Hi Guys

I'm currently doing a MSc at Leeds Uni  to with river management and have progressed to the dissertation stage - which is due the first week of September. I've done pretty well in the course so far and have managed to achieve a grade of distinction currently.

My problem is that the course was entirely modular and I've now realised that I probably didn't select one or two modules that I should have - essentially I chose the courses I thought were interesting and didn't focus them on a specific dissertation topic. However, when the list of potential topics came out I realised that it was going to be very difficult to proceed with any of them due to severe gaps in my knowledge resulting from not doing some modules. Having been away from uni life for over a decade I also didn't feel I had enough knowledge to come up with my own topic.

As it was the only option available to me I went with a topic on "the development of a wild land quality index for the scottish river system" with a supervisor who I thought would be very helpful. However, people who had done their undergraduate course tried to warn me against this saying that he would be very difficult to work with.

First stage of the diss was to write up a literature review on the subject and I found this almost impossible as there was a distinct lack of literature. I managed to hand something in but in my opinion it wasn't good and I had to get an extension on health grounds as I started to have severe panic attacks. Certainly the review gave me no help in developing any methodology or knowledge of the subject area. Furthermore, going to see my supervisor wasn't much help as every time we discussed the diss he started going, changing the purpose of the diss and pretty much confusing me!

Next stage was to get data from my supervisor but this resulted in a weeks delay as he was away on a field trip. When he came back he informed me that at the end of that week he was off to Australia for two weeks. At our meeting to discuss the diss I told him i was stuck and had no idea how to proceed and he tried to explain the topic to me but i still didn't understand either the methodology or even the need for the study. I had told him I would come and see him at the end of the week but when I turned up on the Friday he had left for Australia and had not marked my lit review which he had promised to do. In effect he has only been there for four days the month.

I am now stuck waiting until he returns in a weeks time with nothing to do as I have no idea how to proceed. Time is also running out and there will only be about 5 weeks for me to do the whole diss when he returns. basically - not long enough.

Now trying to decide on my next step - should I carry on with the dissertation although I have major doubts about completing it on time or should I see my course supervisor and tell him that I'm pretty disappointed but will have to quit. Maybe there will be an option of doing it next year?

Pretty

I'd carry on, I supervise MSc dissertations and at the moment my lot are doing data collection, but I know I'll have a few that still haven't really done anything yet.

While he is away its important you understand the literature, and the rationale behind the study. I'm not in your area, but the main thing I get my students to do is to focus on hypotheses they want to test, as this guides the rest of the dissertation.

The main thing you have to do is plough on through the self doubt as it will all click at some point. but don't waste a week panicking - get a good lit review and hypotheses (if that's the kind of study you're doing) written.

Also - think about going to see other lecturers who are teaching on the same course. Its summer, some (particularly senior) academics tend to disappear as its the only time to get on with research. It may be you can get more support from another staff member.

Is there a course tutor/personal tutor you have access to? Arrange a meeting with them asap and raise your concerns about completing in time. They may be able to arrange an extension and/or identify a different project angle or supervisor. But don't leave it too long before doing this.

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