PhD thesis writing motivation/support thread!

[JumpingJellyfish]

I know there's a few of you lurking out there and thought we could have a new sparkly thread to coerce encourage us with thesis writing....

I'm in my 6th (or is it 7th) year of a part-time PhD in marine biology- and writing up (though still occassionally dabbling in data analysis which I shouldn't be!! but it's always more interesting than writing...). Hoping to submit 1st May 2009. have to really for my sanity and that of my long-suffering DH & DCs. Need to finish my first draft by end of January I reckon to give me time to make corrections etc.

But I am having long periods of self doubt and general procrastination so could do with some motivational support from anyone going through similar (Acinonyx for example?! ps. I've name-changed from madmarriedNika )

Hello all! Welcome Dalex.
Well, the thesis is on hold this week as I have a job interview next Tuesday - only found out I'd been shortlisted today. I have 8 days to write a presentation entitled 'team working' - how vague is that?? - and to visit/brown-nose the six people on the panel. Fortunately the DM is desirable, rather than essential, for this job. But I'm a bit ashamed that it's not done, seeing as I started it 7 years ago.....

Skidaddle, I don't envy you packing and moving - I'm dreading getting this job, in some ways, as it will mean moving away from my lovely house and all my lovely friends, but at least it would mean that DH is not having to drive for 3 hours a day and might occasionally be around for breakfast!

I've got a morning off on Thursday, so I'm going to try and do a bit of thesis then - will post a word count!

Maybe 2009 is the Year of Submission? (actually, maybe not, that sounds pretty dodgy! Although DH might enjoy it - I think he feels that he's bottom of the to do list currently! Oh dear, that also sounds dodgy - smellyeli leaves room before any more smutty innuendos........)

Dales - I'm at a trad uni too and started out FT for 2 years until dd was born. Then I took a year out. Then I took another year in order to make the final year 2-3 years PT instead of FT. It was too complicated wrt funding to go officially PT. So this is officially my 4th year but actually my 6th. I think the big problem with PT is keeping the motivation going over such a long time on one project.

The only work I've done is dept teaching (not allowed to do any other as I'm officially FT and funded - but only for 3 years so not this year unfortunately).

Skid - Durham is my home town. Do you like it up there?

It will take a miracle for me to meet this submission deadline....

Smelly - a real job - eeek! One of the difficulties for me jobwise is that I absolutely cannot move so I'm pretty restricted.

well done on the getting the interview smelly and hope it goes well. Part of me doesn't want to move either but academia is so competitive anyway if you can't move to work then your chances of finding a job seem so small (unless you happen to live somewhere that si commutable to loads of unis I suppose - hope that's you acinonyx?)

Wow you're from Durham acinonyx? Whereabouts? We live in Brandon and we really like it there - everyone is really friendly and welcoming - am hoping all the stereotypes about unfriendly southerners aren't actually true!

I grew up on the Newton Hall estate. Brandon is nice.

I'm at Cambridge now and I suppose in theory I could commute to London - I know plenty of people who have done that, patiently waiting years and years for a local position. I would have done that before dd but now I'm very reluctant to go days without seeing her. I've looked at Anglia Ruskin but there's nothing in my field and other Unis are really out of range.

This is one of the reasons I'm waiting until I've submitted to write a postdoc grant - so much is riding on it I need to really put a lot of work into it and get some publications out.

Ironically, Durham would be a good place for me and in some ways - cost of living not least - I would love to move back (never thought I'd hear myself say that!) but dh's job is the Major Obstacle.

A lot has happened in the 5 years since I started - dh's job is a lot more senior (we are quite oldish...) and not movable.

Where are you moving to? I love moving!

We're moving to Oxford so not far from you. I am with you on the cost of living - rent and childcare is a bit of a shock to put it mildly after Durham prices. We will be on about 3 times as much money but will be no richer IYKWIM...

I wouldn't want to commute with my DC so young either but it is hard when you're so restricted. Is there nothing going at Cambridge? What a shame your DH's job is not moveable.. have you thought about the OU? My DH has a job there and apparently everyone works from home at least 3 days a week.

I know Newton hall well - did loads of testing (for my PhD) in Bluecoats and Finchale primary schools - did you go to either of them? Both lovely lovely schools.

Word count today, please? I am on Chapter 6 of reading through but am finding A LOT of stuff that needs changing...

No words today yet - waiting for dd to get to bed. My childcare days are Wed-Fri.

I went to Bluecoats - it's a great school, very strong on music and art. Then I went to Framwellgate Moor Comp. I can still smell the aroma of freshly glued Xmas decorations. In those days it was just one little school - the seperate Juniors hadn't been built yet. How funny to think of you there!

There definitley won't be any kind of actual job going in my field here (well, not impossible but highly unlikely) but I can probably get contract teaching. The plan is to write a postdoc grant under my current sup and cross fingers. There is another dept I might get into - I'll have to see how it goes.

The trek between Oxford and Cambridge is quite a saga since they cut the direct train service. It's much further than you think - always takes longer to drive than I plan for otherwise you go into London on the train and out again.

Are you going to a lectureship or postdoc? When do you start?

Hi

Can I join in? I am in my writing up year of a law PhD. I started off full time but went part time after nearly three years.

I have a 3 year old and five year old

I have never been to my uni. I live five hours away from it! My supervisor was the reason I chose the Uni but he has never really given me any guidance.

I've written five chapters as I go and I'm trying to update and finish off as soon as I can because I'm sick of it!

I've met my supervisor once and I've never had a board meeting. Yet predictably univ now want one next week while I'm in the process of settling my brother with cerebral
Palsy in his first independent flat. He's had to move 300 miles to be near us as his carer (step dad) is dying.

I'm stuck with two kids and no help. Husband works an hour and a half away.

I feel like jacking. My work this far has been fine. Never received any negative comments but I just want to finish it quickly.

How many chapters is it usual to write? I've done five. But could do with dropping one. Would that be too lightweigh?

Anyway good to let off steam and and read your stories!

Hi debs
I'm with you on the being sick of studying and wanting an end to it all..hang in there the finishing line must surely soon come into sight.

I am also a long way away from my supervisor and Uni, as we live in Cyprus and its in the UK...so I keep in regular email contact with my supervisor who is great at giving me feedback. I don't know how long your thesis is meant to be, but because I have done an EdD I have already passed 50% of the course on assignments and so my final thesis is 50K words. For this I have 5 chapters.

Keep smiling

Do you mind if I jump in too? The only thing is that I am at the very beginning of my PhD (I'm talking 1st year), so I look at your posts rather wistfully. I'm part-time, have a 2.5 year old and an 8 month old (to be honest I took a semester off after DD2 was born). I lecture part-time too. And I am a lunatic.

Debs40 - I am doing law too. Never really wanted to practice and I am really drawn to academia.

Can I ask - do any of you ever look around at the brilliant academics/other students around you - and doubt yourself for just a millisecond? I do but essentially I do believe in myself but ... do you know what I mean? I ask myself - can I ever be that good/be cited all over the place/be invited to speak in exotic places? I want to, that for sure.

Will have some more questions - I don't really know anyone else who is studying at this level (I'm kinda the family academic) so its good to natter about the nitty gritty.

Debs - you do have an awful lot on your plate. The number of chapters is very variable - it's the overall length and coverage that counts. I read somewhere that the optimum word length for a chapter is about 10,000. Do you have min or max word counts?

I have a lot of shortish chapters (9 at present) - that's just the way it divides up as I go through the analysis of different tests. Our max word count (exc bib and appendices) is 80,000 and I'm sure I'll be way below that.

Sunny - I doubt my final thesis will be much over 50,000! Oh yes - I sooo want to just get it done.

Smug - not exactly, but then my aspirations are not so high! I just want to remain employed in my field. What worries me most is that I won't be able to put in the hours required without compromising family life beyond acceptable limits. I look around and I wonder - am I prepared to work the hours these people do now that I have dd?

Have done nothing on mine for about 4 months. I have 6 months now to get written up and in. HHHEEEELLLLPPPPPPP!!!!!

sorry to hijack, can I just ask what uni you are doing you EdD with sunnylabsmum?

(I understand if you would rather not say)

Thanks. Thesis length is 80,000. With intro and conclusion , I will have six chapters. I had another but it just isn't fitting.

I practised as a lawyer for many years before going back to study so I think academia can be incredibly frustrating.

And, yes I doubt myself all the time. I know I haven't got the time needed to do this justice in the way I want to and I don't 'live and breathe' my subject like some others do.

I think it must be much easier to be 21 and straight out of uni when you do this!

Welcome debs and smugaboo. It sounds like you both have a lot to juggle!

My thesis (DM - like a noddy PhD for medics) will be about 60,000 - it did have 7 chapters but after the viva (major corrections required!) has gone down to 5 which actually works much better - I think I was just trying to pad it out, TBH, so I wouldn't worry about quantity, rather focus on quality.

I do often look around at people who seem to be doing the things that I do rather better than I am - doctoring, mothering, academia - but that's because most of them are a) only focusing on one thing and b) have a wife to sort out the domestics. My DH is great, but there's still a lot to do when I get home from work before I can even think about my thesis! I have become resigned to the fact that although the area under the curve of my ambition remains the same, there are far more peaks, just at a lower level IYSWIM.

Work is very busy and stressful at the moment, so my thesis is back on the back burner - I think if I try to do too much, my head starts to explode and I flail around not really doing anything properly.

I think once I get this job interview out of the way on Tuesday I will feel a lot better. I went to Tesco's early this morning for nappies and wipes and managed to find a killer pair of interview shoes - do you think they'll give me the job if I'm wearing £9 heels??

welcome debs and smugaboo!

Well I submitted today! Feel a bit bad as if I am gloating but just wanted to wish everyone all the best and hope these final weeks/months go smoothly. We will all get there in the end. Good luck!

but

wow, well done skidaddle - i can't wait for the handing in moment! how long do you have to wait until you hear back?

i'm planning to stay at home on wednesday and write a general thesis/publication plan. feeling a bit daunted... i know that looking at it as 100,000 words is a bad idea, but it's hard getting past that overwhelming feeling! ah well, hopefully it will feel more managable on wednesday night with a solider plan

sorry offline for a few days, so loads to catch up on...
Miawallace- Its with Lincoln University if that helps, though I think they have altered the course a bit since I started in 2000!

Am slowly getting to grips with chapter 4 research findings using the new headings from chapter one and two. Basically its alot of reorganisation rather than new writing but maintaining momentum is a tad difficult.

I am mega impressed with loads of you going for job interviews....I will have to face this when we get back in the late summer from Cyprus and I am a bit nervous about it all. I have kept busy with OU for most of my time out of formal work, but I guess some places will not see that as much. At the moment its between re-entering teaching or moving into academia, and realistically I guess it will be what turns up first. Living here we only really hear worry stories about jobs etc.

Well chapter 4 and a nice cup of coffee at the end of a reasonable stint beckons!

Agh! I'm drowning.

Too many new refs in my updating lit sweep.

Carry on.

I'm drowning too...final chapter to revise drastically but well over word limit...however do seem to be able at the moment to read my old stuff and condense it slightly. Sometimes though my supervisor warns me that I do it too much.

Aiming for draft to be in for the end of the month, so i am ahead of my schedule at the moment.

lifts head above surface and gulps down some motivational wine

Good luck everyone...keep going!!

Oh I've got the motivational wine going too.

I'm saving the expresso coffee liqueur for the final push.

I need more words, more words. I find the organisation of such a large piece of work very challenging.

At least dd has finally gone to sleep I think. She's sleeping so late these days....

Another one drowning here.. drowning in data, can't think where I'm going to put it all. Still, better than too little data, I suppose!

How many words do you need Acinonyx? Mine's 100,000 .. think though in the end I will have the same problem as you sunnylabsmum - too many words & condensing.

I've got the opposite problem - a lot of numbers which makes for a short thesis. The max limit is 80,000 and, excluding bibliography and appendices, I will settle for about 50,000. Sup says that's enough too. But I', at about 42,000 at the moment and this latest round of lit updating is really making my brain go gluey. Since I last did it some guy has come up with an enormous theory that covers my work and it is taking me a while to critique it thoroughly. This is what happens when you take a billion years to do your PhD. You do a lovely lit review and then a couple of years go by and it's totally out of date. Bleah.

I was doing just fine when I was just blathering on about my opinion on the world and my data. But this trawling through mounds of lit is like skiiing in front of an avalanche.

i know what you mean! I dread logging on to see if theres any new literature in case it means lots of extra work.

At the moment I'm working on chapter 5 research discussion...and according to my supervisor the only chapter where I am allowed an opinion....quite refreshing!

as to words... I am on 50K at the moment and its got to be between 40-50K ( benefit or drawback of an EdD is that you do some preparatory papers and then a shorter thesis!)

I never really wrote a literature review in my first year, figured it would be out of date like you said acinonyx. regret it a bit now though - i'm thinking it would be easier to update rather than start from zilch!!

i've had a good go at my methods chapter over the past couple of afternoons. i know it's supposed to be an "easy" chapter, but god it took me ages and ages to trawl through my experimental notes looking for various protocol details. it's only about 1/3 done, but still, i'm feeling more positive now that i have something on paper.