Hi there Miss Geography,

Thank you for the reply, and yeah I guess I can get some of it from the department. But I guess I am looking for sources outwith as I will be attending more than I overseas conference this year.

Any help most welcolme

Hi Notime,

The counselling option might just help you make sense of it, and as JoJo said all counselling sessions are confidential. If requested by the university, the counselling departement may put in a very brief summary of the presenting problem to back up your extension i.e. stress/ depression/ etc. Before you start you can ask what will be reported back, ask to see a copy of it, make amendments to the copy etc. The counseller should equally advise you as to what they will write.

It is possibly the universities way of making sure that they have covered themselves by advising you to find someone to talk it over with.

I can totally empathise with you. I had very very messy data and a years delay due to mismanagement (by the uni rather than supervisor). This year I turned 30, and just couldn't help feeling that I was somehow getting older and fustrated at not finishing yet. I guess you need to weigh up the reasons for staying and those for going. What made you get into doing the phd in the first place?

Unfortunately, the middle of the Phd seems to be when peep start feeling as if they are going nowhere (according to my fellow phd students) so I take comfort in the fact that it might just be related to being in the middle of not quite finished but too far gone to be a new start.

I hope that is helpful to you

Hi NikeKoh,

I am not sure if you mean as to start the lit search or to write one up. Usually I guess supervisors just send you off to research one a specific field to find out what research is out there. A really great tip passed to me was to sign up to the RSS feeds of relevent journals. That way you can keep up to date with published research.

I would prob start by just outlining the research problem, why it's important, what contributions different models or explanations make and the problems with these. Its really easy to get side tracked. I do all the time, so try and stay focused on the research question. Don't worry too much about it as the orginal lit search will change drastically as your project develops. But if you want help with the writing there are some excellent books about writing a thesis. Try amazon. For general style etc Joseph William's Style: 10 lessons in clarity and grace....is really good.

Hope it helps?

Hi JoJo,

No worries at all! It is really stressful trying to work out exactly what the examiner might say. I'm glad the document was useful to you. There should be similar documents out there....I am sure there was one by the british academy for postgrads in general.....

Anyhoo, I was also wanted to say the book on how to survive your viva is reallly good too. It helped me to work out and try and guess which questions the examiner would pick up on for the viva.

Take care and best of luck. Please do post back and let us all know how it went for you, hints and tips etc.

Hi Satchi,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried to google research funding but haven't really seen to many for postgrad conferences. There are a few general sources but I have tried them in previous years. If you can think of any specifics of the top of your head, I would be most grateful.

Many thanks

Hi JoJo,

I am not sure if this is helpful to you for not, but thought I would suggest it anyway. I know in my field there is a document for PhD examiners published by the british psychological society, which is really quite helpful to see exactly how it is marked etc. Its prob not exactly the same as your feild but it could be worth a look?

Hope it helps

Hi NikeKoh,

First of all congrats!!!! Usually the first stage is to do the lit review so that you can familiarise yourself with the research area. Saying that, I felt that I needed to know how to 'manage' such a bog task and spend ages looking around some reading. Generally speaking, there were some books that I found more helpful than others. I have attached a general link to 'how to..' books below. If its the writing part that worries you, again there are some excellent books for that too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_i_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Aphd&keywords=phd&ie=UTF8&qid=1263252109

Hope that is helpful to you?

Hi there,

Just a quick question to ask if anyone knew of places to apply for funding for a conference (psychology)?

Thank you loads and loads

Hi Kezia,

Its normal to be worried at first, and I guess the fact that you know your supervisor isn't from the same feild might add to this worry. But sometimes that can be a massive help too. My original supervisor was not from the feild I am working in but had fantastic knowledge on lots of other things. At first, he would suggest some pretty weird things, and it was only when I asked to explain his logic that I kinda got where he was coming from. And, for me, it helped massively to have someone outside the field because that way, we were both critically approaching the topic with a fresh pair of eyes. I did have an external who was an expert in the field, however. And that helped with subject specific enquiries.

I guess as your relationship develops, you'll work out for yourself whether having an 'outsider' for a supervisor has been a good thing or not. It might help to develop a really innovative research idea that people who have been in the field might not have thought about.

Re using visual aids instead of surverys: I guess that depends on what you are studying. There has been a lot of research coming out using visual aids instead of surverys, with some fantastic results. For example, on emotional recognition. But that depends on your field. Re him reading your progress report: most supervisors don't have much time. If he's a really good supervisor he will be honest and say either he didn't get it or didn't have time to read it. There ways around both. At the start, I gave my supervisor selected journal articles to read....i.e. meta-analytical reviews or the 'biggies' in the field. And because he was knew to feild he used to quizz me heavily. Which was really great further on down the line, when I had to try and explain my studies to non-experts in the field.

Sorry for speaking so much, I guess I just wanted you to know that it doesn't necessarily need to be a bad thing. Its just what you make of it. But if you do need subject specific advice, have a look around for an external supervisor outwith the uni to balance the team.

Hi Heidi,

I hope this doesn't sound insensitive but I kinda laughed reading the comment 'I have gone from being classed by my supervisors as a very good student, have the same level as “Marie Curie” fellowship....'

Not at you but at the sillyiness and politics of the entire thing. So very very quickly someone poor new student is bigged up as the next big thing, only then to fall out of favour with the powers to be.

Take your time to relax as best as you can, make your decision, one that will give your aching heart a little relief and happiness and move forward.

p.s. start a support group for all the other students who are in a similar position

Not at all!

It sounds like you have a lot going on there, and I guess its no wonder you are finding it hard to get motivated. We all have days where its hard to get motivated, and I guess we all have things that work for us.

when is your deadline and can you speak to your supervisor about the teaching stuff. Perhaps drawing up a timetable for doing bits of work might help. And give yourself rewards, and time to do things you like. Just a few suggestions, and I hope they work for you. take care

Hey DV,

Yes it is. You can speak to you one of the members of the postgraduate committee about how the transfer process can be done. Be warned that they may not be too happy about it, though.

You will need to find another supervisor who will be willing to take you on. You will have to give a reason and explain why it is no longer feasible for you to stay where you are, and that you have tried all the options possible. The university that you want to go to, may also have their own regulations. But if you contact the potential new supervisor, they may be able to help you through this and explain what the requirements are.

Best of luck