Sent.....(up)

Great news on finding it Jepsonclough!!!

A similar thing happened to me a while back and a friend came up with a great suggestion afterwards which seemed so obvious I couldn't believe I had never done it. Luckily my mem stick turned up as well, but I still used the suggestion which was....

Save a word file on the drive with all my contact details, phone numbers, email, department info etc and name the file "please open this if you find this memory stick" (or something similar). Obviously requires the finder to be an honest chap or chapess but I have done this ever since though having lost it the once I am a bit more obsessive about backup and knowing where everything is so hopefully would not get caught out again anyway (mods we need a fingers crossed icon rather than a thumbs up!)(up)

======= Date Modified 06 Nov 2010 11:50:06 =======
Hi Jepsonclough - sorry couldn't access it - but seem to be able to read a copy of the articles text at:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/From+principle+to+practice%3A+four+conceptions+of+interpretation-a0207779313

Hope this helps:-)

insight, clarity ???

======= Date Modified 02 Nov 2010 13:32:27 =======
Hi Cornflower, I just wondered if you have any guidance as to what the internal review / committee requires? On the one hand it is admirable that they have you racing off with your review and really moving things along with intermediate deadlines. On the other hand - and as you point out - it becomes an endless race and a list of citations that you can't have possibly read in any great depth.

Perhaps a balance of a limited review which identifies areas that need further investigation, or other avenues that later drafts will pursue is more appropriate. At this stage, I would argue that establishing what you don't know in regards to the literature is just as important -a review of the review if that makes sense?!?! Obviously this may not work with what the panel or your supervisor but would still demonstrate progress at this stage of the PhD and is perhaps much more realistic.

Can you call on any guidance from fellow PhDers at you institution? How did they meet the review guidelines - what sort of depth did they convey in a short time scale whilst still hitting the 10,000 words? All in all, I wish you the best of luck, it is amazing what we can achieve when we are up against it - but it does seem like you have identified the pitfalls of this process and I can't help feeling that the thoughts of fellow students in your department and / or published guidelines from your institution could go a long way to adding some perspective.

Trust it goes well...

Hi, I am not sure if this will solve the problem but it is still probably worth mentioning....

As you will know an endnote library has various folders and file attachments that go with it - one should be the same name as the name of your library with a '.Data' extension. Inside this are three more folders: pdf, trash and rdb. On my version of x4 the pdf files are stored in this pdf folder.

Having said that, I don't think copying and pasting these files to the pdf folder will restore the link. Each of the file attachments in your endnote library will have a unique address based on the location you originally stored them - though I mention it as it is probably the best place to save new pdfs so that links are maintained - and should stop the problem if you needed to move your library and associated files again.

The only way around it that I can think of would be to 'mimic' where your files were originally stored. Have a look at the broken links and perhaps replicate by placing your files in a folder of the same name and on the same drive as before so that endnote recognises them.

Hope all this makes sense...

Hi - I found myself in the same situation with my own first conference and abstract - I knew I wanted to do it but did not feel at the time that I had results in place.

My sup helped me to put the whole thing in context by telling me that there are actually three conference papers. The one you say your going to present (i.e. the one you sell to the organisers in your abstract); the one you should present (i.e. the conference paper itself); and the one you actually present (i.e. whatever you decide - or at least the bits you remember - in the presentation and your 15 mins of fame).

This proved true for me, the abstract which I intentionally made very broad as results weren't yet in, differed greatly from what I actually presented which was much more focused - but the experience throughout was invaluable! In addition, having done some great networking and learnt more about what others were doing in my field - I also realised that conferences are about more than just 'standing up and presenting'.


Hope it all works out for you - but in terms of advice 'go for the interesting abstract' as you suggest but trust that the interesting paper and presentation will follow(up)

You all spoke too soon - the prize is mine- what do we win by the way?

I was feeling a little down at the prospect of post PhD life and trying to break in to a career in HE - especially in my own department - with ever decreasing budgets. To think that for you guys it affects your thesis as well - my heart goes out to you...

Touching on an earlier point about MPhil and PhD - it was explained to me that the MPhil requires you to investigate a topic and demonstrate a solid understanding of the research methods involved. The PhD involves all of this but also requires you to make an original contribution to knowledge. Obviously this contribution can be achieved in a variety of ways - new theoretical insights, new methods, old methods but in a new field / context (all dependent on your subject discipline of course).

I found this distinction between the two terms useful and it is being able to identify your potential 'original contribution' that becomes key in a PhD application. Having said that, at my university every one registers as 'MPhil with possibility of transfer to PhD'. The MPhil does not tend to be awarded but at the mid way point (ish) you must demonstrate that your project moves beyond the MPhil remit, makes a contribution, and is examinable within the upper timescales of the PhD.

Occasionally, some students do decide to exit with MPhil (perhaps ran out of steam) or maybe the project has just run its course or not practicable in the timescales and the PhD seems unlikely (this is rare though so it is not all doom and gloom).

:-)

Hi, What exactly does the advert you have seen say - does it explicitly state that it is a part-time and funded position?

To answer you wider question, the honest answer is that you will find as many different models / approaches to the PhD as there are people on this forum - no doubt others will add another perspective. For what it is worth, this is my take....

Many of the time scales / funding / opportunities that you identify are common but it is very rare to see them all in one package. At my institution a full-time student is expected to complete in 4 years and part-time student in 8. As with all things, I know full-timers who treat it as a part-time project and part-timers that put the full-time guys to shame - but we have minimum and maximum registration periods at some stages and it would be difficult for a student registered part-time to submit in 4 years.

In respect to funding and teaching. I am very lucky to have a studentship from my institution (course fees and living costs). This covers a three year period and whilst completing the PhD is possible in this time scale, any time in that aditional fourth year will require me to self-fund. Having said that, I know just how lucky I am - many of my fellow PhDers are self funded and funding is very rare (more so in some disciplines than others). The various research councils are another source of potential funding along the lines you describe, but as other posts on this forum will highlight, this is becoming increasingly competitive as budgets shrink.

The usual part-time model (that I see with guys I know) is a self-funded one where students take up part-time teaching work to help fund the PhD. This inevitably becomes a fine balancing act between earning enough to get by, but not teaching so much that the PhD suffers.

Apologies if this reply seems overly negative - I would never wish to put you off starting a PhD. The best bet will undoubtedly be to approach the institution you have identified. They will have published time scales for the part time and full time routes and can advised better on what funding if any may be available and the likelihood of obtaining paid teaching hours in the department.

I hope that in this instance it in not too good to be true - best of luck :-)

Ok - I had to check this site out (purely in the interests of research you understand!) and whilst people have posted 'sightings' - our eyes met over an economics text book - sort of stuff, no one has yet to post a photo. I guess it is just too stalkerish...

We need Eksobastion for the moral and legal breakdown on this and the investigative journo skills of Wally:p

I can't see it catching on but then again I bet someone said that about a bunch of nerds at Harvard who are now billionaires...

======= Date Modified 16 Oct 2010 15:11:11 =======
Hang on.... you discretely take and then post a picture of the person in the library you fancy? Have I misunderstood? Sounds a bit dodgy - posting a photo of them online without permission.

Has 'spot-a-stalker' already been taken as a domain name?

Nothing new to add to this post - but two days of the trial left and wanted to (shamelessly) push it to the top of the forum again

;-)