analysis - when you find out if all the hard work was worth it

and according to my results... no, it was not!

I've started to analyse now and I am not a happy bunny... not only are my hypotheses not supported, but the effects are going in completely the opposite direction to what I would except according to previous literature and common sense... gah!

but then, as Einstein once wisely said;

“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”

writers block

so i now have 20 participants... enough to start writing up. i've been putting off writing my dissertation as i thought "well, i don't know what to write about until i know what tasks work..." (oh the joys of developing a novel battery!). the problem is... i just can't bring myself to start writing. i always seem to find something more "important" to do. the procrastination is getting stupid now.

i think that i seriously have writers block. tips to overcome this would be greatly appreciated!

Testing, Testing, Testing

... All of last week!!! Just everyday, without a break! So today, I am enjoying a day off in the sunshine and have been wedding dress shopping (still have not found one I like!).

Tomorrow it will be back to the grindstone :(

Website Design...

today did not start off well - a participant cancelled on me and i'm getting so desperate for participants now :( so, i decided to write off today and work from my sofa at home. usually this leads to vast amounts of television-watching and unproductiveness... but not today! today, i started designing my website.

part of my MSc course requires me to design my own website. it's something i was looking forward to doing, as it is quite a creative process. however, being a technology-moron, i really doubted my ability to do it well!

so i spent today playing around with dreamweaver - a program i have never used before - and desperately digging out course notes. i trialled-and-errored, messed about, and... well, it's actually coming together!!

check it out so far at www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucjtchb

A Crash Course in Collecting DNA

this morning i met with biophysicists and lab technicians in order to discuss the possibility of including some genetic analysis as part of my PhD... very exciting stuff! they are going to provide me with kits so that i can take cheek swabs from my participants, and then later they will analyse the arrays for me when i've worked out what polymorphisms i want to study.

i'm very excited about including a behavioural genetic aspect to my research as it makes the project more multi-disciplinary. but i'll need to do lots of reading as it's not an area that i know too well.

so they taught me how to use the cheek swab kits... not particularly fancy or glamourous.... rub a cotton bud around the inside of your cheek for a few seconds, pop it into the test tube. easy peasy :)

The Life of a Postgraduate Student

about me...

my name is Chloé, i am 23 years old, and i am (somehow) currently juggling an MSc, a PhD, and a part-time job! i have undertaken these tasks while buying my first house and planning a wedding. and i literally do not have time to sleep!

this blog...

is going to chronicle my life of a postgraduate student. the good and the bad! i'm also going to use it to keep note of what work i am actually doing/have done, so that when my supervisors ask i have documentation that i have been spending my time wisely, and not just browsing the blogs of people who are smarter than me!