Howdy,

I am currently, and at short notice (I have 6 days, 3 of which I will be working), trying to complete a PhD research assistantship application/proposal.
The problem I am having is that whilst I have a key idea I want to research, I'm having issues foreseeing 3 years into the future. I am terribly short-sighted. I tend to start something, see how long it is likely to take, and make a decision to continue or ditch it for something else.
I'm basically interested in how gay, lesbian and bisexual youth use the internet in conjunction with developmental processes. Now, all I can think of are interviews and ethnography, both which I'm happy with, but I don't really have a point of reference for how long this things would take.
Futhermore, I have some side projects what wouldn't impact my final thesis, but I think would help round out my application and make me seem more desirable. Again, I have no idea how much time these things really take (I understand I'm being decidedly vague, but I don't really want to complicate my needs with lingo).
In addition to this, I am aware this is a assistantship. It is not detailed precisely how much time would be taken up fulfilling this roll.

I functionally have twelve 3 month blocks they want me to provide details for. I ask for help here because of the massive amounts of bank holidays we are having here in the UK, and that I don't currently attend uni, means that my correspondence wont be answered, and I can't just drop by for an informal chat. Furthermore, as mentioned, I am working full-time.

I'm pretty close to giving up on this opportunity, which is pretty gutting because it's in the city where I want to live, for the money I want to earn, getting me my dream, a doctorate.

Cheers for reading.