Thanks guys(up), I need to shake off this imposter syndrome and get some actual work done! Good luck all with all our goals;-)

To be fair, he is genuinely a very busy person and the chair of the department which makes his comments, when they come, very useful. I am his first PhD student at our uni but now he has six of us altogether. Maybe it was more the beginning of Sept rather than Aug when I gave him the chapter?? He has mentioned it a few times, telling me he would send on his comments and finally he sent them on. They're not bad - really - it's just that there is an awful lot of them to take onboard and it would have helped frame the remainder of the work if I had had them sooner. Am feeling totally over-whelmed just at the moment but hopefully once I read what he has said properly after that first panicked skim-read I'll be better able to focus.

Pinknumbers (great name!) I have to be ahead of schedule or I can't work. Once I fall behind I find it nigh on impossible to concentrate on one thing and constantly flit between different things. June is close, isn't it??

Goal for today is pick myself back up after getting supv comments back on chapter I submitted last August :( He has picked up the pace and the other two chapters I have given him since then apparently are coming on Thursday - can't wait... :( He tells me if I keep up the productivity (which in effect is 7-days a week) I should get it in during the summer. I feel I have so much to do that I can't think straight. Was going to post new thread about writing up angst but there's not really much point as it really is a case of just getting on with it.

My hubby thinks in terms of words, ie "how many words did you write today?" At this stage I just lie and give him an arbitrary number. He also keeps asking me where I would like to go for on holiday - in June - just when I think/hope/pray that I will be submitting. He doesn't really get that it's not a firm deadline but more an aspiration on my part. Also good friend at uni thinking of pulling out so won't talk about submitting, chapter deadlines, viva, anything. That's why I keep logging onto this forum, for like-minded people - I find the virutal support heartening.

Thanks guys :-)

I know a couple of woman who have gone teaching (post-primary) in the Middle East and it has worked out well for them but they did it as part of a very definite life plan, and always intended returning home. I don't think they saw it as part of advancing their career but rather it was a chance to save a good chunk of money towards buying a house etc. I think it needs research on your part as there are certainly issues for women to factor in that men need not.

Interesting to hear from anybody who has lived and worked somewhere in the Middle East...

My sympathies, that's really rotten for you and your family.

The private college route is a good suggestion and would keep you in the academic milieu. Is the OU an option?? Try to sell the life skills you have accumulated by being maybe more mature than some others. Some employers actually like the middle aged woman as at least they know maternity leave issues will not be a problem. At least that's what myself and a pal are hoping will happen when we complete our studies!

Today must seem very black, but hopefully the situation will be clarified for you soon to allow you move on.

A

Emm I woudn't tell somebody that I thought they were "the best fit". I also wouldn't ask them if they are taking on graduate students this year as if they say 'No' that's really the end of the discussion.

I would ask them if they would be interested in supervising you but to do that you will have to convey to them that you have the academic ability to complete. You are approaching them becuase you believe them to be an expert in their field. Therefore I think you need to briefly, (very briefly), let them know your qualifications and suitability for docotoral work.

The student-supervisor relationship is part of this wonderful PhD circle of life (sic) but I feel you need them more than they need you so flatter them. Also ensure you get the Dr/Prof title correct. Better call a Dr a Prof than the other way around!!

Three hours Sneaks, wow! I've given a good few one hours but three! I have given some two hour classes but they have been computer workshops so not actual lectures. I hate been observed. Any amount of students is fine but somebody actually observing you makes it hard to remain 'natural'. Hope your throat improves. Good luck with it (up)


Dunni, you are doing it for us mothers of multiples! You'll be submitting before me and I take my inspiration from you so no pressure then!! De-motivation I hear is pretty normal at the end so just work through it and you'll be submitted, done and dusted before you know it. Good luck with the editing process :-)

They're on the way - Happy Reading :-)

If it is a 20 min presentation which is pretty normal for PhD students your outline sounds a bit ambitious to me. I think you need to decide what you want the audience to hear, ie your proposal, tentative findings OR how you are promoting your research but I don't think you can do all three justice in 20 minutes. I have been to many presentations where the presenter spends so long laying out the context and explaining their topic that they rush through the actual interesting bit and say very little about what the audience thought they were going to hear.

The beginning few points could be condensed into a few points (2 slides at best). So for example you could have your title slide up at the start and use that to briefly explain your research. While tentative findings are good, some people are wary of presenting findings early on. This can be becuase they may not be supported later on in the research or becuase they don't want other people stealing their ideas - or maybe I'm just too cynical!! However I certainly wouldn't give the audience all you have;-)

I don't think there is anything wrong at the start letting the audience know that the presentation is going to be on one specific aspect of your research. As long as you are clear about what they are going to hear people are well able to listen and process a presentation without having the project fully laid out for them. I think focussed presentations on one or two specific aspects are the most successful. You could start by explaining (while your title slide is on display) that you are a PhD student at 'x' stage of your research, your topic is looking at (2-3 minute pitch, 5 mins tops) and that today you are going to look at 'y' aspect of your research. You should then have 12-15 minutes to give a really interesting presentation.

If it's more than 20 minutes, well to be honest I still think you need to focus it a bit more narrowly!

Good luck - conferences presentations are simultaneously terrifying and yet exhiliarting:-) I used to hate them but now actually enjoy them - once they're over of course!!

good luck with today's goals Star-Shaped, you always seem to have deadlines to aim for. It'd be great to get a postdoc sorted. (up)

Hi Jean Philippe

Yep I can access them all. If you want to pm your email id I can send you the pdfs

A

Afraid I don't Tweet and am not on FaceBook, MySpace, blog or any of those modern techno things. This forum is about as advanced as I get. I'm happy to row in with whatever you guys decide. I really like the useful link idea so as long as I know where to point the mouse I'm happy.

Thanks for moving it along :-)

A

sorry the Greek 'congratuations' didn't transfer, edit button not working here either :(

Triple congratulations Emmaki - and they say that Jan 17 is going to be a 'blue Monday' for many people. Good for you for bucking the trend :-)

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(hope that's right, courtesy of Google Translate!!)

Hello Murt, fellow student in Ireland!

I'm no help with your actual topic I'm afraid but re: research methods, the suggestions already made should be really useful. The Sage book of 'anything' is usually a great starting point. I also have a doorstop of a book, The Sage book of Grounded Theory currently keeping my door open, sorry I mean helping me with my methodology chapter!

If you are able to get to your college library in person, rather than just online, it can be worth literally browsing the method books to get a feel for what is there. No doubt there are some methodology publications relevant to your topic but for a subject such as yours probably many of the research/methods books will be in the sociology section of the library. Sociology is found in the '300s' [Dewey Decimal system]. My own favourite, which I constantly return to as I feel the author is on the same wavelength as me, is Colin Robson (2002) - Real World Research: a resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers.

Motivation mid-way can be tough to keep up after the heady rush and excitiment of that first year has waned, particularly when you're also working. However think postive, and think forward. If you are going for a four-year completion once you get this year over, you will be more than half-way there :-).

A(up)