thanks. very helpful suggestions.I do agree with you that it is a very vague question and is always difficult to make people talk about culture.
all the best

understanding the wider organizational culture while interviewing my research participants is essential for my project. is anybody out there that could suggest good questions to ask in order to understand the wider organizational culture during the interview?
many thanks to all of you

i am in my 2nd year, ready to study with my field work- collecting data in hospitals and GPs- but sounds really complicated and difficult to manage, if not impossible. on top of that i have recently been informed that the organisation that granted my scholarship will close in 2 years time (8 months before i finish with my PhD, and even though people say that my grant is secured i doubt it) and my main supervisor is quitting his post and joins another department 5 hours away from the one we are based. And to finish with my story I have just came back from Greece ( that’s where I am coming from) after 3 weeks of holidays and I am as depressed as never. i don’t know what to do... quitting is an option but it is an easy one and I don’t really like.... but i guess this is the life of a PhD student. 3-4 years of great changes.... as far as money is concerned i am sure that PhDs will open the doors for huge opportunities to earn a lot of money( not necessarily in the academia).....

of course not. but you have to think if you are really up for the task of a phd.are u? if you are then carry on the hard work and you will find a something

imagine that six years ago ohd grants were around 600-700 per month
so 12000 is much mire better than it was before

i will agree with Ann. always ask your suprvisor`s feedback before submiting sthing in public, especially if you want to add his/her name as well.

The department that issued my grant for my PhD will close 8-10 months before the date that I have to finish my studies. i have 2.5 years left. My supervisor is leaving the department in six months and will join another one but he is happy to supervise me on the long term. i m thinking to follow him in the new department and if this is not possible then to quit the PhD altogether? What would you think?

I have to choose a geographical area in order to do a qualitative research project that involves interviews with health workers in both hospitals and General practices. I live in London and study in Bristol. What do you think should be the criteria in order to choose the location? Should convenience be a criterion? What criteria do you think should be taken into account in order to justify the choice of location?

I am in the 2nd year if my 4 years PhD and the organisation that have funded my PhD will close in couple of years. This will not affect my scholarship but my supervisor has decided to join another organisation. Currently we are based at Bristol Uni and he is going to Kent. the organisation I am doing the PhD with, part of Bristol uni has an international reputation as is the other one in Kent. My supervisor explained that she would like to supervise me and i have the choice to carry on in the department I am based or to follow her in the new one. if not i could carry on as usual and we would meet once a month for the supervision meeting. what would you do if you were in my case?many thanks

I would like to thank you all for your time and useful ideas you offered to me.
All the best

i think it is because of your supervisor you are there doing this piece of research. however,anb when it comes to papers, good practices suggests each author to explain how he/she contributed in the particular paper. this could be a good start to justify your contribution and your original work.....hope it helps

it is just that I don’t think justifying the choice of the settings only on the basis of convenience to the researcher is the right approach. I was hoping that the variation of economic and sociodemgraphic characteristics within the same community could have an impact on the research question and could be related with the outcomes. The main research question is to understand the process of implementing new evidence "as it happens" into health care organisations and explore variation in practices.

what do you think? what else do you think could influence your choice of location in this particular context?
many thanks

I think I am in a dead end here. I have to provide a rational on how to select the geographic location of my fieldwork. My research will take place in hospitals and general practices and will involve interviews with health professionals, managers and patients and I have picked up London area for 3 main reasons:
1) Huge variation of socio-demographic characteristics of health workers health professionals, managers and patients
2) Ease access for the researcher
3) It will be cheaper for me to do it in London than other big cities in UK. So it would be feasible to do it as my research grant could cover the associated expenses.

Do you think the aforementioned reasons could scientifically justify the rational for selecting London?

Do you happen to think of any other criteria that could influence choice

Many thanks to all of you

could u get ur summer holidays and deliver the work you have to deliver to keep ur supervisor happy? if you can then u could get the holidays u want. if not, please forget it

How difficult do you think it is to work part time in research when you are a full time PhD student? I was wondering if you happen to know where I could find a strong cover letter for PhD students that are interested in part time jobs. Any ideas?
Thanks