I did sign up when I was at a conference and they were encouraging us to tweet but kind of got out of the habit of but now I have a new phone which makes it easier I might get into it again - just not sure how to find people worth following (while it's midly amusing to see what some celeb is doing occassionally Im not sure that there are enough hours in the day)

Loved your comment Pam!

Yes - traditionally Nigeria was the home of most of these scams (the so called 419 scams) - in the old days before e-mail we used to get the letters in the post - they would get the membership lists for professional bodies (accountants, lawyers, chemists, engineers etc) and use those. Now, with e-mail and social networking, it is so much easier for them.

The Nigerian government is fighting a losing battle against them. http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1944801.stm

Have done it - interesting you are looking only from the perspective of the regifter and not the recipient (or the original gifter) so I have added my story from that perspective.

Hi Button

I had a similar problem when my supervisor asked me (after 4 months of part-time) for a structure of the thesis - I basically sent him something that was Chapter 1 introduction, chapter 2 literature review, chapter 3 methodology etc - is I ticked the box but is wasn't much help when i tcame to doing the lit review.. 

What I did do then was break down the literature review into small chunks - current research in my area (very little), research in similar areas (lots more) so that was broken down into theory of some aspects, application to a similar context (almost none in my specific context hence I had identified my gap). What I did then was look at some other theses (only the contents page) to get ideas for the level of detail and structure of the lit review.  I then made my plan more detailed as I read more stuff (I use mindmaps which I can then translate into a word document as heading) now all I have to do it fill in something under each heading (which i am doing now). I had a conversation last week with my head of department (at the work uni not the phd uni) about my progress on the phd and he said that there is no reason why you have to have one literature review chapter and that he had several.  That would fit much better for mine so I am now looking at 3 or 4 7,000 word chapters rather than one 20,000 word chapter which somehow feels much more manageable.

Not sure if this is just rambling or if it helps but I would start with some key themes and make those sections in your review (and as you are leading on form you masters you have an advantage in that you know a lot of the literature already)

Have e-maile dit to you a couple of hours ago - hopefully you got it

I can get it - pm me your address...

Not all authors ahve given permission for their work to be scanned for the electronic system- if that is the case then your best bet is to try interlibrary loans (try speaking to a librarian at one of the libraries that holds it - they are really helpful)

Can't seem to be able to vote but my vote would be DEFINITELY NO - see other posts on ths subjet

Is the PGCE a school teaching one? There is a requirement now for all new staff to complete a higher education post graduate teaching qualification (various names - post graduate certificate in academic practice, post graduate certificate in learning and teaching in higher education etc - all lead to membership of the Higher Education Academy (which is also avaialbe to experienced lecturers on a completion of a log book / record). I don't know whether you would get some exemption if you already have a PGCE in school teaching. Given the current climate in higher education (cut backs etc) I think if I were you I would carry on with the PGCE and get qualified then you could do some supply teaching while waiting to get accepted (funded PhDs are VERY competitive - many of us on here are part-time self funding (incl paying our own fees)) or as a way of supplementing your stipend if you do get a funded PhD. It keeps your options open (esp as you are part way through).


If you are doing a PhD then you will usually get offered some sessional lecturing which enable you to start to get the experience you need but a lot of those skills you would have developed during your teacher trianing so that would be an advantage.

I'm not unloved :-) - she sent me four messages ;-)
Obviously got deleted by mods (trying to spoil our fun on a cold and miserable friday night)

I don't know much about architecture but I do know that UCL is one of the top universities in the world (22) fifth in Europe in the Times Higher Education rankings
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/

I did two Masters - the first one (1996-98) was purely for fun. I had finished my professional qualifications and wanted to do some mroe studying so i found an MA in a regional studies subject I was interested in and did that (picking all the geography & politics optiosn rather than history and literature). Although it was part-time (3 evening a week for first year, 1 evening a week second year) and I was working full time in a farily full on job (and was pregnant for most of the second year - handed dissertation in three weeks before delivery) I got a distinction. I really enjoyed studying but the time wasn't right for me to do a PhD (new baby, returning work etc plus my tutor (who had a profound effect on me) died from the cancer he battled all the time I knew him).
Fast forward to 2004 - another baby (born in 2000) and we have moved out of London. I decided that an acadmeic career was what I wnated but i was realistic enough to realise I wouldn't get a job straight away so to get a foot in the door I went and did an MSc in a more applied subject with a view to either using it in my family's business or as a stepping stone to an academic career. When I went to interview the course leader (becuase I already had a dsitinction in my MA I didn't need an interview to be accepted but I said I wanted to find out more) she asked why if I already had an MA did I want to do the MSc as I could start a research degree. I decided however that as it had been a few years since I had done my MA that I would do the MSc. Also I had no idea what I wanted to do my PhD in (I had several years previousl been offered a place by the MA politics lecturer but I was sure I didn't want to do political history even though I loved it for one year part time). So I did the MSc. I was lucky enough to get some sessional work which led to a full time post. I still didn't know what I wanted to do my PhD in.
I was lucky - I could afford it (when I did the MA I had a very good job and when I did the MSc I had a redundancy package). Was it the right thing to do - for me probably but I think I would probably have a better job nearer home if I had gone down the MPhil to PhD route instead of the MSc one (and would have finished or been close to finishing now). But having taken a long time to find my topic (with at least three that were abandonded after about 3 months each) I love it and am happy with what I am doing.

For me the MA and the MSc were in different areas (although there was a slight link between my MA dissertation and my MSc) and I saw the MSc as retraining (whereas the MA was just for fun)

I'm not surprised that the appendix is bigger than the thesis - for my MSc dissertation there was so much SPSS that I downloaded it to a cd and provided that otherwise there would have been nearly a thousand pages in the appendix. Why don't you take a look at some theses in the library and see what they are like?

Well I would try by doing a literature search on one of the subject or publisher databases (or even google scholar) - or are you asking us to do that for you?

And then when you have done the literature search you can read the literature, identify the gaps and then come up with YOUR research question. We all (well those of us who are mid way through) have our own research topics; similarly you need to come up with your own. Or do you want us to do that for you as well?

In fact why don't I do a literature search, come up with a research question, write a proposal, undertake some research, write it up in a thesis, sit a viva, make the ammendments for you? Oh because that would make it MY PhD and not YOURS.