Despite good planning, the unexpected happens or things can go wrong.

If what you are trying to do was, in the first place, well-designed and feasible, and you and your supervisor are convinced the project will still work and get finished, …. BUT, the experiments are taking longer to work or you've had difficulty getting subjects or access to vital sources and materials, and the problem is that you simply need more time, then consult your university regulations to check the procedures and seek an extension now.

If at any time you suspect that, because of similar reasons, your work looks as though it will take longer than originally planned, do signal immediately through the official, interim report processes that there may be difficulties, so that any later request for an extension has a history and therefore a more convincing basis.

If there were good reasons for attempting what you did, but now it is clear that your project is not possible the way you first envisaged it, then you have to stop now and refocus immediately. For example, a student started with the plan to use a known technique, which had worked successfully in several species, to gather data from another species. There were no indications that this would present any problems, yet it turned out that the known technique didn't work in the species to be studied. The student did in fact push on and develop a successful technique and, since this was such a significant achievement, this became the focus of the thesis. The other aims were achieved too, although not to the extent previously sought. This example shows the need to be flexible, to see the new opportunities, and that research cannot always be planned to the last step.

Certainly it is rewarding if the obstacle can become the new focus of your work, but this is not always the case. Sometimes, frustration is due to lack of skills, inappropriate equipment, or the involved university procedures of ordering resources, getting ethical clearance, permission to approach people you need as subjects or who will serve as resources. The most important thing then, of course, is to identify what the problem is. If you need laboratory, computing, library or statistical skills, for example, identify the sources of assistance inside and outside your university and discuss this with your supervisor. If getting this help cannot be speeded up, turn your attention to other things and do these in the meantime rather than fuel the frustration.

Do talk to other students, researchers and staff--and not necessarily only to those in your immediate field. They may be able to suggest ways around the problem, have faced and found a way around similar obstacles, or be able to brainstorm with you to expose all elements of the problem. The very act of talking about it often allows you to define the problem in a more succinct way and, by doing this, to solve it or have a better starting point for finding a solution.