OMG finally i found people just like me....i am in my writing phase of DBA thesis...I .spend the majority of my time in front of the laptop but little progress is achieved!
I don't really know how people are doing it and get into writing thing!
I am honestly glad to find this forum....someone who can at least understand my feeling and can give me a support.
All the best!

@Welcome to you SU3AD, wishing you the best of luck. I am sure you will get much support from the forum and this thread when you need it. Hope all goes well and the writing issues are manageable.

Yesterday I had my final meeting before submission in 7 weeks time. It was around 4 hours and we went through the whole thing.
What do I have to do now?

Check for absolute consistency, with headings and APA citation.
Work a bit more on the table formatting. Some clarification of terms.
Some further work on bringing out contribution to knowledge-its in there and the study is a 'lovely story' but contribution is a bit underplayed and needs to be drawn out in conclusion more effectively.
Send a copy of Chapter 1 and 4 to second supervisor and ask her to read to check that she is happy with my formatting and consistency changes in.about 3-4 weeks.
Some paragraphs here and there need to be moved from where they are and placed in another part of the thesis.
Some headings need to be collapsed into one heading or removed at different points.
Add or adjust lit review in small parts to reflect some references introduced in discussion chapter.
Few more editing sorts of things, doable definitely.

I think this is my penultimate or second last post on this particular thread-I'll post on or just after submission. Best wishes to all of you on this last year, last months thread and all of you drawing closer to the finishing line.

Welcome, SU3AD :)

Pjlu, sounds like you're nearly there! Best of luck with it. I'm just waiting on my viva date now.

Thanks Pjlu, that's some really good advice. I can definitely relate to those thoughts of it all being a bit pointless at this point in time. I guess I feel a bit disappointed that after all the years of work, the actual research itself doesn't feel very much more significant than any other research project I've worked on. And I've kind of lost faith in my supervisors a bit and feel they've pushed me in a direction that I found less interesting. But they, I think, have their eyes on submission and 'good enough not to fail' and right now that's where I need to be too. Also, I don't think I'm going to pursue an academic career, so my main motivation right now is just to get the d*** thing finished and be done with it!

Hi SU3AD. Afraid I don't know what a DBA thesis is? Is it dissertation by articles?

Chickpea sounds like you are very, very close indeed - exciting! My writing schedule has me writing the conclusion two weeks before I have to submit! Eeeek!

Hey all,
I am due to hand my thesis in by August 31st. I'm starting to get a lot of anxiety and am having trouble sleeping which is really not helping the writing process. Any tips? Anyone else in the same boat atm? Thanks!

Hi PhD2017. Yes, I am in a similar boat! I'm a much older than average PhD student and have never had any anxiety before, but as my submission deadline looms I have started to experience panic symptoms for the first time. Sleep isn't so much of a problem for me, but I find that when I sit down to write (and I still have much to do and very little time) I am too overwhelmed to do anything.

Few tips I am afraid. My GP gave me beta blockers which should allow me to work without anxiety and I think it makes me feel better knowing they are there if I need them. They don't help with my concentration problems though or my total lack of enthusiasm for my work at the moment. Its very hard without sleep to get on with writing. Is it panic that keeps you awake or a general sense of anxiety about what you still have to do? The no panic website is helpful if that is the problem. Going to bed physically exhausted might help with sleep? Sorry can't be more help, but wanted to let you know you are not alone. When the end is in sight the pressure really starts to build and I don't think that what we are experiencing is unusual.

Hello,
I am currently researching for my dissertation project and the aim is to explore if Brexit will have an effect on EU students finding employment in the UK.
This survey is for non-UK EU national students that are studying at a British university.
Under the Queen Mary Research Ethics Committee, personal information from all participants will be kept confidential and responses to questions will be anonymised. Respondents have the right to withdraw from the online questionnaire at any time.
I would really appreciate if anyone could dedicate a bit of time to fill out my survey (approximately take 5 minutes)
LINK: https://qmul.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/brexit-understanding-eu-students-and-employment
Thank you!

Hi, sorry I have no sage advice about anxiety. I do get it and just work through a repertoire of different strategies-wine, herbal tea, running and exercise, relaxation, Netflix binges, chocolate binges, exercise, anything that seems to work at all.

I have finished my draft bar printing it out for a final hard copy proof read tomorrow and then sending it to second supervisor for her approval (and/or suggestions). But really it is done bar second supervisors oversight and potential suggestions. So once she is happy I can submit. Didn't realise how anxious I was as I pretended I was fine but can always tell via fatigue and illness.I think though this part becomes difficult as it is becoming pretty much out of one's control. Hope she reads it quickly but it will be what it will be.

Best wishes to you both and hope that anxiety is not too much...the end is in sight huzzah!

Hey guys...

Anyone really good at using Mplus and/or SPSS? It's getting closer to analysis time for my dissertation and I need someone to help me refresh my brain on using these softwares.

Thanks x

Hi Beasley and Pjlu, thank you for replying. I have written over half of my dissertation now and seeing as it is by articles, the rest (results and discussion) shouldn't take too long..I hope. I'm starting to feel like I will make it by the end of the month and my supervisor said that he will only need a day or two to make corrections. My supervisor is wonderful, I think I'd be a mess if it wasn't for his support. I'm still not sleeping well and still experience chest pain almost daily from unconsciously holding my breath and anxiety. It feels like I've been swimming deep under water for the past almost year and am only now about to reach the surface. I am an anxious person in general, and I'm very competitive, so I bring a lot of the stress on myself. Beasley, I think it is quite normal, I have read a lot about anxiety among grad students, the pressure to publish and apply for grants etc affects us now too, no longer just those in full-time positions, with limited post doc positions and a thesis to write at the end of it all, is it any wonder there are higher rates of mental health struggles among grads. Pjlu, I downloaded the app CBT-i Coach and it has helped a lot actually - especially the muscle relaxation exercises, and tea has always been a good friend of mine. Hope you are both doing well and best of luck with your submission!

Hi every one, I am in final year of my PhD in bio sciences (cancer genetics). I need help in statistics. Does anyone knows how to apply spear man correlation ? Also how to do haplotype analysis on case control study of polymorphisms. I have data and want to apply these. Please help.