In fact, I wouldn't even take the risk. I think I'd report it externally somewhere. Isn't there an equivalent OFSTED type thing you could go to?

If what they are saying is true then that is pretty disgusting. I am wondering if there is some higher body you could officially report this to, who would then come and investigate/audit the place. Maybe even through an animal rights group or some other body. Be careful whatever you do (although I agree you must do something). If you raise it with your supervisor then you will alerting them that you are the person who has reported it... (if you do then go on to report it). I would raise it with my supervisor only if I felt he/she would react in the same way or similar to me (and not just brush it under the carpet). If in any doubt I would try to take a more formal anonymous route.

Thanks Thesisfun! Too late! But they were OK with it. I didn't really want to say here is a chance to give input when there would literally be a Saturday night for them to get back to me.

Sounds a fantastic role! Let us know how it goes! : )

Thanks Pjlu! I will do just that! : )

I'd relax for now and settle in your role. You can casually think about possible ideas for research and then make some concrete steps for how to achieve it once you've established yourself in the department. It may be that as you are training the teachers, you find yourself thinking about some interesting questions or possibilities, or you wonder if something that you are doing is evidence based. Similarly, you may read a piece of published research and think you'd like to do something similar. Maybe a bit of informal research (e.g., based on questionnaires with your trainee teachers) could end up being something a bit more formal and lead to a publication.

While settling in, you could also talk to your manager to find out a bit more about what their expectations are, or is it less defined and just "what you make of it", and if so, if there is any research training that would be available to you. Or indeed, if it could be a possibility in the future for your contract to be extended while you completed a PhD by publication part-time.

I don't know if this is helpful but just to share it in case... The head of my department has mostly teaching and clinical experience, and she hasn't got a PhD unlike most of her colleagues (she has a Masters). She conducts small research projects and presents them at the staff/research group meetings in our department. They are mainly to do with things like course satisfaction, challenges facing teaching staff, etc. They are small but interesting. I don't think she publishes them although she puts academic posters of the findings on the walls for staff, students and visitors to see. Here, it is more a case of some in-house research that is of interest to colleagues.

Hope this helps!

Argh! For the poster to be considered in a competition at the conference, it needs to be submitted way in advance of the actual conference. I am pretty sure I can get it done though and submit on time (today lol)! But I don't think my supervisors will be able to look at it before I submit it. They are authors on it too... so maybe they want to give input... Do you think it is acceptable for me to submit it without them seeing it even though it has their names on it? Given the circumstances...

Yes, best wishing Smiling Hippo, and ditto everything else that Pjlu says. This challenging experience will be something that you can draw on later.

It may be the last thing on your mind right now, but if you want to pursue a PhD elsewhere then this experience won't hinder you from doing that (eg. a friend of mine recently left her PhD in the middle and took up funding elsewhere). You just need to be clever about who to ask for references etc.

Whatever you are doing now - pat yourself on the back for being assertive enough to tell them where to go when you felt you were being excessively mistreated. Now to move on...

Yeh not only all the above but when things go rubbish as at times they do tend to (supervisor problems etc) - it is quite a nice feeling that you aren't having to struggle to pay for such a crummy experience but rather that it is funded. If you are really keen on going to one that is highly ranked in your field, then you could apply to like 5 highly ranked target universities next time round and keep your fingers crossed for getting funding.

No,I think it demonstrates that you are very keen to get the funding and also to improve your interview skills where needed. I'd go for it! They may come back to you saying that they have no suggestions. Nothing to lose but something to gain potentially.

Good luck!

Hi,

I think the funding and the fact that you already know your supervisor at Queens are real bonuses.

But is there any way of securing funding or partial funding at Kings?

Probably the best thing to do would be to send it in a private message to anyone who is willing to have a look/give feedback. I'd be happy to have a look, if you want to send it over.

Best
Tudor

Hi everyone who posted on this thread,

I've had many ups and downs since my last message on this thread. I came up with a succession of several different ideas for my final study, which either my supervisors didn't like or I didn't feel happy with in the end. It was like being on a hamster wheel. I seriously thought that I might have to convert my PhD to MPhil if I didn't have an idea soon.

Then last week I was doodling on some Postik notes... "study 1 found y...", "but we still don't know whether y affects x"... and then it came to me! Let's look at the effects of y on x! I thought about it for a day or so, firmed it up into a 2000 word protocol in 3-4 days (amazing for me as that kind of thing normally takes me ages), and sent it to my supervisors. I've just heard back and they like it too. I am so relieved.

So thank you for your advice (I kept returning to this thread when I needed encouragement). Anyone else out there who is going mad trying to "have an idea"... don't worry, it will come to you eventually. And all the rubbish ideas will feed into that final idea somehow.

Thanks again : )

Tudor.

Thanks again ToL!

Also it seems customary to put the logo of your institution on the poster. So if there are multiple authors from several institutions, would that mean all their logos need to go on?