I just had my viva yesterday and the asked me to do some major corrections and then submit it again for another viva. they said the viva went on so well but the fact that the answers which i gave were supposed to be all written in my thesis, therefore i need to submit again for another viva
This happened also partly due to the poor supervision as well, but mainly it was the external examiner's approach to the topic is totally different from mine.
In addition, i have already had two articles published on chapters which was said to be problematic. I also have a few experienced people in the field read it before submission and all the feedback was positive. Iam so devastated.
They now gave me 6 months to work on that.
Should I give up or should I keep chasing it :(

Sorry to hear that, what a horrible thing to happen. It might not feel like it just now but it's a very good sign that your viva went well. This means that you understand what changes to make to the thesis and the next viva will go much better. Try not to look on it as a failure - there is more hard work ahead for you but you're a big step closer to a successful completion.

Hey...

I understand how you must be feeling. I felt the exact same way when I got the same result. But I wouldn't call it an outright fail - even though it is how you must be feeling right now.

Don't get me started on poor supervision/academic egos/competition/jealousy that play a huge role in all this, and unfortunately is pretty rife behind the scenes at universities and manifest themselves as this. And unfortunately there's not much can be done about it.

I can relate to your post, because I too had two published papers at my viva, and they picked holes out of them too. But I put my foot down saying peer reviewed work already published cannot be changed/ I won't be changing them because they are already in the public domain. And they backed off on the papers. Peer reviewed work is of higher calibre than two dinosaurs passing judgement over your work. Believe in yourself on this account. And let them know that you won't be changing anything on the paper front.

You've been given the opportunity to make your thesis better, definitely grab it with both hands. You never know, you might even be able to have your second viva waivered if they find your other corrections acceptable. That's what happened to me.

You've come so far! Don't back down now. I know this can be a difficult period, but more than a few of us here have been there. So you're in good company :). Keep positive, and if you need a rant, this place is pretty perfect. Good luck!! :)

You DID NOT fail your viva, nor you should consider yourself a failure. You are given a second chance to improve your work. You were asked to resubmit your thesis like I did. It is not as uncommon as you think. Sit down, do the job and resubmit. I am told I won't need a second viva and I am waiting to hear my result after my resubmission.

Hi Tuanito

I can identify with your feelings. I had my viva two weeks ago and was disappointed with the r & r outcome.

Well, I just got the viva report yesterday, and it doesn't look that bad actually. The examiners have helpfully pointed out the areas where I have to add/ improve.

I was given one year to do my corrections, so I'm going to start next week. I try to be positive about the whole thing, and I hope you can do the same too.

All the best !

I echo marasp's comments - major corrections is not a fail! Positive feedback doesn't mean that there can't be any improvements, so don't see this as a negative thing.

Tuanito, well done for keeping such a positive attitude. I can personally reassure you that it may all sound terrible now, but your resubmitted thesis will be much better than your current thesis. It's pretty straight forward: Just do the corrections they ask for - if you do them to the letter, then you will get your PhD. Also, why not take this extra time to improve your academic CV? Go to more conferences, publish more work, etc? It's not the end of the world... and you can do this!

hey everyone
thanks everyone for support. i was devatstated at the beginning but after all your comments I understand that he only way and the best way possibly to deal with this is to stand tall, work hard and keep believing. I believe the next one would be much better or at least it can give the external what she wanted. after reading her report, my supervisor said that the external looked at my work not from an examiner's viewpoint but the supervisor one which is wrong to examining a thesis. but well what is done is done, i will do as she suggested at some points to make sure that i will get it done next time

Universities have an ultimate say in official viva results as they are degree awarding bodies. Programme committee may look at examiners' report and determine that they agree with the examiners and ratify or may overturn the recommendation. Universities have their own regulations on exam which guides examiners when making recommendations. If the committee disagrees with examiners' recommendation, they will normally consult supervisors and internal examiner before making a decision. It is in their interest that candidates are treated fairly and achieve good outcome. On the other hand they have to balance this with respecting externals since they are supposed to be experts in the field and also in the interest of maintaining academic collegiality.

Another thing to consider may be an appeal or complaint if candidates feel strongly that regulations may have been violated or they can demonstrate that the result is not valid. Usually candidates would have supervisor's support to pursue such avenue.

Thirdly, one purpose of vivas is for the thesis and candidate to undergo rigorous academic scrutiny. Examiner's role is the same as that of a peer reviewer. They may reject the research on a number of grounds but where they see academic currency in terms of knowledge contribution, they will make suggestions for improvement or correction. Candidates should therefore be able to expect guidance to help them achieve successful resubmission and re examination.

If the published papers are in highly respected journals, you would rightly feel proud and question the legitimacy of the external's judgement. It may well be that the external are stuck in their own ideology or fall behind knowledge advancement. But these things happen. Beyond the PhD, you will come to learn to deal with such situations where you feel unfairly judgded when youve put so much effort into he work. Some successes are partly associated with whether the person plays the right card at the right time in the right place. Those of us who aren't lucky will feel frustrated. But I would encourage you to stay positive, persevere and maintain your integrity.

I got majors amends in May..... As I understand it minors means 3 months to resubmit and majors gets six months like you so it just gives you more time. It is not a fail. Take a deep breath, pull your finger out and write a list of what you need to do.... And then get on with it. I resubmitted informally to my internal in July. Just heard back this week that amends are fine, but for one minor thing so I will be resubmitting next week. You can do this! My work feels better for it and having come so far you can't give up now.

I am waiting for my VIVA and I approached an external examiner from my university for suggestion. He told me that while conducting a VIVA, a PhD student was adamant that he (the external examiner) should only ask questions relating to his thesis and not general questions. This might prevent the examiners asking a PhD student to add the general verbal discussion in his/her thesis. This is something for everyone to ponder about and keep in mind.

hi taka, I don't understand this part that you "failed"? Is that why you have to have another viva then. Please don't lose heart, please continue.

Let me share with you the worst viva I had. It was my masters viva. I really thought I was going to fail because the examiner asked me things I did not know, to be honest they were medical questions. He also made comments about the formatting of my thesis and I was so dumbstruck that I couldn't answer him.

Worse, there was a public audience, people actually came to witness my viva. I was so embarrassed. After the viva, my friends surrounded me and said to me, "what happened to you"

We waited some minutes for the outcome. It was an agonizing wait as I thought I had failed the viva.

Surprisingly I had passed with minor corrections.

It turned out that the examiner was not expert in my area and my guess is perhaps my supervisor who had been there, could have intervened for me. I don't know.

All I remember is that it was my worst viva ever.

Whatever you do, do not give up. You have come this far. After you clear the next viva, your Phd will open doors for you.

Have confidence in yourself, do not lose heart.
love satchi

nice forum guys..

Please don't give up! I was also asked to resubmit. This is not a rare viva outcome. Keep trying! You are too close to give up. Just a little bit more work and you are done!