Try searching on sciencedirect.com

Bob you are totally right - you are naive, stuck up and utterly clueless like all those other PhD students

I'm about to apply for a PhD P/T and a lot depends on the university - as ali points out they get significantly less fees for the same amount of work on their part if you complete early. There is often a compulsory time limit that you have to commit to, usually between 4 and 6 years.

I'm in exactly the same situation as you Barry B, my future supervisor told me that once you find something of interest, there will be scope to take it in a different direction. Most PhDs don't end up being exactly what the proposal describes anyway. Just concentrate on the dissertation and don't worry about it for now. Best of luck.

Three years is a long time to study something you don't like. Putting together a detailed PhD proposal will give you a better idea whether you're really interested in this subject or not.

I am hoping to apply for a Computational chemistry vaccancy

I start in Oct and have heard so many discussions regarding the importance in having interest in your PhD topic (see 26/08/05 PhD proposal entry).
Forgive me for sounding naive Bob, (dig at 28/08/05 entry PhD morons) but I am unsure of the precise area of my PhD. Dont get me wrong, I have a vague idea and have some interest but have not looked into it further (busy doing MSc dissertation.)
Cheers

How many publications indicate supervisor is highly regarded in field. I searched my supervisor and found 5 publications in his name (with co authors). What does this say?
None have been recent either.

thanks for the advice - its jst that i first registered full time and all of a sudden i was told that i was put part-time - due to personal circumstances it wud be difficult to do more than 3 years for a phd and may work out more expensive. I am in the best uni with the best supervisors in my field and it seems difficult to give this up - but if its 3 + years i may not have any other options.

How much is the stipend for the Doctoral Training Account studentships? Is it the same as the standard amount?

Or you could look at their homepage on their Uni website and see what publications they list. Although publications will give you an idea of whether they are good (eminent in their field) but they wont tell you whether they are good (a nice person to have as a supervisor)!!

Or you could email the supervisor and ask them to email you some publications.

what field are you in? there are websites where you can look at just the abstracts, and you can see if they have publications in good journals

Its very rare to be allowed to complete a part-time phD in less than 5 years. Primarily because your supervisors will want to be paid and if you complete in 3 yrs then they will get paid 2 yrs fewer fees payment (something that will make them less than happy!). The earliest time in which you can submit is 4 years 6mths for a PT PhD.

1) can you get the work done in 3 years? 2) if you sign for a PT PhD you will be registered for a period of 6(?) years. If you finish in 3 years, you will have to apply to your Uni for an exemption to reduce your period of registration, convincing them that you have done all you need to in half the time. I have heard (this is only hearsay mind) that it can be quite difficult. I'd check your uni regulations for submitting early, and maybe ask the admin people what their view is.