Keenbean thanks a lot for the advice. My supervisor has suggested that I should only aim for around 10-20 participants as I'm planning to do in-depth interviews, so I'm feeling much more positive now, and feeling like it is definitely achievable!

Thanks for your help!

Jinkim, thanks so much for your reply! I guess I just needed some reassurance that obviously, it is possible to do, just difficult!

Like you, I'm planning to gather qualitative research, so I guess I don't have the worry of needing lots and lots of participants. As I'm planning to do interviews, I'm aware of the amount of time needed to transcribe etc, so I know my sample is going to be fairly small.

I think I will try firstly through schools, and see how I get on there.

Just a couple of questions though, and I'd be really grateful if you could give me some insight:
-Are the LEA likely to agree to sending out a letter on my behalf, or would this be quite difficult? No problem if you're unsure, I'd just imagine that this would be quite a difficult route to go down

-Were you very familiar with the school/schools that you contacted e.g had you worked in them? I conducted my first degree dissertation at my old primary school, and I have also done some work experience/volunteering at two other schools. The only thing is I've recently moved house which is a long way from these schools! Would it perhaps be beneficial to put in the extra effort and try and contact parents through these schools that I already have links with, or should I try and get some volunteering in a local school during my MA and try to gain access to parents that way?

Thanks a million for your help though, I'm so grateful! Hope your PhD is coming along well, and it's great to know that there's someone on here in a similar field!

Also, if anyone else has any advice/past experiences please share, even if they're not directly relevant!

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Natassia, try not to worry, I've just started my MA and I'm also feeling overwhelmed about the idea of so much work in so little time. But everyone keeps reassuring me that the Masters stage is very intense but it is obviously possible to do!

In my opinion, I think you should voice your PhD ideas. I'm a little different to you as I have already got funding from ESRC to begin my PhD straight after my Masters, so I've already proposed my research and everything. But about approaching a potential supervisor, I just sent an email to a lecturer who had done lots of research in my area of interest, and it all went from there. Also, I think it's never too early to voice your PhD ideas. For example, when I registered for my MA, myself and the rest of the MA students introduced ourselves to all the MA lecturers, and all of us said we planned to do a PhD in the future, and briefly what area we were interested in.

Go for it, don't worry, take each day at a time, and tell people your PhD ideas!

Congrats on starting your Masters! I'm set to start my MA, but I don't register until next week, so all I'm doing is enjoying the free time I have ready for when all hell breaks lose next week! Good luck with everything :)

Hi Natassia,

I can't really offer much advice, but I just wanted to say that I'm feeling very similar to you right now! I've enjoyed having the summer off and I'm looking forward to starting my MA, but I'm also terrified of the prospect that it's going to be completely different to undergrad.

However, I did want to reiterate what Keenbean said about having some link between your Masters diss and PhD. As I've got ESRC 1+3 funding, I have already developed my research proposal for my PhD and know what area I want to focus on (although this will probably change slightly). I was interested as to whether my MA should link to my PhD proposal, or whether it should be completely different. Anyway, I emailed the MA course leader, and he said that my MA should definitely in some way be linked to my PhD. I presume that this advice will differ in different universities, but I guess it would help you prepare for the PhD stage if your MA diss is linked to it, as you'll have basic knowledge of the subject area already.

Oh, and don't be afraid to email your tutors during the holidays! I've been emailing the course leader regularly over the summer regarding the course, particularly about my MA diss, and I've had nothing but positive feedback from him.

Finally, Craig (I can't remember your username sorry)- you are also in a very similar situation to me. I'm going to do my MA at a different uni than my undergrad degree which I'm really worried about. I would have loved to stay at my old uni, however they were unable to offer me even half of the funding I'm going to get from the other uni, and my new uni has a much better reputation for research etc, so I didn't really have a choice. So as well as understanding how you're feeling about going to a new university, I also completely understand the worry associated with having funding and trying to prove that you deserve it and can live up to everyones expectations. But I guess we both know deep down that we're capable of proving that we deserve it, otherwise we wouldn't have been given funding. And going to a new uni is also very exciting!

I think it kind of goes for all of us, yes we're worrying now and yes the prospect of studying at a higher level is daunting, but this is what we want to do!

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I found out I'd got a 1 + 3 ESRC studentship a good couple of months ago now, but I think I'm a completely different story because I applied for an ESRC quota studentship directly to the Uni.

Good luck with anyone still waiting though, really hope you get the news you're after :)

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful!

I'm now considering looking into a topic that I was unable to research for my undergrad diss, which really interested me. It's only vaguely related to my PhD proposal but it incorporates the method I was thinking of using for my PhD.

I didn't think about the very obvious point that researching a very similar topic for my Masters diss may lead to me being fed up with it by the PhD stage!

Basically what I'm trying to say is thankyou, this gives me a lot to think about!

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Hi all,

I'm due to start my MA in Educational Research this October, as part of the ESRC 1 + 3 that I was accepted for (yay!)

As part of my ESRC application I had to complete my PhD Research Proposal.

My question is, I'm beginning to think about my Masters diss, and was wondering how close to the PhD topic should my Masters topic be? I've proposed to pretty much look at two separate factors for my PhD. Would it make sense to perhaps just focus on one for my Masters diss? Or is it more common to focus on a totally different topic?

Also, I've planned to use qualitative interviews during my PhD, but I have not yet had training for this technique yet. So should I get the training for it during my Masters and then use this qualitative technique in my Masters diss?

Any advice/past experiences would be much appreciated- going from a BA to a MA seems like a rather large step at the moment!

Thanks a lot, button

I'm going to be doing an MA in Educational Research at a Uni in the North West, and I've just finished my BA in Education with Psychology.

I know what you mean, the whole thing does seem daunting, but there's going to be a lot more people on our courses who feel exactly the same and will be less prepared than we are! Once the lectures start etc, everything is going to start making a lot more sense and we'll know exactly what is expected of us- anything we do now is just a bonus, that's what I keep telling myself!

I know how you feel about feeling young though- I'll be 21 when I start my Masters and 22 when I start my PhD! But if we couldn't do it, they wouldn't have accepted us.

Try not to worry and enjoy your summer!

Natssia, I totally know the feeling! I'm set to start my ESRC 1 + 3 this October, and I'm just waiting on my BA results. I'm starting to worry as well about my Master's diss and the unbelievable workload that everyone keeps telling me about, so I want to be prepared. But like everyone else has said, we need to try and enjoy the summer as much as we can!

I think I'm just going to start jotting down ideas for my Masters diss and read around the subject I'm interested in, as well as check out the recommended reading. But nothing too major!

Hope you get the BA result that you want!

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Hi Mek,

I have also received an ESRC 1 + 3 and, as far as I am aware, it is the Uni's decision and the ESRC just "rubber stamp" it. So no need to worry!