======= Date Modified 13 18 2009 13:18:15 =======
So I have finally submitted my thesis - which due to a job I have had to rush - and looking back on it, I am hating it. Truth be told, I spent a long time writing it and while I used to be fairly happy with it as a whole, I am growing to hate it. It just looks like a rather weak piece of work that can be easily challenged thereby making all of my research useless and, well, crap. Although, funnily, everyone else seems to think I did an 'excellent' job.

In addition to that, little things keep popping up that frustrate and worry me even more. For instance, take the introduction - which now appears increasingly worrying. And to think that a month ago I thought it was solid and well written. In doing my literature review, I have lifted sentences here and there from review papers and while I tried to reference all wherever possible, I feel I should have rephrased everything. Don't get me wrong, most of it is my wording, but some sentences/lines aren't. Doesn't everyone copy some stuff in their Lit Review from various sources?

I also lifted a small section from a report written by an undergrad student I supervised - work we did, however, do together and I did edit and help write his report so it is my own work. How does everyone else go about using work done by undergrads?

I mean, I am probably being too hard on myself, but I am entirely worried that all these small things will be exposed during my viva and my hard 3 years of work will be exposed due to me being a fraud. I suppose going back to a thesis after you've submitted it magnifies things that otherwise wouldn't stand out, but still.

Has anybody else felt this way after submitting their thesis? Is it a common feeling or are people generally content with their theses? Or am I just being too hard on myself and overly paranoid.

unfortunately I can't be much help, but what I can suggest is to look at the positives. It shows that you have the ability to critique your own work, and perhaps your knowledge is also constantly increasing, thus making your older work look bad. I know it's not even close to a direct comparison, but looking back at work I did a year ago, or even a few months ago to an extent it just looks awful. Even if I received good marks / feedback for it!

Yes I have felt this way. I did my BSc. in a foreign language so writing my 1st thesis in my native language meant translations, plagiarism never even occured to me (!) although I knew about it. Yes I did cut and paste. Sometimes I twisted and turned-other people's words. The worst came during my 2nd master thesis, the examiner had copied out a few sentences, did Google search on them--and the papers TURNED UP (I was CAUGHT!), all this I did while not being aware although years ago I knew about plagiarism (!!!). Thankfully the whole thesis wasn't written like that and I passed the viva.

But I felt so bad and so bad, I couldn't look at my thesis for some time (to make the ammendments). I used every ounce of willpower I had left and did the changes in two days, re-printed, re-submitted and now I have the 2nd masters degree.

This time for my phd thesis, I will be more careful. You'll get over it.

======= Date Modified 13 May 2009 09:10:52 =======
======= Date Modified 13 May 2009 09:05:38 =======
Ref OP:

There is no question of being overly paranoid. This is an "extremely" serious issue. It is taken very seriously, as far as I have seen and not plagiarising is the basic rule of academic practice. You raise two issues in your post which are real, clear problems and you need to think very carefully, for this is not a simple matter.

1. First, if you 'lifted' a para from a collaborative piece of work with another person, and did not cite this, it is absolutely plagiarism. It is not done! I could not imagine someone lifting a para from something written with me and not citing it (i.e. implying that this para was their own effort). So unless I am getting you wrong, this is a problem..

2. Second, when you say you should have rephrased, did you pass off sentences/thoughts as your own? If you copied pasted as "quotes" then that's fine, but have you passed off others' writing as your own?

Again, excuse me if i am wrong, but if it's these two above, it's considered unethical in the academy and absolutely constitutes plagiarism. It is better for you to consider if you have done these things and then work out ways in which to potentially address it.

======= Date Modified 13 May 2009 14:37:09 =======
OK, I feel I should elaborate, as after re-reading my initial post now it all sounds much worse than it actually is.

The odd sentence in the otherwise long intro is never more than a line long, and is referenced, although not put in quotes. I am more worried if I forgot to reference one or two of them, which are usually no more than a simple statement or a short statement on a scientific process.

Second, the "report" I mentioned was my own work (experiments) that just so happened an undergrad ended up helping with. It was always going to end up in my thesis as this is how it was designed and intended to and my supervisor knows this fully. I also helped the undergrad write a report on it and I just naturally used some of that material.

All this in a 300 page thesis which is rather solid. I am a perfectionist so the 5 or 10 "cut and pasted" sentences that are not my own wording stand out a lot more.

I mean, how does everyone write a scientific introduction to a thesis? Isn't the whole point of a literature review to mention and reference other work?

first of all - DON'T PANIC! it is perfectly normal to feel like a fraud after handing a piece of work in, especially one to which you have dedicated so much time. stop re-reading it - it will only make you feel worse! now it is submitted, you should give yourself a bit of time away from your thesis, and come back to it with fresh eyes when you begin your viva preparation. you should congratulate yourself for getting the thing done, and give yourself a break!

secondly, regarding the plagiarism issue - DON'T PANIC! everyone ends up using very small sentences/parts of sentences that are very similar if not the same as other people's work. it boils down to the fact that there are only so many ways to say something, so you are bound to end up 'copying' someone else at some point! as long as these are only tiny parts of your intro, and are referenced, then this will not be an issue. the examiners will understand that it is impossible to paraphrase absolutely everything. our uni puts the electronic version of a thesis through a computer program that picks up plagiarism - it compares the work to all sources of papers, books, previous theses etc, and comes up with a percentage score of copied work. they expect a small percentage of your thesis to be a match to other work as this cannot always be avoided, and of course may have occured by chance.

so unless you have literally copied and pasted huge chunks of your thesis (which it sounds like you haven't!) then you have nothing to worry about, and you are certainly not a fraud. my advice is not to be so hard on yourself, and good luck with your viva (up)

======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 20:16:20 =======
======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 20:14:31 =======
wow you sound like me! i too feel like a total fraud!! my supervisor hated my thesis and didnt want me to submit it (but i had to, cause of the deadline) but im more worried about defending my work during my viva, i feel like i wont be able to, i'll be all muddled up and forget or not know what to say !

i am hating those dreaded viva questions that come up, like what are the weaknesses of your methods, i keep racking my brain to think of some and just go blank. and then the question of "what would you do next " still need to find a good answer for that!

i know what you mean that its hard to rewrite things, there are only so many ways you can say something. i'm sure it will be fine. if they find out, they will just tell you to correct it.
a friend of mine got told off for plagerising at his viva, and he had to correct it.

dont focus on that. just focus on understanding your thesis.

and alot of stuff will be lifted, not word for word, even if you have done it word for word, as long as you not shown that its YOUR idea , you will be fine.

but yah totally normal feeling. i think my thesis is complete crap! and i am just imagining that my viva is gonna be hell on earth. :$ i have a feeling my supervisor doesnt even want to organise examiners for me, to waste their time, cause he is already thinking im gonna fail! :$ so in the meantime, just trying my best reading papers and doing as much background reading as i can. i have to start on making answers for viva questions though, which i've been avoiding, and have been avoiding reading my thesis. i read it once after submitting, but only after i took a couple of months break after i submitted.
but i am planning on reading it again as its been a few months since i read it last!

do you know when your viva is? i have no clue when my viva is

ps smoobles advice was so reassuring :) :) (up) i really liked their reply.