Hi Neo,
sorry about delay in reply. I have fulltime job as well and sometimes it takes a while to get the time to go on the forum. Your supervisor sounds like a right p*&8k! It sounds good though that you are getting out of France for a while so maybe you can write up in peace without the supervisor from hell breathing down your neck. Hope things get better once you are out of range and can get a sense of perspective. Take care and hang in there(up)(gift)

Bonzo, you are capable of doing all of these things. You can complete a Masters and you are intelligent enough to get a PhD. Absolutely, but right now your feelings are shaping how you rate or judge yourself. So what I am trying to say is that when those feelings pass (and they will sooner or later-hopefully sooner) you will still be you-an intelligent, thoughtful, capable and feisty human being. You are that right now even if those feelings are getting inbetween things. I don't think I can say anything (either online or personally) that could be helpful but hang onto the knowledge that who you are hasn't changed and when this bad patch passes, that fine intelligent and capable person will still be there.

Hi Robbi, Ive looked seriously at three universities in three different states in Australia regarding PhD applications or EdD. In all cases the university wanted two different referees. In all cases, one referee was allowed to be a professional but one had to be an academic reference. In these applications, the referees had to submit reports or complete an online or written form that commented on your potential and 'capabilities' with regard to undertaking independent research. So if you have done honours-your dissertation supervisor or honours advisor would be ideal. If you were doing this after completing a masters, then someone who had been involved with you (again a supervisor is ideal-but it doesn't have to be your supervisor-it could be someone else who knows you and your work).

In my case, I used my thesis supervisor and an colleague (who is my line manager) from my workplace. The colleague had recently completed a professional doctorate and was a senior exec in my school. Good luck Robbi.

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Neozelandaise-you need to talk to someone. Really talk physically to someone you know on the phone or through skype, if you can't do it in person and discuss all of this. Do your family know what you are going through-is there someone in your family, like a sibling, parent or aunt, etc who you can just discuss all of this with.

Or perhaps one of your friends (either from NZ or friends you currently have in your university).

Don't think to yourself right at this minute 'I have no friends here'- your current state of mind suggests that this bullying that you have been experiencing has undermined your confidence completely and perhaps has left you feeling really isolated and alone. So your thoughts on whether you have friends in France or not, might be distorted by how you are feeling and not an accurate representation of how things really are at present.

I am hoping that you receive much advice and support from people on this forum who have been through similar situations (perhaps not in France though) but I can't stress enough that while this support can be fantastic and can start you off on the upward climb again- I really think that you need to talk about this to someone who cares about you and who can listen and help you work out what your next steps are-or just help you frame up where you are at present.

Hi Robbi,

You might want to think about who your academic referees would be and approach them in readiness for applications. In the universities (in Aust) that I have checked out or applied for, formal applications require referees who usually have to write a report of some kind about your ability to complete. I'm not sure at what stage you might be asked to supply these but having or knowing who you will ask, and also knowing that they will respond promptly and submit a report (or whatever paperwork-online submission the university requires) can help speed things along once you've started applying. Good luck

Good luck KB, you can do it! I would think you have the full support of all forum users here cheering you on; so take a deep breath and then go for it!

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Hi MarkTwain,

Where do you want your PhD to take you? I mean do you want to be an education academic in an education school or faculty? Or are you hoping for consultancy type work and experience afterwards? Or are you looking for policy development and administrative or government work? The end goal for the PhD might help with this decision-or are you interested in curriculum as a research topic in itself?

Most education faculty staff were originally teachers or practitioners of one kind or another (clinical psychologists, etc). That is because one of the Education Department's primary purposes is professional-that is to create new teachers. Many education students appear to value the teaching staff (exteachers and adjunct professionals) most. Mainly it seems because they are able to offer useful relevant support to new teachers and education students-who basically want to know how to survive their first year in the coal face.

However, that being said, I can't imagine that it would be impossible-if you are really keen then give it a try.

Bewildered is right about EdDs-they involve a little more course work and are aimed at those who want to combine theory with practice-rather than theory but in the departments I know, both research degrees are equally available. EdD is is a doctoral degree that acknowledges the constraints teachers of all levels and types work under and assumes that most candidates will be working full time and will want to do a thesis on area that explores a problem in the workplace. In my case, the thesis is the same length as a PhD-and this seems to be common for most universities (in Aust) as well. However, your thesis can also be a highly theorised professional portfolio.

I really liked the advice by LarryDavid on another forum thread about 'not overthinking' decisions. So maybe just put out some feelers and see what the response is? Good luck(up)

Do you have major authors in your area-subject or study? Who are the really big guns here and are you familiar with all they have to say on the general topic. To be honest, I think you would have to give more of an idea about what you are doing so people can be more specifically helpful. However I remember when I sort of had my Master's topic in this big grey fuzz in my head a couple of years ago , one of the very first things my new supervisor said in her first conversation with me was something along these lines. And that was where I started-with the handful of major authors and masses of reading. And working out how to expand my search terms so that I got relevant hits. Hope this is of moderate help...good luck and cheers.

Congratulations Dr's...you both sound delighted (not numb) which is fantastic. Well done for all your hard work and obvious brilliance!

Thanks Elsie...if I don't get a response from her in time- I will put in an acknowledgement of her support and guidance as supervisor rather than place her as second author-Ive got until next Friday for submission-not this week-next week but I have to go interstate for work purposes next week and may not have reliable access for online submission and so need to send off the article by Tuesday morning. This is also why I cant rely on her permission coming back before then-email and phone contact with this busy lady often takes a long time before a reply. So I will heed your advice.
Cheers:-)

Thanks Doodles,
cheers for that-hope you have a great week!

Thanks Doodles and KB, your advice has been really helpful and clarified things for me a bit...

I like my supervisor Doodles, she has been a really good supervisor (most of our issues have been the normal ones of distance education and getting back in time, and getting really antsy when the final editis and rewrites were taking place), so I am happy to acknowledge her-but even if I didn't like her, I'd always want to acknowledge someone's contribution no matter what I felt about them. And she has been helpful. But she is no longer my supervisor and I've not had much to do with her since last September, other than the thank you and greeting card after a milestone or at Christmas, so I didn't ask her or discuss with her-this opportunity when it arose-I just went for the 'gold ring' so to speak!

KB I pretty much have designed my ideas, found my 'gap', and designed my research project and everything but she has guided me during this time as well. The ideas and concept and research have all been mine but she has really helped to get them into an academic and rigorous format and to help me become much more independent about these processes myself. (I now hear her voice in my head when I am about to go down a thorny academic pathway-issuing warnings or asking reflective questions-although of late, it has been my voice replacing hers).

So I would think that collaboration is the best word for it. If we were peers not student and supervisor, I would, in all honesty, regard myself as the major or primary author, with collaboration from my supervisor as a secondary author or co-author. So yes I would acknowledge her. She also helped with editing in terms of expression at times, as I tended to be a little subjective during my writing, and she helped with indicating something in my writing that would be shot down in flames by an examiner.

I do need to acknowledge her but I will send my article to her to read-although I doubt I will get a response before the submission deadline. I am not so bothered about getting her response in term's of improvement-I just don't want her to think I am rude or to think that putting her name on it is a bit forward. So, I will put her on as a collaborating coauthor, I will let her know about this as a courtesy but if I don't get a response in time (very likely) then I will submit anyway. Thanks and cheers-good luck with all present endeavors,
PJ

Hi forumites,

I need to ask a protocol question regarding authorship and journal articles. I am currently submitting an article based on my Masters thesis for peer review and possible publication-as well as a paper presentation at a conference.

My question is: do I put down my supervisor as a co-author? She has not helped me write this but it is based on my Master's thesis and I'm not sure whether this means she should get author acknowledgement-or possibly another form of acknowledgement when I give the paper and for the article if it should be published.

I could email my masters supervisor but she is no longer my supervisor any more and lives at a distance, so it might be a while before I get a response and the paper needs to be submitted in a few days.

Can someone let me know what the usual protocol is? I want to make sure it is done properly. Thanks and regards
P:-)

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One thing that seems really positive about your situation is that you seem to be able to go into a phd in psych from your master's course. I would love to be able to do this but really can't without some real financial and huge time sacrifices.

My undergrad and postgrad are in the humanities and then educational areas. I absolutely have a passion for psychology but would have to qualify through an undergrad sequence (that has full fees attached-set at a pretty high level) to take any postgrad study in this area (Basically, I would need to re-qualify through expensive postgrad courses before even hoping to do psych at doctoral level). Just the way it is here at the universities I've checked out in Australia. My location is regional remote so that makes psychology even more of an aspirational leap as distance psych courses at postgrad level are not as available and very very expensive.

It is nice to know that you have some real options in this area at least and lots of strategies to help you forge out a do-oable pathway to what you want.
:-)

Hi Givepraise,

I really empathise with your wish to start a new career that makes a difference-while I am not quite fifty yet, I am only a couple of years or so away and I do know the feeling where you look at your life and want different things for it or wonder whether where you are headed is truly your direction or dream.

However, I would have to go along with most of the advice here-don't give it all up for a full time phd and financial stress at this particular life stage. You could lose so much given your particular circumstances. This sounds very serious but the economic climate everywhere at present is really quite alarming and the truth is, at our particular ages, we need to hang on to job and income security unless we have a lot of wealth or retirement savings behind us.

However, I don't believe you need to sacrifice your dream completely.
It is possible to complete a Phd part-time-I know how hard it is to work full time, have a family and study but it is still possible. I don't know how hard it is to have a child with special needs in a personal sense but much of my own study concerns families, education and students with special needs so I understand that it is a really tough call for those who do it. However, I believe if you really would like to achieve this then it is possible-others have done so.

Plenty of universities allow part-time doctoral studies mainly through distance. While you might need to go for some intensive workshops once a year or so, much of your work can be done at home, using online library access, email, telephone and/or skype conferencing and just visiting your local institution when you need face to face library services (you should qualify for library privileges and at least limited access with the local institution) once you are studying at a university and have official student status.

The other option is (as mentioned by poster below) have you considered a postgraduate diploma that together with your master's gives you practical qualifications so that you can look for work in different areas, while still employed in your present job.

Best of luck to you-don't give up on your dreams please but do look at the practical side of things as well-you need to look after yourself and your child with regard to future options-education is only one aspect of that isn't it-and there are many different ways to get an education.