Golfpro your response - ref unis in blackpool reaaaaaallly made me laugh .... you are right all FE Colleges tend to be very ambitious these days ... I teach at one.

Well done!!!

Taught undergrads with another colleague who was rather “informal”, I learnt a huge lesson from his case. He landed himself in hot soup as some of the things he had said "informally" were used against him by a group of students. Case turned ugly as formal complaints were put up by the students in question. Luckily he got away with a caution. so my advice is that undergrads are certainly in a league of their own and they are better left there cause they may cause more trouble than one needs for the lecturer and the university as a whole when it comes to litigation issues. A higher degree of formality is the way forward even if they are your age mates. Things do get relaxed/ informal at Post grad level I think.

We are very fortunate; we have a massive room with loads of natural light which is well equipped with spanking computers. Good thing is it’s only for PhD, Mphil and Mres students. Took a lot of lobbying to get it though.

To be honest I don't remember at what speed I had recorded the interviews when I later played around with the speed. I might have recorded in the right speed mode and for some reason the speed button shifted to fast after the actual recording, perhaps that is why it worked after tweaking it. Hope you somehow find a solution to this. Listening at great speed is almost impossible and intolerable to the ear.

Play around with the speed button, if it’s the same machine I have it has 1.2 and 2.4 respectively. If you change this setting it should work. It happened to me once and I just fidgeted with the speed button until it gave! Try also playing around with the settings vas / rec mode. Good luck

Jogging and talking long walks definitely helps to keep me sane, fit and refreshed. I find jogging in the park helps me to maintain the momentum as I see other regular joggers.

Did the course on the programme and soon discovered that it doesn't automatically do much for you. Like Olivia said you still have to do all the coding. I prefer doing it all on hard copy. Olivia i don' think its an age thing, its just that with paper you can spread it out,hang it, colour code etc (i have been using huge drawing sheets!)- there is a certain degree of getting your hands dirty with something that readily creates a memory picture- more like a mapping thing. on the one hand if you are doing a massive research - with hundreds of interviews it may deliver.

Hi Shani
Couldn’t help but write you my sympathies after reading your post. What an experience- but hey you can do it. I would suggest that you insist on quieter places. When I was doing my MRES I did one interview in a cafe which the respondent deemed "very nice and quiet". I lived to regret it cause when it came to listening to the tape it was just terrible i.e. they were loads of people talking in the back ground, cars hooting, phones ringing, cutlery noise what not....I learnt the hard way cause I could not redo the interview as responded was going off on a mission to another country. Hope u can sort out another recorder and like u said it was after you had switched off the recorder that all the interesting stuff came up- always be ready to switch it on again. I have had to consciously remind myself several times that folks can fork out good stuff when you think you are done with them.... Wishing you well on the next one & let us know how you get on.

Rick- I have never used one method i.e. individual interviews. Perhaps it depends on the topic and the kind of data you are gathering. i think like Shani says you can revisit individuals to clarify though i still think the combination produces great results.

i am making use of individual interviews and focus groups. I would say -based on my research experience -making use of both is a great way of making sure that you get quality information as they are complimentary methods. when discussing stuff in groups there are certain group dynamics at play which usually allude to issues that may not come up in individual interviews. This combination normally works well as it gives you the opportunity to follow certain leads or simply clarify certain issues as well as the development of the interview schedule. if you dropped the focus groups what would your justification be for using one method? (am assuming you had a justification for wanting to use the groups in the first place)

Just a short word of encouragement Pineapple. Dont let this eat you up. i think its a good thing that you know where you kind of went wrong.... busy with other things and u say that you knew the report was crap... take on board your current reflections and you redirect your energies for september. You can do it, you have come a long way. Dont be ashamed, you are not the only one.... this is a long journey. i would say to you have a little rest, refocus and prioritize. Bless you.

definitely buy the book. if i gave out a book i would except to get it back in the same condition as i gave it, no matter what. am generally easy going about stuff but when it comes to books i make no concessions.

Thanks Nadia and Golfpro, i have since cleaned the fan and the noise is still very much present. been told i need to replace fan.

on top I have a part time teaching post in FE, its driving me crazy- feeling like a hypocrite cause of all the nonsensical targets and success rates. right now am working on my interview schedules and the ethics form is hanging over my head. I am tired to be honest but am just trying my best to keep moving with a little rest here and there