Hi Sally.

I used an Olympus LS-10 linear PCM recorder for my research because that was what was available to me through my department.

If I were buying one for myself for my fieldwork now, I'd probably get one of the Zoom recorders - they're easy to use and have really good sound quality. The Q3 also has an HD camera as well as being a really high quality recording device just for audio if you want. But if you don't want video, then all of the Zooms are really good sound quality, really durable and designed for fieldwork type activities. (source: my husband works with qualitative research and music. He uses a Zoom)

It's worth doing a bit of research and working out what functions you really want. There are also lots of comparable cheaper ones on the market now too.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks for letting me know, DrJeckyll. I know both of my examiners (I've got 2 externals), and their work perfectly intersects my research, but both in slightly different ways, so i feel relatively confident that they will both have something interesting to contribute (but also worried I'll get grilled on something that I'm not sure about).

I will definitely let you all know how I go. Thanks again. g

Dr Jeckyll - I'm so sorry to hear about your bad experience - what was the result of your viva, if you don't mind me asking?

DocInsanity and AOE26 - thanks for the tips. I'm definitely trying to look at the whole thing from a positive perspective. (and I kind of want to just get it over and done with now, whatever the outcome!)

Not long to go now! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to reply and tell me your stories.
Thank you!

Thanks so much CR1980. That's really helpful. I have been preparing answers to as many of the typical questions that I've found in books and on the Internet. I think it's a great idea to make more structured notes for those that I can read through leading up to going in.

Thanks for the advice =D

I've really enjoyed being a part of this forum over the past year or so. I have my viva a week today. I searched the forum for threads about this, but most of the results I found are not that recent, so I wondered if you all had any specific tips/advice on how to prepare.

I've been going through my thesis, marking the starts of chapters and any sections that I feel I may get asked about. Should I take anything apart from my thesis with me on the day, such as copies of key papers that I may need to refer to? I don't know if that will be any help at all.

I'm worried about being asked a 'killer' question on the day, or my emotions getting the better of me. I know it should be an opportunity for a conversation between myself and my examiners, but it's also quite an intimidating experience. My supervisors say that I have nothing to worry about, and I range from feeling really well prepared and able to take on whatever they throw at me to feeling really anxious and stressed! I know this is probably all 'normal', but any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ever so much in advance
g

Hi Tulip

When I sent my entire thesis to my supervisors, I sent a folder containing the individual chapters as word files.

Could you maybe try that? Hope it helps. g

In addition to what Barramack has said, I got advised to check, check, check and check again my Table of Contents, both for typos and to ensure that the formatting and page numbers are correct, uniform, and how I wanted it. I was told that there's nothing more annoying for an examiner than reading the first page and spotting mistakes. They also have to keep going back to that to find where they want to read from, so they may see it over and over again.

Good luck!

Oh Wow!!! Good on you for standing your ground. I'm sure we'll all be rooting for you today.

And when you get chance to take a breath, let us know how it went.

Good luck!

Any update for us, Ellebelle? Thinking of you :o)

Hazy Jane has made some really good points. The one that really sticks out to me though is that your co-supe should not be able to block your submission. There are even cases where students submit without any supervisor's agreement at all (not advisable of course, but it can and does happen).

You've had the comments back from your main supe. I really think that he/she should be supporting you in submitting on time and giving you the go ahead. Do you need both of their signatures to submit? I only needed one on my submission form. This is the most important thing at the moment, never mind anything else....

I would still send that email, just in case the supervisors try to join ranks - even trusted people can sometimes surprise you. You need to make sure you have evidence independently if at all possible.

I also think that although you 'offered to make arrangements to submit late', you also need to make it clear that he has given you no indication that that would be necessary and has made it seem that you would get your feedback in a timely fashion (which is his responsibility) - as demonstrated by him always saying 'by next Wednesday at the absolute latest' over and over. Your kind of offer to submit late doesn't really have any impact on the situation because, as far as you were aware, you'd been assured that you'd get your feedback and that wouldn't be necessary.

You're being messed around here and from all the info you've given, for what it's worth I personally think that you need to stand your ground. This isn't your fault! (And as you say, he's given feedback to another student too!)

Again: good luck! And keep us posted if you can.

Congratulations! That's amazing news! and reassuring to hear. I've just heard that my viva date is confirmed for 28 September, so 6 weeks exactly. I've got a very busy 3 weeks with a trip away and a conference, so will only have 3 weeks to prepare. I hope that's enough......

This is really unfair on you. Do you have a written (i.e. emailed) record of communication regarding his delay in feeding back? Make sure you have something, even if you just send him an email detailing your concerns and the time frame that you've been working with. IF he doesn't get back to you and still won't allow you to submit, at least then you've got evidence that it's not your fault.

So sorry to hear you're going through this. Good luck!

Have emailed to my hubby who is prof musician. Good luck!