At the end of the day, my mum helped me to look through for errors. God bless her. From my experience may be more cost effective for family to look through it. Feel a bit sorry for the supervisors who have to go through unedited work over and over again but as someone said, they are paid for it. Got my PhD about 3 years ago. Don't give up. Keep pressing on. You'll make it at the end of the day. All the best.

I was just wondering if a medical doctor doing PhD research can put the Dr title beside their names in academic correspondence or if it would look proud.

Cheers

k

I think you should not mention this. If you were doing some voluntary work, it is better to add that than to say you did not finish the masters. It may be misinterpreted as bad decision making (in doing a masters after a PhD), lack of consistency (in going into a different discipline) and lack of tenacity in finishing what you started. With mass unemployment and a lot of competition, its best not to mention it. Find something useful you were doing during the time to fill the gap. If you don't mention it, i dont think your supervisor will write it on a reference. His/Her reference should be on your PhD and not what you did in another department.

All the best.

k

Hello, I've finished my research and writing up. However, i feel a bit guilty giving my supervisors my writings unedited. When i read the work i've written, i dont see the structural and grammatical errors.

During my masters, a friend of mine used to swap papers with me and we will critique each other's work. However, there does not seem to be such a support in the PhD. You are more or less an expert working on your own. My supervisors have been very nice in pointing out the mistakes. Am i feeling guilty for no reason? Are they not being paid to edit as well? Perhaps its just part of the PhD process.

Cheers

Hi Tusco,

It appears that you are taking too much and breaking down. You are trying to work and make money and do your PhD. To worsen matters, you have broken down with depression. The drugs for depression could also affect your concentration.

It is not clear if you took a break to get back from your illness. If you haven't you need to do that. You may need to take 6 months off the PhD in order to recuperate. If you apply for an extension on health grounds, I think that will help.

You also have financial concerns. You may need to resign from your job if you are not coping well. You may need to take a loan from the bank to see you through the PhD process. It is not clear if you are married. If you are, then your spouse or other family members can help shoulder some of the financial responsibilities till you finish the PhD and get a job.

I think the line of action should be:


Get an extension and get back to health
Get some social support from community, family,
Get some financial support (may require taking a loan)
Finish the PhD
Get a job.

In the book 'how not to get a PhD', the author argues against starting a job towards the end of your PhD. It will be more difficult getting a job if you have not finished your PhD. The disadvantage of doing a PhD is that it is often a lonely experience with unneccessary competition. If you are not in a management field, your options tend to be restricted in terms of career options. You need to chart your own part and create your own future.

All the best

K

Argh, I know 3 people who have started lectureships jobs before they finished their phd. If they are interested they will call you. If  they are want you to finish the phd first, they wont call you. so, there's nothing to worry about.

If you write a series of journal articles from your thesis should your supervisors be 2nd and 3rd authors if they didn't contribute to the journal article but contributed to the thesis?

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Hello,

During the course of my PhD i notice that a lot of emphasis is placed on the technical aspect. There is little on management and leadership. PhD students are excluded on some of the management trainings for staff due to high demand for these workshops. I was thinking of applying for some funding project to inculcate a 5 day training over 6 months on leadership and another one over the same time frame on management. I was wondering if other phd students think that this is an area of need or is it just me? With training in leadership and management and an award accredited by CMI or ILM, Phd researchers can be able to apply for funding and manage projects rather than looking for jobs. Instead they will be creating jobs. What do people think about this?

Don't do it! Don't do it! Don't throw all your hard work to waste. You'll make it. Just keep pressing on. You can download 'the power of positive thinking' by Norman Vincent Peale from www.audible.com or amazon. You'll make it. You can relax or go to the gym. Don't throw the thesis in the fire.

K

You may need to look at past PhD theses in your department and see what kind of style they used. If there is one that uses your style you can use this as evidence that your style is valid. You will need to convince or persuade your supervisor that your style is valid and useful for your research to gain his/her support. If you don't follow what your supervisor says he/she will not defend you if any problem arises. All the best.

K

Hello,

In the course of writing the PhD, i notice that there is need for a lot of editing. When i write my thesis i don't seem to see the punctuation or grammatical errors. I used to exchange papers and theses with another colleague when i was doing my masters as i could edit another person's work while they edit mine. I feel a bit guilty giving my supervisor an unedited work. I dont know if it is part of their terms of reference.

Does anyone have any experience with editing services (checking for grammatical/punctuation errors and whether the argument makes any sense) and how much they could cost for a 70000 word PhD thesis?

Cheers,

K

Thanks everyone. I've taken your advice. I'm applying for funding. There is relatively less competition that way than applying for jobs. I think its easier for people to apply for a job than design a proposal, budget and project operational strategy. So, I'm taking the harder but most likely to succeed route. I decided to use 2 weeks to apply for funding, submit them forget about them and focus on the PhD. As long as my mind keeps wondering on what I'll do next, i wont be able to concentrate on the PhD. I hope those of you applying get your funding as well.

Cheers,

k

Thanks 404, I think that may be good for writing a paper in one week, but i wouldnt wait till the last week to start writing the PhD. Brain could explode with stress. Cheers-k

Hi, I keep being distracted from writing the PhD by the thought of what i'll do next. Does anyone know when the right time is to start applying for jobs. 2 of my mates have gotten jobs already but i dont think i can cope with a job and doing the PhD. On the other hand, having a job at hand after the phd could motivate me to finish on time to start something new. Does anyone have any experience?

k

Hi Boatgirl, its normal in the first year. Data collection usually occurs in 2nd year and writing up in 3rd year. But by now you should know your:
Rational and done some literature review
Philosophical stance (Epistemology/theoretical perspective)
Methodology (Broad and sub)
What methods you intend to use (survey, interview, observation, FGDs etc)
Your sample size
Your study site
A budget of how much it will cost
Started filling your ethical approval form.

Keep working at it and e-mailing your supervisor with your progress.Hope this helps.

K