Afternoon eveyone,

I have the final comments from sup1 to do (awaiting sup2 and 3 comments) so Goal 1 = sup1 comments to address. Goal 2 = read examiners paper again (now included in thesis).

I usually back-up all data files and revised thesis docs onto my external drive. I also email myself the data files when they are complete so I have a copy stored on my email. I also use dropbox and found that if the file is shared the other users ie sups could inadvertently delete files. I have also had the same thoughts as Sneaks, what if dropbox disappears!! I think to be safe use a few methods!

Hi All, hope you are all making some progress towards that summer of PhD freedom! Ady I agree that the writing up is the hardest task by far, much more pressure as the deadline looms over us.

I cannot beleive that sup1 managed to read my thesis over the weekend! His feedback is just one page of fairly minor comments, additions or deletions which i hope to tackle tonight. He also feels my thesis is ready for submission. Sup2 (uni) is going to start reading the thesis today and sup3 has replied but not said when he will read it. So just awaiting comments from sup2 and sup3 and confirmation of submission (or not). Gosh it all feels fairly close to submission, best check binding requirements etc.

PT maximum time duration is 6 years at my uni and then you can apply to extend for usually not more than 12 months. I would add though, if you have particular mitigating circumstances along the way, ie I had 3 babies, you can apply for an intermission period. Intermission means that you have 'temporarily suspended' your studies for a specified duration ie 6 months, so you have no support at uni from sups or facilities for that 6 months. The intermitting period will therefore extend your overall time duration to completion ie Feb 2005 start equals Feb 2011 submission but with 6 months intermission the final submission would be Aug 2011. Add an extesion on top could take it to Aug 2012. These are ways to extend the 6 years if you need to, but most PT'ers would want to be done with it by the end of 6 years ;-)

Hi Florence, sorry to hear that you have felt emotional about your thesis.  The pressure you are under to complete with funding that has run out is immense so no wonder you are feeling down about this. This added pressure makes you want to progress faster but in fact can have the opposite effect.  Looking at the goal set for today, I would suggest that this was a big goal to accomplish so this itself adds more intensity to your emotions.

I think you need to set yourself a realistic timetable of work to complete. Break this down into smaller achievable chunks.  Hopefully with smaller goals you will be able to achieve these, tick them off the list and add some self esteem back. If you load yourself with too big a goal in a short time frame you risk burning out before you complete the task.  I do think a slower steady pace is much more beneficial than a sporadic but speedy pace.

You can do this, just give yourself time to reflect on how.

Yes I am taking the weekend off but cannot stop thinking about these little things and hubby was on facebook lol. Off to get babies ready for going out! Have a productive day :-)

Morning Ady, my chapters and subsections have relatively boring titles too, probably due to it being scienced based! i.e. Effects of chocolate consumption on moral. Implications of chocolate consumption on moral etc. All very dull to be honest but I imagine this is what is expected of this type of thesis. My quandry is whether to number the sub-sub headings eg

Chapter 4 methodology
4.1 Effects of Chocolate Consumption on Moral
Chocolate Preparation

So I currently have 'chocolate preparation' in italics as a sub-sub heading but should I number them 4.1.1 instead? Am mulling over these little things while awaiting sups final comments.

I have looked back over my Gantz timetable for the time taken to write up. There seems to be lots of queries over how long etc so I thought this may help you all. Please bear in mind that I am only working PT about 15 hours a week!

May 2010 - Formalised the chapter structure (Contents page)
May - Nov 2010 Writing 8 draft chapters in seperate documents.
Aug 2010 - Nov 2010 Sent each chapter to sups as they were done and dealt with comments when they returned.
Nov 2010 - Jan 2011 Amalgamated all chapters into a thesis document with consistency and editing.
Jan 2011 Sent the first draft thesis (without graphs).
Jan 2011 to beg Feb 2011 Footnoting graphs and adding into each chapter.
Beg Feb 2011 Final draft of thesis sent to sups.

I have added a space between the number and the units ie 5 mg/l rather than 5mg/l.  The reason I have done this is the distinguish between the number and the unit as in some cases it can be ambiguous. For example, in my thesis I have litres per minute expressed as l/min.  If I have no space the number can be misinterpreted ie 2.5 l/min or 2.5l/min so the L can look the letter or the number one. I have seen the capital L being used for L/min and I beleive either can be used. I cannot quote the official ruling as journals can be specific as can uni regs for theses.

Thank you everyone, your support and this thread has certainly kept me going!  Sup 1 (uni) will start reading it on monday, sup 2 (ext) will read it over the weekend and sup 3 (ext) is noted to be very quiet via email lol. I therefore have no specific goals for the weekend!  I will get a paper copy delivered over the weekend for proofing next week. Have ordered a Kindle so will upload PDF papers onto it if it arrives over the weekend :-x

So I think that my goal is to have a rest and catch up with hubby for the weekend, first in a long while Pink Numbers .

Batfink - you are working well today so the sleep must have done to some good.
Star-Shaped - hope the analysis goes well today, it is such a good feeling to get it done correctly.
Tusco - Journal refs comments are a pain so good luck with those.  In fact I have a possible paper I could get on with now...

Hi all, managed to get lots done yesterday afternoon and evening with babies in childcare. Have a full final draft completed for sups to comment on, just got to wait for their comments. Am nervous about their comments and how much work this may involve as I would love to submit this labour of love! I have asked them all to comment on whether it is ready for submission.... Hopefully I will not have too many comments to address as two of my sups have read this in previous drafts but it has had some radical trimming to it since. My third sup has only read the lit review previously, he seems to be abit pre-occupied! It is his comments that may be plentiful as he hasn't seen this before :-( So how long will it take for them to read and comment?

Oh well, its in their hands meanwhile I feel like I am twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do next. Might look at getting a Kindle for all of the PDF papers I have......a little extravagent maybe!!!

Ok managed to get my goals done for today;
1. add ch 5 graphs to thesis - to finish DONE
2. add ch 6 graphs to thesis DONE
3. update contents page DONE

Only have page numbers to add to contents page but have not done all in case things get moved around. Thesis now uploaded for sups to see, email notification sent to them! PDF copy sent to brother (has a printing business lol) for him to print and return to me for proof-reading :-) My brain is now also fried and I need some sleep ;-)

Ady and Pink Numbers - you are both doing brilliantly! Looking at what is drafted over the time you have been writing will give you an idea of how long to write the rest. Both of you are looking like submitting in the summer. I found it emmensely satisfying to 'tick off' each chapter once it was drafted and again when I had completed sups comments. I think this really spurs you on to write some more.

I think we should have a celebratory 'virtual' BBQ once we have all submitted in the summer (turkey)

Afternoon everyone!  I hate stats too lol. I was top in the class at B.Sc level yet feel I know nothing about it these days, very worrying!  All my stats are scienced based - regressions, correlations and means comparisons, so a more basic set of tests :-) I did pay for SPSS tutorial so I could understand the latest software better.  I also put a query to the uni stats department which drew a complete blank from them. Fortunately my sup found an alternative method (from 1914) of linearising the data for ease of stats testing, phew!  That was enough headache for me :$

Anyway, for today I plan to finish adding ch 5 graphs (mostly done last night) and then start on ch 6 graphs. Aim is to complete all graph additions and the contents page by the end of the week.  That means my final draft will be completed and sent to sups, yeah!!!

There are many students that cannot get a on a PhD course due to the highly competitive situation. The economic climate is impacting on this and I cannot see this changing for a while. I would say that as you have been offered one in your area of interest then accept it. You could turn this down and not be a successful applicant again. I would suggest that a mid-rated institution with a leading name in the field is an excellent situation. Just because an institution is top-rated doesn't mean that they have the expertise in a particular field. I personally would prefer to work with a leading name for my field. For your career progression within the same area I would value the lead name over institute. If you are doing a PhD to use for a non-specificly related career then institution may be a bonus. It is for you to decide!