So.

I started a PhD in October of last year at a university in a new town (so relocated just prior to that) in an area that was quite different to my BA, and also to my MA, although all were/are humanities related. Having said that, I did a fair bit of reading and research before applying, and managed to get funding (hip hip hooray!). Was delighted, and as far as I was concerned all was well.

Fast-forward nearly a year, and I feel as though I'm ridiculously behind, and that my entire thesis is unfeasible. If I wasn't so proud, and so incredibly lucky to get funding, I'd seriously be considering quitting. I know how lucky I am - my supervisors have been understanding and helpful throughout, the university I'm at is great for what I'm doing, and I'm funded to do it, with no dependents/responsibilities other than my PhD. However, this year has flown by, and I feel as though I genuinely have nothing to show for it and am letting everyone down. It took forever (many months) to jump through various bureaucratic hoops in order to register (requiring reworked versions of proposals and reams of ethical clarification), and I was utterly miserable and lonely for the first six months here as there really isn't a sense of a research community at all (I ended up on antidepressants and in counselling, although haven't told my supervisor). Having said that, I'm generally chirpier and more settled now.

My first attempt at a literature review was atrocious, partly as a result of a deep-rooted fear of actually 'starting' my thesis, but predominantly because I have slowly realised that the fundamental premise of my thesis is flawed (this wasn't helped by the publication of a book with which there was a lot of overlap - a book, which, on reflection, itself has major problems). I haven't had the guts to tell my supervisors (now on holiday) that I would like to completely change my thesis title (although I secretly have an alternative working title).

So.

I suppose I would appreciate any advice going with regards to any of the following questions. Apologies for the long list - there really isn't anyone else here that I have to ask:

- Would I be shooting myself in the foot changing my thesis topic at the end of my first year (and what are the implications for funding? I've read contradictory regulations with regards to this).
- If I were to change titles, is it at all possible to write a thesis from scratch in just over two years? Much of the reading I have been doing over the last year is still relevant. Just out of interest, roughly how long do people put aside to write up a full (ie 80,000 word) arts and humanities thesis? And how long did it really take? ,)
- My first year report is (strangely, but luckily) due in after 18 months. Roughly how long did it take to pull the writing together for it? (15,000-20,000 words). I have six months, and I'm wondering how tight I've left it all.
- If a funded thesis overruns the 3-year mark, will this hav

...have an impact on my chances of securing a post-doc post? I know that my funding will stop, but I'm putting a little aside each month to cover extra fees, just in case.
- How, how, how, how do you motivate yourself to write/work on the thesis full-time?
- Are there any websites that you've come across where people 'buddy' up online to stick to ongoing deadlines (eg compare how many words they've each written at the end of each day). I know that Nanowrimo has loads (so I'll be fine come November, for a month haha), but it struck me that there might my PhD-related ones, too.

Anyway, I've really rattled on and am asking a lot.... Apologies for the double post; for some reason my wordcount wasn't calculated until after I'd clicked 'post', so it was chopped (would have cut it down somewhat otherwise)!

Besides, I'd better get back to the lit review ;)

Thank you.

Hi Meerkat

I think the way you're feeling is very common, I know I really felt I'd achieved very little at the end of my first year. But now, at the end of my second year, I can see I'm a lot further forward than I thought I was, and that year really did help clarify my thoughts.

If you really do want to change your thesis question, it certainly isn't too late - there are a couple of people in my department who have done the same thing at a similar stage to you. They are having to work pretty hard to get on track, but both of them seem confident that they'll finish within the three years (well, that's what they say, but I'm sure they're like everyone else and full of doubt on the inside!) I don;t know what the position is with funding, I imagine that depends on how big a shift in topic it is and what the funding was actually allocated for, but it's certainly not that unusual for people to do this.

Your first year report is the same length that mine was. Mine was an upgrade report to go from MPhil status to PhD status. Mine took less than two months to write, while doing other things alongside, although this was partly because previous writing I'd done (a literature review and a fairly detailed background section) just needed adapting. So again, that is certainly very manageable, and actually I found the process very helpful in defining what my topic was, so that may be a positive thing for you.

I think it is important that you discuss this with your supervisors. Unless yours are real ogres, there's no need to be scared about talking to them about this. But they may have a very different perspective on the work you've done so far - it's so difficult for us to really see where we are with things when we're so close to our own work. So do try to have a discussion with them about this, and have a think about what they say.

Good luck with it!

Wow this seems like my life exactly! Though I am in a science program, I feel like my first year is being utterly under productive.. In addition to having doubts about my own self worth I am beginning to get bitter towards everything and everyone. Anti depressants did help me get out of a rut, but at the end of the day the only thing that motivates you is your topic... I realised after 7 months of expensive experiments that my project is going nowhere, so I have to think of something to do about it! My first annual review is also coming up and I have almost nothing to show :(

Anyway I am told this is the way it is in a PhD.. kind of like being blindfolded and asked to take a walk. You hit a tree, you back up dust yourself and move on, huh. Its bit of a let down because I had so many expectations from my phd.. I imagined immersing myself doing exciting research, meeting people who are passionate about their fields and publishing a paper every couple of months, sigh.

Anyway, sorry to vent my own problems.. as far as changing your title goes, I don't think it is too late at all, one guy from my lab changed his entire thesis in his third year. It is better than turning in a lame dissertation on time.. remember you do your PhD only once, it should be something you care about, or it shows in the thesis.

For the first year report, if you are able to justify the change in your topic I think you would be fine.. such things happen all the time in academia and the reviewers have been through it themselves.

Good luck :)

======= Date Modified 02 Aug 2011 13:51:11 =======
Hey Meerkat! I can't answer all of your queries, but I will have a stab at a couple!

With respect to your thesis topic/title, I think it depends on how much of a change it is. If you can still make use of the work you've done then you won't be starting from scratch. It would be pretty hard going to write an entire thesis in two years, especially if you're doing empirical research and relying on data collection etc, but then if you're convinced that the original project is flawed it might be best to make the break now rather than wait any longer. And better to see the flaws now than a week before your viva! I know it's gonna be hard, but you really need to talk to your sups about this and explain why you are worried.

I wouldn't worry about going over 3-years in terms of getting a post-doc. I'm in clinical psychology and it's very rare for anyone to finish within 3 years. I've only managed it because I have a very efficient supervisor and have been lucky with recruitment. I'll be her first student to finish in 3 years, and the first clinical student in the department to do so in recent years...and many of them are now doing post-docs or are doing a professional doctorate. It really won't matter once you have finished.

With the writing, my best advice is to do it as you go along if that's possible. I've taken about 6 months of pure analyses and writing-up to produce my final thesis (85,000 words) but I already had four chapters published at that point, so that was only really half a thesis.

It sounds like your sups are decent and approachable, so I would take your concerns to them and that will give you the opportunity to make a proper decision. Lots of people change route in the first year so it won't be unheard of. My own final project is somewhat different than the original proposal and than the ethics applications etc, mainly due to time constraints and problems with recruitment, and although I have had to explain why I made the changes, it hasn't been a problem.

Good luck with it! KB