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I am already ahead as I have just sent the email in point 2 and another one to another person i have doing some consultancy for. Have a good day everyone!

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Today's Aims:
1. Order a book from amazon- already have a copy my supervisor found in the library but it is really great so going to order me the second edition, since I have loads of money from my grant that I havn't even spend yet. May as well get some books to keep from it.
2. Send finished data analysis to clinician I have done some consultancy work with plus an explanation of what I have done.
3. Make changes to a book review I drafted and showed my supervisors yesterday. However, have conveniently left the book at home so might have to do this tonight.
4. Try and write a few notes/some prose about the negative binomial and geometric distributions- am still very confused about the difference between the NBI and NBII distributions and am hoping to have a sudden epiphany today!

Hey guys!

tractorgirl- hope you enjoy your curry! yum yum!
lara- can't belive your 2nd supervisor won't read your draft?? I always have meetings (once a week) with both my supervisors at the same time to make sure i get both their input on my work.
celesmai- 3000 words well done and keep up the good work!

Its 10:38 here in London so am checking in a bit late- supervisor dropped into my office first thing this morning unexpectedly so ended up getting him to help with a couple of draft emails that i was just about to send.

If I get to the end of my first year with a 10,000 word lit review I will be one happy billy!!

Keep up the good work!

It has taken me a long time, but I am finally starting to get excited about my PhD!!! I've always thought the topic was interesting, but was not really feeling the love. But I just had a magical moment when I read something interesting and got all excited! Have made so many little advances already this week, that I just feel that my PhD is really strong and has so much potential! I have just been reading for the past hour and am really annoyed now that I have to stop working and get the train home. :D xxx

Hello everyone!!

Sorry I have been AWOL recently- last week I enjoyed a weeks holiday on the beautiful isle of wight! It was very relaxing and just what I needed. Monday morning came round soon enough and I had to go to the dentists for another filling. So yesterday and today, I have been trying to get my head around the piles of work I left on my desk before I went on holiday. Had a meeting with the supervisors this morning which went well. So am going to start posting my aims again tomorrow. I will endevour to catch up with some of last weeks posts!

xx

Hello,

I read two books before starting my PhD:

Your PhD companion by Dr Stephen Marshall & Dr Nick Green
The Unwritten rules of PhD research by Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre.

They were both useful for an overview of doing a PhD and all the stages, but both gave very similar advice and information.

We're given a guideline of 3 weeks to write it in, as the emphasis is it being a report and not a mini-thesis. Therefore, it shouldn't take too much of your time to write. Saying this, I haven't actually written mine yet as my upgrade isn't until november- the basis of mine will be my literature review.

However, A116 I'm suprised that you were allowed to upgrade after only 9 months. At my institute we cannot upgrade before a year. And it has to be before 18 months.

Thanks for the advice guys. I have definatly decided to start writing up now. My lit review shouldn't change too much as its just a review of methodologies.

The only other peice of advise I can give is to speak slowly and clearly. I was told once that you need to speak much more slowly than you think you do, inorder for it to travel to the back of the room. I personally find that this is my one problem when public speaking. Good luck!

Hey guys a quick bit of advice needed:

I am in the first year of my statistics PhD. I am 10 months in, and have not really got very far with my literature review yet, which is really worrying me. I have another four months until my upgrade.
When is to early to start writing my PhD? I have started the introduction, with a very loose draft of ideas etc- some prose and some still notes. Is this a really silly thing to do?

I had this idea that if I start actually writing my literature review- what I have read etc then it may help me discover what is left to research and the general direction of my PhD. There is a lot of methods background to my PhD and am worried that I will not have fone enough work to pass my upgrade when the time comes. I don't want to start writing stuff up for my supervisors to turn round and say it was a waste of time.

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Today's Aims:
1. Email relevent people the completed data analysis after last check of what I have done.
2. Continue with zero-draft of introduction, I want to type the notes I have written into some sort of prose.

Hopefully will get both those done, I have a seminar at 2 and then am leaving at 3.30 to go to see the foot doctor about my terrible feet! Have a good day everyone and will check in later.

Hi A Gang,

Sorry for my lack of posts on the forum, have been a busy girly recently:

Fri- Had to go to the dentisits for 2 filings, so worked from home but didn't managed to get much work done as there were people being shown round the house, because its being sold.

Sat & Sun- Had the weekend off so didn't do any work. Did lots of gardening on the veggie patch, went to the cinema etc. Did manage to do some reading for a book review i've got to write.

Mon- Finished analysis for some consultancy work I am doing. Hopefully it will lead to an authorship on a paper.

Yesterday- Made more changes to a paper I have been writing for about 7 months, started writing a zero draft of introduction chapter.

I am only six months in and have a rough thesis plan. Today I have started a zero-draft of my introduction. Start now, it's always good to get some ideas on paper even if it changes later on.

Just wiki'd it- have fun with that one!! I am a statistician, but have never come across SEM before. I can't recommend any books It dosn't seem completely hopeless, am sure you will manage it!