I'm in my final funded year of a full time PhD and still lots of work ahead of me including a final stint of data collection and lots of writing. I'm in the area of critical social psychology. All of the psychology PhD's in my department are traditional lab based psychs so any other critical health/social psycs out there or sociologists?

Thanks so much for the above advice. I'm beginning to realise that the revisions may take longer than planned but also that it's not going to be as black and white as submitting my thesis one day and starting full time work the next. I've discussed my thoughts and fears with my supervisor and his advice was to wait until the thesis is "in good shape" before starting work and so wait until I at least have a first full draft.

It's great to have this forum to come to for support - thanks again :)

Thanks a lot kelpie! I didn't actually anticipate a 'well done' so that has helped put things in perspective, it's easy to forget how far you've come when you've still got a long way to go.

A good point about the argument, this is something I'm constantly revising in my head and in notes, I feel like it's all coming together but have nothing tangible to show for it yet. I guess I need to keep on top of the writing and hopefully it will fall into place.

Thanks again for the comments :)

I did a quick keyword search for 'third year', 'starting third year' and couldn't find much on this so wanted to tell my story in the hope of some advice or support.

On 24th September I officially enter the third and final funded year of my PhD - scary!

My first year was very slow, lots of personal issues at the very beginning meant that it was slow off the ground but I passed my first year progression.

My second year - I committed myself to getting organised and on with things, I had three studies planned and hadn't started any of them but had a plan, it would be tough but I just needed to stay motivated.

Now, at the end of my second year I have 2 of the 3 studies completed, one of these is drafted as a chapter and the other is still to be written. I have ethical approval (pending final amendments) for my final study and this should be completed mid-December.

The plan - I only have around 20,000 words written up and sometimes this concerns me but if I stick to my plan I should reach my target of having a full draft by 1st July next year and be ready to submit in September. Either way I'll need to start earning money in October.

Any advice/tips/words of wisdom/support highly welcome!

FYI: I'm in the social sciences carrying out qualitative research.

Thanks for reading :)

I don't need that stress so instead I am staying home. There is money for a taxi by the front door. I am going to catch up on my PhD work and then enjoy a few hours to myself.

Reading these comments have given me a lot to think about so thanks again for reading and responding to this quite off-topic topic!

GM

Thanks so much to everyone for the honest and supportive comments. I had not come across alanon before but have looked them up since and think this would be a good way forward for me. I've also made a conscious decision to put myself, my work and my health and wellbeing first rather than spend excessive time fretting about my partner. I try to keep an open line of communication with him at all times. He knows I am there to support him but I have also put things in place to protect myself and my PhD! As things stand he has not had a drink for 3 whole days, through his own choice and desire to look after himself. There is however a works function this evening. Him and his collegues are going for a meal at 6.30. My concern is that the restaurant is around the corner from his work place where everybody finishes at 3.45pm. Between finishing work and going to eat they will all be going for pre-drinks. I'm not sure if my partner has the self-discpline or strength to limit his drinking. In the past I would have spent the evening worrying about him, would have offered to pick him up only to turn up and him act childish and refuse to leave with me, leaving instead drunk in his own car (this happened once 4 months ago). This is the first works function since then and I have refused to drive out to pick him out and have him argue with me for an hour in public before driving himself home! Instead I have offered to pay for his taxi and take him to collect his own car tomorrow. The choice is his but I will not pick him up as even if he does get in my car with me, on another past occasion he has spent the journey home playing with the functions and gear stick on my car to the point where I've had to pull over a couple of times.

He goes into rants about things in the news, global politics etc but in an almost aggressive way so it is impossible to engage in a proper conversation and he tells me I'm too liberal and naive. He’ll drive 3 miles to pick up a pizza even after too much alcohol and I worry about his and others’ safety.

When he's sober he is the most loving, caring, attentive, intelligent and creative man I have ever met. He buys me flowers, he drives me to surprise places, he fitted a bath in our house as we only had a shower and I love to have a bath, he compliments me, listens to me, cares for me when I'm sick (even took a day off once to care for me). He talks of our future, of getting married and travelling, he makes me laugh and makes me feel very loved.

I wrote him a letter a few weeks ago to tell him how I feel and he stopped drinking for 5 days and things were better. For 2 weeks he only drank on the weekend and in moderation but things have slipped back and feel like they could be worse than ever.

He recognised that he has a problem, I’ve told him that I’m not there to change him but there to support him and I’ve suggested counselling but he doesn’t want it. He says he can manage his own problems. I’m started to think that I should try and find a new place to live (I have no family to move in with near to my university). I’m starting to think that a break would be good for him to gain some perspective and control of his life but moving out would be a massive upheaval especially for me (selfishly) at this stage of my PhD.

I don’t know what to do. If anyone has any experiences or can point me somewhere, it would be really appreciated.

Thanks

GM

Ok so I'm posting this in 'off-topic' as it is very off-topic but I'm struggling at the moment and the people in the forum have been friendly and supportive with my PhD concerns in the past.

So I'm coming into the third and hopefully final year of my PhD, I feel like I'm a little behind (though I know this is a common feeling). I have lots and lots of hard work ahead of me, one final phase of data collection and lots of writing. This I can manage, I just need to work hard, reward myself, keep a good routine and look after my mind and body.

This is all being made harder by life with my alcoholic partner. He is what people call a 'high-functioning alcoholic' in that he has a good job, turns up on time, does bits of D.I.Y. and his fair share of housework, food shopping, pays his share of the bills etc... BUT he drinks excessive amounts of alcohol. To put this into perspective, I arrived home from the university today at 4pm and he had finished 4 bottles of red wine which he bought at 8pm last night. He can easily drink 2 bottles of wine a day every day. It is mostly at night and up until recently was only at night but on 2 occasions recently, I've woke on a weekend at around 7am and he's got up half an hour before me and is finishing of the film and bottle of wine from the previous night, while I sit with my cereal and coffee. I worry about his health, long-term and short-term. He has lots of mood swings, he can be cuddly one minute and then wants to tickle and nibble at me. This is all sweet and romantic fun when he's sober but when he's had too much to drink he can be rough, extremely irritating and the nibbling becomes more like biting. CONTINUED BELOW

Thanks for the advice. I decided to have a play with one of my transcripts on Nvivo and think I'm going to use that. I'll probably keep a couple of pages of handwritten notes and ideas on the go too as I have in the past to help me conceptualise the analysis. I like the idea of having my transcripts, codes and themes electronically organised.

Thanks again for the tips!

Hi,

I'm transcribing some semi-structured interviews at the moment ready for thematic analysis. I'n the past I've always used traditional paper based methods to analyse my data. I'm wondering what other's experiences are of using different methods, particular Nvivo or Microsoft Word (as these are the only other software I know how to use). I did some Nvivo training but haven't had chance to use it till now.

For info, I have 18 interview transcripts of around 10 pages each and though it will be primarily a qualitative thematic analysis, I could also benefit from some quantitative content analysis too.

Thanks for reading

GM

I agree it is very off putting, this forum is great otherwise.

Thanks a lot. I've wrote out a writing schedule that should work around my remaining fieldwork (no matter what happens with collaborators). I'm only teaching 1 hour a fortnight during term time and I don't have any children so in a fortunate position PhD wise.

Thanks for the reply!

I should definitely clarify that I only have around 20% of the thesis written up at the moment! I'm feel that I'm definitely on track to get another 30% written while my final study is on going.

I'm aiming for a full draft by 1st July 2015 and then revise and submit before 30th September.

Thanks for the comparison info, it's really helpful. I was asking because my supervisor says I'm on track but I've spoke to a few others who are leaving 12-24 months aside solely for writing the thesis. Your situation sounds similar to mine. Best of luck with the rest of your lab work and writing :)

OK so I have 2 out of 3 studies complete and the final one is collaborative and the time it will take will depend on lots of factors outside of my control. I may be finished for Christmas or it may be March 2015. At that point I'll have 50% of the thesis left to write (findings, discussion, re-working of introductory chapters).

My funding lasts only until 30th September 2015 so whatever happens I'll need to take on a job then. If I do have problems and am still writing then I can look at getting a part-time teaching assistant type position. The good pay even at part time will cover my living costs.

How long does the final stretch of writing and revision generally take? Am I being over ambitious expecting to complete and submit the thesis in September 2015?

What are others experiences of the final write up period?

Thanks for reading.

GM x

Thanks for the message and sorry to here you're not having the best time job hunting. I have loads of conference papers too and teaching experience but with hopefully 15 months to go till submission I'm thinking I could do with prioritising getting some papers out there!