Hi Zaracer,

sorry to read you are depressed. Like the others have indicated, don't be too hard on yourself, your health is more important than the PhD. I think it is very important to make small steps, and the first step should be to get better again. Then make decisions regarding how to continue...

Sorry, I not want to come accross as insensitive, yet the PhD game from Beefy (see his / her posting) is, in my opinion, really funny and as always it has a root of truth, as agree with the idea of this game that the whole PhD process is pure madness!!

Hope you get better soon. :-)

....or have someone else have a look? Sometimes another person sees things immediately that you may overlook, as you have seen the thesis so many times already!

Just a thought. :-)

Hi Corinne,

first, try not to worry, you have come this far, with having a thesis completed you have done about 99% of the work and it is now a matter of fine tuning. As you indicate you have a few days off now, as such a bit of time to look at the paper version of the thesis. It may be a good idea to have a good look at it. Apart from the mentioned pictures are you happy with everything else? Are there any other areas / errors that you had not noticed and which you think should be changed? I would suggest to make a list of these potential problem areas.

Then after the weekend I think you have two choices:

1. You could leave the thesis as it is, but take a list of the problems areas to the viva. It is important that you are aware of them. Several people on this forum have done this, for example related to grammatical errors, and have been happy that they have done so. Also remember that the examiners often have only quickly looked over the thesis and may not have noticed. If you feel comfortable with this idea, you can leave it like that and start preparing for the viva.

2. If you say I really dislike not having a perfect thesis, the correct pictures are really important and I want to hand in a perfect example, then I think you should go with you list of corrections to the printers and have these changes made. I think it is pitty because of the extra investment in money and time, yet this may save you a lot of nerves while preparing and especially during the viva.

Personally I would go for option 2.

Evenso, whatever you decide, remember you have done most of the work! You will pass!

:-)8-)

Hi Thephder,

sometimes it helps if you try to explain the theory to someone who does not know anything about it or to write down the theory just by heart without looking at any text. Later on use the professional text to fine tune it.:-)

Hi Chococake,

yes ask your librarian..... would be great if you can access it via your library. Sometimes it is also possible to go to Scopus via an Athens account. And no, I do not have shares in Scopus;-)

Hi Chococake,

I think Scopus is the best, gives you easy access to full articles. Unfortunately I do not have access to it anymore and therefore use my Athens account to find papers. Have you got that as well and if so what do you think of it? I am not sure whether Athens is the same for everyone or whether it it depends on your library / institution. I do not like Athens as it provides usually abstracts only.

I think Google Scholar is good for a quick look and gettting an overview.:-)

Hi Sneaks,

although you are obviously right to stand for the best method, I think you may be on slippery grounds for your viva. So just to play devil's advocate and as a little exercise, why don't you explain in a few words what your method in about, why it is better than a student t-test and as such why many of the established researchers in your field use the "wrong" method?

:-)

Hi Beajay,

thanks for that. It is interesting to read what you have done beforehand and what kind of problems you came across. As mentioned earlier I find it quite an achievement to obtain a PhD despite all these barriers. As you quite rightly say in education most will do the diploma in education, usually part-time and as such aside of a job. Sorry to hear that you cannot get a job in the academic world, because of this age rule (Is this that still legal? Did that not change? Sorry I am not from the UK either, as such do not know all UK regulation in and out).

As mentioned, your story stands out in this forum.

Kind regards:-)

Hi Angelette,

similar as others have indicated, if you have a (professional) job already then keep on working and to the PhD aside of it. It may be something one can negotiate with the employer. Obviously the downside is that is a contant struggle regarding not having enough time to spend on your research and sometimes sarcastic remarks from colleagues who dislike that you have to spend some time on it. However, it does avoid that you constantly have to worry about your bills. Also if you would not like the PhD you can just stop. Having these opportunities helps you to keep going!

At Beajay, interesting, well done for having it completed! Would be interesting if you could tell a bit more about yout story.

Hi Cornflower,

sorry to hear regarding your private and financial problems, it is not surprising these have a detrimental effect on your concentration and that is difficult to keep on going regarding your PhdD.

First, remember that many students do not have a completed research question after 6 months into their project, for many it takes about a year. At least for me it took that long. However, based on what you wrote regarding the discussion with your supervisor you will need a completed question over the next few months.

I think it is very important to get a clear head. If you have all kind of issues bothering it is hard to concentrate on academic work. Therefore are there any means of getting your financial problems under control? Can you get a loan? Job? etc. Also for you emotional problems, are you able to talk with friends about what has happened? Can you write to yourself about it (this sometimes helps) or do you need counselling?

Regarding the research question remember that this sets the research method. Vice versa a certain method goes together with a particular kind of research question. As you have collected data already via your fieldwork you could use this. For example if you have done interviews or focus groups the question would be something like: What are the views of....... regarding..... etc.

Do not give up, it can be done!

:-)

Hi Ady,

thanks.

Yeah, citations do not say a lot.

I did not know that Google Scholar worked differently on and off camp. I work, so I am not at the university very often, in fact the place where I did  / do my research is quite a long way from where I live, hence that is useful to do the searches from home.

However, I have e-mailed the librarian already, see what he can do to help me.

How is your research going?

:-)

Wow, Ady, I'm impressed!!

You really know a lot regarding this issue. Thanks for that. Especially the issue of the librarian is a good one, I need to speak to my librarian and get him more involved in finding articles. Also thank you for the web sites. I will have a look at these.

Did you use something like Scopus? If so what did you think if it? In comparison to Google Scholar better / worse?

Main frustrating bit of Athens is that usually I can get the abstracts only, while the full article is required to judge whether it may be useful.

Rick
:-)

Dear all,

just wanted people's view on how it is best to find journals. I have used an Athens account, have had access to Scopus for a short period of time and via the university library.

Has any of you got any good tips regarding which data bases are particularly good and tricks regarding how to find journals?:-)

Hi Bilbo,

thanks for your reply. Very impressive what you are producing, I envy you.

Yes, I agree with you, "based on my experience I think" sounds rather weak.

The problem I have is that I have written a sort of opinion paper, and although I quite knowledgeable in the field I am writing about, I am not an authority (not a professor, not a well known key author etc.). Although I reference the things that I am stating the reviewers want to know exactly how I came to that conclusion (e.g. systematic literature review, expert interviews etc.). So, how could I make it more convincing what I write? Based on years of study....?

And also, would you write something like: The author is aware this may be biased.... or: On purpose this is written in this way with the aim to generate discussion etc.?
:-)

Dear all,

so far I have written a few papers with other people (mainly professors) and these were accepted via the peer review process. Now I have written a "one author paper". Perhaps it is coincidence yet this time the reviewers want much more specific information regarding how and why I came to certain conclusions. How do you justify yourself in a paper? Most of the issues brought forward are based on the literature, yet obviously I make choices regarding what to include, how to approach issues, how to prioritise etc.

Anyone any experience of writing these one author papers and in "validating" yourself? Can you write something like: "I include this because....", " Based on my experience I think.... etc.