Apparently I am an ENTJ. Though some of the questions I thought I could answer either way depending on the specific situation.

I would agree that most people in academia are introverted though. It kind of makes sense. You have to be able to spend a lot of time on your own working in quite a quiet environment. Really outgoing and social people wouldn't generally like that so much.

I always confuse the survey when I do any introvert/extrovert test because I like spending time quietly on my own, but I also like spending time in groups and am quite happy doing things like public speaking. I like to think I don't need attention all the time but don't mind attention when I get it.

Depends what it's for. I'd probably go with what you want to put. For a paper I would probably put whatever you like and if they don't like it they can change it (there are always corrections anyway!). For your thesis I would suggest asking your sup what their preference is, or do the same as I suggested for a paper (if it comes up as a minor correction it is literally a find and replace job and it's done).

If someone knows that there is a hard and fast rule on this then follow what they say, but I doubt there is an absolute rule on it.

I have a different method when I need to write. I basically force myself to write and don't care about the quality, just get as much down on paper as possible. After doing this for a while I then refine down. I'll also add more after this stage, but I find having words in front of me helps me to organise what I want to say more easily. Sometimes there is very little of what I initially wrote left by the end, sometimes there is a lot.

I guess you need to find the best method for you, the method given before this seems pretty sensible.

My answers would be:

1. Nothing
2. Nothing
3. Impossible (male supervisor in his 60s)
4. Quite a nice bottle of Whisky
5. Nothing

Mainly because it's their job. Unless they've done something beyond the call of duty so to speak then they don't need presents, they have pay. After the viva, it's basically a leaving thank you.

Page numbers can be easily sorted as there is a "start at" option so just choose the correct number. I'm not sure on references and other stuff though (I haven't written my thesis yet!) maybe combining will have to happen! As Sneaks says though, only combine right at the end. If you've been careful and used the "styles" and numbering systems properly it *should* just update everything perfectly!

Yeah, use something for references. Doing it by hand is a massive waste of time. Endnote is the standard one, but I hate it because it was rubbish about 6 or 7 years ago and I haven't forgiven it (despite it no doubt being a lot better now). I therefore use Mendeley.

So long as you keep your references properly sorted then it takes pretty much all the pain away from referencing.

Slightly off topic, but why are you splicing the word documents together? I assume by this you mean you will end up with a massive word document? Big documents crash in Word quite easily, why not keep them as separate documents? That's what I was planning on doing when I get round to writing my thesis...

Wow, it really is quite short. Fill it in people it takes 3 minutes maximum! Admittedly my responses were rather dull and short, but they were truthful!

I can only give my opinion as I don't think there are any set rules. I would say that if you did the majority of the work after your supervisor's idea then you should get first author and they get second on a resulting paper. After all, you probably know the ins and outs better anyway and you did most if not all the work, BUT it was their idea and so the work would never have been done if they didn't think of it, so they get second author on the papers.

I think older sups who have nothing to prove would be more likely to say that the student can take credit, whereas a younger supervisor may still want to be making their own mark in the field and so will want to keep a lot of the credit for themselves. Obviously this is a massive generalisation.

I'm also not enamoured with my particular topic (in the same general field as you) so I treat it as a job. 9-5 each day, never worked a weekend so far. I'm currently writing up two papers after 13 months work and haven't felt that it's been "hard work" at all. Have a look at other options. If you don't find any then keep going, better to be being paid to do something that you might not enjoy but seem to be good enough at (according to your supervisor) than unemployed and looking for a job. It's harder to find a new job when you're unemployed for a start.

======= Date Modified 23 Nov 2011 16:57:23 =======
Scrub that, I found it. PM your email and I'll send it to you it now.

No luck here either I'm sorry to say. Incidently, this is now the 2nd result when you search for that paper via google!

Do you know where the author is now? Maybe you could contact him directly and request a copy?

======= Date Modified 23 Nov 2011 09:26:04 =======
It sounds like you're really up against it! It's pure corruption really by the sounds of it. You mention having nothing to lose. If this is the case then, if all else fails , why not look at getting the media involved (assuming there is a relatively free press in your country)? I think the trouble for me is that I can think of lots of things I'd do here in the UK or in a EU country but I have no idea if these things apply where you are. I wish you all the luck in the world, keep us posted.

EDIT As for the uni ombudsman, I don't know if you can trust them or not, it's a judgement call on your part, but if you don't tell them exactly what happened then will they take it as seriously anyway. Unfortunately it's hard to give advice on this sort of thing without being there!

Just to add another voice to the same opinion. You really don't want to be unemployed. It is FAR harder to get a job when unemployed and it is also obviously better to be being paid whilst you look for a job. Take the job offered and keep your eyes and ears open for other opportunities. You can leave at any time (probably with a couple of months notice) and you may find you enjoy it anyway. You don't want gaps on your CV!

As for the "it's so hard to do etc", it's the same with other jobs. You get plenty of people in non-academic jobs who are over worked. You also get plenty of academics who are not overworked. All it required is the ability to be disciplined with your working and know when to say "no I can't do that as I don't have time". I'm working as an RA and it's less hard work than my previous job in industry.

I live with my wife now, but when I first got a job back in 2007/8 I lived on my own for a year. It is brilliant! I loved having a place to myself. I still saw my friends, just when I wanted to instead of all the time. It was expensive though (it was a 3 bed house! In a scummy area but still...). After that I moved in with 3 friends and hated it. I liked them, but was too used to being in my own space. I gradually spent more and more time at my girlfriend's instead (she lived on her own) and eventually moved in with her.

Once you've lived on your own I would say sharing with anyone other than your significant other or a VERY good friend becomes hard. I didn't go insane on my own, I loved it, so I'd suggest that if you can still afford to then keep living on your own.

None of them. I am 9 - the person who was working in one industry and wanted to move to another. Couldn't get a job in the new industry due to "lack of experience in the industry" so somehow ended up doing a PhD as "relevant experience". Kind of number 2, I guess, but I'd happily go back to the "real world".