At what point in your PhD journey have you felt that you really REALLY do have substantial knowledge of your area?

You have piles and piles to read and you want to read it all NOW and get on with the next part... but it's impossible and you don't know where to start, yet you want to start everywhere at once...
*sigh*
It's been a long day!

I am looking for a good indepth book that will help me formulate ideas for a methodology in social sciences or humanities area ?

The areas starting to really get my interest are a bit far from my superviser's area (and there is no real 'expertise' in this area within the rest of the department) but I feel that what I did on my original proposal just doesn't hold any interest for me anymore. Should I stick with what the people in the department can offer me, or risk doing something a little different without the expertise to supervise?

Hi Pamw - I was also thrown in at the deep end and didn't know what the hell I was doing, my first set of essays took me absolutley ages to mark and I panicked over them quite considerably! Sadly I think this is the norm. However, once you do the first set it should get easier and you will start to get quicker at it when you know what to look out for. I found the marking criteria very helpful and I also found a grading sheet on the uni webpages which described a typical '2:1 essay' and so forth and that really helped me

Hi Bellaz,
I am the same as you and I have done none of those things. Mostly because I feel unconfident to be able to do them yet. I haven't really been pushed into doing anything like that by my superviser either, although it has been suggested I should start to attend conferences. As Tricky says, I think it's all about an individual experience!

Hi Bellaz - let's just say the reading is err.. going straight over my head! I have started a literature review but I feel like there is very little criticism of literature in it because basically I didn't understand what I was reading, so really I have just regurgitated the work. My topic is quite unrefined so I have a very broad area of reading which is probably making it harder, although I'm finding it tough finding articles actually.
I would say at the moment my interests are going in an entirely different direction to what I initially submitted as my proposal and therefore I feel like I am increasingly becoming alienated from my superviser and there isn't anyone else in the department who has similar interests.

no, I don't have the blag sorted yet as I haven't really been asked yet, I have tried to avoid those situations at all costs ever since I realised this whole thing was turning into a nightmare!
Haha, I keep thinking that I must sort out a blag though, for such occassions!!

ericonrhicam, Wow - you're doing pilot studies already! Shamefully, I don't even know what type of methodology I am going to use yet god, I feel so behind here!
Yup, I too am convinced my superviser thinks I know more than I really do. When I go to meetings I really have no damn clue about half the things they talk about and they ask my opinion and I must appear struck dumb because most of it goes over my head. So now I dread meetings as I feel like the village idiot every time! I have submitted some work but not had any feedback yet.. absolutely. dreading. it.

Genuinely curious as to how many hours per day people spent in their first year working on a full or part time phd and whether that has increased dramatically or stayed the same going into the second year or beyond (also, what was it you mostly spent those hours doing - reading or writing or collecting data so on)?
Do you feel you achieved what you thought you would after your first whole year?

Olivia - why oh why am I sitting here imagining palm trees having a chat over a cup of tea??? hehe, sounds like a more interesting and believable topic than mine right now!

ericonrhicam, you are right, I am also thinking of lasting the year (well, up until the summer probably) and seeing how I feel then. How's things at your end... Have you handed any work in yet? Do you feel like you are making progress?

It's so nice to have support here as I don't tend to get it much from family as they don't really 'get' the whole PhD thing. I've spent this morning away from work and the desk (woke up with a stinkin cold) went out did a bit of shopping (sadly too broke to have any proper retail therapy!), had a nice long bath, watched some tv.

Sleepyhead - you have a point & my superviser is also quite young & inexperienced with phd students. This may be why I feel I'm not getting enough support. I also thought maybe I am expecting too much support from them &I should be more realistic about what help they can give, I really don't know!

phd_girl - I have spent the past few months reading my topic area (social sci), but I don't have any actual focus within the area and nothing yet to apply research to! I just read stuff and then think - what the hell do I do now?? Other more experienced phd'ers say the gaps will become obvious the more you read, but I'm still none the wiser

Hi juno,
I guess I don't 'hate' the PhD, it's a strange contradictory situation where I just have no feelings for it and yet at the same time have these feelings of angst and gloom about it. I guess I don't really hate my topic either, it is just so unrefined that I feel like it's going nowhere and have lost the interest and foresight. Thanks for your suggestion, I have had prolonged anxiety attacks in the past however not for a while, this may just be another manifestation of that. My head feels so foggy at the moment!

phd_girl, I think you're mistaking me for someone else - I've only been doing this for 6 months..

sorry everyone for posting yet another gloomy post, but this is the only real place I can vent my feelings to people who are or have been in a similar situation.
After a wobbly week last week I haven't quit (yet!). Not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
I haven't eaten properly in a couple of weeks and have a recurring headache and general lethargy, whenever I get up in the morning I have a feeling of immense dread about the day ahead and work. Week days are tremendously depressing, I feel like crying all the time. I try reading - no luck, the words just go over my head and mean nothing and I can't see myself writing or thinking about this (the phd) any more.
I feel like there really is no way out, even if I quit then I will be in a bad situation - no job, no money, probably no prospects with a failed PhD. I guess I don't see any better alternatives, and then there is always the amount of money I will have wasted thus far, and a feeling of guilt for all that entails. Urgh.