Tough one, I am not sure what I would do. I think it depends on what kind of PG conference it is. If it is informal, lets say organised by your faculty, then withdrawing might be the quickest, easiest way out of it and no one has come to harm. But if the conference would be useful for networking etc, then going and having something to talk about would be better. Also, you say, it might be possible to get something out of it, albeit somewhat flawed, but as long as there is something new, original in the work/approach/results, it could be interesting for your audience. You could pretend(?!) that the work is not completely finished and so the results are preliminary? However if there is nothing to get out of the work, then withrawing might be the best option, if you don't want to completely discredit yourself.
This is really a difficult decision...

I think I know what you mean. I also spend a lot of my spare time with my partner (or talking to him on the phone) and I know that if I was single I would be socialising more, so I feel left out sometimes. At the same time I know that I need to nurture my relationship with my partner otherwise that will just go down the drain. I feel that there is a fair amount of luck involved when meeting new people and often people will just stay acquaintances and not become real friends, especially when everyone is really busy and/or under pressure. I think one compounding factor is that as a PhD student you are technically a student, but it is rather like a professional job, in that the work relationships you build need to function on a day to day basis. On the one hand I feel like socialising more with people in my group/department, but then I feel I "just" want to maintain a professional relationship that is separate from my social life. Often in academia friends and colleagues are also rivals/competitors and I find that a bit hard to deal with sometimes.

Hi Sarah85.
A lot of people have their papers rejected at some stage in their academic career, I even dare say that everyone at some point has to deal with rejection with their papers/proposals etc.
I think you should definitely re-submit your paper elsewhere, but at the same time, take the comments you have received on board. Is there a way you could rewrite (sections of )the paper to make it more orginial or more relevant? Getting papers published is an iterative process and re-working your paper should make it better, and a better paper is more likely to be accepted (at the right journal).. Don't give up, all the best.

Hey Forum Admin Folks - Since you have all this metadata (?right word?) about this website, I was wondering whether you could tell us some useless bit of info, but nevertheless interesting (you might already do this kind of analysis as part of the business?):

In terms of the average week, which days have the highest traffic to the forum and which days are most quiet?
Also, in terms of the typical diurnal cycle of traffic, when does the peak activity occur?

I have my own theories on this, but obviously don't have the data to back it up!

Thanks,
Poppy

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I think it depends on the conference (how big/formal etc), but yes, I would stick to the word limit, if at all possible. Sometimes on online submissions, the abstract field won't allow more than 250 words (or certain number of characters/spaces) and any extra will be cut off. What I find useful when having to cut down a signifcant number of words (like 33 in your case) is to either delete whole sentences/subclauses or to restructure the text completely instead of trying to save a word here and there. Remember to focus on the key point(s) you want to make, which should be possible in 250 words?!

======= Date Modified 02 Nov 2009 17:13:21 =======
Conclusion includes the "what does it mean and what are the wider implications" and I agree with Sneaks, also takes sides with a certain interpretation, i.e., no fence-sitting:-)

Unless the two papers form a kind of extension to each other, or are 2 parts in a "series", I would not submit two papers to the same journal at the same time. Also, unless you are super confident that both your papers will be accepted, you kind of increase the probability of having at least one of your papers rejected (you are your own competition as it were). I understand that you want to get your results "out there", but at the same time it is important that the submitted manuscripts are coherent and "look good", otherwise they are less likely to go all the way to publication (I suppose you already know from your previous paper publications how time consuming that can be - more than a weekend to prepare a MS?!).

I think it depends just how many errors you are making and how trivial/non-trivial they are. I agree with the poster below, saying that checking and double-checking is one good way of tracing errors before anyone else does. However, I believe, that we are all making errors, and not all are found, even by supervisors/reviewers etc. As a suggestion - aim to be focussed at all times when you do important work, and when that is not possible, choose to do tasks that require less focus and attention, or break up the work in smaller sections and take regular breaks to stay sharp.
Hope that helps... all the best.

I agree with Missspacey, but I suppose if it fits well in the future research section, you could mention it with more than a sentence, i.e. a paragraph, saying something along the lines of "initial results indicate that x..."

Also, consider whether you would want to be asked questions about this in your viva - if not really, then dont include it.

I would refine the title for a journal paper as much as possible (and make it as key word heavy as possible). I would definitely change some aspect of the title...

I think it would be 2000 unless the 2006 version is a new edition.

I would also make serious effort at learning the language - go to some language classes and it is likely that you will meet people there who are in a similar situation.
You say joining a class/group etc has not worked, but do not give up, sometimes it is just a matter of luck to find the right people. If you do something that you find intersting/enjoyable anyway, it will be worth going for that reason alone and it will give other people in the group the time to get to know you etc. Sometimes it can take a long time to make a "deep attachment", i.e. real friend, or just plain luck.
In order to try and meet people who are open to meet and get to know you, have you looked into home-stay programmes? Sometimes it is possible to stay at a family's house for a weekend or so. This way at least, you'll meet some local people and you are not all by yourself all the time..
Try and be proactive, ask your colleagues out for a drink, invite them for a meal to your place.. What about the student's union - are there opportunities to meet people (students are normally a social bunch
;-)
Don't give up.. best of luck.

Ahh - but Jinkim65, if you get everything done on time (because you are super quick), you have "earned" yourself the procrastination time:-)

Hi Jinkim65. I am in a similar situation - hoping to submit in 5 months time. I do procrastinate a bit at the moment, but I also feel I am making progress. Every day I remind myself that I do want to submit in 5 months, so every day counts. I have met lots of people before me who said they would submit in x months, but then did not put the time/work in and ended up submitting in x+x months time - so, I think it kind of depends on how serious you are with submitting in 5 months time and not any time later. Focus on the end, and meeting that target, and make a plan everyday what you will achieve and stick to it. 5 months is short enough to plan out every week, so I would recommend doing that. Good luck.

Hey Florence - it does not have to be like this , but then it does - it's part of learning how to cope..

Your situation is not the end of the world. Do what you can in the time left. Okay, you can't produce a properly written report by tomorrow, but you obviously have read something, you know some stuff. Summarise that and make an outline of the other things you will write. You will still have something to show your sup. You can do it!!