Overview of tt_dan on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of tt_dan

Signup date: 01 Jan 2012 at 4:07am

Last login: 10 Nov 2013 at 5:58pm

Post count: 359

Recent Posts

quitting-pay back studentship?

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From DoctorJ:

Hi all,

Yet another quitting thread I'm afraid. I'm on a studentship and will be quitting after many months of study. Does anyone know if I'll be expected to pay this back? My contract doesn't contain any wording to this effect which makes me think it would be illegal for them to ask anyway.

I would be grateful if people could advise me. The PhD is untenable so no chance of staying on.

Thank you.

Hi J,

I'm sorry to hear that you're still feeling this way. Do you have anyone to talk to there? Why do you feel it is untenable?

Writing structure - are these correct? eek! help : /

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From hazyjane:

First one is wrong as Sony should have a capital 'S'. Personally I would go for the second.

I see. Alright.

What kind of names?

e.g.
English language
Machine language
Operating System

What do you think? Can it be "machine language".

Yes, but be aware that if you submit something electronically, sometimes formatting will be stripped away.

Ah, yes. Thank you for the reminder. Sometimes, that can be a real pain!

An abbreviations table is handy but it might also be wise to use the full phrase first time e.g. "...the Biological Network (BN) is....blah blah blah. The BN also..."

I can see the logic behind this. But, I'm a bit worried that they might say; "Owh, you already have the table, so you don't need to write like this blablabla".

Owh, the subjectivity of writing : /

Writing structure - are these correct? eek! help : /

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

(1)When should the title of a figure be capitalized?

Figure 1.1 an overview of sony's...
or
Figure 1.1 An overview of Sony's...
or
Figure 1.1 An Overview of Sony's...

should "Figure" be capitalized?

(2)If lets say I want to write,

----> most of the time, the consumer would respond as, "it would be just R".

Is the double quotation above allowed? should I rephrase?

3)When referring to terms defined, is this possible:

----> the terms "Mellow" and "Glow" are...

or should it be italicized?

4)When cited papers use lowercase for names, is it ok if I use uppercase?

5)Can I italicize a word if I want to stress it?

6) Is it ok to use abbreviations on a proposal? I tend to use lots of them. I do have the abbreviations table. e.g. Biological Network, into, BN.

Hope someone could help! : [

PhD needs major revision and I feel I can't face it anymore

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Mate,

I read your post *hugs*

I don't even know where to begin really; I would think that "the identification of a new molecule that is more active against a cancer target", is very significant! Could you appeal?

*I might eat my own words (because I'm still in my first year, entering second!), but DON'T GIVE UP mate!

PM me if anything; I'm bumping your thread for support.

Dan

How should I change my ideas with colleges?

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From DrJeckyll:

On the other hand, I am isolated in the department, as I am pretty much the only person that cares about my topic. I struggled with intellectual isolation during the first year because even my supervisor would find the details of my research tedious.

I was so happy to find other researchers in the same area that I couldn't stop discussing about my research. A friendly ear helps you develop.

I know right?

I would be more than happy to be your 'sidekick' if we were in the same research area, same group, same place and same time : /

I normally eat alone in some corner of the room without anyone to talk to lol. But I'm used to it by now : p

How should I change my ideas with colleges?

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From pikirkool:

it's true. some ppl are kinda opportunistic. they might use the idea and publish it. happened to me twice.

that's why it's *really* important for u to find someone u can trust.

one way is to break down the idea into small parts which do not signal innovation at all.
u could inquire each part from different individuals and then assemble the findings.
this way, the original idea would only make sense to u and no one else iA.

You're scaring me pikirkool.

But, what happened?

Expecting people to understand the concepts or problems you're talking about - help : (

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

omg docinsanity! at least we are in the same boat! keep me updated ok? I'll keep you updated as well if I could get any ideas on how to solve this.

Anyone who has any advice, will be much appreciated!

Expecting people to understand the concepts or problems you're talking about - help : (

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

What if the audience consists of two groups; one that knows what we're doing (experts of the field(s)) and the other one is just merely checking the way we write the thesis; presentation style, etc?

Expecting people to understand the concepts or problems you're talking about - help : (

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Hello,

Well, I think I have a problem : (
I realized that when I do presentations, I'm expecting people to understand some of the concepts I'm talking about. When I say "people", I mean the examiners or the panel members. Is that reasonable?

Say for example my topic is about X and subtopics xi, xii, xiii and xiv. And now I'm working on a new "discovery" say it's xv, I'm somehow expecting the panel to understand X and xi, xii, xiii and xiv, except my xv, which I will gladly explain. Is that even reasonable? Of course I would be more than happy to explain (briefly) xi, xii, xiii and xiv and X itself but it's going to be brief since I want to make way for my work, which is xv.

How much work is it okay for others to contribute to your dissertation

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From Mackem_beefy:

======= Date Modified 08 Nov 2012 16:28:41 =======
Damn the word limit on this thing!!!

To add to the below, the first two stories (the first I believe was the PhD student of a computing lecturer that had taught me, the second was someone one of my predecessors in my PhD project knew) smack of desperation to show something for the years spent on their repsective projects. I can sort of understand even if I don't agree with what they've done.

The third is more about boosting the profile of the senior researcher and the name of the colleague who did some of the work for him has gone on the paper resutling as a co-author. If someone repeats the same tests, they will get more negative results and the industrial partner will not be happy if they work out what has happened.

We all know of things that have happened and shouldn't. Some tales I know of have some humour value, with many happening because people working in academia either don't take enough notice of potential mispractice or malpractice, or choose not to notice. However, I'm coy about posting up a couple of the other stories as even if I don't name the Uni. involed, it's easily worked out from the events that transpired if a member of staff happens to read them. :-)

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

My goodness; how could they live with that? I could never do such a thing especially having the after feeling of guilt for the rest of my life : /

Share more if you have them! : D

What to wear for viva?

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Quote From Mackem_Beefy:

I was told business attire would be expected. I went suited and booted so to speak.

A change of clothes was waiting in my bag for as soon as it was over though, as I was heading straight for a football match after the viva (the change was that quick my external examiner saw me in Sunderland top and jeans ten minutes after the viva was over).

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Weren't you tired!?
I'd normally be so tired after any presentation that I'd go sleep for hours afterwards lol.

How much work is it okay for others to contribute to your dissertation

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

======= Date Modified 08 Nov 2012 11:55:26 =======
======= Date Modified 08 Nov 2012 11:51:46 =======

Quote From Mackem_Beefy:

If the algorithms and ideas are his and he working with the contractor to create the programs, that may be okay as long as college are aware of this. However, if he is letting the contractor do all the work and then passing the work off as his original contribution to his field, then it is not his work and he is not entitled to his PhD if he is awarded it. I would consider his actions unethical.

This. Ian is right. I also have a degree in Computing, so I might be of some assistance.
What is his PhD about OP? Do you know? Did you see him developing those algorithms? Did you see him read the papers?

I'm not entirely sure of the "ethics" of letting someone "program" your ideas. The created program is not a big deal in my view. The idea behind it, is.

Although having said that, I do my own programs so that I know all the details as much as possible.

Here's one thing to think about OP; if I write a program using MATLAB, and MATLAB was obviously created by someone else, is that cheating? MATLAB was created by someone; not me. Should I create my own version of MATLAB so that "all" the work now belongs to me, and no one else?
Wouldn't that be similar to the guy you mentioned? He asked someone to write the code for him, which he pays I presumed, but the idea behind the code is his idea from his LR or somewhere he got his "enlightenment". If the ideas all came from him, isn't that similar to the software that I paid someone to build for me (MATLAB)? The only thing I did now is that I use the MATLAB program, express my ideas on it, and write it myself.

I'm open for discussions : )

Quote From Mackem_Beefy:

As to how common it is, I couldn't say though PhD researchers in general I would say 99% are above board. I would say the 'bad apples' are the exception rather than the rule.

Have you seen any of these bad apples before?

3rd year stuck in a rut. No results!

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Read your post. I don't have any constructive thing to say (cells are not really my area!), but could you take a day off? Exercise? It did me good last time when I was sooo stress. I went outside for a run and those endorphines started to kick in!

Do you use any software to manage your work? e.g. Gnatt Chart?

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

I just recently noticed that my work is in a mess! So, I decided to install this open source Gantt Chart software. Seems to be great having an overview of what work I should do/progress so far/etc.

What do you guys use to manage your work/progress/etc? : )

Help, how to analyse questionnaire data? - eek

tt_dan 359 posts
12 years ago

Hello Hazyjane,

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, I was thinking about it as well; perhaps during the presentation, I would just select the strongest ones, or I could further generalize the variables or grouped them further for easier analysis - does that make sense?

This particular research I'm doing is a small part of the main thesis; it's conducted to support the main thesis. I'm developing some model for this X problem my field is facing. But I need some "social" survey research so that I have updated evidence that the "problem" is still "existing" and are being faced by the users. Thus, the users would need to be surveyed. Hope that helps in some ways.

Quote From hazyjane:

======= Date Modified 05 Nov 2012 16:29:59 =======

Quote From tt_dan:

Quote From hazyjane:

If you asked 30 questions (or sub questions) then yes! You sound concerned though - is there something you're unsure of.

Yes. I have 30 questions (including stubs). Actually, ATM, I've just included 25 variables. Another 5 variables I've no idea whether I should include it or not.

I don't know why I'm "unsure"; it seems 30 variables are "quite a lot" - or I'm just inexperience with this sort of thing.... :$

At the end of the day, it's not necessarily the *number* of variables that is important, it's how *useful* or *relevant* they are to the hypothesis being tested.

Most of my work is done on existing databases of dozens of variables and thousands of records. But for a particular analysis, I don't use all that information - just the variables and records that relevant to the specific question I'm trying to answer.

May I ask what general field your project is based in (e.g. social sciences? medicine?) I don't need all the details, but it might help people direct you to appropriate forms of advice.