Wow pineapple, that is excellent news. A 1 hour viva would be fabulous, not so likely to bolt at the door lol. I am going through all of your previous anxieties currently, as I submitted 1st April and still have no viva date. Both examiners have my thesis so I am starting to think the worst.....:-( Above all, it is the limbo phase that is so discouraging and how do you prep when you have no date to aim for. I am so pleased things are looking up for you. So, get your head down, revise your thesis content, answer some prep questions and think positive!!

In the data section menu (accessed at the top) there is a 'select cases' option that allows you to filter out particular variable, ie if the answer is 'no', then those cases won't be included in subsequent analysis.

My word limit was 40000 excluding appendices, figures, tables, references and footnotes. I came in at 48000 so 20% overworded, but managed to get it down to 39300 by submission. I had to be rather ruthless in the editing stage and, to be honest, had no idea that I could achieve such a radical chop! Areas of my thesis written first were rather verbose so underwent a major slimming programme. Basically, rewording into more basic and short sentences. Then I tackled lit review/intro sections and discussions where there is more expression and therefore more likely to be overworded. I didn't really change much in the methodology as this was a fairly short and concise anyway. Editing is a valuable tool to learn and is very integral to the doctorate process. Take a few days out and then start at the flabbier parts ;-)

Yes, parts of lit review and discussions will be in present tense, ie your thoughts will be current, but referencing what someone else has published would be in past tense, ie 'Smith et al (1990) previously found that x enhanced y but when taken in the context of this work x would only enhance y in these particular circumstances'. It is confusing when writing up to get the tense correct, I would recommend someone proof-read for this aswell as for spelling!

I have always written methods in the past tense, ie this is what I did. Likewise, the results are also past tense, ie this is what I found. Hope that helps!

Congratulations Dr Senior!!! It is lovely to hear your viva account, the part about bailing out at the exam room door is how I am feeling now. Well done for defending so well. It must be fantastic to about to finalise and move on with your life (up)

It is interesting that I never questioned it previously as I had externals that had been through PhD themselves. I guess now I have submitted, it is easy to question everything! That said the sup has always been very open and honest with comments and I have valued that. They do conduct lots of research and have numerous publications that I would have thought could constitute a PhD anyway. I am not sure, but I may be one of their first students.....!

After reading previous posts about supervisory problems, does your PhD supervisor have to have a PhD qualification? I have three sups, two externals that do but the uni sup that doesn't. What difference do you think this would make?

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Hey congrats Ady! It is all much easier now ;-) I do hope your sups are not long with their comments so submission will be very soon. Such a weight lifted once the whole thesis is fully drafted, well done, I know you have been working very hard to get here (up)

Oooh, an extra star has appeared, yeh!!! Still no word about a viva date, now wondering if it is not up to scratch, especially after reading pineapples rollercoaster journey :-(

Wow, that seems long! I have just 3/4 of a page for my PhD thesis.

The accommodation for postgrads and undergrads are likely to be the same.  The pricing info for UEA gives details of the accommodation for both student types and there is overlap in the accommodation. The monthly premiums alone usually determine the type of accommodation you have rather than the course.  Maybe you need to speak to someone specifically about your queries as emails are generally given standard replies. The approach you take will influence the response you will receive, so this is something to bear in mind.  From your post, it appears that you feel that a better and more comprehensive response is automatically expected due to the monies being spent, however, there will be lots of other students (international or UK) who have the same cash available to pay. Money does not mean better treatment, as in, all are treated the same.

As far as both locations are concerned (UEA and Bath), UEA will be in a quieter city, I never really gelled with the place myself although the uni was good place to study.  Bath has more character, prestige and history, yet the main uni campus is out on the outskirts of town. Bath is also home to the famous 'Norland Nannies' which makes it quite quaint seeing the students wandering around in their uniforms lol.  Both have good facilities so I guess for me the location and/or reputation would be the deciding factors.  

Another one done!!

Well done on an amazing achievement.  Enjoy a well deserved break (up)

Thank you Ady, you are a star! You have an amazing journal access level that I am very envious of lol. Hope the writing up is going well for you. :-)

Hi Joanna, Don't worry too much about 'presenting' the work as the poster should speak for itself. When I have presented posters, I was always to one side incase people wanted to ask questions and discuss the work, but didn't just jump in to tell them all about it (worried that might scare them away!). I have had some interesting conversations about mine and their related work which has given me extra things to consider. Additionally, a really helpful researcher gave me a reference to a complicated equation that has since helped with the data analysis!
I have also been on the other side of the poster and have found it rather annoying when I am reading the 'small print' to have someone telling me about it at the same time. I like to be able to read and consider my thoughts before discussing the work. You will have people just wandering by and you are not expected to reel them in as an audience! The posters are usually advertised prior to the display so people generally aim for the ones of high interest first and afterwards wander around the others.
Good luck and enjoy (up)