do read Hart's book on doing a lit review, it's well worth the time it takes as it gives lots of advice about how to go about the process. I'm doing mine in bits as I do the chapters really, but I have used the method described there to set the scene etc.. The thing is, as far as I can see, is that the expectation is that it needs to be more critical than any other review you may have done, so you have to find out what their standpoint is, and how well they have defended that standpoint (what you need does of course depend upon the usual approach in your particular area) It is good if you can show that you have looked at any material which suggests another point of view as this shows depth, and also include the methods you have employed to widen the search if there isn't much literature available, or how you have narrowed it if there is potentially masses of material. As for overcoming the block, you just need to write something, anything for the chapter, what you shouldn't do is write a paragraph and then keep revising it instead of keeping going, revision comes later - and is very cringe making - but get the flow going and at least you will have plenty of material to revise and you may get, oh, half a dozen sentences out of a page for your final effort.:-)

It is a difficult one, some say you need to type everything yourself, others are not so bothered. could you try one and see? - get someone else to do one, then check how well you can familiarise yourself with the content when compared with one you have transcribed yourself. If there is little or no difference i would go with getting someone to do it for you. This is someone who has somewhere between 6,000 - 7,000 e-mails to sort out before I can even start to analyse any of the content and I know on-one can do that for me, but if they could I might very well go for it. I can't decide whether to print them all out first, or clean them up a bit before I print them out as some have left the original question on them, some have left that question and several of the replies etc, so they are much longer than they need to be, and I need to remove any identification refs from the texts and sources. Looking at several long sessions here and not looking forward to that at all.:-(

I am writing my first bit of the lit review now - because I started elsewhere in the thesis. You won't have time to read it now, but try and get hold of a copy of Hart' s book 'doing a literature review', it will help. I've started off with a bit about my approach to the review, what sources I've used and how I found them. for example a first search may give you 1000's of articles - or none as in my case! - and you need to explain how you picked the ones you chose. Then I've put a bit about the structure of the review, so people can see where it is going and at the moment I just have the stuff for one of the chapters, and in the review for each article I've noted how it fits in, why the study is important, what is the approach of the article and what are the strengths and weaknesses etc. that's as far as I've got so far, I'm reviewing the lit used for each chapter as I go along, doing one chapter at a time may not fit your discipline, but I think the process will be similar

a friend of mine did it (south west uni and north east home) and it didn't cause that many problems as far as I know

i have produced mine using excel. Put the months across the top, and down the side you put the headings. for example. My first version had main headings, lit review, methodology etc, broken down just a bit e.g the lit review was broken down into: 1. lit review, which went across most of the time - as you will be adding to it as new stuff appears no doubt, 2. writing up the lit review was in chunks of a couple of months at a time spaced across most of the time available, and 3. draft lit review somewhere in the last third of the time available. introduction was broken down into a couple of chunks as a general heading, and draft introduction appeared twice, once about a third of the way along, and again somewhere approaching the end when other chapters had been allocated a draft write up stage, as obviously the other chapters affect the intro. Methodology was divided up into methodology, ethics, prep of questionnaire in my case etc. Once you have the basic layout of what you are doing, presumably if you are doing practical stuff you will be able to allocate that a slot, if you are looking a policies from specific points of view, allocate a space for each one, say policy on draining wetlands, or restocking fish (sorry if these are rubbish ideas, not my field)you can just play about with the planning of your work, colour the cells in, combining as necessary so that you have collecting in one colour, drafts in another and so on. Don't forget the writing up bit at the end- which I have in bright yellow - something to aim for! :-)

are giving free access to their journals until the end of November if anyone is interested

if you put on the printing symbol - the one that looks like a backwards capital 'P 'top line of the ribbon you may see that there is some kind of punctuation in the way, sometimes if you have pressed 'enter' at the end of paragraph two you may have created space you don't even know about. Otherwise make sure you have saved everything. cut out the offending paragraph and paste it under the second one, or even alongside the last line of the second one and then put in the paragraphing, if that doesn't work, try cutting paragraph two and relocate it abouve paragraph 3, then remove the space between two and one if it hasn't gone away by itself.

This is, I think, proablby a universal problem. It is quite easy to slip into 'easy speak' for your own particular area without even noticing it! My supervisors are quite happy to do their own bit of jargonesque writing, which sometimes is a bit of a fog for me, and they probably don't even know they are doing it, and when I write for them, and for others I sometimes slip into the same thing, forgetting that they don't know the area as well as I do. Having said that, if you have provided a definition of terms, and if they should know what you are talking about anyway, I would wait and see what they have to say. If you haven't given them a glossary, you could get one ready and offer it,

...(but you could always say that the thesis is to be read by academics at a level where it should be comprehensible.. and when you get the book offer you will modify it for everyone else :-) :$

Last winter I bought my dog a flashing collar, brilliant when I take him out to play ball when it gets dark as there aren't many lights over the park and I can see where he is going. Suppose I will have to fish it out soon. Don't forget clocks go back tomorrow night :-( but you do get an extra hour on Sunday - to do more work????

I've changed my pic from summer gear and I've put my coat on now. I thought they said it was going to be warmer today, but I'm going to take the dog in a mo - and when I get back I'm putting the heating on - brrrrrr(snowman)

i would do two things, first I assume you have an administrator in your post grad school? If so, get in touch with them. My experience is that they are the ones who get things moving and keep the whole thing on track. The one here is really good at keeping the academics in order! Second, get in touch with the secretary of your faculty. They will also know who to chivvy about this as they will know which of the academics will get things moving with the sending of appropriate e-mails to your supervisor, suitably worded, supervisors may be able to ignore you, but won't find it so easy to ignore someone who is equal or above them in the pecking order.

trouble is, being part time, I can't get in during the day- I may have to leave it until the next PhD group meeting. I know they were thinking about getting me someone else at the uni, which would be OK but would be my third change of team members, so not ideal. You are right about e-mailing though, thats how I know what was said, although I may have been sent a copy to my uni email as i was told that would happen - I don't often use that e-mail mainly because it is so complicated I have to look it up if I want to use it!:$. The thing is they know about all these deadlines, and should be getting all the paperwork in place and necessary actions taken, because they control that area and I can't do it, but I'm the one who will be asked why it hasn't been sent in on time. :-(

I go to a regular meting with other PhDers in my subject area and some of the supervisors come along. Last meeting we had something to comment on written by another student, and I was amazed at the amount of advice given to them. I said as much to one of the supervisors there, who happens to be in charge of our wing of postgraduates, and as a result of the conversation he said he would contact my supervisors, diplomatically to see what was happening and to remind them of their duties. both these things have happened, but the resultant e-mail (i was cc'd in) suggests that my supervisors haven't even read the chapters I sent them over a month ago, are going to give them a quick once over in a week or so, and are then sorting out other bits that are needed by the uni, which should all have been done by the beginning of November. One is not at the uni now, and the other is rather 'laid back' about the whole process to put it politely and I'm not sure he has read anything I have sent, or at least not more than the first page or two. I am wondering if I should e-mail back to the supervisor in charge to ask what I should do. I don't need someone to hold my hand, but on the other hand, I sent a bit of work to another student, (a mutual arrangement)and the feedback was more use than anything else I have received which tends to suggest that it is all lovely. What to do????

Haven't bought it yet, but I might. As a student, if you go to Pugh's computers you can buy the real thing quite cheaply, plus a whole lot of other programs.

if she is asking you, I suspect she knows that she doesn't really think it is a good idea, and probably just wants you to confirm that it is not a good way forward. That is what friends are for, that and telling you that the dress you are trying on and which you think is really quite nice is in fact really horrendous and you need to put it back on the rack immediately. The all or nothing is no way forward at all, you could well be the next thing that has to be removed or he will not continue with her, and who knows what could follow. I'm saying this as a colleague's daughter has recently started going out with someone who is doing even more extreme things - for example he has given the girl a large photo frame, with a photo of him already in it, so she can put it by her bed and see him at all times, and amongst other things for her birthday he gave her a key ring with HIS initial on it and all this after just one month, that is really scary.