Anyone with a dissertation to write over the summer?

[MrsHoarder]

Can't get started on writing up my lit review: I want to take a book out into the garden and relax in the sunshine instead. So is there anyone in the same boat who needs to get cracking on it before picking the DC up from nursery?

Not quite as daunting, but I've got a 5000 word research project (being talked about as the mini dissertation prior to doing the proper beast next year!) to do by mid-august. Finally sent my literature review to my supervisor today for feedback, only a couple of weeks behind schedule.

Funnily enough the good weather has helped. I've been wanting to sit in the garden, so I've only been allowing myself to do so if I take the pile of papers or laptop outside with me and do school work!

Good luck

I literally just handed mine in. Such a relief! Good luck op

Yes me.. My hand in date is 30th sept so the summer will not be very relaxing!
The lit review was definately the biggest slog for me just tried to get it out of the way as early as possible.. Now trying to analyse research results.. Good luck.. keep going

Yes! My hand in date not until 2nd jan but summer quietest time work wise and have Fulltime childcare (normally have 3/4 days). It is not going well. Just can't get brain into gear to write at masters level. My office is I'm the loft and in this heat it's a sauna, am actually glad the weather has turned now, will help me focus.

It took me 9months to write 3chapters, I have 5months left to write 5more. Stressed much!

I'm into the slow of actual work now as well: its a modelling/programming project so I keep hitting difficult parts which is frustrating.

I've more given up on the lit review than finished it (its a very rough draft), with the argument that I will probably change it before I hand it in anyway. Deadline is Friday 13 September. I think the department want to doom us all to fail...

How is everyone getting on? I've started my data extraction and coding and its going really well. Hoping to have much of skeleton written by end of August.

Not too badly - lit review first draft has been seen by supervisor and ok'd with just some minor comments, which really surprised me, and my survey is currently running until the end of next week, people are being really rather good about filling it out. My biggest fear was having only a couple of responses which were nearly identical, and having to spin 2000 words out of them...

Plus a blanket 2 week extension has just been granted, so guess the rest of the cohort were struggling too!

Just need to really knuckle down now and get on with it...

I'm on a go slow at the moment. I have rough drafts for my lit review and design chapters, am slowly plodding on with the coding but its all getting difficult and I'd much rather sleep.

Sounds like other people are making decent progress

Mine is due at the end of August and I don't actually see me managing to get it finished

I have no childcare over the summer which really isn't helping as I'm struggling to get anything done in the day without dc pestering me.

Hoping to have a first draft of sorts put together in the next two weeks

Have you spoken to your supervisor Sue? Mine already knows about the issues I had at the start.

No chance of shipping the DC off to summer play scheme or similar so you can get on with it?

My deadline is end of August. I've had a nightmare collecting data so got horribly behind but finished it at last. I have done some reading but no writing at all. I have to analyse and interpret the data and write 12,000 words on it in just over two weeks. Very daunting prospect. Please share motivational vibes and good luck to everyone.

12000 words in two weeks

I've done 2000, have another 18000 to go in four weeks and am frozen with the magnitude of it. I really need to get on, and chase my collaborators for validation data.

I'm in a similar predicament Steala, but with a lot more words left to write

Will be applying for an extension, and am really hoping that it's approved.

Dc is away for a week next week, so am going to be hammering it out day and night.
Trying to do it whilst dc is here has proved a nightmare (and am self-funded with no spare money for any kind of childcare).

What sort of analysis do you need to do Steala? 12k in two weeks should be doable

I completely empathise with the 'frozen with fear' feeling MrsHoarder. If I spent less time being terrified by the work then I'd be a lot further along right now

and for all!

1000 words a day with two days to revise? Doable? I'll have to add in graphs, tables etc along the way. They inevitably take ages and I always find that the moment I have made them look right for presentation, I realise I have forgotten something.

I had a v productive morning (just having lunch now) of statistics and I can see patterns in the data so I am finally confident I will have something to talk about. I suppose the key is feeling brave enough to move away from reading/analysis and putting fingers to keyboard.

Good luck everyone!

No. Not doable at all. After all the effort I put into the research, it is such a disappointment to end up with a Mickey Mouse guide to research. How are the rest of you getting on?

I have the "setting out" chapters nearly down and need to validate my nearly-finished model. Then write up the model, conclusions and introduction. Easy. Or impossible.

Remember that the work you have done will all seem obvious to you, you've spent months thinking about it. Its how obvious it would be to someone else that's important.

I feel exactly the same as you Steala

Have been really knuckling down to get it done this week and am now very tired and very disheartened.

If I'm not granted an extension it looks like I could be failing my Masters on Friday

How is everyone getting on this week?

I'm going to fail. I can't write anything, although I have a bloody good computer model to write about.

My deadline is Friday too. Good luck! You won't fail. Hang in there and let's hope it comes together just in time.

Well. It's in. It has been an incredibly intense week and I am very very tired but it is in.

Good luck everyone else!

Congratulations Steala!