When you did see him physically, did you approach him and broach the issue and the need for an appointment? He maybe busy and may have forgotten about finalising a date and time with you. However, failing to do so after being reminded twice, makes me a bit iffy about him.

Is there a higher-education research director in your department that you can approach? In my past university, this person was incharge of all PhD students and their welfare and would co-ordinate all issues, if at all, between students and supervisors. You can perhaps approach this person and raise your concerns with him/her. Hopefully, they'll have more power over the issue and your supervisor would be forced into making an appointment.

Well, I've gone back to my country of origin, after finishing my Masters degree. I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things here, but can't complain since I'm with family. Besides that, I have a case study to be completed and reviews of a paper I sent for publishing, to be addressed within a month, so I need to crack on with it.

Done.

From the looks of it, it seems like he already thinks that you're bent on leaving; possibly because you've already told him you want to leave. If you do think that after a meeting, you'd be able to work through these issues, then by all means, try and organise that meeting with him.

However, I feel that this situation maybe a bit toxic for you and you would be better off with another supervisor, who will understand and support you better. Good luck.

Hi Karmah, sorry for your losses.

I agree with rewt. They may be socially awkward. I know many like this in my own university.

However, social etiquette calls for at least asking how you are. So you are right in expecting condolences. However, supervisor-student relationships are largely very formal and they might not want to overstep any type of boundary. I think you should not pay much attention to them, under the assumption they mean no ill-will.

Seeing that you have a fair bit more to do and that your GP isn't available, is it possible for you to go to another GP as an emergency? In my uni, there are emergency visits, for such cases. Also, can your counsellor provide some kind of documentation for your mental health issues, that may be able to help your case?

Nobody can help you with pointers for your literature study, if you do not give us a clear idea about what your topic is. Further, regardless of whether we do provide suitable suggestions for the review, the quality and originality, methodology, results and contributions will ultimately determine how publishable it is.

You can perhaps search for existing literature on your topic on Google Scholar and make strong arguments, based on existing studies and then perhaps, frame your theoretical model and discuss your findings.

Hi chinnu,

So sorry you're going through this traumatising experience. I've been a shy lurker on this forum for quite a while and I've learned about Tudor's experience, so I'm sure she has helped you exponentially, but I'll add in my two bits.

You say that your supervisor has stepped back, in terms of not reviewing papers, guiding students lesser and wants the lab to help each other and he will supervise less. What do you mean by this? Is he allowing you guys to resolve your own issues and find a common ground to work on?

If I understand correctly, there is quite a bit of miscommunication regarding what is expected of you. You said you assumed that the annotation group would be collecting outdoor data. Is there a concrete contract that highlights what the duties are? If so, use it for your case.

You seem to feel that your supervisor isn't someone you can rely on, for help. Considering you're well on your way to getting that PhD, I feel that your shyness hinders your voice and your stand in the lab. If you are so passionate about the PhD, I suggest that you let nothing stand in your way. If that means, as Tudor also pointed out, opening up and exposing the nonsense your colleagues have been upto to a higher-up, so be it.

I, personally, would not quit the PhD program, solely because of some bullies- colleagues and an aloof supervisor. Try and resolve these discrepancies by first noting down the roles of each person and pointing this out to your supervisor. Whilst doing this, try and invite another professor of authority to this meeting and see how it goes from there. Henceforth, be very firm about your part in lab activities involving others, do not bend.

Me too! Keep us updated on how it goes.

Hi Jane92,

My experience was quite pleasant. I was given leeway to approach researching and writing the paper on my own terms. After every section we'd have a meeting. She would provide feedback to my writing styles, make changes where necessary and at the meetings, we'd just meet to catch up/brainstorm and make sure we're on the same page with the paper. I also had a third co-author, who would step in, to just proofread the whole paper and make sure it's ready to be sent for publishing.

This is all, considering I was the first author for both my papers. So my experience with writing a paper was quite monitored by my supervisors. This may differ, since different researchers have different styles and approaches, based on what my friends have told me.

Hi lucedan,

I've presented a study of mine at a conference, and very recently, submitted the same study as a journal paper. The conference presentation mirrored the journal paper. I do not think this will be an issue, since most of the time, conferences are for networking and getting constructive feedback, than anything else. It is a good idea to submit your paper to the conference first.

However, it would not hurt to confirm with your supervisor (if you have one), with the conference itself or simply people you may know who have gone through this before, just to be sure.

I would imagine so. But are you talking about funding by the UK government or in the USA, itself? Assuming it's the latter, there are innumerable international PhD aspirants who go to the USA and I'm pretty sure there is funding in place.

For further reading, have a look at this:

Done. It's quite an interesting topic. Good luck!