This is a basic issue, so I apologise if this seems too basic, but I wanted to be sure you knew that EndNote needs each author listed on its own line within the "Author" field. In other words, you need to hit "return" (staying within the Author field) after entering each name.

I remember struggling with this when I first started using Endnote and found it hard to find the solution in the help documentation. I eventually found it, and then everything worked from there. Changing output styles won't fix it if each author's name isn't on its own line within the data field.

This is a basic issue, so I apologise if this seems too basic, but I wanted to be sure you knew that EndNote needs each author listed on its own line within the "Author" field. In other words, you need to hit "return" (staying within the Author field) after entering each name.

I remember struggling with this when I first started using Endnote and found it hard to find the solution in the help documentation. I eventually found it, and then everything worked from there. Changing output styles won't fix it if each author's name isn't on its own line within the data field.

Hey there. I'm in my second year of a PhD in English. I started late in the first year, so I've only been matriculated for 13 months, but for practical reasons I must submit in September 2012, so 18 months to go. I'm a mature student: left a good job to work on a particular area of research that I had been fiddling around with on my spare time. Went back to uni, did a master's in another discipline as preparation (it's an interdisciplinary topic) at another uni and am now doing a Phd. I love my research idea. I've very excited by my findings so far. But I'm struggling, struggling, struggling with the expectations that I write chapters as I go. I don't have a clear enough thesis to do that well yet. My texts range over nearly a century. Some have been heavily studied by various disciplines (but I disagree with much of the treatment, so there's an iconoclastic element to my work that is potentially dangerous) and some totally ignored (so I'm sometimes dealing with texts whose context needs to be researched). The interdisciplinary nature of my work is not a perfect fit for the Uni I'm at, so I'm kind of alone, intellectually. (Nice place, otherwise.)

My naive sense of this project going in was that I would spend the first two years really immersed in research, and the last year turning that into a dissertation. Yeah, I knew I'd have to share drafts along the way -- but the pressure to begin turning out *chapters* started from day one. I've wasted so much time (my perspective) writing crap drafts (everyone's perspective) for under-researched ideas that don't fit into a clear overall thesis -- all in a failed effort to keep supervisors happy with my progress. I'm starting to get depressed by the humiliation of submitting crap drafts to frustrated supervisors who think I can't write (can't blame them for reaching that conclusion based on my submissions, but I do blame them for a process that makes no sense to where I am).

I must admit, I read posts on this board from other PhD students who complain they're in final year and only just starting to write -- and I'm jealous, but they seem to be working outside the humanities. My own way of working would be to be writing notes on these texts, and drafting my interpretations of individual texts, and create summaries of my secondary sources, and drafting summaries of my evolving lines of arguments, etc. -- and not start writing a dissertation that synthesized all this until after that research was done. As it is, I'm taking that approach "on my own time," but it's slowed down (physically) by the need to write under-researched draft chapters for a vague dissertation, and (mentally/spiritually/psychically) by the humiliations of the process as it stands.

Any insights? I'm beginning to think that my circumstances didn't lend themselves to my project: I should have just done a PhD that was an extension of my master's, and not really started research afresh.

Hi Fig - I have been using Dropbox for about a month, ever since I read about it in the Chronicle for Higher Ed. I have accessed it via hom PC, laptop, as well as uni computer on on the road in an airport and it has worked like a dream BUT I have not really read all the documentation, and so feel a little nervous about having something so important to me "OUT THERE" I routinely back up, too! External hardrive, portable harddrrive; files on UNI server.

But what's great about Dropbox is that everythign syncs so well. It isn't "back up " -- it's seamless. My sister didn't like the idea of giving the company access to your files either, but I don't think anyone is interested in 17th religious propaganda, so my dissertation's safe!

Give it a try! It's easy to get started.

I would recommend you talk to the director of postgrad research within your school/department. I have had a similar experience -- details different, but came to the PhD with a lot of experience, in project management but my supervisor has made managing my own project a nightmare! I thought it was me. I thought there was a cultural issue in our communication (I'm not from the UK). I thought I wasn't working hard enough. I thought I should be able to solve this problem. When I finally spoke to the head of postgrad research, I found out there was a long history of supervising problems with this member of staff. That's probably not the issue in your case, but there may be more going on behind the scenes than you think or could know.

Also, if you have an enlightened department, they may approach the issue the way mine did: they OWE me (director's words) competent supervision. Now they are helping me make the change gracefully for all concerned. I was blown away by the support I got. Just saying: you might want to get some input or advice from within the department. They will want you to finish, and finish on time, so they may be motivated to help more than you suspect. Good luck!