Hello friendly PhDers/ex PhDers.......

Just a quick message to check in and rant away with others who are going through this process or have successfully passed through this horrible process. My family and friends keep telling me I'll be fine- but they have no idea how tough this process is.

Anyway, my viva prep tasks consist of four documents........I want to finish this before 2 weeks to go. I want to use the final 2 weeks for hard core revision.

Document 1- Postgraduate Forum- questions and tips including Bilbo's 5/6 prep questions- i) originality, ii) contribution to knowledge, iii) hindsight/what I would have done differently, iv) why select my topic area, v) methodology, vi) weaknesses, gaps

Document 2- Acknowledged weaknesses, mistakes, errors, gaps- flagged. I'm thinking of putting this in a table- column 1- page number and mistake, column 2- correct wording

Document 3- Plan of action to reduce my 120,000 word thesis into a 80,000 word thesis- what I intend to delete and how I intend to structure a future draft.

Document 4- My external examiners publications. Detailed discussions on how their publications relate to my publications.

Today- I've reorganised my articles and general notes that fit into each chapter. I've divided each of my articles, papers and books into set box files- ie chapter 2- (box file 2, 3, 4, 5) chapter 3 (box file 6, 7, 8, 9) etc etc. Within each box file, I'm thinking of putting the articles in some sort of order- probably articles mentioned in 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 etc etc.

Since my literature review I've found some recent articles which support my findings as well as articles I've missed from my literature review. I'm going to add these articles to document 2 and 3.

All in all, feeling relatively positive about my thesis today. I have some great ideas on how to reduce everything down and rejig some of my literature chapters to improve 'the story'. I'm also surprised at how much work I've done over the last 4 years!

However, I've noted many stupid spelling errors which are sticking out like a sore thumb which is worrying me slightly! I also keep reading horror stories about people failing their vivas which is stressing me out! I really hope I'm not another statistic. Anyway, positive thinking, positive thinking :)

Anyway, forgive my ranting. Just want this over and done with! I'm going to be in a right state this time in 3 weeks!!! :S

Hey Pineapple29, you are such a touch cookie and an inspiration on this forum. I really admire how you have got through such a horrible time and are still there pushing through it. There will be nobody happier than all of us on the forum when you've got through this- I don't know much about what your subject is etc, but you deserve a PhD just for your determination and true grit. Go Pineapple (up) Really wishing you all the luck in the world with this, we're all behind you. Best, KB

======= Date Modified 20 May 2011 01:00:33 =======
Hi Pineapple,

That is good news.  I am glad to hear that things got sorted out as reading about your previous troubles made me really feel for you. And I thought I had problems!  It sounds like you've got a good strategy in place and done lots of reading to keep yourself up to date. Don't worry about the typos as your examiner will give you a list of them anyway and then you'll wonder how you missed them!  The main thing is to focus on your main arguments and know why you did what you did and the outcome. They will be looking for the you to define the problem, a robust methodology, discuss your results and analysis and evidence of wider reading so you know how your research relates to others.  Another thing they might ask is can your results be replicated elsewhere so have a think about where/what else you could have done. To some extent they will ask you stuff you wouldn't have thought about so don't worry about that as it'll be general stuff related to your project or field so you'll be able to answer it.

Good luck and try to get a good night's sleep the night before.  It really helps.
(up)

Good luck with the viva prep Pineapple, I'll be following your posts.

Your viva prep documents sound comprehensive but don't forget the positives of your PhD as well. On another thread you came up with lots (~15) ways in which you can identify that your thesis is unique or adds to knowledge etc - don't forget ALL of them :-)

Good luck(up)

Hi Pineapple, I too am doing some viva prep although very slowly!  I am reading through my thesis, highlighting any errors, adding post-its of extra info for me to remember and formulating potential questions. I have read the lit review chapter and checked the databases for anything new aswell.  My errors page is just half a page of minor things (page number errors etc) which i have put in tabular form. For ease of locating areas in my thesis, I have added 'tags' or post-its locating chapters, subsections etc.  Next I will start to formulate answers to potential questions.

I had a tutorial recently with my sup and what was apparent was my lack of fluency to convey my research in technical terminology, just because I do not socialise in that environment now.  It is something I need to talk about more rather than just thinking about it! Sorry bambinos but our conversations are about to get educative!!!  You may need to arrange a few 'chats' with friends, colleagues, pets etc if the same is for you.

I am glad you have a viva date to aim for, this should help your productivity. I am still waiting for mine after 8 weeks still no date.  It seems that one examiner hasn't got the thesis yet...........perhaps lost in the uni post? Hopefully, this matter will be rectified and a date set for late June/July...........maybe.

Good luck with your prep and I will probably join in to compare notes.(up)

======= Date Modified 21 May 2011 08:15:50 =======
Thanks everyone.

At the moment, I'm trying to shift all my energies and thoughts about failing (which keeps entering my thought process) onto more positive and more productive things- like what can I do now to show them that my work is worthy of a doctorate.

Given this lengthy thesis I'm trying to go back to basics and think of very concise and coherent statements of what my thesis is all about. I think with a 120,000 thesis, despite my attempts to link everything back to the original question, they've probably lost their way. Although I've tried to cover these points in the thesis, I'm going to work on formulating and preparing responses to potential questions that may come up, namely.......

Why have you used terminology X to describe your participants?
Please define what you mean by X
Why did you focus on this area?
Why did you focus on client population X and Y?
Why did you interview relatives?
Why did you not interview members of staff?
Why did you select methods X, Y, Z?
Why did you decide not to use method A?  (My internal has questioned me about why I haven't used method A previously, so I know he probably will ask it!)
Why did you only focus on client population X for study 2 and not client population Y?
Why did you use non parametric tests?
Why have you not used research study a in your literature review?
I see from your the questionnaires, information on costs was collected-  why have you not reported on it?

What are the main studies that inspired you to conduct this research?
What are some of the limitations of researching this area?
What do you think are the main weaknesses of your studies?
Please summarise your main findings and conclusions
What do think your findings add to your field?
If you had X amount of money, what would you do differently?

eeeeeeeeeeek