Dear forum,

Although I'm working hard, I'm constantly being criticised and flamed by my supervisors, and am always feeling that what I ever I do, no matter how hard I work, it is never good enough for them. I'm not stupid (this will be my 3rd postgrad degree), I know what I'm doing but I'm self esteem keeps on taking a battering from their very critical nature! I've just submitted a 65,000 word upgrade report (draft copy)and I've got supervision soon and I'm dreading it!I've developed my own questionnaires, interview scheudles, focus group schedules as well as my own observational toolkit out of a brand new area within social sciences which all could be used to improve services though recommendations for regulatory bodies to follow. It's an important project and I've already had interest from various organsiations wanting to view my measures.

I to have felt like a force for unpaid slave labour. I started off working on the bigger project and although I developed my PhD out of it, large parts of my time were devoted to the bigger project. I was distracted to the extent that I wasn't able to focus completley on my PhD, and consequently failed my upgrade-which I'm sorting out right now. Now that I'm completely focused on my PhD, my work has improved massively. What really hurt was despite my efforts with the bigger project and now that I'm focusing on my PhD, the writer of the project interim reports(non supervisor, member of staff in department, woman who seems to undermine me all the time and is super bitchy and competitive) and despite cutting and pasting work from my methodology toolkit, fieldworker guidance etc) decided to cut my name out of all reports. My name has been reinstated into SOME of the reports-not sure why not all of them! (after my strongly worded compliants to them all!!).

I'm really struggling to keep going! My supervisors who are very critical, seem to have lost complete faith in me now(due to failing my upgrade) and I'm now starting to seriously question whether I can do this!I've got reasons for hope, ie really useful data from focus groups and my questionnaires and observational tools are working well with fieldworkers we've recruited.

Im currently developing my own theoretical model after several revisions from my sups, and although they liked components of it, it's so soul destroying to have it all changed and re-edited when I've spent ages on it!! I've just created my new model, and I'm hoping that it's not a waste of time! I've returned home for a week or so to get away from the office to fully focus on my project without office distractions; although this has helped with my concentration, I feel so depressed, tired and drained :( Taking a holiday sounds like an option, but I won't be able to until I've resubmitted my report and when I do, I'll be catching up on months and months of fieldwork (probably up until October/November).

I want to cry! :(

Isn't odds ratio an important part with logistic regression? when it comes to interpreting data?

That's fantastic! Thanks very much for all your help and advice :) I'm going to be burning the midnight oil writing all of these priniciples behind LR :( Oh dear. Haven't even started on the qualitative analysis yet, but I'm ok with qualitative data :)

Yes, Jewel, that's what I'm looking at :)

I originally did specify to use Chi-square and Fishers (if lower than 5 expectancies) but was told not to use it as the technique is not robust enough.

Basically, with my IV some groups have particular needs; thus if they had a need (with a particular question) they would have a score or value of 1. If they did not have a need-no need the participant would have a score of 0.

If a participant had a score of 1, I would be looking to see whether the service responds to this need-thus YES response from the service.

Looking to predict that if a participant has a need (score of 1-YES response) I will be looking to see whether I could predict the service to respond to that need ie the service would also have a score of 1-YES response).

Hello I was wondering whether you could help me with my analysis. I'm not sure if I've done this correctly and am basically pleading for some help with this! I hope someone could get back to me asap! as I have to submit my proposed analysis section (which is already late). I feel like bursting into tears and would really really appreciate some assistance!

I've been told to use some form of regression. I originally decided on using non-parametric tests, but was told that non-param is just not robust enough and not suitable for data analysis.

I'm looking at whether services are meeting the needs of service users according to a persons specific needs. In a sense, predicting whether services are meeting the needs of a service user.

So far, my variables are as follows:

IV: Need (individual) Did the SU have a specfic need (YES/NO)
DV: Need (service) Did the service meet this specfic need (YES/NO).

As the DV is categorical, I've decided to conduct a logistic regression equation. I've never used logistic regression and I'm not sure whether I'm going down the correct path here.

Please help!!!

The aftermath of this now is that no-one on the team at this department is really talking to me now :(

Although I'm glad I stood up for myself and their sorting out the 'mistake', I'm getting the cold shoulder from them all now-kind of wish I didn't say anything!

My housemate thinks that perhaps their keeping out of my way deliberately-i.e they recognise what they've done. I really hate this atmosphere now! Someone save me from this place!

Just to give you an update, well I've received a written apology from the people involved that it was a genuine mistake and nothing personal (not sure whether I 100% believe that but anyway). They are going to amend the reports and add my name to them as an author. In future their going to ensure that I'm acknowledged as an author to all reports given my level of input. They kind of justified why I was not included but my other supervisor (whos in a different dept) did find this unacceptable; so I'm glad it has been recongised.
I just feel disappointed and it just adds salt to the wounds when I'm already struggling with all the PhD worries! I'll never be able to put my trust in these people ever again and it has seriously damaged my confidence in people at this unit which is sad given the amount of work I've put into the non-phd project.

Many thanks for your responses guys. I've calmed down a bit now, but I will be complaining to the PhD convenor about this. The reports will be made public and will be published as part of departments publications. The directer has apologised and said that it was a mistake and nothing personal, although I accept this, I find it hard to believe. I've been working on this project (alongside my PhD) for nearly 2 years and was not mentioned at all in anything.I'm annoyed as these reports have already gone to a governmental body. What makes it worse is that I've only just stumbled across these reports.It makes me question what else have they omitted my name from. Throughout the reports, the authors have mentioned my work (that is realted to my PhD) throughout the report without saying anything that it was mine. They've also copied word for word descriptions of my methodology toolkit, again, without stating that this was my PhD work.

Just felt like a rant

Previously, you may have read my posts about office politics...

Well now, despite the fact that I've been working on two projects (PhD and department of health project) since 2006, the author of the units reports (which were checked by directors etc) who has taken over the non=-phd project and preivously decided to steal my desk (and move all my work and computer elsewhere whilst I was on fieldwork). Well this author has have decided to completely omit my name from each and every report.

I find this incredibly hurtful and upsetting. I have not been involved with the write up, but my lengthy methodology sections have been included in the toolkits and referred to throughout the report, yet I have not been mentioned at all as a contributer.

I confronted the directer (I was holding back the tears!) and it was a complete mistake and nothing personal. The damage has been done, I feel totally unappreicated and rejected I just feel horrible!

:(

I know this has been discussed before, but I feel SO FAT! I feel the stress of failing my upgrade and slogging my guts out with my work has resulted in dropping exercise from my prioriy. My size 12 trousers I'm wearing now are getting tight due to an increasingly large tummy roll. I've already dropped from a Size 16 (when I started PhD) to a Size 10/12 (which I lost due to manic walks, not eating due to stress with a relationship breakup) -now I feel the weight creeping back on :( (sob)

Any motivational tips out there? I was thinking about squeezing a class here in there during my lunch break or after work and conducting some serious walking sessions at the weekend. What do you think?

I'm coming up to 18mths now and I'm going through the same thing. I failed my transfer to PhD, so I do have a very good idea of how your feeling. It's horrible isn't it! I'm in the same boat of receiving feedback about making the necessary changes (in my case, a whole re-write) and resubmit later.

With me, it's the feelings of I'm not good enough, remarks and knock on effects of peoples perceptions about my abilities, sheer embarrassment and feeling ashamed, feeling low and depressed that I've worked hard for such a long time and still failing, dealing with the issue that I'm only a tiny number of people who have failed and most of all letting people down.

As other people have said, it's a positive thing that their allowing you to try again. I'm working on my report like a mad woman! pile of papers to go through to add and reinforce my report; I just want to show these people what I can do!! :) Chin up!

Hiya.

I've got the next few days booked solidly for my focus groups; 6 in two days! ahhhhh!

I orignially was conduct focus groups to develop my measures, but now I'm too late for that, so I've had to use my focus groups to discuss the significance of particular domains that we're interested in.

I set up my groups through an organisation. This organisation that I've recruited has already had set groups already working in order to conduct focus groups. I needed a translation service as well, which this organisation is offering. I've had to pay for all this, but I've managed to get all of my groups set up and organised very quickly.

I hope your focus groups work out ok! I'm really starting to get nervous about them!

i'm really not that surprised. i knew 100% that it was a crap report, and i warned my supervisors that it was crap. at the time of writing it, i was away doing fieldwork which was not part of my phd, i was marking loads of essays, travelling all over the uk doing this non-phd fieldwork. most significant of all concerns the devestation ive had on my personal life, which has really knocked me sideways. so, on reflection, this failure has more to do with being distracted on other things rather than my abilities.

i've received very lenghty reports from all 3 markers about the problems it has as well as stuff which needs to be included. They've all commented on the value, importance and significance of my research questions. i just feel like a complete failure-letting everyone down; and always seem to have bad luck. i'm more embarassed than anything. i've got a meeting with them all tomorrow. i'm currently off sick with a stomach virus, so im already not feeling too good.