Well done Pink!

Have a great party!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just saw this, well done Walminksi!!

!Congratulations!!!!!!8-)(up)(sprout)(robin):-)

Hi Hypothesis,

do not worry, you will do fine. Remember you have done all the work already, you know your thesis better than anyone else.

My viva experience was actually good, quite enjoyable, it is pleasant if people are interested in your work and it nice to show how much you actually know!

Good luck!

Rick
(up)

Thanks Sacha,

Kind regards,

Rick

Hi moderators,

just seen your "Abuse" botton.

So how many people need to indicate a posting as abuse for it to be taken off?

Kind regards,

Rick

Dear moderators,

this forum has a star system to show appreciation for quality postings. Would it be feasible to have a yellow card / red card system for abusive postings?

I would like to suggest that if members feel that a post is offensive they could give a yellow card. If a certain amount of yellow cards is given the posting should be removed (= a red card).

On this forum the vast majority of posters seem to provide very helpful and decent advice and I think that it is great that this encouraged (as per stars). I think it would only be fair if members had to possibility to get rid of the offensive posts and in that way the forum would remain, in my opinion, of high quality.

Hi Sandian,

looking at your subject doing focus groups may be good alternative. I think in individual interviews it is hard for people to think of "experiences of community life" on the spot and it may well be, as you indicate, that the information that comes forward is limited. A focus group, especially if it would be held at a community centre, could be seen a pleasant social event. Participants may recognise things said by others and this may spark new ideas. I think this interaction can be very fruitful to obtain a wide range of themes. Obviously there are also disadvantages of focus groups, it requires quite bit of skill of the moderator to keep the conversation running, there may be confidentiality issues and some people may not feel free to speak openly. Also they may be hard to organise. However, often they do provide a lot of useful information. Good luck.:-)

Dear all,

I have passed my viva! Very happy!

Things were actually quite doable, perhaps as I had plenty of time to prepare. Some questions were related to the thesis, others were more common sense / to do with lateral thinking. The whole thing was over before I realised it, quite a good experience.

Although I was well prepared, I felt quite nervous, and perhaps this was what most hindered me. When talking and thinking plenty of things went through my head, yet I found it difficult to express myself in a completely sovereign way. But as said passed and happy it is done.

As reward I have arranged a little holiday which will start today!8-)

Plenty of time Wally, or exactly the right amount to be well prepared.

Keep the forum informed regarding progress:-)

Hi Walminski,

I think that at the viva you must be able to show that you have written the thesis, in other words that you know the work inside out and that you have mastered your subject, by knowing more than what actually has been written down.

As such I think that the advice by Tinkler and Jackson to summarise your thesis page by page is very useful, as this really forces you to summarise every page in a few sentences, making that the thesis becomes more more to the joint and much quicker to read through it again and again.

One you have done this, I think it time to look at the likely potential questions, as Bilbo has indicated in the past, for example why have you done this project, what does it contribute to knowledge, explain your methodology etc. These would be questions you should be able to answer in your dreams. Then one starts to look at more lateral issues, which potentially could be asked, for example related to use of certain literature, why certain authors, why certain excluded etc.

It may help to have a scheme indicating the date of the viva and writing down the issues you have to do before that date. Good luck
:-)

Hi Natassia,

nice to hear from you again and well done regarding you MSc.

In my opinion it is "normal" that there is a lot of uncertainty and limited communication in the PhD process. Probably to do with that supervisors have a lot of other things on their mind, various priorities, supervison of several students etc. With time one get's more used to it, although I still believe that interaction between student and supervisor should be a lot tighter, especially at the start.

:-)

Fantastic AQ, good show!!

Very pleased for you, you have done very well.

Have a nice break, then those minor corrections and that is it. You are Dr AQ!:-):-)

Dear Sue,

congratulations!! Well done, everything seems to be coming together for you. I am very happy for you!

I am also nearly there, yet not completely, still need to do some work.



:-)

Hi Jojo,

well done, good that you have passed, even though the corrections may be somewhat disappointing. However, reading your story of the external you must have done a good job, it is always very difficult if someone (the external) has very fixed ideas one what should go in the thesis (his / her work).

Take a break and before you know you have completed everything. Have a celebration tonight!!:-):-)(gift)

Sorry, should be Elmizze.