Hey all! I know I have moaned about having too much to do on here for a while (I know, don't we all!), so I have decided to be assertive and sort it out. What my sup is expecting me to do is ridiculous (I have checked this out with lots of people!) and there's no way it can be done in the time I have. Ideally I need to get rid of the follow-up study I'm meant to be doing (which I am convinced will not show anything due to the shortness of the follow up period) and aim for more participants in both of my groups at the one timepoint. So I was thinking I would draw out a timetable for what I have left to do according to the original plan, and according to my new plan, to show my supervisor. Plus points- more participants in both groups at time 1 means publications in better journals as well as a better chance of finding significant relationships between variables, and will give me the time to actually write these imaginary papers. And I might stand a chance of finishing maybe in 3.5 years, which is okay as I just about have enough savings to live on for 6 months. I have already suggested this to my supervisor and she is insisting on the follow-up, but she is going to drive me to a nervous breakdown at this rate so I am going to try again but be a bit firmer. Does this sound like a good idea or does presenting her with actual proposed timetables to prove my point seem a bit too confrontational do you think? I don't want to piss her off! Thanks people! Best, KB

I felt I had to post on this thread before getting back to work. Keenbean, I think it's a really good idea. I am someone who has taken too much on and I strongly suspect that it's going to take me 4 years to complete. Briefly, for my PhD, I'm designing a questionnaire but should have just done the content generation phase for it like other people have. But, I was strongly egged on, at a very early stage to actually scale, pre-test and field-test the questionnaire - all for my PhD. I should have put my foot down and said it was too much because now, I have mere months to go and awful lots of data collection left to do. I can't even start to write certain chapters yet because, quite simply, I don't have the results yet. I can't change my PhD because my methodological and philosophical world view is such that I'd have to fundamentally change them. I can't write any more papers because I don't have time. And I'm just tired and fed up with it all. If I'd have kept it smaller, I'd have been much closer to finishing. And all the time, my supervisors say are asking me how my discussion chapter is coming along!
Why not show her two Gant charts; one with your suggested plan and proposed times scales and the original one, so hopefully she can see how realistic it all is? And then mention the money situation as well.

The proposed timetable does sound like a good idea. You can start out by just discussing the issue and then bring out the timetable when you need to prove your point. Sounds like she is gonna be pissed anyway, but you need to do what's right for you, and she'll get over it. What she's expecting you to do isn't possible in the timeframe and you have to protect your goal of finishing in three and a half years. Best of luck Keenbean, be brave! (up)

i think you're right too keenbean, it's a bit mad what's shes asking you to do especially if you are already pushing yourself to the max. In my first year I refused to do weekends, I did evenings if necessary, but I thought if I start slow then I'll have plenty of time to work my way up to the madness of final year. One of my supervisors gave regular digs at me needing to do more work, but I knew I was doing the required amount and since Feb/March of second year I've been steadily ramping up the pace to the point where now if I'm not doing work I'm not sure what to do with my time! I knew there was no chance of me keeping this pace going the entire time, I started my PhD straight after my undergrad and was already shattered from that!
Maybe you can put the case to your supervisor that if the follow up study is so good and so important that she feels strongly about it being done, it would make a good basis for postdoc funding?! then everyone's happy and you get a bit of job insurance for when you're finished! plus, the final year always throws up more work that could be done so you could end up with plenty of things you would like to continue working on 3 months away from finishing!

I think you are totally right keenbean.

My sup has had several supervisees who have done so many studies that it has taken them 8 years to finish. She recently took on a load of foreign RA's, who had completed and found out that their PhDs only consist of 1 study! which is the equivalent of an MSc dissertation. I share an office with one of them and he admitted that he couldn't believe the amount of work we were expected to put into a PhD. So my sup has now said I don't have to do a final study.

However, she also never lets me finish anything. If I start something, she switches me to start something else before it gets done, so I have a load of unfinished projects and nothing finished towards my thesis, not even an intro chapter. its very demoralising.

So my advice would be finish everything and only then if you have time, go back and do a follow up.

Also, there have been several times in my PhD where I've ignored my gut instinct because my sup said "oh no no you don't want to do that" and then 6 months down the line, it turns out I was right and she says "it would have been good if you'd done that, but now there's no time" etc which has ultimately made some of my studies worse than they should have been.

So follow your gut instinct and ignore you sup
(up)

Hey guys, thanks for your replies. That is what I shall do then. I've been thinking it over today and I am so tired with it all and anxious at the thought of fitting it all in, I know how much better I would feel if I could sort out something that feels vaguely realistic and aim towards that instead. My sup is away at the moment (it's alright for some people who can take 3-week long hols, eh!!) but I will have a lovely couple of timeplans to show her when she gets back! Hoping she gets back in a good mood! Have a good weekend all! KB