the use of the internet as a source of information is increasing, and the dubious way some people go about this is certainly cause for concern, and even has a name 'lurking'. However there are legitimate ways of using these sites, I say this because part of my research is using stuff from the internet... but there is a difference, its from a website of which I have been a member for quite a few years, about 10 or so, I contribute regularly as it is our 'helpline' where we try to answer queries from other members - its the usual sort of stuff, 'my experiment won't work, what do you do to make it work,' or 'we are thinking of buying this bit of equipment, has anyone tried it/used it/gor any advice?' kind of thing, (they are specific websites for our profession and provide our only real link to each other as we often work alone or with maybe one or two other people and have nobody around to help us, it is a closed membership you can't just sign on, there are strict criteria to be met ) plus they all know I am doing this research, are very supportive of the work (as they were when I was doing my MA) because I have told them so. -I had several well done etc. and we had a bit of a cyber celebration when I told them I had had my proposal accepted -and they have offered to help in any way they can. I will be sending out my questionnaire using these sites, because basically it is probably the only way many people would actually get it for a variety of reasons, and people obviously have the opportunity to contribute or not, if anyone has put anything that I would like to use on the forum, I can email them direct and ask them if I can use it, -although it would never be a direct quote - it would adhere to all the usual ethical considerations. and there would be no way of identifying any individual as all results are aggregated or otherwise rendered anonymous. Everyone I have asked has always said yes, and noted that they would be willing to help further if I needed it. Its an equal partnership

The problem comes from unregulated/moderated sites, but if they are in the public domain then anyone can look at them without joining, and if they are in this domain then all the info is available anyway, so how anyone can be stopped from using this is difficult to see - would consent be assumed by some people I wonder, it is as open as someone writing to a newspaper letters page and someone analysing those. The problem arises when people infiltrate a site and ask leading questions without anyone knowing what they are doing THEN it becomes a problem as the power base shifts. The use of the internet in this way has been the subject of several papers, (Madge,c. and O'Connor H. (2002) on-line with e-mums is one)which I thinks considers the pros and cons) and I think the consensus of opinion is that the ethics need to be considered very carefully and that the researcher should identify themselves as such if it is at all possible (some have argued that the nature of the research makes this difficult) - and if they have said they have revealed the purpose of the question after collecting the data, is this good enough? How many people will a) still be on the forum as it is often the use of a specific forum may be transient or time-limited and b) would reply 'take me out of your research'? Of course there is always the possibility that others may also be monitoring the site and the question asked may also become part of the research of someone who is looking at the type of question asked on forums ! :$

Its a difficult one really, maybe the answer is that it is one method of collecting data, but as with all other methods the ethics really need careful scrutiny and the pros and cons, including- is this just a lazy way of collecting data considered.

'Scuse spelling mistakes daren't use the spell checker is usually destroys my post and tihs is quite a long one :$

I will be citing both my supervisors as they are the top in the field in this country and have a worldwide reputation, not quite in my area, but close enough in some aspects. My problem is worrying whether or not I have interpreted their work correctly. I hope I don't get the comment 'I didn't mean that at all' :$. It also seems quite embarrassing, but I guess they are well used to being cited by people, I shouldn't think it is an ego boost.

i have a full time job in education, which gives me at least part of the holidays. (I'm not a teacher, but still have loads of things to do connected with school to keep things running smoothly in my bit of the department, and often work late there during the week as well) so I tend not to do a lot during term time, probably a few hours during the week, depending on what else I have to do, and longer at the weekends. If inspiration strikes, then I do more, if not I wait until the holidays to get larger amounts of work done. I've got two chapters in pretty good shape, but will spend the summer taking them apart and reassembling them, and bits and pieces in others at the moment which I will work on more solidly too. It isn't necessarily the amoun tof time you spend, but how productive it is. It is do-able. I'm also a school governor, chair of the local community centre, and union rep and have other hobbies and things to do as well as work and PhD, you possible work pattern seems OK to me, it may depend how you like to work though.

I think it is possibly a little unfair to the person who might want to take it over as a PhD project if you have done a lot of the groundwork. Could you try to convert it to an MPhil? This would mean you would get something out of it and might be able to leave it in a position that someone else could get something too. The idea of working in a school in some capacity might be an alternative, and posts will probably be advertised between now and September. Give the company you work for as much time as you can to get someone else to take over, and work out a strategy that would show them how this would be possible, you may need a reference from them sometime in the future and you will want it to be good

If he says it was OK, then I don't really see why the other person is making so many waves. However if the object is to get through the upgrade, do the necessary and then decide what you want to do about the future. If you can then get someone who is enthusiastic about what you are doing then you can put all this behind you and put it down to experience, - and when you get to supervise someone, you will know exactly how to behave to help your student. :-)

Well this does seem very negative, and not really what I would expect of a supervisor, and neither should you. If you have always had an off relationship with them, then it is in neither of your interests for this to continue. When I was doing my masters diss I has a similar problem, except my supervisor told me that he didn't want to do it (it wasn't really in his field but it was the nearest they had, so they, in his words, 'twisted his arm' ) result was I saw him twice, once at the beginning and once when I had done it all and it was ready to be handed in, and I sent about 5 e-mails, his repiles contradicted each other and he took ages to reply. It was a bad situation and one I wouldn't want to repeat. Unless you realy, really need him on board, just ask him why he is being so negative, and suggest that if he knows someone who would be more helpful, could he approach them. you are paying for his services as a supervisor one way or another, so you are entitled to receive better treatment. Also go and see whoever oversees post grad stuff at your place and ask them what to do. It won't be the first time this has happened, and there should be a policy on what to do in these circumstances.

first stop should be your IT department at uni. I have just ordered a colour laser via IT (sounds posh, but it is necessary, my supervisor sends comments back in colour and now chapters are getting larger it takes ages to print on an inkjet and a b&w laser isn't really an option, unless I want to go through it all and highlight the comments) and firstly it is coming out of my expenses and thus my fees, so is really 'free' and secondly they got a fair bit off the listed price.

i wondered what I was supposed to do, and there was me with a pointy stick and a pile of mud :-).

Have you got chapter headings? If not, get some:-) once you have done that, get yourself some large bits of paper, sort of A2 size, give each chapter a piece of paper and jot down bits that have to go in each one, make sure you give yourself time to get down all your thoughts. This is your framework. If there is no limit on words make one up, i think the average science thesis is about 60000, so divide this between your chapters, number your thoughts on your pieces of paper and get writing, don't worry too much about getting the first few sentences right, just get the stuff down. This should get you going.If you want to, do a bit in each chapter, if you get an idea whilst writing something else jot it down somewhere immediately, or you will forget it. good luck :-)

no experience of this buffer but just a quick note - have you checked the pH of your deionised water? I think buffers are only supposed to stabilise minor changes, not massive ones, it may be that the water is too acidic at the outset. :$ I'm at home and haven't the relevant books to hand, so if this sounds like complete rubbish for your particular situation, please feel free to ignore! :-)

You would be better off going to the library and getting them to help you sort out what you need to do, you may be able to get someone to write your essay at undergrad or masters, but I think one of the points of doing a masters is that you get to know about the subject in some depth, and when someone mentions people in your field you actually remember they exist, and maybe even something they wrote. you will need this if you go on to do a PhD, and you won't get this by having someone else doing hte work for you.

I would go for it. work hard from now until September, make a detailed plan of what you need to get done from Sept to Jan to keep yourself on task, then you will know where you should be by the end of each month. If you need to take a bit more time as you go along at least your overall plan will tell you how you are doing in the greater scheme of things. Tell your supervisor as soon as you can I bet they will be pleased for you.

I have just read this thread, and personally I think your friend may need to see someone about this.

My husband was killed one night by a speeding driver (he was crossing the road with our dogs, and the guy was showing off in his car to a prospective buyerand speeding) just months into my youngest daughter's first year at uni. It was awful having to tell her the news over the phone, as you can imagine and it was the next day before she could get home. Trauma is a little word, but covers so much. Luckily she had the best flatmates ever, they came back from a night out to be with her that night. Looked after her when she went back, were there for her when she needed to speak/shout/rant at someone, cleared up after her when she got very very drunk one night and in fact were amazing. The uni were also very sympathetic and did everything they could to make sure she had all the advice etc. that she needed. I'm telling you this because she pprobably needs someone to care for her, its a bit like children, they need boundaries and although they might say otherwise they need someone to tell them to stop, to prove to them if you like that they are loved and that they matter to someone so much that the other person will say enough is enough, stop it. I guess she has had a lot to cope with and may even need to have a real argument with someone (you?) to prove someone does care what she does and also at some level to feel safe enough to let go of her feelings that she appears to have been bottling up. I guess it will be hard for you, with all the things that are going on with your life, but speak to her, let her get angry at your interference, because if you are as close as you suggest it will probably be just a release mechanism, then perhaps you could presuade her to see someone, phone the samaritans, i think there is also a berevement charity that may help. Don't give up on her, if she hasn't been like this before I think its just perhaps a cry for help (I hope this doesn't sound like a load of rubbish, because I'm no psychiatrist, but I do know what my daughter needed, and what helped her cope :$

good luck in whatever you decide, but take small steps at a time and don't burn any bridges until you have to. If you feel lik eyou want to try the police thing - have you made any enquiries yet? Think positive I am sure it will work out right in the end.

The only things I know about these, because I'm not using this method, is that I have read/been told that you shouldn't have an odd number on these scales, otherwise people tend to go for the middle option. and don't think there are any rules about which end should be the strong agree/stong disagree, except that you should vary this for your questions, again to avoid people just going down the row without reading the question.