooh happy birthday teek!! And not speaking for the PG forum here, but just myself...go on out and get hammered! Your birthday is the only time you can make a fool of yourself and it's totally ok! (or is that just my friends... :p)


:-) have a brill time

hmmm...personally I don't see why you're confused about why a supervisor surpervises, they have to as part of the job. Whether they enjoy it or not is irrelevent, it is still something that is part of working in academia, especially if said supervisor is looking for a promotion in the future. However, the real question is, why did your supervisor choose to supervise YOU in particular? What did they see in you that ingrigued them and led them to the decision that you in particular were capable of this particular PhD project? That is the question that has me stumped! :-)