This probably isn't scientifically proven (and may even be psychosomatic on my part) but I find making sure I drink enough and I'm well hydrated helps - it's a strategy I discovered when I was doing a really boring temp job once.

Hi Meg. Well done for having your paper accepted. On the basis of the way that my research has developed over the years (I'm in my fourth year; full-time) I would save the AHRC money for a future conference and perhaps give this one a miss or explore other funding possibilities. It would be a shame if you couldn't get to a high-profile conference in the future (by which time your research will have inevitably progressed and you'll have a more advanced contribution to make) because you don't have funding.

Also remember that the AHRC's £350 contribution isn't guranteed and you still have to write an application, supported by your supervisor, so if he/she isn't 100% on your side you might not necessarily get the funding anyway.

Incidentally, I used the funding in my third year (mainly because the major international conference in my field is every two years and I wasn't ready to go in the first year as my fieldwork was just starting then) and my uni agreed to match the AHRC contribution, so if you can get them on your side it can have other perks!

I would suggest, if you haven't already, scope out the other conferences in your area, be aware of which months they take place, when the CfP tends to come out and keep an eye on things with a view to giving a paper in your second year or third year - although remember that the AHRC conference funding can't be used in the last three months of the award (I think) unless you've got a really good reason for waiting until then.

It sounds like you want to go, and I'm really sorry not to be more positive, but your post doesn't really sell the conference and I think maybe you might kind of know it might not be wise to use your funding on this one anyway.

If you do decide to look for a studio, I'd suggest start keeping an eye on what's around from about 3 months before, places will start to be advertised about 1 or 2 months before they're available (as that's the notice period for rentals usually).

Living on a trainline instead of a tube is usually cheaper, but not all operators are equal. I travel on Southwest trains into Waterloo and they're very good but Southern whose trains go out of London Bridge are less frequent or reliable, I'm not sure about the ones that go north-wards. I prefer the train as it as it's less dirty and claustrophobic than the tube. You can't use Oyster pre-pay but you can get a student Oyster and load it with weekly and monthly travel passes, which is worth doing if you travel frequently in rush hour, otherwise a young persons railcard (available to not-very-young students like me!) save a third off all tickets including travelcards bought at rail stations after 10am - apologies if you knew all that already.

The website for flatshares and studios is Gumtree and for rented flats findaproperty is best (I've just had a look on that one and there only seems to be one studio though - £135 per week in Notting Hill Gate. I don't know what it's like round there though).

I live with my boyfriend now but for reasons of not wanting to live in a chaotic houseshare I used to share with one other - the first I found on Gumtree for £425 per month and after that I moved in with a freind paying £450. If studios are too expensive, it might be an option to live with one other sensible person perhaps?

Good luck Bug!

Conferences often provide funding for a number of student scholarships - they can sometimes be allocated to students from less affluent countries as a priority but it's definitely worth a look at the website or conference information to see if there's anything on offer.

I don't know the halls you mention, but based on my own experience I would suggest that you might be ok with less space in the first year or two and then pay extra to gain more working space after that. It also depends if there'll be anywhere for you work at university too (and whether you'll like working in there).

I don't have any space at college, so to begin with I spent a lot of time in libraries but my work's gradually become less portable as it's grown (and I also find it a real block to progress if I find I haven't got something I need right there and then) so now I need to work at home. For the first two years I lived with a friend and had a desk in my room but moved in with my boyfriend halfway through and claimed our very small spare room as my own - this coincided with starting to write my thesis which worked out really well. I think if that hadn't happened (and it was just by chance) I'd have looked for a big-ish room in the later years so that I could at least designate one side of it as a workspace or something.

Good luck finding a place!

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During my interview I was asked me what I thought a PhD was, and I flapped around for ages before finally getting to the point that it's an original piece of work! I feel embarrassed to think about it even now, but the point is, I'd researched my topic but missed out some of the generic stuff about what a PhD is and involves. Maybe have a look at some of the 'how to do a PhD/write a thesis' books available. Good luck!

My boyfriend gave me a "keep calm and carry on" mug for Valentines day - very appropriate given the recent stresses of my thesis-writing slog (...and my endless tea-drinking).

Oops! I've been moderated.

It looks like I've said something offensive but I only suggested a website - must be the competition.

======= Date Modified 30 Jan 2009 11:36:02 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
Chris,

I agree with the others about the stamina required to do a PhD. I'm now in my fourth year of full-time research and currently sitting in the midst of a sea of papers trying to write and re-draft as fast as I possibly can. There have been times when I've HATED doing this, wondering what I was ever thinking of to embark on it in the first place. But I think what's really helped me is to be doing a collaborative PhD - a funded studentship working partly with a non-academic organisation. Though the scope of my research was more defined than most, it's given me a structure to work within and a great deal of support outside my college, plus all kinds of other opportunities.

If you haven't already, you should look on the various research councils websites to see the sort of PhD research they're funding and also find information about different awards available.

You should also have a think about what you want to do with your PhD afterwards - do you want to be an academic? If not, will a PhD necessarily lead to other opportunities?

Incidentally, I didn't spend ages researching my field initially and was already working professionally in the area I'm researching, although I did look into methodologies and theories about the particular approach I've taken.

Good luck with your search!

Hello. I've found Express Scribe by NCH really good for transcribing - it's free to download from: http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/

The programme suggests using F keys to stop, start, speed up and slow down the audio, and comes set up like this but you can change them to your own preferences or use a USB foot pedal. I've seen foot pedals going on Ebay for around £30 but in the end I got used to using a pattern of F keys I set up (I've never used a foot pedal before though).

I tend to feel a bit dubious about installing free software but I've had this running on both Mac and PC and it works really well on both, although I found that it stores a copy of each audio file you work on, so if you work on lots of files and don't delete them afterwards (or set up Express Scribe to delete the copies after a period of time) then it can take up quite a bit of hard drive space.

In the words of The Smiths / Morrissey: "How Soon is Now?"

I agree with Ju-Ju, just get on with it straight away. Also, don't take the whole pile of papers with you - collectively they can be intimidating, just take one or two and concentrate on those.

;-)

The more papers you attempt to read, the more you'll understand because you'll start picking up bits of terminology and an understanding about the way ideas are expressed in your field (both necessary for your own thesis-writing). Once you've made steps to do something positive about the situation, you'll feel much better.

Why not give this a go:

1. Get together some of the papers you want to read and decide at first glance which seems the most manageable.

2. You, the chosen paper, a notebook and a pen go to the library together (I'm suggesting a non-computerised form of note-taking to avoid the temptations of wi-fi).

3. Read the paper and summarise the content of each paragraph as you go - don't get hung up on the meaning of specific sentences but go for an overall sense of what the author's saying.

4. Underline any sentences or terminology that are impeding your understanding (but be strict - only the ones that really, properly, truly get in the way of meaning!)

5. When you've finished reading the whole paper do some research about the terminology / expressions / concepts that have stumped you: Google them, refer to text books or manuals, ask other people, ask your supervisor.

6. Consider these details in light of your paragraph-by-paragraph summary.

Hopefully after doing this you should have an overall understanding of the paper. It might also be worth trying to do your reading and researching in a set time limit depending how long the paper is, and as you move onto the next paper it will get easier and quicker.

Good luck

8-)

I'm from Liverpool, did my undergraduate degree in the north and I'm now beginning the fourth year of my PhD in London. I was apprehensive about coming here for similar reasons although I had been wondering about coming to London for some time since the industry I work in is based primarily here so this gave me a reason to finally make the move.

In terms of finances - yes it's more expensive but there are advantages of being a student in terms of council tax and travel - when I've been skint it's usually been my own fault! There are plenty of places to live that have good transport links for the place that you need to be or fast rail links (it's cheaper to live near an overland station than the tube and in my opinion a preferable way to travel). Having lived here I get frustrated about the public transport when I go to other UK cities and I've also found it really easy to get anywhere else in the UK or overseas since London is a destination for flights / rail services from most cities.

One thing I didn't realise is that London is made up of lots of smaller "villages." I socialise near to where I live (SW London) as well as going into the centre to meet friends who live elsewhere or go to a specific event/exhibition etc. I found my first flat share on gumtree.com.

If I can answer any more specific questions, feel free to send me a message.

======= Date Modified 28 Aug 2008 23:48:44 =======
Yep, it's true Ruby... there's only so many alternatives. I live by the Word thesaurus and the "define:" function in Google. It sometimes comes up with some weird but useful definitions that include alternative words.

Thanks for the link Rosy - it looks really useful and I'll be sure to have a proper look when I'm not pulling a pre-deadline all-nighter *sigh*

Thanks also to the others for your suggestions.

My supervisors have advised me to be more bold in my thesis. Where I was using non-committal phrases such as: "This chapter will document..." I am supposed to be more specific and say it will "analyse" or "reflect" etc. However, I've run out of descriptive words and I'm probably relying on trusty old "analyse" a bit too much... any suggestions?