All very good advice. Just remember: Its very exciting to walk the tight rope but when you fall (and it'll just be a matter of time) its going to be painful. Go for the surgeons' cut - chop, chop and move on to safer grounds.

Well done, HazyJane! If you were a man, I'll say "You're the man with balls!" Assuming you are a lady, I say "You're the woman with balls".
Best wishes.

Hi Pamw,
Sorry to hear about the unfortunate situation. It will only benefit you to get someone with a strong theoretical knowledge as part of the team. Speak to your postgrad research tutor. Better still, approach someone you know who might help, informally.

It depends on the chapters. Chps 1&2 took 2months: Lit review and Methods. Chp3 took one month: Data analysis. Chps4 & 5 took three months: Findings and Discussion. Chp6 took three months: Methodological issues. To summarise, it took 9months to write 6 chapters totalling 74,000 words. There remains 2 big chapters and 4 small chps. Once the entire thesis is written, it'll take 2 months to ruthlessly edit what's been written and keep to the wordage of 100,000 words. Doing little chunks everyday is what is required.
Good luck and stay calm. Panic will only result in paralysis and stifles creativity which is so sorely required at this stage of the PhD.

look up:
David Silverman
Harry Wolcott
Coffey and Atkinson

Hey Sleepyhead,
You did not make the unhelpful comment. It was Aloha.
As for the negotiation process, it took one year to effect a change of supervisors. Unfortunately, one of the supervisors from the second team was equally horrible. When I requested a change for the third time, it was curtains for me. However, it was evident that the best option was to get out of the "toxic" environment and I contacted an academic from another institution for help. Like I said in my earlier post, he was aware of the awful situation. He agreed to help and spoke to a member of staff in the student office re completion of thesis in their university. Well, the rest is history.
Requesting for a change of supervisors is a lottery. In some institutions, it seems like bread and butter. In others, students who request for a change of supervisors are labelled difficult and problematic. It was a tough journey but I am pleased to be able to complete my thesis is a more supportive environment. Good luck with your Phd and keep us posted on your progress.
Best wishes,
Hairui

Thanks to Rjb203, Eska and Wookie for the good wishes. Sleepyhead, sorry if I misunderstood your message. Like I said, I just wanted to encourage other Phders to stand up for themselves. Requests for change of supervisors are generally not encouraged as it suggest a lack of academic expertise and other implications.
I'm really pleased to know that Aloha was the only person to make such remarks about me. As the saying goes, "sticks and stones will hurt but cruel words remains for a long, long time". I think posters who make unconstructive comments should think carefully and consider the feelings of others. Afterall, we are supposedly the cream of the crop in the academic world. Our responses should be measured.
The next step is to submit an application form to the incoming institution. I have a choice of either doing it part-time or full-time. As for the write-up fees, that is yet to be confirmed. My supervisors will return from their fieldwork at the end of January and our first meeting will be in Feb.
Once again, thanks for the encouragement and I will everyone posted.

Aloha, what do you hope to achieve by passing a comment of such ilk?

Erm, not too sure what you are getting at by whether I was totally honest and the rest of it. I met my new supervisor at a conference years ago and had always kept him informed about my progress and the problems I was facing. So, I guess I was honest with my new supervisor. My new sup has a brilliant relationship with members of staff in the uni and had given the relevant personnel a truncated version of my plight. So, I was not bad-mouthing my previous institution as suggested.
My purpose of putting this post is to encourage PhD students not to take any crap from rogue academics or institutions for that matter1

Well, this is a long time coming. Those of you who have been journeying with me in this PhD saga will recall that I had one hell of a time with the supervisors. I am now out of the 'toxic' environment and is completing my thesis in another university. The staff in the new university are well aware of my past and are very supportive in my move. A glimpse of humanity in the world of cloaks and daggers!
This time next year, the thesis will be done and dusted, I hope.

To be chucked out of a PhD studentship, the school/department needs to craft a solid case against you. They could use the altercation incident as a good reason. That might explain why your supervisor advised you to stay away from initiating a formal, written complaint about your encounter with the post doc. Once a written complaint is issued, the Head of School has a duty to resolve the matter in 10days (or whatever your uni regs are). If the outcome is unsatisfactory, you seek recourse with the university complaints officer. They have 20 working days(+/-) to respond. If the outcome is again unsatisfactory, it goes on to the IAO and finally the QAA.
But do you really want to be involved in all these procedures to avoid being chucked out? Think about it.
Also, revisit all the replies from posters and select the ones which are meaningful to you. Keep us posted on the results of your upgrade. And whatever decision you make, you will have to live with the consequences.
Regards,
Hairui

Yes, your PhD candidature can be terminated anytime, even after a successful upgrade. Mine was terminated last week after 5 years! Contrary to popular belief that the university has duty of care towards students, but when the chips are down, the boys will pull rank, ignore their shortcomings and brand the student as "difficult" and "unreasonable". Of course, the student can appeal on the grounds of adverse academic decisions. But do you really want to clean house for the university?
Best advice I can give is, if you have problems with your supervisors, call it a day after the upgrade and continue your research in another institution. Things don't get better with time. In truth, it can only get worse. Trust your instincts and "do the right thing" (oops, starting to sound like Tony Blair!)

Bad Bailey, kicking Bobby when he/she does not need it. Tut! Tut. Bobby, take our advice and sleep on it for a few days. Then get a good friend to edit what you've written. If that is still not good enough for your sup, trust your own instincts. You know, sups are not always right. Give yourself some credit. Chin up and keep us posted.;-);-)

Me neither. But I thought I would check it out anyway. Well, since I have no intention of changing the research questions at the write-up phase, I guess there won't be problems. Thanks for your comments.

MissSpacey,
They said that I should send a Substantial Amendment form for the committee to grant approval of the study, which has already been conducted and deemed as completed in Sept 2006!
When I raised this issue, the lead supervisor who insisted on the change refused to respond and claimed that the other two supervisors agreed. But those 2 chaps kept very quiet and showed no signs of agreement. I guessed they had to support each other and the student can just go jump.