I think it is regarded as a collective singular, so 'was' is my answer! :$

Definitely reply. I had this a while ago now when I applied for one job, but got offered an interview for a better job which they hadn't even advertised at that point. I'm not there any more, but they asked if they could keep my name on their files and I said yes, you never know when something good may come up and your name will be there ready and waiting!:-)

I think starting at a new place is always difficult, and perhaps you are a little apprehensive having left the other place? Maybe these people are under a lot of stress? It could be they have too much work to do, and little things get blown out of proportion, like getting the safety training done. This is important, but also a hoop to be jumped through. She was perhaps a bit disappointed that you had not finished the training and this may just have been another problem to add to others that she already had. Often people will be annoyed about one thing which they cannot do anything about and transpose this onto another over which they think they have more control, in this case it was you.

Try to forget about this difficult start, you have a new person and it looks like they might be better for you. It may not matter that they do not know everything about your area, in some ways this can be an advantage as they will ask you things that you may well not have thought of, or they will be able to tell you if you need to clarify any points you make. Often people in the same field develop a sort of shorthand which means that sometimes they forget they need to reach an audience which may need more information to understand  something. They will also get you help in areas with which they are not familiar. Regard this as a positive step.

If you feel able, thank the woman for her help and get her a small packet of sweets, or a box or tea or something, nothing big - you may not think she has helped you much, but that is not the point. You will probably be working close by this person and it is far better to have friends than enemies in the workplace. Smile at people and they will smile back, frown and they will frown too. this is a new beginning for you. Forget about the other place and concentrate on this one, you will be fine once you have settled in. good luck. J.:-)

If she has to have it finished in a few weeks, then I would be more cautious than if she had longer really. If she writes something very similar, it might look as though you are quoting her rather than the other way round, or worse, it might seem like the whole thing is her idea not yours and that you are copying it, and therefore your unique contribution would be lost. If you are going to talk to her, I would ask her to tell me what she is doing and then comment on that, with some helpful lit/journals if it is close enough to your own area to comment. If she has no idea then I would try to give some pointers, although a few weeks is not long to get it done I would not give her my work to read, and would only advise. If your work is exploring a new area/idea which no doubt it will be I would not want it to 'get out' before I had submitted. It is one thing to talk to your supervisors about your work in progress, but quite another to do it with someone who could pinch it. (This might be worse case scenario, but you never know)

I am writing my lit review as I go along and I will link it more firmly a the end. My area is education, but not as you know it :$ and I am using the lit review to explain how I chose the material I am using, by following ideas in 'Doing a Literature Review' by Hart and why it has provided useful insight into areas I never even thought about before. It is well worth a read. Also, if you look at the back of the books/articles there are usually a load of refs, try looking up a few of those, you can then use these to justify your choices, and may even find some useful extra material. On my timeline I have factored in several points at which I will (in theory at least) review the lit so that anytihng that comes along later that might be useful  can be included.

I got halfway through, and it lost the connection!!!!:-(

As others have said, most people get to this stage at least once, so you are not alone there. don't worry how others are doing, who knows if their stuff is easier- at the moment, or they are getting the answers they require or not - are they going to tell you? I doubt it. that's why this forum exists As far as the comments go, ignore them, some people just like to feel superior. if you want to go down the journal route get what, when and where sorted, go to your supervisor with this info and get her help to sort that out. go on holiday, have a break and relax a bit, then when you get back decide how you are going to move on. Get a plan for the rest of the 1.5 years prepared, you won't stick to it, but it will be a good start. There are always obstacles in the way, you have to learn to leap over them, and if you can't go over, get a shovel and tunnel your way through.

I think this is probably one of the most difficult bits really, YOU know how and why you have done it, in a particular way, you just have to put it onto words. At the beginning of my methodology I have put a chart (I like charts and tables!) which shows how all the bits link together and how the various approaches I have made are reflected in the contents of the chapters. I thought this was necessary as it doesn't follow the method -result -conclusion path but is much more like a 3D jigsaw, or a whodunit? This makes it difficult to say 'I used xyz approach' because surely research has to be fluid, mine has taken lots of different turns as areas that appeared to be peripheral have turned out to be much more important and are now taking centre stage. you could say that as a result of the findings of a and b, c appeared to be the next step because....., or a particular answer/analysis showed that one area appeared to require further investigation, and c was the way to obtain the info needed. You could then use your pics to illustrate this. :-).

There is an awful lot of talk about taking it slow etc. and I would have gone down this line too,and took it on board through several relationships... BUT when it came to the 'real thing' we both knew almost at once, and we got married six weeks later :$.That really shocked the parents!  So what can I say? Well just this, you have to go with your gut feeling, if the spark is there, and you know it is, go for it...if you think the spark is there but are not quite sure, you still need to give it your best shot, one of you has to make the move or you will be dithering forever, if it is unlikely that the spark is there at all or entirely one sided it is in neither of your interests to pursue it at anything other than friendship. Gosh that sounds awfully clear cut, and I don't mean it to, but if you have found your soulmate for goodness sake don't let them go.

So, you have someone 'A' who is going to comment on x, y and z. You need a way of linking the comments of 'A' to the appropriate person. do they know this person will also be commenting on them? If so, then there should be no problem with asking them to put their name on them to start with, and then you can explain why you are requesting it, and that you will remove this when you have made the connection. The wording you use must be carefully thought through though, so that you don't give the participant the wrong idea of the amount of anonymity/confidentiality you can offer. With some things it is easy for others it is harder. For example most of my questionnaires were sent and received by e-mail, once they had been downloaded there is no way of linking the answers to the individual as there is no e-mail address, or any other distinguishing features on the main sections. However I have asked if some would be prepared to take part in further questions, so some have the info about their email on them, this is on a separate sheet which can be removed from the main questionnaire and stored in another file. The other problem is that the population I am sampling is small, and some comments could be linked with individuals, as could answers to a few of the questions, so these answers are going to have to be carefully aggregated. Similarly my supervisor has suggested that I quote from another source of information, but I have said no to this, as it could definitely identify individuals, which I do not want to do. If you are going to quote from your questionnaires, can you ensure confidentiality being 100% certain that the words will not be identifiable by anyone? There are a few journal articles that have used the internet for their research, some, I think, more ethically sound than others, and quite a good book, 'Internet communication and Qualitative Research' by Mann and Stewart, which might be useful.

you can do it, make yourself a timetable and work to that. See whoever is in charge and politely ask for an extension and calmly explain that due to circumstances beyond your supervisor's control he appears to have been unable to perhaps give you as much help as you are sure he would have liked. Do not complain about your supervisor directly, it will not help your cause and may well create an unpleasant atmosphere. There are no doubt avenues for complaint, but I only received a couple of e-mails the entire time I was writing the thesis for my masters, and I don't think it is unusual, some supervisors like to be there all the time, others don't, that is just the way life is. Channel your energy into your work, it will be OK. :-)

All is not lost- you still have time. firstly get your plan in place if you do not have a concrete set up already, note what parts of the work you have already done go where and start putting material where it belongs. you can get your methodology sorted as even if you have to change it a bit most will be refined. Lit review should be quite far along as well and can be roughed out at least, refs can be written, abstract drafted etc.. As each of these reach a suitable stage, email them to your supervisor, asking for comments, they should respond - or if they were like mine, they won't, but you can only try. The problem with the actual managers might be that they are very busy, so I would either pop in to see them, or pop in to see when you can see them, ask if they would like to see the areas where you need their expert help (emphasis it is their expert help you need as this will make them realise you will not be wasting their time, getting the info you are asking for may well be time consuming and hard to fit in with everything else they need to do. If you can get to see them they may tell you what you can and can't have too, some may not be for general publication, not may area so can't be sure if this is right for yours, but certainly is for mine ) I would refrain from sending loads of emails, they will probably delete them without reading if you send loads. The personal approach may well bear fruit.

If it gets to mid March and you have heard nothing from your supervisor, go to see the person in charge and explain your problem, and if necessary get more time. They will probably sort something out for you. However it is important that you emphasise that you realise the people you are contacting may be busy doing other things, and don't complain the supervisor is not doing their job, that is for the person in charge of the department to decide, be pleasant and understanding of the  possible problems of the supervisor and the others too and you will no doubt be given a sympathetic ear, and the help you need.

you can do this

she shouldn't really mind, it is just a different way of communicating, and one used all the time, especially if you are part time or working away from the uni. Also remember you are paying her time - either personally or via funding so don't feel that you can't ask her a question!:-)

Having just got rid of one supervisor, after getting some intervention from the director of the faculty, who was very annoyed about their lack of any support at all, and having still no feedback from the other one, I'm in a bit of a limbo situation, having just been given a new supervisor - and being part time doesn't help at all. I too was wondering if I am getting anywhere, especially as my research is now taking a slightly different direction to the original and is no longer so closely linked with the ideas of my remaining original supervisor, so much so that it might even be said to be very critical of their approach. but I have decided it is my thing, not theirs and they are only there to guide, not push, so I am going my own way now, which might not appeal to them, but appeals to me!:$ My advice is if you are not comfortable with it, don't use it, you could note that you have considered it, and the reasons you feel it is not useful, and leave it at that.

I am going to put a glossary in with mine, to help define things that I think may be confused, or which have one meaning outside schools and another meaning inside schools, so they know to which one I am referring in the text.