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The case study describes my experiences as a part time PhD student at the University of Sheffield. It outlines my experiences including the positives and pitfalls encountered when conducting my study. The study was an exploration of the impact of being an informal carer for a person with palliative heart failure on carer quality of life and factors influential to a carer’s perception of caring. My study was mixed methods and involved an explanatory sequential design. A sample of carers was recruited from heart failure nurse caseloads in UK rural and urban settings. Carers were invited to complete the Family Quality of Life questionnaire, a quantitative instrument developed for carers of heart failure patients. Participants were also asked to provide contact details if they were willing to be interviewed in Phase 2 of the study. Each heart failure nurse was given 20 questionnaires. A third of carers who returned the completed …