Hi Christiana, I was wondering what you research was on, as I am doing a qualitative study and am just about to analyse my data. It would be interesting to know what methodology you are using.

I prefer to work from home to save travelling and parking costs. But I have been told that I should work in the library more rather than photocopy articles and take them home to read.

Thanks for that reply. You have put it into perspective and put a different slant on it than others who I have spoken to, which is good. Both my supervisors are on the panel, and this woman was my previous supervisor. She does not have an academic job, she works in a museum attached to the institute. I didn't get aggressive to an embarrassing extent, I just defended myself vociforously. I think it will be good practice for the viva.

I've just had my 18 month review panel. I've had good feedback from my supervisors and I wasn't worried about passing it. But the third member who was my temporary supervisor in my first year was downright rude and hostile towards me all the way through. She criticised everything I had done and was rude about it too. I then became very defensive as I thought she was being very unfair and became aggressive towards her. She insists that I go and do some research at a particular library when I know that it won't be useful. Because she knows more about my subject than the other two members they listen to her but I am at a stage now where I know where my research is going. She seems to want to send it in other directions. She does not have a PhD and a colleague of mine says she may be jealous. I don't know how to deal with this situation. I was thinking of e-mailing one of the other panel members who I know a lot better and asking if she knows why this hostility exists as it is worrying me and I want to be able to take advice from this woman but I feel I am becoming defensive because of the way she acts towards me and I don't want this to jeopardise my research.

For my review panel tomorrow I had to produce a timetable of everything I had done since the last panel and how many hours spent on each task! I thought that would be impossible but when I sat down and did it I found it quite easy to see where my time had gone and I was averaging about 40-45 hours a week. There were probably a lot of incidental things which I hadn't even included in that. I was quite surprised to see how much work I had actually been doing as I felt as though I had been slacking a bit - I think my supervisors may have thought so too which is probably why they asked me to do it. I can now justify everything and as I recently found out I am seriously anaemic, I think 40 hours a week is pretty good going.

I agree with Neena. I am looking at medieval costume depicted on funeral effigies, brasses, manuscripts etc. There is work written on what people wore in medieval times but the source material is very scant and dating is very arbitrary. So I have read the scholarship so far but then I am ignoring it to use the evidence I have found to re-assess what has gone before.

Hurrah, I've sent everything off. Five e-mails, each with six attachments. That will show them for asking for so much stuff! I did the bibliography by hand in the end. It was just a case of double spacing it. I have been working from home and I already have a bottle of wine in the fridge and a DVD to watch later. I may have to have a nap first though! Thanks for your advice. I'll tinker around with things now I have more time just to see what the problem might have been.

I have about 45 minutes left before I have to e-mail vast quantities of research for my review panel next week. The only thing I have to finish is an updated bibliography but EndNote refuses to play ball. I have a few hundred references and they have all been inserted nicely. Then the last four won't insert. When I try to format it all for double spacing it just keeps saying parameter incorrect and deletes all the entries apart from inserting the four it wouldn't do before. Anybody got any ideas???

Sort of linked to this topic - I'm doing chapter outlines for my review panel next week but I'm not sure what to put for the conclusion. Apart from 'this chapter will conclude what has gone before' it's difficult to know what to write. I have to do at least 300 words.

Jayney, I am really busy and been out all day but I will let you know how to customise EndNote when I have a spare min. It is quite straightforward.

You can modify a style based on a style already in EndNote, so I can use Chicago but change the quotes bit, I hope. I'll have a go and if anyone wants any advice on how to do it, I will try to pass it on.

Oh yes, I've just remembered you can customise it, Brilliant. Thanks sneaks

How do other people find EndNote and what style does anyone else use in the humanities? I have been using Chicago and now my supervisor says I need single quotes rather than double on journal entries meaning I have to go through by hand and change them all. Then she said use Modern Humanities Research Association but in EndNote that comes out numbered and surname last and she wants surname first, which again means doing it by hand. She says she does all her bibliographies manually but that will take ages. Any ideas??

I think Lloyds TSB accept them , and I am with Godiva, which is a part of the Coventry. However, unless you have a large deposit I think in the current market, with the crackdown on mortgage lending, particularly to sub-prime customers, then you are going to have real difficulty. Sorry to be negative. Good luck though and keep us informed. But do have a look at previous threads.

There is a previous post on this, if you have a look back. I had an absolute nightmare of a time trying to get a mortgage with my PhD stipend but managed it eventually. (ironically, I'm now getting divorced and wish I'd never bought the house!) My advice is to go to an independent financial advisor who looks at whole of market and does not charge but takes their money from the mortgage provider. Let them do all the work for you otherwise you will be spending your time phoning round, making appointments etc etc and will not be able to get on with your PhD. There are some lenders who will take into account your stipend but if I were you I would get it all in writing that they will definitely take it into account before you go any further. I wasted months with the Nationwide after they said they would accept if for them to turn round and say no they wouldn't. I complained and actually got some compensation from them for all the hassle they had caused.