Overview of 404

Recent Posts

For those of you who did/are doing a Masters
4

I did mine in about three months. Started first week of June, and submitted last day of August. But I wished I started a month earlier as my conclusions were a bit rushed, and I had to compromise a lot from the design of my prototype.

14-days Inspiration Thread
4

Another one of those inspiration threads. I have 2 weeks to my first draft submission, then not much time after that to submit the whole thing. Your stories might encourage me and others in the same situation.

So, when you look back to your writing-up, do you see any miracle things that you achieved in two weeks? Things that you didn't think you could do but in the end you did? How much of the content did you have to change, how many words did you write in such a short time etc...

Endnote!??
4

if you use the other library rarely, you can set endnote to open your usual one as default on preferences.

Endnote!??
4

if you keep your preferred library open only, word will insert from that one.

On dating a (shallow) friend..
4

I don't think he is shallow. He noticed her and likes her now. It's probably because with her inner confidence growing, she started to become happier with herself and celebrated her achievements, so she started to reflect positive vibes. This transformation might have effected him too. Not every good-looking person is attractive.

claiming Housing Benefit when almost finished/waiting for viva
4

======= Date Modified 24 Apr 2010 23:53:35 =======
hey Chrisrolinski, check this out: http://www.npc.org.uk/media/pn/pn24inhtml/writinguponthedole

you should be able to claim as you are no longer receiving tuition. Maybe not job seeker's allowance as you have a job already, but surely housing benefit due to low income.

Been accepted at a conference....
4

Yes you can. I always prepare the powerpoint presentations in the last week if not only a day or two before for conferences; even if I know the deadline months in advance. Story of my life doing everything last minute. If I can do it, you can too ;-)

Congratulations in being accepted.

simplifying English for non-native readers - help!
4

ah and I remember how double negatives used to confuse me :-). So I'd avoid using them in order to stress on positive through negative, especially on a critical argument.

simplifying English for non-native readers - help!
4

I find their request a bit strange. If they are advertising the job for an English-speaker who cannot speak their own language, it suggests that the job entails good use of English.

English is my second language, but I'd feel offended if someone simplified academic content for me. But then again perhaps their request is only for the selection process to be inclusive to their scholars and you won't have to dumb-down everything you'll be producing throughout this postdoc.

Anyway, to help you with your question, yes, shorter sentences would be a good start. Also try not to use too many passive sentences. Singular first person pronoun is ok, but try to balance it out so it doesn't sound too self-centered or inpolite. Also, try to use the usual academic conjunctions rather than your own creative style to convey things to avoid misunderstandings.

Good luck (up)

anyone can give me suggestion of the proposal?
4

Yes Lin. I'm guessing that you hesitated to write a lengthy question. But don't worry. Explain a little bit more what your area is, how did you approach that rejected proposal etc, so we can help you improve and develop that further by explaining what else could be needed.

Another Appendix thread
4

I see. Thanks again for that. xxx

Another Appendix thread
4

Thank you for your reply Sue. Do you refer to those journal articles in your thesis, or are they there to support the reliability / validation of your arguments in general?

Also, what's your view about including press cuttings, interviews with you etc?

Another Appendix thread
4

======= Date Modified 23 Apr 2010 00:48:32 =======
great reply indeed. I too agree with your suggestion for the use of inductive/deductive. In fact because of my practice-based approach, it helps to refer to them as such. But I was being more generic on the thread.

I seem to have a giant mountain of appendices. And my thesis submission is in two months. But my supervisor gave some good advice on how to compress them a bit more. Also, he suggested that I should take some of the less vital ones with me to viva (after stating in the thesis that they are not included in appendices for such and such reason, but they are available for examination).

It would still be nice to hear some examples from people's experiences though.

Another Appendix thread
4

Hi there... I was wondering what kind of stuff everyone's including in their appendices (relevant to their methodologies).

What did you or your supervisor consider as too much / too silly to include in appendices, what would be so necessary to include? What will you do with notes, email conversations, questionnaire forms filled by your users etc?

Also could you state whether your research is qual or quant...

Thank you...
:-)

6 days to go...
4

well done chrisrolinski... I don't know you personally but I knew you could do it! I was so looking forward to reading the good news on the 6th day. You are good inspiration to us. Now sleep well and have sweet dreams.
:-)