Who is doing a PhD?

[onlymyselftoanswerto1]

I'm just into my second year of my PhD and struggling hugely with motivation and writing - would love to connect with any others feeling the same and perhaps need/want some support and keep each other accountable!

Has anyone else found their methodology just doesn’t seem to end and they can talk forever about positionality?

Yep! I find all the people whose work I find interesting get very into their methodology

@RJnomore1 thank you for the advice re time management! The house is indeed a tip. Also reading the comments on positionality with interest. Only just getting my head around that

How are you getting on @WaterWall22 ?

im in my last year, had my thesis monitoring committee last week and it’s clear they’re expecting me to submit in the next six months 🙈 head down time I think!

@RJnomore1 thanks for asking. Almost finished the PGCert, so a loong way to go yet! How long did it take you to get to the stage you're at

That’s great progress though!

Im at 3.5 years at the end of the month. Most of my cohort are taking longer, I just know if I don’t try to finish I’ll lose interest shortly (I’m self aware now if nothing else 😂)

The first year and this one have been hardest, firstly getting a routine and up to speed with the level of writing etc, and now keeping the motivation going. My oldest is writing her undergrad thesis so we text each other to moan which helps.

@Nordstrom
@StColumbofNavron
Wondered if anyone still around?
Have just found this thread today when I should be writing my concluding chapter of my professional Doctorate in Education.
So much of what people have said resonates.
I have written 36,000 words with a strict total word limit of 50,000 but feels never ending and as if I have miles to go....

Hello @Gingerwarthog I am still about. Sadly, the PhD didn’t quite work out two years in due to a combination of covid, a bereavement and some longer term problems resulting from that. However, whilst I’ve opted out and back to the corporate world, I am presenting some tangential research at a conference in the summer and planning (possibly) another stab at it as a non funded,
part time student as a labour of love. Right now, I’m not quite sure if another MA and MRes might scratch the itch.

Lovely to hear you are nearing the end - if you have 36,000 already you are so close - ‘only’ 14,000 words. So close.

@StColumbofNavron
Thank you for replying.
Sorry to hear this but it does sound as if you will come back to it again...
It is addictive.
Mine is part time - I was sitting here today with the rain pelting down feeling very sorry for myself and as if I am never going to complete but you're right. It is close.
Good luck with the presentation.

Hi

ive fallen off the wagon. First I got an amazing new job then I’ve had some family issues. I need to get right back on it.. @Gingerwarthog if you need a study buddy I’m in!

I'll join so that I actually write this presentation and actually write more than a page of my proposal.

I'm all corrected and graduated and have been working in industry for over a year!

We've decided I should publish more of my thesis though, and bits of somebody else's work, so I'm having to prod my academic writing skills into life again (they were slumbering very happily!) to write three papers.

Thanks all. That will motivate me.
I read someone else's completed Doctorate yesterday and it was so polished and assured compared with my scruffy effort!

I'm still here. In my final few months of funding 😢but nowhere near completion. Have all my data to analyse and I'm just into my first week of a LOA as my health isn't great at the moment. It's a struggle and I'm feeling very defeated and deflated right now

Can I ask what fields everyone's working in?

@onlymyselftoanswerto1
I have just completed my data analysis chapter- it took several months and it still needs supplementary discussion and conclusions, which will be a separate chapter.
I felt like you at the start of the analysis process but as I worked through it I began to feel more encouraged - as I could see how much material I had.
I have a meeting with my supervisors later this month and expect to be asked to revise heavily.

Can I join please? In 20th month of 4 year phd... so bored of it now
Funded by research body
Biomedical science

Are we all up early trying to write before the kids get up?🤣

The hardest parts of a PhD for most people are the introduction/bibliography and the actual body of it.

You'll be surprised how quickly it comes together if you actually write out the format... I'm not kidding... literally new document and insert a title... then add the intro, method, results sections... start adding pictures in each sections and properly labelling them... pad out the appendices with things you think might be needed.

Before you know it you have 50 pages! Methods are easy and an ego boost... basically copy from protocols and you've filled out 10% already.

The hardest part is the intro for most people, and that's because they read papers wrongly. I've seen people highlight PILES of printed-off papers and then struggle to collate it all later. A far better option is to opt all relevant info from a paper into a word doc and copy the author, date, title etc underneath it. Do this for every paper you read in the same document and you'll have a huge repository of info all in one place that you can just ctrl+f for all the stuff you need... e.g. say you're a vet, type the wird 'cat' and all the references with cat will be highlighted... then you can just build the words around these excerpts.

Some great tips here. ‘If’ I go back in, then I am going to approach much more like I did essays which involved @C1N1C type method of pasting things under headings then writing from what is there.

I am so excited for you all.

I'm still around.

I'm struggling a bit.

Will hopefully get back into a rhythm soon. I love the actual research.

Mine is educational research, on a field I feel very passionately about. I also have a full time fairly senior position and a DD about to do GCSEs. It can feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to fit everything in and I can give in to flopping on the sofa.
Best time for me to write is at the crack of dawn when no-one else is up and I can make a coffee and get on with it.
Love DD to bits - detest sharing a study space with her.

I end up writing in the kitchen.

@Gingerwarthog that makes me feel a bit better, thank you. I'm just a bit overwhelmed with it all and feel very defeated.

My PhD is on domestic violence so it's a very emotionally draining topic - some of the interviews were harrowing and that's taking its toll on me too. I think a break will do me good. Can't quit cos I owe it to the women who trusted me with their stories!

I have an unexpected two free days tomorrow and Friday so I am going to use them to push my proposal forward. Feeling inspired. My research is historical and about state oppression.