Oh dear ... politics! If the data you would ideally include is not accessible, then plainly it cannot be added and there is no alternative to saying it is unavailable. The only thing that could be done might be to include the absence of this particular evidence as a limitation of the thesis, thus acknowledging that if possible you would have used it and that it would have enhanced the data. Since the corrections were classed as minor it cannot realistically be argued that the thesis is indefensible without this additional data.

Anonymity is normally a standard part of the ethical research framework. It protects both the innocent and the guilty ;). IMO you would be faced with a lot of searching questions were the participants' anonymity not assured. Most qualitative methodology texts will discuss this.

Hi Incognito. It might be worth while looking to see what the graduate school handbook/PhD regulations etc. say. It is usual for the examiners to produce a written statement of the corrections required of a candidate. The norm is that if those requirements are met, the candidate passes. If the corrections are minor, the internal examiner is usually asked to approve them, as in your case. IMO it would be *very* unusual if the internal were allowed to add requirements to the corrections agreed with the external (that would be going against the result of the viva and would negate the examiners' joint decision). If that is what is happening, I would email and ask the advice of the graduate school. Good luck!

Congratulations! I agree that concentrating on the research relevant to the PhD would be best. It might be good to make the point that you have that additional research experience, though. Maybe you could include one introductory slide with a bulleted list of your research, making the point that you will be exploring the relevant material in detail for the purposes of this presentation? Good luck!

Thankfully I have no Word 2010 experience but have a couple of tips from previous versions (IMO they are all basically the same with an ever flashier, more inconvenient, hectoring user interface overlain on the original program. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything :) ).

Simplest: a 'save as' instead of a 'save' will shed the memory of recent changes you made. With a file that size, you no doubt have masses of figures/photos etc. Right click on one to try to get the format picture dialog box, then click on compress and choose a suitable option. You can opt to compress all if you want to live dangerously. That might save quite a bit of memory. Good luck!

Needless to say, make sure you have a back-up first!

I honestly think there is no definitive answer to this one. 'Until it's right' isn't very helpful, but it's true. Having seen some of the tales of horribly uncooperative supervisors on here, maybe it is good that your supervisors are actually reading and commenting (with any luck, positively). Maybe you could regard it as a sort of training exercise in writing up, so once you have upgraded the rest of the chapters will be less stressful :P

Please PM me an email and I shall send it!

"Very little actually written" sounds like an original contribution to knowledge in the making :) Good luck!

How about emailing anyone who has published recently in the field? Or (if you are in the UK) I think Gareth Parry at Sheffield might have worked in that area?

I am not qualified to comment on career prospects but you are definitely not too old for a PhD. Many people use their professional experience to inform their research. I know of one person who completed a doctorate in his late 40s and is now co-authoring a groundbreaking book with his former supervisor. The book may be unusual, but the age certainly isn't!

Hi Incertus. I think there is some relevant stuff in section 11.3 (p. 76) of the latest MHRA style guide (http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/download.shtml). It looks as though you would use an abbreviated title in the case you query. So the first time you refer to it would have given the full reference to Keats' Collected Works 1848 (or whatever) and thenceforth you would shorten it: 'When I have fears that I may cease to be' (Keats, p. 120). Giving the page number alone is open to misinterpretation - it could refer to any publication.

The page number should go outside the quotation mark, since it is not part of the quoted words, and the full stop should go after the parentheses with the page number, because it is marking the end of your sentence, not Keats' (see above). The examples on p. 76 are given both with 'p.' for page numbers and without, so it would seem reasonable to say that as long as you are consistent, either is acceptable.

Phew! Give me Harvard any day! Try to be consistent and logical, of course, but I would not worry too much - you would not believe how much of a hash a lot of people make of referencing, so anyone taking care is winning already!

Often the word 'thesis' can just be left out - to use your example, "this will be discussed in Chapter 5" is just as good. I agree that referring to the thesis. within that thesis, can seem odd.

You could discuss the limitations briefly in the methodology chapter, but refer to a more in-depth assessment later on. Many people use the final, discussion chapter to present an analysis of the limitations of the research (including, of course, the methodology). This has the advantage of the reader/examiner being familiar with both the results and the methodology when they read this section; also, this assessment of the methodological limitations will share a chapter with the discussion of the positive results and important contribution to your field so will leave a good impression :))

Because the EdD is a professional doctorate the vast majority are designed as part-time doctorates for professionals who continue to work in and research their profession, often at senior level. With an EdD you will probably find that study schools are arranged for school holidays - Pjlu is spot on about using holiday time to the maximum!

Ady and HazyJane's suggestions about the original author is spot on - I look for Pineapple's name on her thread about waiting for her results (stay strong, Pineapple!).

Also, are there some oddities going on? The EdD or not to EdD thread seems to have no posts at all (even the original one) although there are 3 listed :)