hmmmm good question, how am I doing.....

intro - not started
lit 1 - started but a looooong way to go.
lit 2 - First draft complete and with sup
Body 1 - First draft complete and with sup
Body 2 - has 3 studies in it - just writing now, it's what's causing all my stat problems!! Nearly finished study 3, study 2 has already been published and yet to write study 1!!
Body 3 - Been published so just a matter of dropping it in
Body 4 - First draft complete
Body 5 - not even started!!
Conclusion - not started

so I'd say 4 done or almost done, 1 on the way, and 4 more to go. Does that make me half way through?

Ady and Pink Numbers - you are both doing brilliantly! Looking at what is drafted over the time you have been writing will give you an idea of how long to write the rest. Both of you are looking like submitting in the summer. I found it emmensely satisfying to 'tick off' each chapter once it was drafted and again when I had completed sups comments. I think this really spurs you on to write some more.

I think we should have a celebratory 'virtual' BBQ once we have all submitted in the summer (turkey)

Hi all, managed to get lots done yesterday afternoon and evening with babies in childcare. Have a full final draft completed for sups to comment on, just got to wait for their comments. Am nervous about their comments and how much work this may involve as I would love to submit this labour of love! I have asked them all to comment on whether it is ready for submission.... Hopefully I will not have too many comments to address as two of my sups have read this in previous drafts but it has had some radical trimming to it since. My third sup has only read the lit review previously, he seems to be abit pre-occupied! It is his comments that may be plentiful as he hasn't seen this before :-( So how long will it take for them to read and comment?

Oh well, its in their hands meanwhile I feel like I am twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do next. Might look at getting a Kindle for all of the PDF papers I have......a little extravagent maybe!!!

Hi Dunni

You deserve a bit of thumb twiddling. It's funny, when we're all so mad busy with PhD, babies, life, we dream of having a bit of spare time. Then when we get it, we feel a bit lost. There's nothing you can do to hurry your sups reading your thesis, and not much point you working on it until they do, so take out that Kindle and enjoy :-)

When are you planning to submit Pink_numbers? I'm aiming for July-September and I think we're at a similar stage with our drafts with you just a little bit ahead of me.

Introduction- Not started
Lit- about 1/3 of it drafted.
Methodology- A small chunk drafted but barely scratched the surface
Data chapter 1- Complete.
Data chapter 2- Drafted and with sups
Data chapter 3- Will be drafted at the end of the month
Data chapter 4- Not started
Conclusions- Not started

Wow, writing all that down made me feel that I have actually got quite a bit of it drafted (or will have by the end of the month). Reading about Dunni's progress is spurring me on, I just want to have the whole damn thing drafted!

Dunni, congratulations!!! You steamed ahead with your work this week! As Ady said, you deserve a bit of relaxing, you have worked so hard for this :)

Star-shaped, I'm due to submit my thesis on 30th June. I'm hoping to get everything first drafted by the end of april, which will leave me with 2 months to edit everything... a bit tight, but I've been sending my drafts as I write them to my supervisor.

Hi All,
I "should" be finishing this summer too, but am getting a little scared reading this as I seem way behind... still have some more data collection to do, and analysis... have some written in very draft format so I still think I can do it, or at least have a full final draft before my funding runs out!
Good luck everyone :)

======= Date Modified 04 Feb 2011 13:10:59 =======
Hi Ribenagirl - welcome onboard but don't get put off. We're all at different stages. I'm hoping for a late summer submission, hopefully August but probably Sept. I do have my data collected but am still trundling through the analysis. Take heart, we're all in this together(up)

Whoops, had to edit, spelt your name wrong!!

I have looked back over my Gantz timetable for the time taken to write up. There seems to be lots of queries over how long etc so I thought this may help you all. Please bear in mind that I am only working PT about 15 hours a week!

May 2010 - Formalised the chapter structure (Contents page)
May - Nov 2010 Writing 8 draft chapters in seperate documents.
Aug 2010 - Nov 2010 Sent each chapter to sups as they were done and dealt with comments when they returned.
Nov 2010 - Jan 2011 Amalgamated all chapters into a thesis document with consistency and editing.
Jan 2011 Sent the first draft thesis (without graphs).
Jan 2011 to beg Feb 2011 Footnoting graphs and adding into each chapter.
Beg Feb 2011 Final draft of thesis sent to sups.

This thread is an excellent idea.
My supervisor isn't pushy at all so I feel that I don't have a dead line....but my studentship has expired and I am digging in my savings: too bad.
I wanted to make it for March but it looks like I won't be able so it MUST be the summer deadline!
:-s determination is everything!
I just wish I could buy some in pills :-)

======= Date Modified 04 Feb 2011 17:11:04 =======
Hi Florence and Tusco - a man in this thread at last!!!!

We're all at different places and paces within our research but at least if we all commit via this thread to submitting this summer (or there or thereabouts!!) we have something to work for. I got nothing done today except construct some maps for something that is nothing at all to do with my PhD and a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny bit of analysis.

I always forget something so have to edit: Thanks Dunni for the info ex your Gantz chart, really interesting:-)

Dunni you seem so organised and prepared. I'm sure you'll make the summer deadline.
I'm not that far ahead. I've finished my data collection and spent a month inputting a massive amount of data into SPSS and I now am trying to make sense out of what I've got. I'm well ahead on things like my lit review and early chapters but the next few months will just be hard graft. If I submit in August/September I'll be so relieved. But post-docs all seem to think that 3 years is a pipe-dream and 4 is the norm so perhaps this last hurdle will be harder than we think.

Agree totally Patience. If I do manage to submit in Aug/Sept (3 years) I will be bucking the trend in my uni. My supervisor says I can but it's hard as you say. With every section I used to feel "if only I could get through this the rest will be such much easier"!! I'm finding the writing up process the hardest bit of all!

Hi All, hope you are all making some progress towards that summer of PhD freedom! Ady I agree that the writing up is the hardest task by far, much more pressure as the deadline looms over us.

I cannot beleive that sup1 managed to read my thesis over the weekend! His feedback is just one page of fairly minor comments, additions or deletions which i hope to tackle tonight. He also feels my thesis is ready for submission. Sup2 (uni) is going to start reading the thesis today and sup3 has replied but not said when he will read it. So just awaiting comments from sup2 and sup3 and confirmation of submission (or not). Gosh it all feels fairly close to submission, best check binding requirements etc.