The first question is misleading and not clear. I'm not sure if it's asking date of birth as in the actual day, or the day/month, or the day/month/year.

Well there's a couple of things that have to be considered

1) Is participant observation (or alternatively, qualitative description) been included in your ethics application regarding methodology and has been given approval?

2) Has this been properly explained to your research participants that participant observation (i.e. that you'll be writing about your observations of them AS WELL as drawing analysis from the interviews) is part of the research study? Do your advertisements looking for participants or explanatory statements include a discussion that explicitly states that participant observation is a component of this study and is this included on the consent forms your participants must sign? Is participant observation explained in a clear and coherent manner so your research participants are aware of what this entails?

If no to either of those, then no, you cannot write about participant observation as per ethics regulations. Your research participants have to be made aware of all components of their engagement with the study, if this has not been done prior to their becoming involved then you cannot include this data. You also cannot add it later on nor amend your ethics approval to include this after having done interviews. You can (potentially) alter the study and amend ethics for *new* participants, but not for those already been interviewed.

A transcription software program combined with a foot pedal will do wonders (www.altoedge.com-> had a package for about $99 that included software, foot pedal and headset for transcription).

Unfortunately due to a nerve/hand injury (pain/severe swelling) I had to get the rest of my interviews transcribed professionally, but it's expensive. Saved my hands though!

Well, my supervisors always gave me vague deadlines, but it was me who had to set my own deadlines and meet them. I was on a scholarship though, and not 'funding' per say, so basically, I either put in the effort and got the thesis done before my scholarship ran out, or I had to start paying.

However, I was a social science PhD, so it was pretty much my own project the whole time with my supervisors assessing my work/ensuring I was on the right track...

Social Sciences, Submitted on September 5th, 2014 (No Viva in Australia).
Received a pass minor corrections on November 27th, 2014.
Handed in corrections on December 13th, 2014 and was ratified December 23rd, 2014 (Letter arrived Jan 6th)

Graduation in May :) Now working on a year contract doing teaching and research, hopefully this turns into something more!

Agree with Shoulder.

Disciplines like social sciences and humanities you are lucky to come out with one or two publications, whereas hard sciences you might have a heap of publications because you work in a larger research group/on a large research project (where even if you don't do any writing, you are still listed as an author if you help in running experiments etc).

Eds...I know you're kidding, but as an Ally of the GLBTIQ community, and a researcher in the area of gender/sex/sexuality, this is still inappropriate. The heterosexualisation and fetishisation of lesbians for heterosexual men's desires is actually an issue for many lesbian women and a demeaning representation. I know you didn't mean any harm, but it's just something to think about.

Aside from the raised eyebrow at the choice of name, I agree with the others in that you need to take a huge step back. This can and will affect your professionalism, and you will not be taken seriously in the academic world should you choose to continue in this fashion. It is highly likely that he might receive a slap on the wrist for bad behaviour, but this will follow you and will be detrimental to your career, especially as a young women your work will automatically be undervalued until you 'prove yourself' in the boys club that is academia. This will only work to exemplify this.

Others have suggested 'tactful' ways to handle this situation. I disagree. If you are willing to be part of a breakup of a marriage/ruin your career then go for it. But if you value your career, you should go to HR or another faculty member that you can trust and explain the situation. This is, a high abuse of power on his end, it falls under the category of sexual harassment even if you are attracted to him due to your professor/student relationship, and he is absolutely crossing the line regarding the student/supervisor relationship. He is meant to evaluate your work and mentor you academically, but he is under no circumstance suppose to be confiding personal details of his life with you.

My supervisors kept their professionalism throughout my degree, and after I had passed, that relationship did change to good friendships. But they had to wait until I was no longer their student for this to occur.

You are caught in a tide of emotions and this makes this even harder. You need to switch supervisors if you can.

Oh and the other thing, is that 15,000 in just starting out is great! Don't beat yourself up!

You'll have times when you won't do any writing, and times when you do an abundance, especially as a literature student.

Both Derose and IntoThe Spiral make valid points; however, I would err on the side of caution as per Derose's point and not bring this up with your supervisor. Not all supervisors will be sympathetic to your plight, or may grow frustrated with an additional task of supporting you mentally which they are actually not trained or qualified to do. As we begin to shed the discrimination on mental health (which is a good thing!), there is a counter-part to this, which is the rising trend in which academic supervisors at all levels are expected to become mental health counsellors, many of whom are just not qualified or comfortable enough to do so.

There should be support services for students like yourself where you can seek counselling. The thing to remember is that you'll be respected more and have your concerns taken more seriously if you seek outside, professional help as opposed to going straight to your academic supervisor, who may have their own mental health issues/may not have the capacity to help you. Their job is to ensure to stay on track academically and evaluate your work, but they are not trained to help you mentally other than sending you to the appropriate services.

I didn't have depression per say, but I was battling a binge-eating disorder/substance abuse through the early years of my PhD. I didn't let my supervisors know what was going on, but I did seek help from professionals. The end result was that I made it through, am in recovery and feeling better, and my supervisors have highly recommended my work and me to the point that I landed a good (albeit a one year contract) job. There is a fine line we still must walk between demonstrating that you have the capacity to function in a high-stress environment, and being honest about your mental health issues when it comes to the academic world.

Dear ____

I wish to apply for the PhD program in Cognitive Zoology starting in September 2015. I graduated in Psychology from *** University, Germany in November, 2014. My academic aim is to become a researcher grounded in comparative cognition research.

The focus of my studies thus far has been neuro-cognitive psychology, particularly attentional control processes in visual perception. More specifically, I wrote both my Bachelor's and Master's thesis on the attentional blink– a phenomenon central to understanding temporal aspects of attention. From my theses and research internships in the same domain, I gained experience in various areas of psychological research, including design, programming and conduct of experiments as well as statistical analyses. The studies involved gathering behavioral data such as saccadic movements during eye-tracking procedures.

I have earned scholarships regarding my academic success and have completed a research internship ,where I collaborated with John Doe and John Smith on a paper on *** in American crows. More precisely, I was involved in experiment design, data collection, construction of apparatuses and video coding.

I am very enthusiastic about doing my PhD in *** as my ideal field of study would be animal cognition and evolution-related research. In my free time, I enjoy nature-related activities and engage in volunteer work around environmental conservation which has included helping out with landscape preservation, and contributing my specialist skills towards bird census projects.

I am certain that due to my enthusiasm for the subject, I will be able to make a meaningful contribution to your research effort.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your positive response.

Yours sincerely,

Hey Yanthra,

I've provided a new version for you (next post).

I've just cut some of the information down. Some of the specifics (like your grades and specific scholarship) can be read from your CV. I also cut out the interests that aren't directly related (so kept the bird stuff in, took out the travelling etc). You want to come across as a high achiever, but also humble (if that makes sense?).

Thanks Mark that's helpful!

Take a deep breath and let it out.

Your thesis will change and alter as you go, what it looks like now will not necessarily be the final product. It's fine that a key study was not included, you can include it now and it's not going to make a huge difference :)

Hey Elle,

I am so sorry to hear about the issues you're having with your group. I know you don't want to think of this as sexist, but it is. These men are ignoring you and making you feel like you don't belong, because you are situated within a male-dominated sphere regarding your research. They might feel that as a woman, you are invading their space, and this is quite common in Academia, especially in hard sciences.

I'm not saying all men are like this by any means, there are of course, plenty of amazing men out there who support women in research. What I am saying, is that this situation is a text-book example of how some men might treat women in research to alienate them and make them feel unwelcome. They are supposed to read your drafts, and not doing so means they are not adhering to the rules of a research group.

Is it at all possible you can join a different research group? The purpose of such a group is to help support you. Alternatively, you can call them out on their behaviour, they may not even realise they are engaging in such forms of alienation. They might see this as normal and/or come from cultural backgrounds that view women as lesser and might not be aware that they are not treating you with disrespect.

I completely understand the shyness/awkwardness. I have severe social anxiety so I struggle with any type of social situation.

One suggestion could be that you take a shot of ____, walk in there, demand their attention and make a mini-speech. Tell them you are sick of how they are treating you, you are here to produce good research and need constructive, not hostile feedback. They might listen to you, or laugh at you, I can't predict the outcome. Another alternative is to join associations that support women in the sciences. You'll be able to network and get support with this particular situation.