I think part of the Ph.D. experience is learning how to write since that's a huge part of what it means to be an academic. The more practice you get at it the better you become, at least that's what I'm hoping. So there are no 'wasted words'. Anyway, I've found lots of opportunities to recycle stuff that won't end up in my thesis for various applications, progress reports and papers.

Hi ya,

Doesn't sound like you're doing too bad at all. I am also doing a mixed methods study (in my 2nd year) and found 'The Mixed Methods Reader' by Plano Clark and Creswell useful. There are a number of handbooks on MMR and Sage publishes a journal of Mixed Methods Research if you are not aware of that yet.

It seems to me however that your LitReview should be based on the topic of adherence to treatment recommendations, that is, a review of research that has already been conducted on that subject and how your study would fit in. The stuff about mixed methods would then be in your methodology. That's how I've done it so far anyway.

My top tip is to give yourself a deadline for the first draft of a lit review. I find that I felt much better if I had something to show for my efforts, even if it was only a few thousand words that I would probably change in the end anyway :)

Hope that helps.