Hey Ady, it sounds like your sup is finding little things rather than having anything major to criticise. I would suggest that you need to decide what you want to go with and justify your approach, the argument that using alternative headings might confuse internationally is a good one. At some point the thesis needs to be accepted as 'at a good enough standard' to pass the award. Striving for perfection is admirable on your sups part but at the end of the day this is an unachievable goal in reality.

Please don't get stressed, take a little time out and then come back with a constructive eye and focus on what needs to be done and decide what is not necessary. Sending you a virtual gooy chocolate cake to help your inspiration (gift)

======= Date Modified 20 Aug 2011 09:59:38 =======
Morning Ady! My lit review was part of the Introduction so the headings were as follows:
1. Introduction
1.1 Membrane Oxygenators
1.2 Using a membrane oxygenator to model gas diffusion
1.3 Isoflurane use in membrane oxygenators
1.4 Nitric oxide
1.5 HBOCs and Oxyglobin
1.6 Aims and Objectives of the Thesis

Essentially, each subsection was entitled along with further 'sub-sub' sections. I did keep the 'Introduction' title which is totally uninspiring, bit like me by the time I submitted lol. I didn't get picked up for the use of 'Introduction' so I guess it is very subject specific, mine was science based.

I do like Ricks suggestions, but would also take a peek at other theses within the department. Do remember this is your thesis and you don't have to agree with all of your sups comments. I cannot imagine an examiner failing a thesis just because the titles are not packing a punch, it is the content after all that matters. It also looks like nit-picking on your sups part for perfection rather than crucial errors in your final draft, which is a good thing!

Well it is encouraging to actually have the viva outcome in writing, hang on to that letter! I think we have all found that academia progresses much more slowly than the real world :p I waited 2 weeks to get my post viva letter which also detailed the minor corrections. I dealt with the corrections and submitted the final version for checking at the end of July and I am still waiting for the corrections to be checked. They need to be signed by the end of this month for graduation this year for which I have had to purchase tickets. So I am in complete limbo, are the corrections ok and will I be attending graduation in October? I cannot keep telephoning or emailing, surely.

Glad you are much calmer now and the letter clarifies your re-submission for PhD. Now grab that motivation and get going, you can do it!

Hi Ady, I really feel for you. Comments from my sups at this point always felt like a large slap in the face with a wet fish lol. They may not seem like big issues to your sup (a walk in the park maybe) but when you read them, the work it involves feels like another marathon. I am glad you have had a long chat with your sup to clarify the comments. This should give you a more positive approach to resolving them. Linking the work is a crucial element which in my thesis almost felt like repetition from the end of one chapter (a,b and c leads to doing x,y and z) to the next chapter (exploring a,b and c from ch 2 has resulted in tests for x,y and z) etc. It almost felt a little basic to spell it out like a story but for the reader it makes sense of the structure.  Take smaller steps and allow yourself some time out as fresh eyes really does help.

The 'it' factor for a PhD in my opinion is 'dogged perseverance' which you really do have to have come this far. There is no way you should consider an MPhil! Very soon you will submit, just keep hanging on to this thought.

BTW the packers (yes we are cheating and the removals are doing it all :p ) are arriving in the coming week to get a started, descending us into complete chaos I am sure. We actually move 30/31st, arghhh! Would love to restructure your thesis in return for some calm, tranquil stability in our own home. I have so much in limbo right now that it is quite depressing! Still awaiting internal examiners feedback on corrections, not sure I will make graduation this year, got job interview next week, move the week after and a journal paper with sups currently. Would love to actually complete these things and know where I am going or what I am doing :-(

Hi Ady, you sound really fed up with your thesis! I can totally sympathise as this final stage is such a drama and frustration. Where are you at? Has your sup come back with comments as last I remember you were checking through while they were reading? You are very close to submission and to be honest I found that as the goal was so close any extra work required was a big deal to me! I was not so open to extra changes as I was just sick of my thesis so I probably provided more resistance to such suggestions! That said at some point enough is enough and it just needs to be submitted. Keep smiling, I really admire your resilience :-)

Hi Pineapple, well done for getting started on those corrections. Remember back to when you started writing your thesis and how much of a daunting task it seemed, yet you did it! You can do the same with these corrections. You have a family behind you letting you focus on the task rather than having to worry about finding accommodation, jobs etc so use this time to help you through.

I can sympathise with having to reduce your thesis. Mine was 48,000 words and I was only allowed 40,000 (sciences) to submit, so I had to cut out 20% prior to submission. Editing seemed to be soul destroying after writing the damn thing, but in hindsight it made a better read. I know I posted on the forum to see if this was a feasible goal and I got some help and encouragement back then. I basically had to make the sentences less verbose and much more focused. By reducing repetition across the chapters and verbose (flabby!) sentences I got my final word count down to 39,300. You can also do this with your word count. Hopefully, the examiners will have given you examples of what to cut out too.

Just take each task and make it into smaller manageable chunks. You have the determination to get through this stage. As you get small parts ticked off the list you will be motivated to do more. Keep going and have a virtual cake to help  (mince)

I was also PT so would be slightly different, however at the 8 month point I had completed the formal paperwork (ethics and project agreement), conducted the basic literature review for setting up the experimental work (this would be defined later on to my findings as well) and was deep in the experimental phase. The findings were good but the direction had not fully evolved at this point. I had also drafted a journal article for submission a few months later.

======= Date Modified 15 Aug 2011 08:47:13 =======
I was self-funded but this was on a part-time basis. I was working full-time so had the financial means to support my part-time study. I left my job for maternity leave but had the finances saved in the bank to cover the final three years so effectively I did not need loans to cover the expenses.  I have to agree that spending monies for a full-time PhD in the hope of securing a high paid job (in academia etc) is unrealistic these days. The financial climate has really changed the job market with more people becoming students and less jobs for those completing. You need to really consider the reasons for doing a self-funded full-time PhD, being self-funded part-time whilst working part-time is a more usual option. However, if you have the resources available without massive debt being incurred then why not!

Reading your account KB, I would say that mine was very much the same experience, only difference was that my external was very particular and persistant rather than my internal.

Post viva, I wanted to leave asap to have some time alone to reflect. My mind went over the viva so many times in the following days, chastising myself for not doing well on this or that, and trying to see if I could have known more with my viva prep. To be honest the prep could not have foreseen alot of the Qs. I was also quite numb for some days, you want to celebrate a pass but you know there is further work to do, very strange emotional time!!

Ok so a trip to the gym 8-) and then some constructive work! All this talk of supermarket food shopping has got me needing snacks! So I have scoffed a pot of rice pudding and had a lovely cup of tea (very english lol). Oh I have also finished my discussion for my journal article and emailed to my two sups for approval, yey! Of to get the bambinos next, peace is about to be shattered ;-)

Morning all, today I have some child-free time so I need to finish my discussion for a paper I am writing. It was written during a quiet time in my writing up phase but needs to be updated based on my final thesis findings. Then hopefully I can send it off to sups and a journal, yey!

My thesis required only cited texts to appear in the references list. I did not include any secondary references in accordance with my uni regs. It will be different depending on discipline.

My report was about the same length as yours and I also had to present my research to the panel.  The panel comprised just two people from the faculty but one was a senior staff member (with a renowned reputation for being persistent and thorough). They gave me quite a grilling after my presentation mainly on the methodology, findings and originality. Also discussed was the further work that I thought was required to fulfill the PhD requirements.
I have to say that I didn't really prep for the 'candidature viva' as it was a recent change to the regs just prior to my candidature application. I was getting married and going away on honeymoon (which the admin office knew about) and most of the prior prep was to rearrange the candidature viva to a time when I was actually back home and in the country! Much stress prior to getting married lol. It was held shortly after I returned home and I was then in early pregnancy, so most of my focus of the event was to not throw up on the panel :$  I think it took about an hour post presentation. I was asked to leave for about 20 minutes while they discussed the 'result'. I was invited back in to be told that they were recommending that I be transferred to PhD status.

======= Date Modified 10 Aug 2011 19:22:53 =======
My thesis was 214 pages double line spaced but an additional 20 pages in roman numerals at the beginning. It amounted to being just under the 40,000 word limit for sciences with 100 ish graphs lol.

Edit: 11 pages of refs single-line spaced (but was a very specialised unpublished field)

Many congratulations Dr Keenbean!! I can totally empathise with feeling exhausted and, for me, very numb too. So pleased it went well and hope you have fun celebrating (up)(gift)