depends on what your topic is and what you need to do to get it done. We all have to write a thesis, but some have to collect data, others just analyse existing data, others don't use data at all!

For me - if I over run it will be because people won't participate in my experiments so its all their fault!

I feel in the same boat - to get people to take part in my research I have just agreed to give them a seminar - not only the academc side of what I am doing, but they want a practical side to it (in which I have no idea). I am panicking now and its in November! so scared they are all going to start booing and hissing 10 mins in!

cheers phdbug, now just to write write write!

I'm back from about a month out! Now a Mrs sneaks! Anyway, hopefully everyone hasn't given up on this thread. I want to use it to motivate myself to get tonnes of writing done before September. So by this evening I want a nice little chart of what targets I am setting myself!

AAAARRRRGh

I know I come from a different field, I just can't understand how she can interfere with her observations so dramatically as to constantly post. In my research area that would be considered a 'rooky mistake' lol. and my sup would laugh me out of the room before I even got any funding.

I like to spend my days wasting time on forums - as we all do here. And I spend a lot of my time on 'you and your wedding' comparing shoes/dresses and the like rather than do any work. ANYWAY, recently some 'phd' student has come on saying she has done research on the forum - but has actually posted on it herself for quite some time under a pseudonym. Here is the thread where she has revealed all, its hilarious!

http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/chatroom/topic/207427

What do we all think? real or genuine? what are the ethical implications?

My research kind of relates to this - that depending on your own self confidence etc you will explain events in certain ways, so one person may say their success is down to luck, and in an identical situation, another person may say its down to their ability. I am looking at it and how it affects your job decisions.

OOh - I had given up on this thread, nice to see some new faces!

I have just got back into the swing of things after my yearly performance report/viva and a european conference (which was a complete waste of time and money! - although I did present so something for the CV).

I am at the point now where I have fobbed off my supervisor for a while about how much work I have been doing, and now she will want to actually see something, so getting a bit scared! Need to get back into writing cos that seems to always get the best feedback, rather than data collection, but trying to move house, get married and do data collection, marking and other work at the same time! crazy!

I was just wondering why authors do not get paid to submit work to journals. I think its wierd that authors don't even get royalties per download or citation - we are supposed to think the prestige is all. But any other field of work would not put up with this. I just think its strange that the only people who benefit are the big publishers.

my sup lets me post stuff as she goes off for months to her second home and claims there is no internet (hmmm- really?).

just do loads more work and land it all on his desk when he's back - that will serve him right for not being 'impressed'.

this has only resulted in me thinking of sugar mice mmm

my biggest 'small task' is my bf!

- washing his clothes
- cooking food
- making him do some work on his phd
- tidying up around him

All while he plays ps3 and I get worried by the silent 'egg timer' of PhD funded time slipping away from his grasp (and mine!)

ooh conferences - well done people! I've been accepted into one next month and am dreading it - really can't be bothered to go and seriously tempted to pull out but that would be chicken, and they may not want me back in the future!

In terms of writing - I am lucky that my sup seems to like my first drafts - although tbh she only skim reads them I think, AND I think she only said the last piece was good because she hasn't had ANYTHING off me for ages - so I reckon she just wanted me motivated to do SOMETHING!!!

It is recruitment I'm afraid - my participant pool is quite specific, although not enough to think you couldn't do research but evidently I was wrong! My third study was going to be a questionnaire, which was fine but my org contact has ignored three emails from me asking where they are with sending it out - and I phoned her desk and apparently she's on training til monday - but I have been emailing her for weeks so thinking she has jacked in her half of the project and decided to ignore rather than actually tell me so I can get on with my research some other way :-s

these are the times I wish I was researching dustmites or something - at least they are all around me in my house (due to no cleaning - ever).

Anyways, decided to hold myself accountable and TRY to get SOME work done today, even if its just 5 mins, I have been sooo restless. So my plan for the rest of today (yes I know its 2.30!) is to read one article and write up the notes - which should provide me with a structure for the next piece of writing.

I will report in tonight regarding my progress!

Its very hard to tell in my department. Those who teach, you see around a lot. But academics who only teach one or two lectures a year, you hardly see, they all work from home 90% of the time. My sup reckons that 2-3 publications a year is good especially for the start of your career so I guess its more about pushing publications out, rather than spending hours in the office. In my experience 2-3 hours 'good' work is worth 2-3 days worth of messing about in an office looking like you are doing work - I am very suspicious of clean desks at the moment! I think clean desk = no work!