It has gone fast, though I still am not entirely convinced I'll make it to the end line. I know it sounds ridiculous considering how far I've got, but I still think anything could become a hurdle.
I've also reached the frustrating stage of 'I can't wait to finish, really just can't wait!!'

I think I have seen some thesis that do that - I need to ask my supervisor, that's a good point. Have any of you used a thesis writing guide book? I've heard people recommend Patrick Dunleavy, ‘Authoring a PhD’, but I'm not convinced yet I should buy it.

Re bullet points, my supervisor loves them, he's always encouraging me to use them. I don't like them too much, but I think it makes it easier for the examiner to read.

In other news, I've just sat and worked out what percentage of my final thesis I have written. I'm feeling a bit inspired because I am 73% there, but I know there is quite a bit of editing the 73% requires, but still, its nice to put a number to the progress I am making .... although no idea if its an accurate reflection ;-D

How far are you all?

Thanks, that's a good point! I am so glad we have this thread :)

Zutterfly, thanks, that's a good idea! I will do that.

I also have the problem of staying up till late, its iPlayer that distracts me.

I'm thinking of including a key findings section in my chapter, with a bullet pointed list (just because my results and discussion is so long - its a heavy study). Has anyone done that before? I'm not sure where to place it, I was thinking maybe between discussion and conclusion? Or should it go after conclusion?

So I've got:

Introduction
Aim
Methods
Results
Discussion
Key Findings
Conclusion
Recommendations

Thanks Zutterfly, that's a good way to do it, I think you might have convinced me :)

I'm still not sure actually what I'm going to include in my overall discussion as I've got detailed discussions and recommendations in each chapter for each study. I need to read into that a bit more. Maybe that's another reason I'm putting it off,because I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing/including. Humm... Maybe I'll move all the recommendations to the end of the thesis instead of having them under each study, and integrate them a bit more together.

Btw if it's any consolation I also had an unplanned afternoon nap. Tomorrow morning will be a fresh start hopefully for all of us! :)

Thank you zutterfly, that's good advice! :)

I just feel that because I haven't formally written up my literature review, I might find some new findings when writing that up, which wont then be incorporated into the overall discussion and conclusion. I suppose I am worried that I have missed some findings, and don't want to re-write my overall discussion and conclusion.

My supervisor is of the opinion that the conclusion is much more difficult to write, and its best to write it whilst the findings of the stud/ies are fresh in one's head.

Maybe i am delaying it subconsciously because I know the overall discussion and conclusion is much more difficult than the literature review chapter ...

That's a good way to think of it! :) I think the meat of the thesis is completed once the study chapters are written up. However, I think personally I'm going to find the introduction and overall discussion and conclusion most difficult to write,because my three studies are linked together but not in a linear way. My overall research aim and objectives also needs re-writing, but I'm taking consolation in the fact that I don't have to do anymore data collection!

I'm also working on my final study chapter, currently writing up the discussion. This whole chapter is also due at the end of the month! I've then got to either do the literature review chapter, or the final overall discussion and conclusion of the thesis. My supervisor is of the opinion that I should the latter first, but I feel like writing up the literature review first. Which one would you do first?

This sounds like my experience too. If I draft chapters into journal papers, then they get looked at much quicker, otherwise its a struggle tbh, especially longer chapters *sigh*

Thanks for sharing, very useful. I hope others will share too.

Just out of interest, was your research post full time? I am looking for a part-time post-PhD, and wondering how difficult/easy it is to get one?

Thanks, I think I will do that too, I suppose that way there'll be consistency across the thesis, in case one of my later studies are published after I submit and before the viva.

I found the most frustrating parts to be also be when I didn't have control over recruitment, and recruitment for one of my studies took six times longer than I had anticipated or planned for. It is utterly frustrating, and that is why some people finish on time, because they spend less time on collecting data.

Hi,

I am wondering whether I should cite my published paper or the chapter in the thesis where the findings are?

So for example:

Study 1 results are in Chapter 4 and they are published in a journal paper too.

I am writing the discussion of Study 6, where I want to make reference to one of Study 1's results. Should I cite Study 1-Chapter 4 or the journal paper?

Thanks :)

That is a good way to look at it. Plus it takes the immediate pressure off a little bit, which I think is useful. I'd rather take an extra 4 months than risk affecting my mental health.

That's good! Mine takes ages. Maybe I need to allocate 2 months to it tbh. One chapter takes about 2-3 weeks at the very least.