Thanks Faturita! That sounds like it'd be a fun thing to do as well! Thanks for the support, it's given me the boost I needed to get down the library again. Cheers!;-)

Hi EmmaB

Am more or less doing the same thing. Somewhere out there is a phd I can do! Am sticking with the current idea for now as well and every time I come across a book or article that rings alarm bells remembering to take a deep breath and read the whole thing through first just in case. Gah!

Hi Emmaki and EmmaB, thanks! You've both been really helpful. It's really draining when you keep getting your hopes up and then being disappointed again and it's a massive relief to know I'm not on my own!

You've inspired me to start looking back over the latest topic I'm into to see if there are any gaps I might have missed. I might try talking to my ex-MA tutor again. Only trouble is the last time I went to see them it was the day after yet another opportunity had fallen through, I was very disheartened and they ended up getting a bit frustrated with me! You could see their point, it had been a year since the previous meeting and I still hadn't technically made any progress. So I thought it best not to go back again until I had something water-tight. Still, I suppose maybe a chat just to let them know I haven't given up might not be a bad idea.

I've been doing the brainstorms as well! I've found they're the handiest way of getting ideas down and for finding links between things.

Anyway, thanks again and fingers crossed for your research as well. :-)

Hi everyone, my BA's in English Lit and I finished my MA in Performance Studies a few years ago and have been trying to apply for a phd ever since, but every time I come up with an idea, I begin working on a proposal only to discover that somebody else has already done it and/or it belongs to a field I have no background in therefore no department will take me e.g. philosophy or psychology.
Without wishing to sound like an X Factor contestant, I really really want to do a phd. My life is pretty much on hold until I get started. I'm still doing the 'temporary' shop job I began during my MA and focussing all my spare time on finding a subject.
I've been plugging away thinking "not to worry, I'll find something soon" for some time now and am starting to wonder if I'll ever get out of this limbo and get started. Any people I've asked for advice so far have said things like "We've all been there, you'll find a way around it" or "Well, I had my idea while I was doing my MA", or questioned how much I actually want to do this as if that's the problem. Am I going about this the wrong way? Help!!