Two new publications!

Hello,

I am pleased to inform you all that this week two articles have been published.  Here are the details:

The first paper is one which I co-authored with Dr. Sally Gainsbury (Southern Cross University, Australia).  Our paper examines auditory features within slot-themed social and online slot machine games.  Have a read of it via this link: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-014-9506-x

The second paper reports the findings of the study I completed for my MA Psychology of Music dissertation, again have a read of it via this link:

http://jgi.camh.net/doi/pdf/10.4309/jgi.2014.29.17

Happy reading!

Best wishes,

Steph. 

The end is nigh (hopefully)...tips for thesis submission

Dear Reader,

As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a busy few months! 

Following my return to the UK from The University of Sydney, I worked really hard to finalise my thesis ready for submission.  I think that putting my thesis to one side whilst I was in Sydney was beneficial as when I read it again my eyes and brain were fresher and somewhat invigorated.  I won't lie, it was difficult to "let go" of my thesis and allow myself to submit it.  However, I knew that I had to because I am eager to prepare for my viva and pursue other research within the topic of music and gambling, and other areas of music psychology.  

For those of you who are about to submit I thought you might find it useful if I shared some tips for what to check, double-check and triple-check before submission.  In turn I hope that those of you are now "Dr." could give me a few tips about how to prepare for my viva.

Things to check before submitting your thesis:

1. Run a spellcheck! Read your thesis closely to check for obvious spelling mistakes too - I had a habit of typing "manger" instead of "manager"!
2. Be consistent with your use of tense.
3. Use of apostrophes - ensure that they show possession or omission.
4. Ensure that none of your sentences start with a number (e.g. 56) - either write the number (i.e. Fifty-six) in full or re-phrase the sentence.
5. Make sure that in press and et al. are italicised.
6. Be consistent with your use of quotation marks, hyphens, brackets, terminology (if more than one phrase can describe a certain phenomena) and words which you have capitalised.
7. Be aware of phrases you repeat (e.g. little is known", "more research is needed", "it is important") and take action to alter your expression.  
8. If you have referred to hyperlinks within your thesis, make sure that they are still active.
9. Check all of your in text references.   Be systematic - go through your thesis and find the first mention of a reference to check that it is presented in the correct format, then find subsequent mentioned to ensure that they have been suitably shortened (e.g. X et al., 2001).  
10. If you have multiple in text references (e.g. X et al., 2001; X et al., 2003; X et al., 1999) - check how you should present them - alphabetically or chronologically.
11. Check that the titles of your tables and figures in text correspond with those within your Lists of Tables/Figures.  Similarly check the same within the headings you have used in text and with your Table of Contents and Appendices.  
12. Check your References list.  Make sure that each one appears in your thesis and again ensure that they are presented in the correct format according to APA/Harvard guidelines.
13. Check that your Table of Contents, Appendices and List of Tables/Figures show the correct page numbers.
14. Finally, make sure that you have read your institution's Code of Practice or Guidance for Submission document.  This document will have important information about margins, page setup, font size, how many copies of your thesis to submit and whether you need to complete any additional forms when submitting your thesis.

I do hope these tips are useful, feel free to share other tips in the comments below. 

Best wishes,

Steph 

Back in the UK

Dear Reader,

Forgive me for taking so long to write again, it has been a very busy few months! Here is a brief update following my visit to Sydney.

As you know in February I travelled to The University of Sydney and was based in the University's Gambling Treatment Clinic (http://sydney.edu.au/science/psychology/gambling_treatment_clinic/) for two months.  During my visit I worked with esteemed academics within the field of gambling studies most notably Professor Alex Blaszcznyski (http://sydney.edu.au/science/people/alex.blaszczynski.php) and Dr. Sally Gainsbury (http://scu-au.academia.edu/SallyGainsbury).  Data collection is underway for two projects, and an article has recently been submitted for consideration for publication.  I am also currently collaborating with a Honours student on a project investigating the music within gambling advertisements and we will be analysing the data over the next couple of months.  

During my visit I also gained an insight into a range of topics within the field of gambling studies which are currently being investigated (e.g. harm minimisation strategies).  In addition I discovered how gambling counsellors are trained and how gambling addiction can be treated.  Towards the end of my visit I gave a talk to an audience comprising gambling counsellors about my own research within the topic of music and gambling.

I also listened to a number of talks including Moral convictions and conceptions of responsible gambling (given by Prof. Blaszczynski) and Reducing treatment drop outs (given by Professor Robert Ladouceur).  

All in all my time at the GTC was inspirational and I look forward to sustaining the relationships I have built over the coming months and years.  

Here is a brief piece about my visit which was published on the GTC website:

http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/gambling_treatment_clinic/about_us/news_2014.shtml 

All the best,

Steph 

Article in the press about my Sydney trip

Hi everyone,

My interview with The Sentinel (local newspaper circulated in Stoke-on-Trent - my home city) has been published online, so thought I would post the link here:

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Stoke-Trent-academic-Stephanie-Bramley/story-20443110-detail/story.html

At the moment I'm making a start on reading relevant literature, submitting ethics applications and thinking about which methodologies to use! So it's busy, busy busy! Am very excited to arrive in Sydney and begin work on the projects!

Will update you all soon.

Steph