Hi AJ,
When I went through this nail-biting process, I interviewed on the Wednesday (as 1 of 6 shortlisted candidates), and was told they would make their decision that evening, and phone through with the results. By Thursday lunchtime, when I hadn't heard anything, I emailed the principal interviewer expressing cautious disappointment at my apparent lack of success. He phoned immediately to say I'd got the studentship, but that they'd been delayed overnight by the paperwork processes. In the end, the formal letter took a week to come through, with all the terms and conditions, but I made sure I accepted the verbal offer in writing, by email, as soon as I got off the phone. Good luck.

Thanks guys. I've added the filters for the bibliography and quotations, and the similarity report has now dropped to just 4%. It's been a long haul to get this done in the lead up to Christmas, with 3 kids under the age of 10. I'm off to get some sleep. Stars all round when I've had a few zzzzz.

Ok, so it's me again: Just found my way through to the report system, and the software has highlighted every singe quote I've made, even though it's referenced following Harvard to the letter. My entire bibliography is also highlighted. Really hacked off now.

Update: so stressed. I've just submitted my final draft of the compulsory Social Research Methods coursework via Turnitin, and the initial 3% score that I notched up for the second part of the paper, has now leapt to an overall 17% for the full 5000 words. I'm hoping this just relates to the 40 book bibliography, as I've been ultra careful to cite accurately. Such a disappointment after all the graft. I'm a whole week ahead of the deadline, but have no indication whether redrafting and resubmitting may improve the Originality score, as there's no analysis for the mark given.

I wouldn't do it: I'd rather spend the time reading around my topic, developing a decent proposal, backed up with extensive methodology reading, with the following for starters:

Bryman (2008) Social Research Methods
De Vaus (2001) Research Design in Social Research
Denscombe (1998) The Good Research Guide for Small-Scale Social Research ProjectsI

I landed a fully funded PhD, with a humanities MA, and limited research skills, and have completed one module of an MSc Social Research Methods as a compulsory part of the initial year of my PhD. The content of the entire MSc Social Research would've been interesting, but not sufficiently focussed on my own proposed research methodology, and therefore an ineffective use of time.

Hi Ady,
Good to hear from you. Yup, I've had to take one MSc Social Research Methods module as a compulsory requirement for the MPhil/PhD route, - hence having to submit a couple of papers for January. As you've found, the green band seems to cover 0-24% range, so I'm happy with 3%, and have to say I've been meticulous about citing, as I've had no previous experience of that particular software. Bit less stressed, and thanks for getting in touch, A.

Had a non-Christmas this year, preparing a couple of papers for early January submission. I've put one draft through the Turnitin system, received a 3% score for content matching existing published material. My interpretation of this score is that it's level of originality is acceptable, but cannot find any guidelines that indicate the tolerance thresholds. Any advice/experience with Turnitin? Even their online helpsheets give no information about acceptable parameters. Thanks.

Oh boy, massive flashback: I took a year out after my first year of a 2yr part-time MA, for the birth of my 3rd child. It was fine, apart from doing exams when 7 months pregnant, and there were absolutely zero concessions made when it came to submitting my thesis. I missed getting a Distinction by <0.4%, ...if those (male) examiners had any idea of the experience I went through....So, find out the terms, and make sure the decision-makers are aware of them. Good luck.

Saluting you, Wally. And sneakily relieved that I'm not the only one messing up Christmas, trying to get a paper written. Hope the next few weeks run smoothly for you.

Don't know their MA, but in my experience, workplace history is rated as highly as theoretical study. Why not just focus on getting more marketing experience?

I'm having an Eeyore christmas, with 5000 words to submit in early Jan. My OH can't believe the timing, and it's not helping having 3 pre-teenage children. Just trying to keep it all in perspective, and looking forward to the panto on Friday.

I'm at the other end of the scale, with my title in place 9 months before the funded studentship was even advertised. Not necessarily a good thing, tho', as the more I read about the topic, the more I want to adjust the emphasis/specify the interpretation.

Ditch the coffee. Take some exercise. Get some zzzz.

Interesting comments here. I'm certainly aiming for the top, but for me, academia is not at the top of my own mountain. After a decade of a professional career, and a decade at home with the kids, I'm doing a PhD to resume my professional career at a higher level. There seems to be an assumption that non-academic life is a relative doddle. That's not the case, in my experience, as you can set the highest standards for yourself in whatever sphere you choose.

C'mon Phd99, you've got to make more effort: what aspect of post-purchase consumer behaviour? Customer satisfaction, post-purchase referral, brand loyalty....generic "consumer behaviour" is way too vague. Go and think about what aspects of consumer behaviour interest you, then get back to us.