======= Date Modified 16 Apr 2011 09:44:28 =======
Hi,

I'm mainly a lurker on these boards, but I thought I might try posing a question of my own finally.

I'm in Australia. I'm 3.5 years into a PhD in Psychology (i'm way over deadline, but no one seems to care). I used to want to be an academic, but doing this PhD has been a disaster and my desire to continue in a university environment has completely evaporated. I'm reasonably good with stats, but I don't have an area of research I care about or have any real expertise in. I certainly don't have any first author publicaions. I wish I hadn't signed on for this PhD, but I've come this far, so I want to finish. I think I can piece together something passable with the help of my supervisor, but it's hard to get motivated when it feels like there's nothing that I'll be qualified for post-PhD.

I was thinking about perhaps applying to the federal or state (Victorian) public service grad program. Does anyone have anyone know anything about what that might be like? Is it a good place for someone with a PhD in Psychology? I just want to have a full time job for once, be able to make a small difference to the world, make friends, get some proper training, and build my confidence back up.

Any advice would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO appreciated because I'm feeling very lost.

Once upon a time I was a star student. I know that I'm intelligent and could make a contribution with some proper training and encouragement, but it's just a question of where to find that.

The other thing I thought of was market research, but I'm not very corporately minded. I feel like I need to be involved in something aimed at the public good rather than commercial profit.

Thanks guys

*Ahh crap, typo in the title. :$

Bump. Nearly at my required N. Thanks all.

bump bump :-)

At the end of my Honours year, I gave my supervisor a mug with the results of my thesis project printed on it (the main graph). I have the same supervisor for my PhD, so I can't reuse that idea.

Sounds like murphy's law strikes again. I've completed the questionnaire. Good luck.

Bumpity bump.

======= Date Modified 08 37 2010 04:37:45 =======
Hello,

My name is Mark Brown, I'm a PhD student at Deakin University (in Australia) from the School of Psychology.

I'm currently conducting a research project into peoples' thoughts and feelings about health issues.

I would extremely appreciate it if you could help me by completing a short online questionnaire.

Anyone can participate. Just click the link or copy and paste the address into the url bar of your browser window:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/markbrownstudy2/

The questionnaire should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete,and it is completely anonymous.

Thank you

Mark Brown
[email protected]

======= Date Modified 08 Mar 2010 02:43:05 =======
Thanks to all those who have completed the questionnaire. I still need more responses, so keep 'em coming. Thanks...

======= Date Modified 06 Mar 2010 07:00:46 =======
I think a lot of PhD candidates experience issues with stress, motivation, and feeling anxious and/sad. I know I do. I would suggest maybe making an appointment to see a counselor or psychologist, just to see if, as professionals, they could help in some way. Someone like that would be in a good position to give you an objecive assessment. In fact, I think counselling should be compulsory for all PhD candidates for the duration of our candidature.

I also suggest not making any decisions about whether or not you'll continue until you've got some outside advice (i.e., from your supervisor or a psychologist etc., not just from message boards).

My name is Mark Brown, I'm a PhD student at Deakin University (in Australia) from the School of Psychology.

I'm currently conducting a research project into peoples' thoughts and feelings about health issues.

I would extremely appreciate it if you could help me by completing a short online questionnaire.

Anyone can participate. Just click the link or copy and paste the address into the url bar of your browser window:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/markbrownstudy2/

The questionnaire should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete,and it is completely anonymous. The study has received ethics approvalfrom Deakin University.

Thank you

Mark Brown
[email protected]

Both my plan and question have changed overtime. I'd like to think it's a normal part of the process. But I think it's important for phd students to take their research in the direction that makes sense to them. That's something it took me a while to learn.

======= Date Modified 26 09 2009 05:09:24 =======
Hi all,

I've been lurking on here for a few weeks. Reading everyone's stories and advice has been very therapeutic for me in dealing with the frustrations of doing my PhD. I'm also very thankful for everyone who has kindly partaken in my online questionnaire.

I was curious if anyone has any good tips for books or articles to read about being a researcher/grad student, things you've found therapeutic.

My tip:

Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article by Howard Becker (http://amzn.com/0226041328)

From the title, you'd think it was another collection of common sense advice like "plan ahead, don't procrastinate, set goals, do drafts". It's not. It's more about the psychology/sociology of trying to make your way in academia, and the fears that trip us up. The focus is on the pain of writing, but it has wide implications. It's also applicable to non-social scientists, I would think. A quick (abridged) excerpt:

"Standard texts in composition traditionally address college undergraduates, though they generally say, correctly, that people in business, government and the academy might profit from them too. But the graduate students and scholars I work with have all had Freshman English, very likely taught by people who know the modern theories of composition and use the new methods, and it hasn't helped them... They don't consult the composition books that might help them write clearer prose, and probably would ignore their useful advice if they did...A book meant to help them must deal wit why they write that way, given they know they shouldn't...Undergraduates don't have the same problems with writing that older people have...They know what they write in this one paper will not affect their lives much. Sociologists and other scholars, on the other hand...know that their professional futures rest on how their peers and superirors judge what they write...Being serious, writing scares them more than it does students, which makes the technical problems even harder to solve."


:-)

bump

One suggestion, that may or may not apply, depending on the kind of research you're doing:

Broaden your target population. For example, if you were originally only looking at 18-25 year olds, because you judged the topic to only be relevant to them, try broadening your sample to allow 18-35 year olds, and then just do a post-hoc test to see if the age groups differ in any important way. If they don't, you've got a bigger sample. If they do, well, nothing lost, just filter those responses out.

That's what I've found myself having to do in many cases.