Dear all,

As I have posted before. I have to revise and resubmit my thesis in 12 months time. There is a possibility I will have a second viva. but it is not certain yet. :-(

I will race time to have corrections done in less than 12 months though, because the examiners say that this is possible.

So, in a week's time I will hopefully receive the examiners reports and I can start working on corrections.

Question: Will the examiners follow the progress of my corrections, officially or unofficially, before I hand in the resubmitted thesis for re-examination? I am sure that my supervisor will be checking my progress but what about the examiners? At least the internal, who is handier?

Dear Marasp,

Sorry to hear about the outcome. But don't worry about it. You can still make it. Meanwhile, normally it is the internal who handles the corrections (for minor) but for re-submission, I am assuming both will probably examine them (the re-submitted thesis). Also, it is upto the examiners whether or not they will work with you but if they want to be formal, they will probably force you to work and finish it all up and only make a decision when you submit. So, it is better to ensure you work with your sup on the corrections (in that case at least). Please examine the University rules and forms on this topic as they are the key to what will actually happen. Also, remember it may take you quite some getting used to, as rules can at times be subjective (at least from what I have seen in Scotland).

Anyways, best of luck. Don't worry about the outcome now. You still have a very good chance if you focus on all their wishes!

Hope this helps

Hi Marasp when i originally handed in my thesis i was given a "revise and resubmit." I looked upon it as an extension. The examiners didnt follow my progress, they gave me a list of corrections to follow and left me to it. My supervisor did check on my progress from time to time. I submitted after 12 months and both the internal and external looked at them. I then got minor corrections. I will submit within the next two weeks, but it is now subject to internal examniners decision.

======= Date Modified 28 Nov 2011 11:49:50 =======
Thanks Cakeeater for your post. Good idea about considering this whole revise and resubmit process as an extension- definitely something I should think about. I spent some of this morning beating myself up over 'failing', but in the grander scheme of things, its not the end of the world and at least their given me a second chance (it could have been a lot worse!). Still making good productive progress, despite these small hiccups of insecurity and unhappiness.
;-)
It's very encouraging to see that people obtain minor corrections after a revise and resubmit verdict. Congratulations on reaching the very final stages:) (I can only hope I'll be in your shoes someday!)
(gift)

One more thing- make sure the admin person/supervisors (or whoever) sends you the examiner reports. The admin person forgot to send my examiner reports (she sent the official uni letter and invoice though!). I received my examiners report eventually after some chasing.

I handed my corrections in last week, and the internal is happy with them, so that's me finished . Marasp - you can still do this, if I can you can! Good luck :-)

======= Date Modified 10 Dec 2011 21:00:58 =======

Thank you Pineapple :-)

I would like to say a big thank you for your support. It's nearly a month after the viva and the 'revise and resubmit' result; Xmas is coming and I am in better spirits.

I spent a 20 day nightmare after the viva, in deep depression - but I do feel slightly better now. I have received the support of my man and my parents but also nasty comments from my MIL who always felt that my doing the PhD was completely pointless and that my job is washing up in the kitchen. Anyway... Small things for small minds.

What strikes me the most is that when one receives a 'revise and resubmit' the beholder always focuses on the negativeness of things - after all this hard work I have been doing for 4.5 years, nobody congratulated me on my efforts. We need encouragement - not pity.


I still haven't received the examiners report. I did a bit of chasing and it looks like I may have it soon. I only hope I don't receive it on Xmas Eve as a Xmas present.
(sprout)

In the attempt to chase the internal examiner for the reports I received an email by himself mentioning that I will receive a 'joint report' on the post, produced by both examiners 'with a detailed list of recommendations' (he calls them 'recommendations'), plus the thesis copy of the internal, who has probably made an effort to address some individual problems on the actual copy itself (typos, mistakes in my 'evidence', you call it). Judging from the last incident, I realise that the examiners have not abandoned me but rather they do wish to help somehow. At least I do not feel completely abandoned in the mercy of any superior creature up there. I have not heard back from my supervisor after the viva; but I know that we will meet up after I receive the reports so we address the issues (probably after Xmas).

I remind people that it is not certain I will have a second viva and that the external thinks that I will be probably done with the revisions before the time frame of 12 months (crossing fingers here). I still do not know what role the supervisor, the internal and external will play in these revisions but hey, I will do my best and I hope they do help a little bit too.

In the meanwhile, there are two major things that have crossed my mind: a) I need to make the most of this extra time as a PhD student and probably try to publish another paper before I resubmit. So far I have only published one paper (yes I know it is embarrassing) but also several book reviews and conference reports; I have also given plenty of public lectures on my topic - I need to keep advertising myself no matter what - a name is ever so important in academia, especially in humanities.

b) I have had some weird thoughts lately: can one take six months to a year off the PhD after a viva and a 'revise and resubmit' outcome? I wonder if I should take some time off the doctorate and concentrate on my family issues instead... (and these are many). Problem is that it may be difficult to get back to it after that time off - maybe it's better to get on with it asap. That's why the last is a bit iffy to my mind for now. I will see what the report says and take it from there.

NB: By the way, I have found out that the best way of dealing with a revise and resubmit result is 'IGNORING WHAT PEOPLE (e.g. the other students, etc.) SAY AND WHAT OTHERS DO IN THE DEPARTMENT'. I mind my business and they should mind their own. After all I typed a whole thesis in a foreign language - this is by itself a colossal effort to me.

Sorry for the long report and thanks for reading. Sending you Season Greetings!
(tree)

Dear Pineapple29,

I read your reply to Marasp:

"....They mentioned something about a meeting after I've resubmitted, but not another viva (hope they haven't changed their minds!)"

And I'd like to learn from your experience. Did you have a second viva? In my case the examiners asked to revise and resubmit and they said no viva will be necessary. They sounded angry.

Also, at my university I had 2 external examiners and an internal chair and my revision process is done without any advice from examiners but only from my supervisor. I felt the external examiners strongly rejected my thesis because I applied a theory modified by the examiners' enemy.