I should probably add, although I don't have to justify the opinions we are giving you FOR FREE, that I happen to know Mackem_Beefy has a large number of publications under their belt, and I work in medical communications, so we do know what we're talking about.

You know what? At this point, to all intents and purposes, your supervisor IS your God. They can make or break your career and it would be pretty stupid to throw a hissy fit and 'remove permission' for your work to be published. By all means discuss it calmly with your supervisor and perhaps a compromise could be reached, but if I were you I'd be very careful about the approach I took.

Also, it is generally understood that the first author is the person who actually wrote the paper. By implication, they are often the person who did most of the work, as they understand it the best and therefore wrote the bulk of it, but not necessarily. The last name is the person who was officially in charge of the work (ie. your supervisor), and the people in the middle are those who contributed. Many journals now actually require you to list who did what in the production of the paper to ensure everyone listed actually did enough to be considered an 'author'. Additionally, having a first author paper in a low impact is not necessarily better than a co-author on a high impact - for example being a co-author on a Nature paper would far out-rank being a first author almost anywhere else, so it would be worth giving this some thought - obviously this will depend on the specific journals you're talking about.

Finally, your attitude speaks volumes about you - Mackem_Beefy is a highly respected poster on this forum who took the time to answer your question, so in future I'd give a bit more thought to how you respond.

Wow, PsychBrainiac - you sound so much like me it's scary!!! I am also a complete perfectionist, and without definite 'grades' to aim for, I often found myself struggling throughout my PhD. Having said that, my biggest problem is not actually perfectionism, but lack of self confidence. Therefore I am constantly doubting myself and feel that I can never hand in any work that is short of perfection, because I am convinced that my supervisors will hate it anyway, so imagine how they'd react to work that I felt wasn't the best I could do...!!

My supervisors have never actually been negative about my work - it's just that they've never been particualrly positive either. Getting an 'ok' from my main supervisor is considered high praise indeed, so I find it hard to gauge what standard my work is at. I had a paper published towards the end of my PhD, and even that didn't make me feel more confident about my work, as the reviewers made some very harsh comments and I always felt that getting it published was some sort of fluke!

Anyway, the point of all this is that you're not alone in having these feelings. I was also isolated from other students during my PhD which didn't help. I found that taking time out to get some perspective occasionally was really helpful - DO NOT feel guilty for having a week off here and there! Everyone needs a break, and it is a good chance to think through all the things you have achieved so far in your PhD and get things organised in your mind. I'm not saying you should spend the entire break thinking about work, but somehow having time away lets you relax and see things more clearly.

To be honest, I'm not sure if it's something that you will be able to conquer completely; for me I feel it is just part of my personality and I'm kind of stuck with it! In fact, I have used it to my advantage and now work in medical communications, where perfectionism is actively encouraged ;-) I think the most important thing, and something which you learn over time, is to decide when you are being a perfectionist for good reason, and when you are picking over something unecessarily and just driving yourself mad. This is something which I think just comes with time, and took me nearly the whole 3.5 years of my PhD to learn, but now I know when to just let something go as it is, and when to be really picky and ensure it is perfect.

Not sure if this mega post has helped in anyway, but wanted to let you know you're not the only one that suffers from this!!

======= Date Modified 19 Apr 2012 15:40:06 =======
I know this totally doesn't answer your question, but could you see if your uni runs any courses that relate to this sort of thing? For example, my uni ran a course on time management which I attended in my first year and I actually found it really helpful (I thought it would be a load of c**p!).

As for the books, sorry I can't help you there! I tend to google for things like this as there are a lot of useful blogs etc out there that can help, particularly with motivation!! And of course this site has been a great support to me over the last four years. ;-)

In addition to my previous comments, I have just had a quick look at my students handbook from the research council that funded me (BBSRC), and they state that I cannot work for more than 6 hours a week OR one full day a week of teaching. As I said before, I did a bit more than this occasionally, but the average hours over say a year were much less than this, and I didn't work at all in my final year as I was too busy writing up.

Fantastic news, congratulations! Ironically, after my previous comments I fear I am now going to be in the same position - my viva was on Monday and sounds very similar to yours (i.e. very short, a few minor corrections mentioned, examiners kept copies of thesis). They told me they would get back to me in the next day or so as they had the list of corrections already done. So far I have heard absolutely nothing from anybody! I know it's only been a few days but they assured me I would be completely done in a week or so and I just get the feeling that this is going to turn into a similar tale to yours.... In fact, I am more convinced than ever that we are/were at the same uni ;-)

I worked on and off during my (fully-funded) PhD doing a bit of teaching. It wasn't regular hours though, just the odd day here and there. I did tell my superviosrs when I first took the job, but I'm pretty sure they forgot all about it and I just didn't tell them when I was working. At times I was doing 16 or so hours a week, at other times none for a few months. I can't imagine you would get kicked out for it, the absolute worse that could happen would be that they ask you to quit the job. As long as it doesn't have a negative impact on your PhD I'm sure you would be fine. In fact, my uni actively enourage students to take up some demonstrating work etc as it adds to your experience as a student and looks good on the CV! The job I took specifically asked for current PhD students and they regularly hired people from my uni, so obviously none of these students had a problem with working alongside their studies.

I had my viva this week so I am living proof you can survive it!!

I felt exactly the same as you beforehand - utterly convinced my thesis was rubbish, I would definitely fail, and that my supervisors had let me submit a terrible thesis! I tried lots of methods to keep me calm, but the only thing that really helped was doing ridiculous amounts of preparation so that I knew my thesis inside out, had read all of the important literature, and was up to date with stuff that had been published since I submitted. I also tried to visualise myself coming out of the viva having passed, in an attempt to make myself project an image of confidence even if I didn't feel it.

You have to remember that no supervisor would let you submit a thesis that they didn't believe in. Also, if you go into the viva only feeling panic, you won't do yourself justice, so you need to try your best to stay calm so that you can show yourself and your thesis off to the best of youe ability. The viva, believe it or not, is not meant to be some horrific ordeal, but a chance for you to discuss your work with some experts and help them to understand it better.

Deep breaths, and best of luck!!!

PS. forgot to say, I passed with minor corrections so I was way off the mark with all my negative thoughts about my thesis, and I'm sure you are too!

======= Date Modified 17 Apr 2012 15:59:19 =======
This could have been me writing this post last week, as I felt exactly how you feel. I, like you, never thought I'd get to the viva stage. Throughout my PhD, I have been utterly convinced that I would eventually be found out for being rubbish, and would not be allowed to continue. During my write-up, my supervisors commented on specific edits they thought I should make, but never told me whether they thought my work was up to standard/correct length/good enough for thesis etc, so I felt a bit lost and didn't have much faith in my thesis when I submitted. People kept telling me that if I was allowed to submit then it must be of a good enough standard, as my supervisor is a well-respected prof who would not let a terrible thesis be sent out, but I still didn't have any confidence in my work.
So, as my viva date approached I worked my a**e off to make sure I knew my thesis, my references, and any newly published work inside out, as I felt that this was the only chance I had of not failing my PhD entirely. I felt sick with nerves for the entire week before my viva, and on the actual day I thought I would either pass out or explode from the built-up tension and anxiety. But once I was in there and the questions started, I realised that actually I do know what I'm talking about after all, and all the 'catastrophic' errors that I had spotted since submission were never even mentioned! The examiners made some nice comments about my work, and an hour later it was all over and I now have my PhD.
My viva was only yesterday so I'm still on cloud 9, but I already have more confidence in my work and in my abilities.
This has turned into a mammoth post, but I just wanted to show that no matter how you actually feel, your work IS good enough, YOU are good enough, and all you have to do in the viva is remain calm enough to show that. I tried visualising myself being congratulated after my viva, to try and gather some 'false' confidence, so that I looked calm and collected even though I didn't feel it! Breathing exercises can also help (get on Google!), and I found sipping lots of water during the viva itself helped to keep my brain focused as it gave me the opportunity to take a moment and breathe! ;-)
Best of luck, and remember, the viva is only two or three hours out of your entire life, and then you can enjoy life as a Dr!! I had built it up in my head to be the most horrific thing I could imagine, when instead I should have been focusing on how to show off my thesis to the best of my ability (this is how my examiner described the viva to me when I first walked in, and it really struck a chord). So keep calm, and make sure you do yourself justice!

Thanks everyone! Yes I was definitely over-prepared, but if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't do any less work, as feeling prepared did help to calm my nerves a little bit in the week or so running up to the viva. And I did manage to mention some obscure facts I had picked up from the all the reading around the subject that I did, which I think earned me a couple of brownie points!

Should have mentioned in my first post that there were a couple of questions I couldn't answer - once I tried to fudge my way through it and another time I was just honest and said I didn't know, and then the examiner guided me towards an answer. So it wasn't a total breeze as I may have implied!! But it was definitely a lot less scary than I had built it up to be in my head.

Felt very weird this morning waking up and knowing that for the first time in about a year I didn't have to think about my thesis :-)

I would like to join please!!
PhD started 2008
Thesis submitted end of Feb 2012
Viva passed today!!! (subject to very minor corrections)

======= Date Modified 17 Apr 2012 10:04:13 =======
Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that I passed with minor corrections today! I want to say a massive MASSIVE thank you to everyone who contributes to this forum - you have no idea how much this forum has helped me over the last couple of weeks!

So, on to my viva story. When I woke up this morning, I was more nervous than I have ever been in my life! I went to see my supervisors before my viva, and they were pretty relaxed, which made me feel a bit better. We had a brief chat, and then I went off to sit on my own and read my notes for an hour or so.

As soon as the viva started, the examiners told me they found the thesis to be well-written and had a good structure, which I think might have been their way of telling me that the corrections they had in mind weren't major. They then launched straight into the middle of my thesis, with no introductory questions about the topic in general, which threw me a bit! But most of the questions were very general, and only occasionally did they ask something quite specific. Even then, it felt more like a chat than a grilling, and at times they even said they didn't expect me to know the answer, they were just wondering if it was something I had considered. They did ask me about what I might do in future if I had more time to work on my research, but by that point they had already told me the 'exam' part was over, so it didn't matter what I said!

The viva only lasted just over an hour (a record in my department apparently so I felt very lucky!), and then they sent me outside to wait. I was only there for about 2 mins before they called me back in for the results - they even apologised for making me wait, and were sorry if it made me more nervous! After telling me the results, they asked if I had enjoyed it - I had to be honest and said no, but that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. And then that was it, all over! I think I was very lucky with my choice of examiners - they were both very laid back. My external hasn't done many vivas before, so that may be why mine ended up quite so short!!

In terms of preparation, it turns out I did way too much, as they never asked me about any of the things I thought they would. I spent hours learning equations and checking my stats, but they never came up. I did a lot of reading of new literature, which was quite useful as I managed to bring one paper into an answer, and one of the examiners mentioned another. I had read my thesis 2-3 times which obviously helped, but they totally ignored one of my results chapters!


In summary, although I know I was lucky and not everyone has such an easy ride, I would say to try and relax - it probably won't be as bad as you imagine!!! I was convinced before I went in that I would get an R&R. I'm very relieved it's all over and I'm off to celebrate with a takeaway and a LARGE glass of wine! ,-)

======= Date Modified 13 Apr 2012 16:02:44 =======
Personally I'd go for somewhere in the middle! My PhD was a July start and I was working til the week before, so I did no preparation whatsoever, even though my PhD was in a subject area I'd never studied before! In hindsight, I wish I'd made a start in the few weeks before, just reading some of the most important papers, and some of my supervisor's most recent work.
On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't do loads of work - you've got the next four years to do that! Just a small bit of preparation will help you to feel settled more quickly once you start. The first month will be filled with reading papers, so a bit of a head start won't do you any harm. So I would say go and enjoy the summer, and use the last few weeks to do a bit of gentle reading.

Glad you got it all sorted in the end! Your uni sounds much like mine (perhaps it is the same one?!) - they do their best to make every administrative step as stressful and difficult as possible, just for the fun of it! Think they secretly enjoy torturing all the anxious PhD students ;-)

Hi Dalmation,

Just wanted to add my support and say good luck for next week - my viva is next week too so I know what you're going through right now!! Have to say though, it sounds like my journey to get here has been much easier than yours. So well done on making it this far, and as your title says - almost there!!! :-)