Best of luck for the future Bilbo, you were one of many contributors that also helped me to get through the final stages of writing up and viva last year so thanks for that :)

I've just graduated with a PhD in Sheffield. I love the city so much, and am very sad that my studying days there are over - I'd move back any day!

Hi Micronaut, I must admit I'm not really sure exactly what the focus of your work is on, so I can only advise from my 'social sciences' perspectives. Anyhow, I think you must get advise from others in your university, or even other experts in your field outside your uni. Have you not got a second supervisor, for example? My view would be that it is not a lost cause and you may be able to get something from this process. Unless your PhD is 'by publication' which most are not, then it is not necessary to have produced publications during the PhD process, though your work and writing should show the *potential* to do so. I had no publications (and none yet!) but I passed my Viva no problem. On the results side of thing, yes of course it is important to find things. Do you have time to run another experiment? Can you collaborate with another research institution outside? Can you get an extension on the time needed for submission? If no, then you must be prepared to show in great detail what you wanted to find and why you think you did not get the results you were looking for. The PhD process, in my opinion, is more about showing you're an independent researcher/academic and less about the minutiae of results... That said, of course I know nothing of your field and you must go and discuss this asap with somebody who can help.

Pros: Easy to learn; organises your data efficiently and all in one place; easy to develop codes; easy to transfer data to reports; can take lots of different forms of data (e.g., text; video; audio)
Cons: Takes up huge amounts of disk space; a bit temperamental so you have to keep saving your file; easy to fragment your data in the search for relevant bits; it won't do the coding for you!

I don't know for sure, but sounds as if you're using the Chart Builder? You could try using the Legacy Dialogue plots instead (what older versions of SPSS used) and see if they come out any clearer... just an idea

Sorry I've not read the replies so sorry if I'm repeating what others have said... but to be honest I'm a bit shocked by all of this. It's your supervisors responsibility to ensure that you don't hand in something that may fail, they should have been going through and deleting sections, asking you to re-write bits. My sup. took 6k words out of mine in one foul swoop! And this was me working up until the deadline too... I wrote my discussion chapter in the week up until submission! So you shouldn't be blaming yourself so much. And second, if the content is good and you can defend what you've done, even point out it's weaknesses (one being the length), there's no reason to fail the viva based on word count. The new external may not even notice. Honestly, what difference does is make if it is 250 or 350 pages in reality - it's still a massive task to read it!

I filled in the census online the other day (yawn)... and can you believe it, they have rolled having a PhD in with all other degrees obtained (e.g., BA, MSc)... so my husband actually ended up with more ticks on his qualifications than me! Bah humbug (sprout) It makes him feel better though ,-)

I got married in my 2nd year of the PhD and I invited my supervisor... didn't seem weird at all and everyone had a fab day!

... took around two weeks to be accepted by my examiners. Phew! Printed off the corrected version yesterday and hope today to resubmit the library version (this is what we have to do at my uni). Then hopefully it'll be conferred by the end of the month so I can fit into the summer graduation. What a long process since I originally submitted it in August last year! Nice to reach this stage though... corrections are tedious (robin)

Congratulations!

Yes, I have anxiety problems and I felt exactly the same - I think it's pretty normal to feel terrified with one week to go. I coped by taking a week off work so I could hide away, relax (well, try) and to really focus on revising. Write down a few questions, write down some answers and read them over and over if you've not done this already... then print them off and go on some long walks so you can revise/get some exercise/clear your head. I found this helped loads. Things that made me feel less anxious were just getting organised, trying to get some control of the situation. It helped me to know I could take my Thesis in with me, "just in case", also my written questions and answers for the same reason - even if I went blank I could say something. Also remember that you can always ask for a break mid-viva, if you're stressed. You will find the build-up is most likely worse than the actual thing itself. Good luck!

I have just completed a 1+3 program at my University. The "1" bit was for the first year MSc training, which was a separate qualification that I was awarded. The "3" was the 3 years afterwards for the PhD. And then I actually took a 4th an extra year which was unfunded to finish writing up, after the 3 year PhD funding ended. In terms of the PhD part, you are still expected to finish it in 3 years, but most unis will allow it to go over into a 4th year. You cannot go over the 4th year to submit however, there are very severe penalties for this!

I'm waiting to have my minor corrections approved, but when they are I am totally going to use my title at work (well, it is in academia), and maybe change my bank cards etc. I'm proud of what I've done and want everyone to know about it!! 8-)

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Hello Marcopicos, when I was studying for my PhD I had a government scholarship/bursary worth £12,000 per year, so that was £1,000 per month tax free. I also did the odd bit of teaching and admin work and was paid extra for that. I have just finished my PhD and now have postdoc researcher job for a fixed term. This will be classed as a "Grade 6" or "Grade 7" job at UK universities, depending on which one you're at, and the starting salary is around £28,000. This is in the social sciences, mind you, perhaps pay differs across disciplines. When you land your first lecturing job you might expect to be paid a salary of £35,000 to begin with.