@Kbara, thanks for your reply,I like the term "sensitive analysis". I used the spss explore function identify the outliers, but instead of deleting the data, I substituted them with closest to normal range scores, one of the most sensible methods I read from several statistic books. I do have quite a few outliers for almost all my variables though, the change makes the data look more 'normal', but I have never heard anyone talking about it in their paper before. I am wondering if there is something wrong with my measures, or it is the nature of social science. I guess I am worrying about how to defend what I am doing to the data. would be really appreciated if I can see more comments about this matter. Thanks

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I have just got my thesis data in and started to clean it up, but found outliers in many of the variables. So far my data looks slightly weird without treating, showing some strange patterns. I suspect that it is maybe due to the outliers. I am thinking using 'truncation' method, wherein extreme scores are recoded to highest or lowest reasonable scores. However, I am not entirely sure about it and wonder how I would report in a manuscript or so. It would be really great to see some comments about this. Thanks!

Hi Phoebe
I totally feel you.
and all the replier, thanks so much for the comforting replies, as a matter of fact I am in an almost the same situation. I am in my second year. One other PhDer who started at the same time with me and are under the same supervision, is far ahead of me: passed her proposal defence, even applied for more fund with our supervisor, and awarded by the SRCD student research award with the proposal she is much younger. As a peer under the same supervisor, I found it particularly hard to take in. I could find excuse that I was very sick for a month or two and took a part-time job, so I was very distracted. But when I know about her progress, my self-esteem has become unprecedentedly low...I blame myself for being sick and lost focus ...now I am physically getting on my feet and realised that my research is far behind my schedule I am the only mature student (34 married without kid) who worked in real life and have more commitment than people in my lab...one side of me I am amazed by the other's progress, but on the other side I felt quite bitter. I found I am really struggling in this 'virtual' life right now and seriously doubt if I am suitable for doing this. It felt really lonely and deserted.
But I guess all the other replies are quite right about 'not to compare yourself with the other', b u t when things are getting competitive like that in my lab, or I feel I am losing the game and control... it freaks me out... Having said that, I am trying to focus on just my own progress and physically keep a distance from the others in the lab, we do not talk about research much anyway. I don't' know if it will help but have to give a try anyway.

Phoebe, I hope you find you way out of this soon...
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I am biting my nails at the moment because by next week I have to finish writing for a chapter, editing a rejected paper and reported to a lecture on what I have done on a research review as a summer RA (a duty my department assigned to every research students during the summer)...For either of them, I haven't done much and right now feel really guilty and frustrated about them because I have to pull myself from the holiday mode in which I had enjoyed so much. Thinking about the bad impression I would have left to the faculty member...I couldn't start the second year of my PhD freshly and in a clean shape, I am becoming more and more anxious.
I have finished my first year quite well with all the course work done and qualified examination passed. I thought I really deserved a good break and holiday which I had done, but then spoiled myself a bit too much and have to suffer from the catching up work...
Bit worried about bad impression I am leaving to my colleagues and supervisor...
Is anyone in a similar situation? The problem for me is I really found difficult to get back to the work especially I haven't done that much reading about it...
How did you handle your holiday and reading so that you won't be left behind of your work?
:-(

Statistics is the biggest problem in my PhD study (first year Psychology), especially when dealing with multivariate statistics. What is (are) the best statistic book (s) you have used for both basic and more advanced statistic skills? I am struggling which book to buy for future reference as well. Any recommedations?
Andy field? Hair et al. ? Tabachnick and Fidell ?

Many thanks!

Hello, I am a first year PhD students who just starts my first term. Just in case anyone wondering, I am doing my PhD in Hong Kong. I would like to share my experience, but most importantly communicate with any PhD students from all over the places on this journey that is to be filled with tears, joy, losses and satisfactions.

There are only two terms for an academic year in my university. The first term is going to be a nightmare for me as you will know soon. The full-time PhD studentship is a stipend funded by the government, every ft phd student has to fulfil Teaching Assistant duty for 12 hours a week, luckily only one term an academic year. But to fulfil the 12 duty, I have to be TA for two separate courses. Duties including sitting in the lecturers with undergraduate students, carrying on tutorials, marking assignments, and office time for students to ask questions.

In terms my own study, I have three courses to take this term and four more to take in the second term. Basically all courses involve Research methods obviously, seminar series about the main topics in my discipline, independent study for review paper of which all will be counted as criteria for qualifying my PhD candidacy.

On top of that and more importantly, I need to work on my own research proposal.

My supervisor also asked me to look at some data the lab has and work toward a paper to publish or so.

That's all so far I have understood about my first year.

Look forward to hearing about your experience.

Clock out 9:45pm Hong Kong
Still waiting for the reply from my supervisor. Today I have been mainly reading and relaxing before she replies me. Tomorrow I will fly to Europe but will continue working from there, that means I will work at similar time with you guys. Will try to get online and report my working progress.
Good luck everyone and welcome new people.
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”- Winston Churchill

Clock in 11:15am Hong Kong
I worked for two and half hour right after I got up this morning before I clocked in here. Just now, I sent out the draft to my future supervisor and am really nervous about it. Wait and see how she relies now. Meanwhile, I am just going to give myself a short break.

Lara, I know how you feel about turning down your friend's social invitation. I don't know how appropriate the following quotes are, they may sounds hush, but it seems to work for me. However, I would change slightly from "sacrifice" to "temporary sacrifice" in this case.
It is a clear gain to SACRIFICE pleasure in order to avoid pain. Arthur Schopenhauer 1788-1860, German Philosopher
Nothing so much enhances a good as to make SACRIFICEs for it. George Santayana 1863-1952, American Philosopher, Poet

I have sort of achieved my goal today by arranging the first section. But as I am co-writing this chapter with my supervisor, I think I will send her the structured zero draft anyway. Quite, quite nervous as it is my biggest project ever, but also nervous about how she is going to react to my zero draft. It is going to be interesting - , but I have to do it now because I will be away (actually will live in the same timezone as you guys do) for a while (3wks). So if I want to get something efficiently done, I have to get her feedback before I leave.

Hey Guys, while you are all probably busy working, I have to clock out as it is mid-night here in Hong Kong.
-SillyBilly, I think it is a good idea to keep 9-5 working schedule so that it gives you time to enjoy life other than academic work, do you find it is hard to keep that way? I guess it takes quite a discipline.
-Anthropologa, after giving you my answer to your question, I realized that I had been given myself excuses not to use page methods because it sounds to hard a goal to achieve. I think sticking with the page methods will give me no choice but sitting there and typing. It seems more about commitment here. You are right! Let me try out to just stick with the page method.

Good luck everyone on your new goals today!

Thanks for the links, Lara. I am going to send out my madman today and will report later how he behaves.

Hi Everybody. Well down you guys for achieving what you aimed to do. I am clock in today as my timezone is 7 hours fast than most of yours. There will be some interruptions as I have to go for a lunch birthday (my future supervisor)party. But still I am aiming to refine the first section (2000 words) of my draft and preferably I can push to the second section as well. There are total 5 main section in my chapter.

Anthropologa
I would prefer going for many pages method, but sometimes I will make me feel extra pressured especially I am stuck. At this time, I think maybe better to switch to timing method so that I won't feel that I am going to sit through it forever. So, yes. I guess for me, it all depends on how comfortable with the part I am writing. I switch with the methods so eventually I can push through it.

Hi, Try out Zotero! www.zotero.org. It is a free programme but you need to download firefox to be able to use it. It is easy because it crack open a half window on the website you are in for the resource. I only used refworks before but I find this one is way more easier because you don't need to go to a different window to record your reference and plus it works for any website. Hope you will find it helps

My eyelids are closing down slowly. will come back tomorrow and work bits by bits.

as

Lara quoted
"try writing repeatedly in 5 or 10 mins spurts of freewriting,and answer the qs: "what am i REALLY trying to say in this (paragrah) arguement/chapter/section?" and write it in plain simple even coversational language. doesn't have to be eloquent at this stage. it's always easier to IMPROVE on something.

Will continue to work this way and report back soon... now bed