Hi Jane, I probably can't help you as much as some of the other members of this forum but I'm similar to you in that I don't particularly want to teach either, I can do one on one and small groups like you but I feel very uncomfortable giving lectures. Is it a dislike of giving lectures or are you worried you're not skilled enough? If it's the latter then why not see if you can gain some further training whilst you're still at uni? From reading your post it does seem like you want to be an academic really so don't give up if it's something that can be fixed with further experience.

Have you looked at some of the commercial/public sector options for research? I want to do something meaningful with myself when I'm finished so I'm looking to join either the private or public sector as a researcher/data analyst.

Hi Sunflower,

No I haven't had to deal with this specifically but I do find that a lot of the extended family don't really understand what a PhD is and exactly what it is that I'm doing, so I do have to explain myself to them a lot! They just think I'm an undergrad student and I'm sure they wonder why I'm doing a PhD and not producing a string of babies!

I think if they ask why you've not finished, just tell them you had more work to do on your project than initially planned and you want to make sure it's perfect before you submit. At the end of the day they shouldn't really ask!

Good morning,

Here we are again! I've got a doctor's appointment this morning so I'm going to try and get some reading done before I have to head off to that. I will then settle down and do some writing this afternoon.

Hope you are all ok (up)

Great job Button, that's fab! You are doing really well and you must be way ahead of your timetable! I think you deserve a break now!

I'm signing off for the day, I've done some reading but as always there is still more to be done, so I will be getting on with that first thing tomorrow!

Have a great evening :-)

Oh it's so annoying when you've done a literature search and found a paper that appears to be useful based on its abstract but when you get down to the actual reading its really not helpful at all!

Well done Button, editing is a real pain isn't it! I hate going back to the same piece of work over and over again! I'm doing some reading this afternoon but I'm finding it really hard to concentrate and stay motivated! I hope you're having a good afternoon!

Oh Natassia, you sound exactly like me! Please don't worry, my sups are exactly the same! They have high expectations then are mega disappointed when I don't meet them! You are definitely not alone!

Ooh that sounds good, thanks Button! :-)

Aw glad you're feeling better Button! There seems to be a lot of illness floating about at the moment, I blame the stupid weather! We should all be bouncing around with the joys of spring but there is no spring to speak of!

Anyway I'm doing my best to get on with re-structuring today and making the chapter flow better, as well as strengthening my argument. I hope it's going to be ok but we shall see! We had a case of red wine arrive last night which whilst being no good for my waist line definitely helps me feel less stressed about everything ;-) (I hasten to add I am not drinking it during the day!)

Wow Button, that sounds amazing! Well done you! I've read further back in this thread and laughed out loud when I read Sneak's post about having starved herself for her wedding then starting eating during the reception - that is totally what I've done! I'm too scared to get on the scales and see how much weight I've put on! Is the food expensive for slimming world or is it just like doing a normal shop?

Just thought I'd check in and say hello if there's anyone about! I'm just getting on with my chapter today so wanted to wish good luck to fellow workers out there (up)

Hi,

I'm in the social sciences too, and like you I ended up with lots of data and not really much of a clue as to how to organise it. You've said that you know what you want to say, so this should be helpful. Can you break down your message into chunks as suggested by Emmaki?

I used NVivo which definitely made everything a lot easier when it came to organising my data, but there are other tools out there and some free ones online apparently. Don't just start writing yet - you need to get your structure sorted then start writing. What is each chapter going to say? What contribution does it make to knowledge? Once you know that, then you can start writing.

Also, depending on your approach, I don't think you should be testing claims, you should be looking at the data and seeing what that says then build up claims based on your data. If you're using a positivistic approach then what you've suggested is fine, however if you're using any other approach then you might get criticised for testing hypotheses against your data.

I hope that's somewhat helpful - sorry if it's a bit jumbled, I'm in the middle of writing analysis chapters myself and it's muddling my brain!

Aaaw get better soon Button!

Thanks MHK and Waddett, I was just interested to see the picture from the other side, so to speak! I guess a lot of it comes down to kudos then!

Oh Button, if you've made good progress then leave it there and go and get some rest! That's (almost) Dr's orders! You'll just make yourself more unwell if you carry on!

I'm doing ok today, I've re-structured my chapter again and just working on adding relevant bits and pieces from policy into it etc. It's such a nice sunny day today through! I want to go outside :-(