why does the sun shine when I have a thesis to write???

[yummybunnymummy]

Shouldn't be here as I should be writing my thesis. Dh has taken the dc (3yrs and 18mths)out for the day so I need to take the opportunity to work, but its sooooo sunny, and i've been at the computer for 6 hours and my bottom is numb...slow progress here.

Oh Yummy you're so close now - you can do it! Oh to be so close to The ENd! Just imagine how FANTASTIC it will be to submit.

Nika - don't feel guilty. We all do of course. I feel it every time I drop dd at nursery. We don't have any family around but if we did I would employ their assistance to be sure.

Cleaning is strangely tempting at times like this. That's the problem with working at home.

Dd actually napped this afternoon and I was able to read my new math books. Are we a strange bunch - us PhD mums? Should I be excited to read advanced math (SEM) on a Saturday afternoon? Will dd roll her eyes in years to come and say 'mum, well, she was a bit strange you know...'.

Hope it's going ok Yummy, hang on in there.... It will be worth it!

Acinonyx- yes, I'm sure our little ones will think we are a little strange when they grow up!! But I kind of like that! I have been sitting with DD perched on my knee trying to do some statistics but not getting very far...DD is full of the cold and miserable with it so not really settling much, bless her.

How do you all cope with getting all the usual domestics done? Like cooking, cleaning, laundry etc.? I am struggling to keep on top of it all, even with getting up super early before the kids wake. My DP works very long hours so he can't really do much of it so it falls to me... I may have to resort to cooking v easy simple food (or ready prepared!) and spending as little time on this as I can get away with for a few months....

Nika - I am having to cut a lot of corners on the domestic front. DH works longish hours and also travels. We sometimes have very simple or quick dinners - sometimes we 'forage' independently. If I'm organised I might have something I made earlier in the freezer (when I'm super efficient I get up with dd on a Sunday - about 7am - and cook 2 double meals and freeze them).

I've had to start doing some of the laundry at night and we each iron our own - either in one sitting or as needed, depending on how organised we've been.

I used to cook much more but there just aren't enough hours in the day. As for cleaning - well, the house tends to get a frantic clean up before weekend visitors. If I ever get a real job, I'm going to get a cleaner and someone to do the ironing. Oh and lots of new clothes and......

Just closed down SPSS for the night. Goodnight.

Have just finished a draft discussion....(needs a lot of work)...but if I say and think it really quickly..apart from my conclusions and abstract, prelims and references..etc...I have a draft!!!!!

OMG.....have so many corrections and things to tighten up etc....although (can I sing my own praises??) a supervisor commented that my literature was very good!!! Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!

If I hand it in ob the deadline...I will be very hung over on the 1st!!

keep going...don't ask about cleaning or my washing mountain...my ds1 asked loudly at preschool what a Hoover was as he was sure mummy didn't have one....the shame!

Hi

Can I jump in, have been reading your thread and shouting "thats me me me!" lol. Im doing a phd looking at the development of early eating styles with a big focus on breastfeeding as the start of healthy eating. Im apparently about a year off submission but im not sure this mythical date ever really exists right now! I cant see past the mind numbing entry into spss and repeatedly redoing the stats over and over and over and over...

I too have nursery guilt, an untidy house (which i worry health and safety will come and close down) and a panic about what Im actually going to do at the end of all of this....

Amyx

Hi Amy - ah yes - the dread data entry and clean-up. I'm rechecking my data as we speak. SPSS is my best friend. Looks like we are about at the same point. Officially I can submit Jan 09 but the money runs out Oct 08 so that is my preferred deadline.

I like doing the analysis proper but the entry/checking/clean-up part is fantastically tedious. Need more tea.....

At least you have a topic we can all relate to. Who were your data and what measures did you record? JIll

I seem to be all over the place - have too much data for my phd because we kept changing our minds about things. Never mind - much better than having too little and have lots to write up afterwards and could live off the data for years I think.

Main topic is looking at the factors that are associated with breastfeeding until six months - so what predicts whether a mum will make it that far or not. Am just finishing off my questionnaire with pregnant mums asking about their intentions to breastfeed and ran one earlier this year asking mums to reflect on their experiences of infant feeding. Ive been really lucky with recruitment as its a subject everyone loves to talk about and is happy to take part in.

I cant wait to finish now. I love research but hate being a phd student - in that I want to know I will pass it, want more of my own control etc etc. Hope to stay researching this area though.

My funding runs out jan 09 but would like to submit before then but not sure if thats being naive. Cant do it without the funding though.

Think i see more of spss than my family - couldnt live without it and secretly quite like the analysis (shhhh) its just the getting on and writing it up stage i cant be bothered with - i start one thing, do 75% of it then move on to the next....
Ax

I have too much data (but yet not enough for my preferred bit) and hope to milk it for a while after I'm finished.

I would struggle after my funding runs out as dd would have to drop at least one day at nursery even with preschool funding from next Sep (she goes 3 days now and I already struggle to get enough work time).

I'd like to stay on - if I do it will be just the same but with hopefully more money. That would be nice! Funding makes for a good rigid deadline which is no bad thing. If you're dong your analysis now then you could probably submit before Jan 09 - depends how many hours/week you can give it.

Got any significant predictors yet?

I write well in small chunks but get very bogged down trying to organise the chunks into a long piece. That will be a headache. Jill

I used to help undergrads with SPSS, although I don't use it it my thesis..
..drum roll.....I printed off all the final diagrams today!! Dh had better not find any mistakes with them, it took over 7 hrs of formatting, resizing etc! Am soooo tired but sooo excited, the end is in sight..although I have no idea how it'll be ready for next week..I may need to ask for an extra week....
fingers crossed..

Well done Yummy, you're so nearly there now! I really hate formatting figures etc... I'm sure you are completely wrecked- just keep thinking of how you'll feel once it's in! I'm submitting a paper this week that myself and an ex-colleague have been working on for about 10 months on & off and just can't wait for it to be finally out of my hands! I'm hoping to use it as one of my thesis chapters but we'll see. Had a meeting with my supervisors yesterday, with DD strapped to me (thankfully we were all so boring she fell asleep). Feel like I really know where I'm going but just not sure how I'm going to find the time to do it all. DD has been a bit poorly recently (she has CF) so her care has increased a lot= no 'spare' time. But I still feel sort of motivated so sure once she's all better I should be able to get back into work mode. I'm determined to have all data analysis complete by christmas but after my meeting I think it'll be end of Jan realistically... I too am spending too much time in stats-land, although not SPSS (GenStat & Minitab). I'm very lucky though that I have got stats support...

Good luck everyone! xxx

PS. Amy- I'm just like you- really am putting off actually writing properly and keep going to different bits of data analysis!! It's soooo hard!! xxx

Very exciting Yummy - you are SO close!!

Nika - when are you hoping to submit? I'm expecting the analysis to take until March (had originally hoped Jan). You really do get to a point with a paper when you can't bear the sight of it. I'm sure the thesis will be the same.

My supervisor wants a detailed thesis outline and I'm struggling to put one together. Not got anywhere with it really.

DD successfully faked illness for the first time this morning so I didn't leave her at nursery. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her. Dh is American and is home this afternoon to cook Thanksgiving dinner - he has taken her shopping and has promised to have her help with the cooking and cleaning while I work (hmmm, is this working....?). Tomorrow he flies off again and I'm teaching so he says he will take her to nursery in the morning and no nonsense. Hmmm. We'll see. Dd is at that age where everything is 'no,no,no'. With wailing.

I have to submit 1st Sept 2008! Which seems scarily close!! My supervisor actually wanted me to submit for 1st May but that is far too soon IMO, as I am working only very part-time and also have just been given some more relevant data which I need to analyse before starting the serious (and much put off) business of writing.

Had a bit of a re-write of the paper and it is being submitted this Friday, fingers crossed.

We were all a bit poorly last week so had a few days of no PhD work and finding it hard to get back into... Keep having to remind myself I do love it really !

Yummy- how are you doing?

Acinonyx- did you finish your outline? I made a detailed one a year ago but it's now completely changed so had to do a new one!

No - I haven't even started it and it's due on Friday. But I have a talk to give and teaching and I'm tied up analysing data - I don't feel I can give an outline until I know what my results are going to give me. That's my excuse anyway. I really haven't got a clue how to put an outline together. Did you make a list of headings and stuff?

We've all got rotten colds this week. Dh flew to Spain but forgot his suitcase and had to buy clothes when he got there .

Where are you submitting to?

Should be working tonight but I'm just too knackered.

Acinonyx- how did you get on with your outline? I did indeed make main chapter headings from my various bits of research and then tried to see how I could divide up what seems like a lot of little bits into an oragnised intro>methods>results>conclusions format. I found that some of my original ideas for main chapters became too big and so ended up with more chapters than I'd originally anticipated. I find thinking of each research chapter as a paper helped, so that it would stand alone.

I'm submitting to Queen's University, Belfast...
Feeling a bit depressed by the PhD at the moment...the last bits of data analysis which I didn't think would take too long are really becoming a slow slog, and DD has been poorly and not sleeping well so not getting much time at all to work on it (certainly no more than 2 hrs at a time, which feels like I'm barely scratching the surface...)

Any news from Yummy? xx

Yes - how is going Yummy??

Nika - I was wondering wich journal you were submitting your paper to (or that actually for your university?).

Well I never did get that outline done but it didn't matter as my supervisor suggested I submit the thesis as papers (with introductory and wrap-up chapters). OTOH that really does make sense (as you also say), also means I don't have to have a second process of paper writing, and will be better for applying for a postdoc. OTOH - it also means the data must be publishable (ie journal publishable not just PhD publishable). And to this end I have reluctantly agreed to do one last data collection in Jan. That completely ruins my carefully planned schedule to submit in Oct - not a chance at this rate.

So I am feeling a bit stressed and demoralised at the thought of having to start the analysis all over again - and of course it may not be significantly improved by the new data.

Kids are such germ factories - I suspect it will be like this until April (am I cheering you up?). It is hard going when you're tired and ill and lo is too.

After all this slog I've just GOT TO finish this thing!

Submitted the paper today, finally- hurrah!! To the Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences... so yes not one many have heard of but quite a high impact factor in our field. Not sure it has a chance really but thought we'd aim high first, and know what journal should accept it if it gets completely regected from CJFAS...

In the meantime I've been inundated by people wanting my data for MSc dissertations etc. Want the data to be well used but haven't finished with it myself yet...and also on a selfish note haven't got much time to spend going through it with other students etc. Not sure what to do so waiting for my supervisor's advice...

Submitting your thesis by papers is a good way to go, I think it makes the viva much easier as everything has already been through the formal peer-review process so if they are in press it should be a breeze. But it's a lot of work getting all these papers into press!

I really empathise about having to re-analyse your data once you gather more. That has happened to me over the past 2 years too many times, to the point where now I have had to draw a line under everything and say no to any more data collection- else my 6 year part-time PhD could go on for another 6 yrs- or forever!! And I'm feeling tired of it already!!

Keep smiling Acinonyx, it WILL be worth it...

I guess the re-analysing over and over must be common for anyone with an empirically driven PhD (she says, trying to be philosophical about it).

Good luck with the paper. If the data allows, we'd like to risk a submission to a top journal being prepared to resubmit asap if it's not accepted (but won't be crying into my keyboard - just want to try it).

The problem with submitting in papers is that it is less work in the long term but more in the short term - and it's the short term that I'm really up against!

Are you working in your field? As a marine biologist - what is your data?

I just wish it was all be just a bit less intense and stressful. But I stay in the field - it will always be like this I guess so better get used to it....

Hello everyone, just wanted to wish us all a happy & productive 2008!

Hope you had a great christmas...to be honest I haven't done any PhD work in over 2 weeks now, have had visitors galore and just been snowed under with christmas preps etc... It's been very nice in a way to take a break from the PhD but now the guilt (& panic) is setting in!

Plus I've been offered five days worth of consultancy work in Jan. Nicely paid but with my childcare arrangements would wipe out 2 weeks of PhD work. Not sure what to do- kind of need the money but the stress & guilt of not doing PhD work makes me unsure.
Any advice?

Acinonyx- my PhD is in my field (marine biology)- I'm looking at predicting Nephrops (scampi/langoustine/dublin bay prawns) density in the Irish Sea amongst a few other things! Quite fisheries science driven.

Hope everyone and your little ones are well! xxx

Madmum - I've taken a 2 week break too and now I'm getting anxious about getting going again. I did some consultancy work during my first term with the excuse that it had been booked before the funding was confirmed. Unfortuately though, I am strictly not allowed to work except teaching in my dept (which is a lot of work for really lousy pay!). Otherwise I would find a quick consultancy contract very tempting - but not sure if I would be too anxious to take the time during my final year.

Can I ask a stupidish question - do you or did you at some point actually go underwater? Just wondering how you got into that area.

Happy 2008!

Acinonyx- I did indeed used to go underwater quite a bit- I am a commercial diver although haven't used those qualifications since I fell pregnant with DS! However a lot of my work in the past 5 years has been deeper than you can dive, so I am more used to operating underwater remote camaras, either towed on a sledge connected to a ship or on ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). I used to go to sea quite a lot but most research cruises last for a minimum of 2 weeks, I did my last one when DS was a year old and just found I missed him so much. So since then I have been mainly office based, processing data others go out to collect! I have done the odd 2-3 day long cruise but those are on smaller boats not the ocean-going research vessels I used to go on. Until the children are at secondary school I don't think I will want to be away for more than a week at a time, it's just too hard on everyone. But for the moment I am just trying to concentrate on the PhD and then worry about getting paid work! Still not sure though what to do re consultancy work...

Happy New Year!

Do you mis going to sea? I used to work overseas and also do short contracts/consultancies. Not now though, with dd. I do miss it though. I went to a conference for a week last summer and my the 6th day I cried at breakfast I missed dd so much. And then she was furious with me when I got back. So I'm not likely to make any trips for a looong time - if ever. That was a whole other life that will be just like a story in a book to dd.

How are you settling back to work. I am really struggling to get back into the groove. Dh bought me a new pc for Xmas and none of my software is compatible and it is taking ages to upgrade/patch everything. I know he meant well, but now instead of juggling between 2 pcs I have 3....

MUST get down to work. I think I feel a bit overwhelmed and paralysed by the moutain of my final year.

Hello Acinonyx, finally back into work mode...although frustrated by not having enough time each week to get much done while feeling guilty as DD is really making life hard for my childminder as since she turned 6 months she hates being apart from me even for minutes...

In a way I really do miss going to sea. I really did love that part of my job most of the time (except when it got really rough as I do get seasick in those situations, which is the most miserable feeling ever...). But I miss the DCs more, like you said it really isn't an option in my mind to be apart from them for longer than 24 hrs max. Even taking DD to hospital for the day and leaving DS for 12 hours upsets him a lot. I know though that time will come eventually when they'll probably be glad to be rid of me (e.g. when the teen years hit!) so I hope somehow to get back into the field then. In the meantime I just use data everyone else collects...which suits me fine right now. If I can keep publishing papers over the next 5-10 years and keep my fingers in a few pies then once the DCs are a lot older I'd hope to try getting back into academia. If I don't manage it I won't be gutted, life is too short for that- I'm sure I'd find something else just as fulfilling.

Has anyone heard from Yummy? Thinking of you!

xx

Sorry I have been so crap about updating..I've been avoiding the internet..and for various reasons I didn't get it finished before Christmas but I handed in last monday!!!!!!!!!! hurray!!!! It feels soooo strange. I haven't been celebrating as dh was away (bl**dy awful putting it all together and submitting it with 2 toddlers on your own!). I was over the word limit (slightly) which I'd been led to believe wouldn't be a problem...however it was, and had to be approved before acceptance etc.. however I got the letter today that its been sent to the examiners etc..so I really feel excited and absolutely terrified now about the impending viva...and eveytime I look through the 328 pages I see mistakes everywhere etc... but am so pleased its in..
keep going ladies....xxxxxxxxxxx

Wow yummy that's fantastic. I am getting pretty anxious about submitting by the end of the year. I met up with some mums today and one, who workd 3 days/week, said how 'she couldn't do what I do' - ie SAHM. I replied, er, actually - I work 3 days/week (and a lot more...). Bloody cheek! people talk as though I were doing a little needlepoint on the odd evening to keep me busy.

Keep us posted on the viva. You must celebrate when your dh gets back. i can barely imagine that I might actually finish this beast one day!