Thanks, guys.

(Of course, there should not be a '?' after "following year"... doh!)

From what I've heard before (and from what you say) I think you do have to be really careful about making sure it is finished in good time before the birth. 8 years makes me shudder!

hmmmm... It is a tricky one. No one in my family that is biologically connected had even the slightest touch of morning sickness, sailed through all their pregnancies just fine, but I don't know how much these things are inherited traits or not.

Thanks for the thoughts!

I am planning to get pregnant (hopefully!) part way into my final year. I am building in a 5 month 'safety net' as things always take me longer to write than I think.
I would have the best part of a year with baby (my partner luckily earns enough to support the two of us), and then start work the following year?
I mean, most women work through their pregnancy (complications notwithstanding) so surely it can't be that different finishing up a Phd, even if it is intense at the end?
Just wondering if anyone else did/is planning to do the same thing?

Just picked up and read this thread -

"I'm not long into my 2nd year and feel that little progress has been made, not sure about my research questions and what I'm meant to show with this PhD!" (to quote Blackbyrd)

I could have written this! :-) (In fact, I just did in more subtle terms, to my supervisor!) We have a meeting on Thursday, and he is normally very supportive, so if he says anything that might be helpful, I will post something next Monday.

Hang in there.

Hello to you all,

Thank you so much for your helpful, thoughtful comments, advice and encouragement! I'm sorry it's taken me 3 days to reply. I decided the best way 'forward' was to do nothing for the weekend - go skiing and clear out the brain with a healthy dose of cold air ;-)

I am feeling a lot more confident now and have worked with all your suggestions - filling in the 'gaps'/starting to write a draft abstract (though this is my central problem: how to summerize the purpose of the research in 1.5 pages!) and I've made some very pretty (and helpful) mindmaps which had enabled me to see some 'connections' that I had not previously thought of! So, thanks again...

I've never been particularly clear what this idea of a "lit review" is... Maybe we just don't really use them in my discipline? (Which is (international) law.) I mean, of course I have read very, very widely and identified what I perceive to be the 'gaps' in the literature. I guess I take more of a "problematising the central question" approach? i.e. my first chapter shows what the 'problems' are with the current framework, how we have got to the state we are at and why I think we are 'there'... Maybe that is a lit review in all but name, but I get the impression it is not... I look at the problem for the international community so to speak, rather than the problem/gaps with previous research into the issue (which isn't very copious anyway, given the newness of the problem!)

Anyway, better get on with it.

Bests,

"Cupcake" (an old nickname - not quite sure how it became my login name!)

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I am 18 months into a PhD (with various stops/starts) and feel like I've completely lost the focus and purpose/aim of this research project! The topic has evolved considerably from my original proposal - no bad thing, and at the suggestion of my supervisor. However, I feel now that I have "lost the plot" - I don't know where it is going. I have tried to formulate a research question as a starting point, and sketch out some ideas but I really don't know what I should/want to say anymore (if I ever did know that)!

This has been lurking in the background for a few months - I figured as I had a rough plan sketched out I should just start writing. I have completed a first, "these are the basic problems" chapter which my supervisor seems happy with. I would just start on a 2nd chapter and hope that my ideas become clearer as I write up more chapters - but that strikes me as a potentially dangerous approach? It strikes me that one could just end up with 80,000 words spread over 7 chapters, but no real focus/aim, or is that what a first complete draft does actually look like?!

I guess my central problem is envisaging the whole thesis - I don't feel I can proceed without having a better idea what the whole thing will look like. The problem is especially acute now because, in order to upgrade to full PhD status I have to submit a 1.5 page outline (not sure if that is double or single spaced - the instructions in our department on these kind of matters are terrible) to an internal/external examiner along with my 1st chapter for them to judge if I am capable and the topic is suitable for development into a PhD. I am so scared! I know it is essentially a helpful process and allows me to get 2 further expert opinions on my work/direction - but as I don't know what my direction is anymore, I am just terrified and end each day in a depressed, dejected heap.

Has anyone else had to go through a similar process, and/or does anymore have any suggestions for getting a better handle on "envisaging the whole" / doing a detailed mid-way plan/synopsis, post-initial proposal?

Thanks!