Could just switch off your email and pretend you never saw it, kind of satisfying to let her stew a little lol. I hope your viva prep is going well and you are able to focus despite these insensitive demands. Good luck tomorrow and I like many others will be scanning the forum to see how it went (up)

How about "although statistics support that [penguins] have difficulty [flying], there may be some ambiguity with this interpretation". Then go on to explain the issues with this, thus defending the statement.

I had three sups, one uni sup and two external sups. External sups are not unheard of though my uni was aware and agreed to my external sups. My external sups were justified as they were more specifically reknown in my field. Does it need to be under a cloak?

My uni changed the regs for entering the write-up stage last september which stated that the supervisor had to see a full draft thesis first. I was just getting to september with a 1/3 drafted so this would have put me out of the write-up stage. However, the actual decision to enter students was not done until a few months later and my full draft was going to be done by that point so it was signed off for entering write-up. My full draft was done in december (written in 5 months), write-up granted in february and actual submission was 1st April on a part-time basis so on a full time basis a thesis could be written in just a few months. Maybe worth checking your uni regs for the write-up phase specifications.

Some years ago (14 ish) I went to interview for a funded PhD at Kings College. I was telephoned before I had even got home to be offered the post.  On further reflection of the research detail given at interview, compounded by a health issue that could be exacerbated by the work, I turned the offer down. I was absolutely gutted, but it was the best decision for me at the time. So in this case the 2nd ranked candidate would have been offered the PhD place instead.  I did go on to self-fund my own part-time research 8 years later and have just passed my viva in a completely unrelated area.

I don't think there is a best or easy referencing system, they are all fairly frustrating in their own way! I haven't used endnote (couldn't get on with it) and have used refworks. This was the software available through work and also uni. I found it very tedious inputting data manually although importing from pubmed etc was a doddle once I worked through the help. It did give me Harvard output in word format so I could just select the relevant references and create essentially a word file for inclusion into my thesis document. It worked well for me!

Not used referencing section on word 2010, may have to look at that one myself. Would be interested to see any other comments on this.

Hey KB, do not worry about these typos and small errors. As Bilbo has said, they are very easily and quickly corrected post viva.  I actually did correct mine as I read through the thesis, just to save time post viva. The list of corrections that I made comprised of a table spanning about 2 A4 sides of paper which I had a copy for everyone in the viva.  However, my sup advised I kept hold of it until they mentioned typos etc - they never mentioned it and I didn't divulge!! Obviously, they were all corrected for the final submitted thesis post viva.

What is more important is the quality of the content and this is what you should have confidence in.  Your examiners would be aiming their questions at your methodology and interpretation of your findings. If they are only discussing your typos and that is all they have noticed, well they must be pretty happy with the content lol. In an ideal world we would have no errors in our thesis but even after a thesis is dusted off the shelf there will be more to find.  Keep your focus on your methods, findings and justifications but note the errors as you go along ;-)

Have a virtual cake to keep you going (mince)

Hey well done KB! I was wondering how you were getting on today and am so pleased for you (Have you told your sup yet, bet you will be pleased to do so!!). Now on with the viva prep (up)

When I started my PhD I had no children and was working full-time. My supervisors were very supportive of my growing family combined with part-time study. I didn't switch but did continue to do my PhD part-time and with three babies (under 2/12) from the 3 year point of my 6 year PhD. I was self-funded and therefore had limited childcare of one afternoon a week as it cost loads for three babies. I used that 5 hour afternoon coupled with working evenings once the babies were in bed at 7pm. I expect I was working 15-20 hours a week which had to be regimented to achieve this. If I had the option to do my PhD on a full-time basis with funding to cover say three days a week childcare I would have jumped at the chance. As long as you have a few days of childcare to give you the quiet time/lab time/field work time etc it should be feasible if you top this up with some extra hours in the evening or weekend. With children I think you need to be productive as soon as you get the time to work. If you have just started (with or without children) it is overwhelming and seems to be a mountain of work to do. Things do settle down once you know which direction you are taking the project.

If you at all worried, speak with your supervisor about your options.

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Haha, Sneaks you do make me laugh!! 34 weeks would look likely to pop any minute in my experience (40 weeks is full term assuming only one is in there, 34-36 weeks for two or more!!). Definitely no chance of hiding it :p

I think you would find a very limited supply of maternity suits available, Next directory maybe. I know that I wouldn't have fitted into one with my twin pregnancy as I was full term size at 28 weeks and the size of a house at 34 weeks. As for shoes, well I couldn't reach my feet so no chance of fancy shoes unless they were slip on :$

Sounds like you have the perfect outfit in mind (up)

I wore a skirt suit as it was made known at our viva training that this formality was expected. However, I think that there are exceptions to this rule for medical/comfort/feasibility reasons.

Thinking about my maternity wardrobe which was very casual, there were a couple of items that were smart casual. Have you a pair of smartish maternity trousers such as a summer linen pair that you could add a nice top or a summer maternity dress with a cardi? These can be dressed up with a smart handbag, document case and shoes (slip-on sandals if your feet were like mine lol). I think at your stage it is important for you to be comfortable, not too constricted or too hot. I wouldn't suggest jeans for such a formality (I had a lot of these and combats lol) but smart casual would be perfectly acceptable. I think the examiners might be more concerned of you going into labour in the middle of your viva than your attire!!!

Good luck on thursday (up)

Mmmmm, not sure how long it should take but my final corrected thesis was submitted in last monday (25th July) and I have not heard a thing! I guess the staff will be on summer leave so whether they get the whole summer or just bits of it may have a huge influence on timings. So it seems we are in the same situation!

Fabulous news, well done KB! It will be a mad week for you but at least it is fresh in your mind and will be over very soon. Good luck with the interview and viva (up)

Thanks Bilbo, nice to have some clarification on this part as the uni regs don't appear to cover it specifically! I assumed the examiner would be liaising with me if the corrections do not satisfy the requirements. Hopefully, I will hear some good news on the corrections soon!

Ady, I had to wait til the end for the decision. They did tell me that they were impressed with my thesis at the beginning but I didn't take that as a pass! I went out of my viva for about 30 mins with my supervisor and had a quick comfort break and debrief while waiting. My uni sup was present during the viva, though not my external sup who was working clinically on the day.

Love to hear how this compares to Corinne! Do people hear straight away?