I hadn't intended to scaremonger. Of course publications aren't required for a humanities PhD. But then, they don't hurt either as long as the thesis itself is up to scratch. Since the thesis is being evaluated.

hi Lilbopeep, I'm in the sciences and for us it might be different from the humanities as mentioned before. My supervisor has encouraged all this students to publish as many papers as possible, primarily as it's possible to submit a much much smaller thesis in the form of papers with a lit review and discussion chapter, and also getting postdocs in my field is ridiculously difficult. However, it's not a requirement to publish and so long as your thesis is of publishable standard and you can defend your work well you should be fine. Having 2 papers is great, I think I'll have 2/3 from mine so don't worry!

Thanks guys! I'm assuming the examiners look for a number of things from the thesis/viva - that the student displays knowledge of the area they are studying, the work is original, and it is a contribution to knowledge. If you have published from your thesis doesnt this mean that the thesis does cover these things? As I've mentioned this below, I know that papers are not essential criteria for passing a PhD, I know plenty of people who passed no problem without publishing, but I still think I need more work done to my own thesis and If the quality of my work is doubted by the examiners I intend to use this argument, but how many papers make it a good argument?

i think if you have a paper on your theoretical framework /normative framework/ literature review (whichever method you are using) and another on your findings (as in how you have applied your theory) you should be fine. alternatively one that covers both. my publications so far do not cover either. they are on the middle chapters. but the middle chapters do not quite form the basis of the argument. they just advance it. so i'd like to have 2 more, if i can and if time allows. at the moment am focusing on completing a decent thesis. as my supervisor is a bit distant at the moment i intend to use publishing and conference presentations as a means of getting feedback on my work before final submission in the next 3 months. fingers crossed!

Thanks for the comments and reassurance. My mind is now at rest!.
At the end of a long day, and now starting to write gobble-de-gook, I had better rest. There is no point getting exhausted as it is just not productive.

:-)

I passed with a big fat zero. As long as your work meets the criteria to be awarded a PhD, it makes no difference.