I've got endnote, but also have yet to master its intricacies. I know I will get round to it soon, but just not jet. It doesn't seem to want to produce the right reference pattern, although I know you can make it do this, at the moment everything is in a word document.

However, back to your query. What I have done at the moment is to create a file for each chapter, and when I find an article/journal article etc that I think will go in there, that is where I put it. I will get to grips with endnote before long but this seems to work at the moment for me.

Books from the  library get the same sort of treatment, proper refs and a word document containing quotes, comments etc, saved and printed out and filed. -also saved on CD and on a memory stick, you can never have too many copies :-)

Officially there is no coursework at all, but then there are hoops to jump through which are compulsory and therefore a kind of coursework by a different name. Also there are courses to attend but you don't have to actually hand anything in, just go along. I guess though it depends upon your field of research.

My stuff was ready to go to the next committee in May, due to many things, including unavailablility fo someone who had to sign one of the forms, (and the fact that they then signed an older version of the form, which simply would not be accepted now there was a new one) it is still waiting to go in - I took everything to the secretary at the end of August, seemingly complete at last, only for some changes to be made because of yet another change in the supervisory team and other minor things which means they need new forms . As I am part time I can't just drop in and get these things sorted and it seems there are so many hurdles that have very llittle to do with anything except ticking boxes. I feel I can't get on in case they need some adjustments, but I don't want to just hang about waiting as I know as soon as I get the green light my super will expect loads of work to have been done. Sometimes you just can't win can you.

i imagine the person has been in the department for sometime, which could be why the super took his side at the beginning. If he has now realised that you were right, and has apologised to you I would try to  forget what has happened and move on. The guy is your supervisor, and therefore it must have taken some courage on his part to actually admit he was wrong, and for the sake of everyone, including yourself try to look upon this as a positive thing and something to be encouraged, if you spurn his help he might not be so ready to take the same step again.

Now your super knows the situation he will probably be monitoring the other person to see how things are progressing, you have the upper hand even though it may not feel like it at the moment as you have the power to put the other person on the spot and bearing that in mind, next time they come out with remarks that you do not like simply tell them that you are not happy with the way they are speaking to you and you would like them to stop. Don't get upset, just tell them and then move on to something else. Stay calm and positive and the person will soon get the message, if not tell then if they don't change their ways, regretfully you will have to take things further (remember they are probably on a fixed contract, so will want either a renewal or a good reference so this give you some power of your own!).

I'm assuming you are in science? If you are in a male dominated area, this is something that happens - I've had to deal with this too - its one of those things, but once you have successfully dealt with this person, next time it will be much easier!:-)

you will get a better idea after your first session. You may find you never have to read the entire book, just dip in and out as the lectures progress. It may even depend upon the aspect you choose for your essays, I would use these lists as a starting point, get some of the books out of the uni library, or plonk yourself in the library, and have a look at the chapters to see which aspects they cover and make a list of these. Transfer these to index cards or something similar (make sure you reference each one so you know where the info is located!)and then you will then able to rearrange them as necessary into sources of material for specific topics as you need them, probably just as useful as trying to pick what to read from a long list of possible titles. :-)

Don't let this person get you down, she may have won the battle, but not the war. To say at the start that she wasn't going to pass it is plain sillyand your internal examiner should have stepped in was the other person a man or a mouse? You should query this approach and then complain, in writing to the university first, and if they don't do anything take it higher.

I had a very similar experience when taking my fellowship exam - and one of the panel of examiners took a very similar position to your examiner and rubbished my reasoning for using certain practical methods because they were not the ones he had experience of in his lab. However the chair of the panel phoned me the next day - (you got an official letter to say if you had passed or not, it wasn't an on the day thing )- to apologise to me saying that the person was new to the post and had overstepped the mark in his eagerness to show how good he was and invited me to a second viva where the panel couldn't have been nicer and I passed.- perhaps this is what will happen to you. Make the changes and resubmit, but make sure she isn't your examiner second time round

I agree with everything others have said
Are you still new to your research? to move to a different place is always a big step, and to take on a research project is difficult too. Even when you know your way round a little it is the start of a whole new way of working it is a very steep learning curve and it needs time to settle in, and unfortunately this is sometimes not recognised by the university, it doesn't come overnight, or even in the first few years but somehow many of the academics and others too seem to expect you to know everything straight away, some expect too much as they have forgotten what it was like to be in your position.- and some may be good academically but not so good at people skills, they never get taught that bit! Things will get better. Do go to student welfare as a start, in a week or so there will be a load of new students around, you might want to try to join in a few of their activites just to give yourself a bit of a break from your studies. don't ever think of yourself as a failure, how can that possibly be so? However we all go through the same sort of thing, is our work good enough? does it make sense? etc. etc. and we have all had the work we have spent ages on sent back with comments that make your heart sink but that is where this forum comes in, look upon it as somewhere to get support because we have all been there and will be there until we get the thing finished and know what it is like.

Hope you are feeling a bit better.

So, do you know this person has pinched this project? Did you let your supervisors know that you were keen on taking up the idea? If you didn't give them any positive feedback they might not have known that you were actively researching the idea and may have thought you didn't want it. I wouldn't have thought that they would have let the other student run with it if they thought you were interested, what would they gain by that? I really don't think 'confront' is the word you want to use, calm down a bit and then approach them, say you have heard that someone else has started work on the idea too, even though you thought it was yours. -They might say they thought you didn't want it, they might say it is still yours. I don't think you need to make a scene with the other student, after all they might not even know you had first refusal (that is if you did of course) and whatever happens you will have to work in the same place as them for a while to come, a pleasant work atmosphere is essential for productive work. :-)

I have said this before, but you do need to remember that your supervisor - potential or actual- does not work in a bubble. If you feel that this person is not the best person to be your supervisor, then that is one thing, to go off in a huff for whatever reason justified or not, is not a good thing to do. People in the field talk to one another and you should attempt to keep on good terms with them all, it is only a short time out of your entire career so tread softly when you encounter these problems. They happen to us all (unless you are very lucky) and you just have to be philosophical about it and try to see a way round hte problem, if you need to say sorry, even if it wasn't your fault, then do it. I really don't think your supervisor would allow you to fail, why should they?

During your PhD there will be lots of times where things, some big, some small, go a bit awry, that is the nature of the beast, but you have to get over it and get on. However if this is the person you want to be your supervisor, then go and apologise it will cost you nothing in the long run, and you will feel better too I expect:-)

go to the uni website and you should find an area for postgrad students, this should give you some of the info you need, and probably most importantly a contact number or e-mail address of the post grad secretary. Give them a ring/send them an e-mail and they will be able to answer your questions. Universities seem in general to work on the idea that everyone is telepathic and also assume that people who are just starting out don't find the process a bit traumatic. If you can't find the area, phone the uni on Monday. Since many people are 'on holiday' when the undergrads are off campus they may just not have got round to providing you with the information yet- but they will...eventually!:-)

Well, you may be right or you may be wrong, it is hard to tell as we obviously only have one side of the story. You don't say if she has similar behaviour with anyone else other than being more formal with you, she may be trying to create a bit of distance, to defuse a situation, or she may be trying to warn you off for all sorts of reasons, including the effect this could have on both your careers if your perception is correct. Maybe you need to take her lead and keep things formal too - whatever type of relationship the 20+ year age gap is a major consideration. If she is a prospective supervisor, and you want her in this role then you don't have any real choice in the matter you must take a step back.

how about suggest, consider, note, reflect upon, contrast, reveal... I often run out of things like this, so I just put down whatever seems to be the one sticking in my brain whilst I'm in full flow, and then alter it later :$.

I think the EdD is more often based round practical things, involving action research and classroom work, etc. and may have more taught areas, whereas a PhD in an area of education may be more theoretical and therefore more like any other PhD in the humanities. I don't think there would be much difference in the amount of time needed overall, but the pattern of the work may be different For example if the EdD involves work directly with children you may need more time actually in schools, so you could find your work dictated by school terms and this would in turn affect the rhythm of the workload to a greater extent than a PhD in another area with no such restrictions. My research is in education, but not directly linked to the pupils, so I have the opposite problem, I work harder on my subject during the holidays as during term time I have more things to do relating to my work in school. you may find it more useful to look at it from this angle as it may give you an idea which pattern will be best for you.

Being part time I work mostly from home, working in education it is very difficult for me to get in to most of the seminars, because, of course they are in term time, not being a teacher makes that aspect even worse. I do go to the library from time to time, to pick up book etc., but it is quite quiet at home when everyomne else is at work - one advantage of being in education. i do feel, however that universities are still not geared up for people who are not able to come in at the drop of a hat, or are not full time. For example it is hard to get things signed, because people are not available when you can get in. Also, during the time the undergrads are in it is very very noisy, and of course since the whole thing is quite open plan, the noise even travels to the silent area because of the design of the building, plus I find a lot of journals quite tempting- even though their content is way off my subject, so home it is for the main part. The dragon by the door in the post grad building keeps me out of there, as her whole aim in life appears to revolve around making sure that if you ask anything she won't answer you until she has filed endless bits of paper, or tapped a few keys on her computer, just to make sure you know your place, or suggesting that she dosn't actually know the answer to your question, but has no inention of finding someone who does. There is no point in going there, and the computers aren't as good as my one at home anyway!

i don't always get the threads showing, sometimes they come up just one at a time, and sometimes I get the lot, no reason for the difference though

If you are using different ways of collecting your information I would have thought that your sheet should be specific for each one. For example the information for someone filling in a questionnaire would probably not be the same as the info you would want to give to those in an interview situation. I assume you have made sure you have addressed all the issues mentioned in the NHS ethics. Talking to other people who are researching in your field - it can apply to education too, but mine doesn't involve children so the rules are a bit different - they have all made sure that there is a structure in place so that their participants can be debriefed, and that they have information about where they can go for further help if they feel they need it.