I remember having a blip about halfway through my second year, near the time you mention - I was basically doing too much (additional paid jobs, trying to prepare for conferences, preparing for my wedding, being academic course rep, etc). I shed several activities and got married, and for a while rode on a crest of being a Mrs.

However my worst point I think came in my third year, about month 30, I became clinically depressed and had no confidence. I didn't know where I was going with my thesis and ended up breaking down and having several weeks off. It helped, I saw my doctor and have now recently completed my PhD.

I think the overall message is try not to give up at all if you can - I was so close, so very close, but am now so glad that I didn't.

Ooooh, this was SO annoying when I was writing.

SixKitten, which version of Endnote are you using? Mine was Endnote 6, and I never founf a way of using Cite while you write withouth it adding the bibliography on the end. All I did was simple select bibliography manually and delete it. Not ideal, I know.

If it's any consolation, I DO know that later versions of Endnote (8 onwards) have a facility to "switch off" the bibliography - I saw a friend of mine doing it only recently. Does the endnote website have any info? (http://www.endnote.com/)

PS - I didn't get a distinction (as you can probably gather from all the typos!) but I got through my PhD! While it's great to aim high I don't think a distinction is an automatic pre-requisite for doctoral study (unless anyone knows otherwise?) so enjoy your Masters course.

Agree with Coastman, it depends on lots of factors, including the marking system of the university/department.

Where I did my MSc, the structure of the course was 50% taught, 50% dissertation. Distinction was generally set at 70% for individual assessments. But with the overall course mark, we had to get 70% in the dissertation to qualify for a distinction, as it was such a large element of the course. So someone with an everage of 65% for the taught element and 75% for their thesis would get overall 70%, earning a distinction. However of this was the other way round, 65% thesis, 75% taught, you couldn't get a distiction, even though the averaged was 70%.

Just do your level best, that's all you can do!

Hi Roopa, Endnote was my software of choice, but I admittedly haven't used Ref Man much. I wanted to use something that wasn't dependent on the Internet as I had such an erratic connection at home.

hi everyone

I've been updating my CV. usually signs off as "Kronk. O'Dile, BA (Hons), MSc. I usually have that as a signature on emails and official letters.

But what happens when you get a PHD?
Do people just write 'Dr. Firstname Lastname'?

or 'Firstname Lastname, PhD' as people will assume that you've got other degrees anyway (I'm assuming you don't put "Dr. First Last, PhD as you "advertise" the doctorate twice)

or do you leave out the title and list all post nominal quals?
'Firstname, Lastname, BA(hons), MSc, PhD.

What's the "done thing" (if there is such a thing!)?

Aside: sorry for the multiple posts, but I kept getting a message saying my post was too big - even though it was under 200 words. Anyone else had this?

In the case of medical papers, you can get a list of authors that looks like a football team list! On closer probing, some names are there because they may have provided access to a clinic to get participants or something. While this doesn't really constitute authorship, I have sometimes been diplomatic and added clinicians as authors as a matter of keeping the peace if they've been difficult in the past - they just have to be lower down the list!

This is an interesting and difficult one, and depends on the ego of the supervisor. Theoretically, the order should be in terms of who has contributed the most, meaning that the vast majority of papers arising from PhDs should have the student as first author.

However this is not always the case - I know of several friends who have bemoaned the fact that their supervisor always comes first, in spite having done very little. I personally have always been lucky, my supervisors actually said that I should just put my own name on if they hadn't done anything (maybe they didn't want to be associated with my terrible writing! :lol:)

... and passed with minor corrections!! :)

It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but I am delighted and so pleased that I managed to perform well. I was told that my project was unique and well written. Thank you to everyone who has given me advice in pre-viva panic and for all your good wishes!

(PS - good luck to Kokkoy for Thurday and anyone else who might have upcoming vivas)

Bobby, yes I'm older I had a break of about 7 years before goinf back to do my PhD.

To everyone who is considering getting married while doing a PhD though, it's probably the best time in terms of organising a wedding.
A friend of mine got married shortly after I did, she works in a 9-5 non-flexitime job and found it difficult to get appointments for dress fittings, catering meetings, etc as she only really had Saturdays to contend with. I didn't have that problem as being a student meant that I was more flexible with time.

I got married at the end of the second year of my PhD. The wedding was fantastic (and yes, we're still married :)!) but I can honestly say that there was about a 3 month hiatus in my PhD productivity - don't think I did any work at all in the few weeks prior to the big day!

Hi all, just wanted to say thanks for all your support and advice. I am actually feeling a little bit calmer. My supervisors gave me a mock viva on Thursday, which was an enormous help and got me thinking about issues I hadn't previously considered. TBH, my panic is also due to some problems I've been having with a close friend. We had an argument last year, just before she got married. won't bore you with the details, but I was in the wrong, I admitted this, and have apologised, but she has dragged it all up again. I think she has purposely done it as my viva is so soon, and maybe wants to unseat me a little.

Amyway, big day is on Tuesday, I'll let you all know how it goes :)

maybe the mods need a sign - "do not feed the trolls"!

The prospect of impending viva (in less than 2 weeks) has completely ruined Christmas for me, I've been on the verge of tears most days, convinced I'm going to f**k up. I have no confidence, feel a complete fraud and just know that the way I am emotionally at the moment I shall fall apart in there.

I am trying to prepare, I'm reading the thesis but then panicking at some of the references that I put in and looking at them again to brush up. I 'm not getting anywhere and just falling in to panic mode more and more. I think the examiner will suss me out. I have also scheduled a mock viva with both my supervisors. Because I've felt so panicked, one of them has agreed to sit in on the viva with me as support, but I'm not sure that this will be a good idea. Please help, I just don't know what to do and I seriously don't think I will be able to go through with it.