Maybe some of you have seen this but if not, it's a good coffee break read, particularly the comments about why supervisors can be so darn picky!!

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=410208

Oooh looks interesting - I'm going to make myself a cup of tea right now and read it! :-)

That's great Ady, thank you. Just off to the library, must do more reading...

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Strange as it may seem, I wish my supervisors had shown at least some evidence of being picky as it would give me confidence that they had read my work. I want to see the back of my PhD but am submitting it with a heavy heart because I've no real evidence to suggest it's any good. By being picky, supervisors are showing that they care (even if it's only for the sake of protecting their own career).

I actually thought of you Delta when I wrote that! However, you could self-assess your thesis under Brabazon's 1-10 reasons for failure and see how you think your thesis stacks up. Her reasons might help...

Ady, great minds really do think alike as I was thinking of me when I read that! It's difficult to say but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for that Ady, really helpful! And good luck Delta!

oh Delta, I think we are two peas in a pod :p. I yearn for some kind of validation, just a small "I think this is a good piece of work" would make me feel better. But everything my sup says is tinged, by my awareness that she has not read any of it/in enough depth. :-s

Thanks Skig, there's not much more I can do and so I'm going to submit soon and just hope for the best.

Sneaks, whatever you are going through I'm going through it with you!!!

hey guys, although my stuff has been read with a fine tooth comb :$ it has been picked apart so much that I doubt any of it is any good. Plus I spotted a typo in the title yesterday, I just couldn't believe it. Can you imagine submitting with a typo in the title - talk about creating a good first impression, not:$

Sneaks, Delta and Ady, I honestly think that your sups wouldn't let you submit if they thought it wasn't worth it...

Oooh. Thanks so much. .. I read this one before my thesis submission but nice re-read as after the viva and all, these things make lot more sense now.

>>Then there are the “let’s talk about something important – let’s talk about me” examiners. Their first task is to look for themselves in the bibliography, and they are not too interested in the research if there is no reference to their early sorties with Louis Althusser in Economy and Society from the 1970s.<<

I recall during my viva, my external on some pretext actually said something to the effect of, "I was looking somewhere in the thesis just to see if I was listed there" (While looking through related work basically. . .).