I'm due to submit soon and don't feel entirely happy with my project. It's not clear if one of my supervisors read the final draft (it was suggested they had but I received no substantial feedback just that it's very good) and another supervisor had it for many weeks but seemed to read it in less than an hour (I can't say how I know), suggested minimal changes and told me to submit. It was my first and last draft. I had previously given chapters but these were returned, sometimes with no changes. I've checked it though, found mistakes that should have been picked up (I knew they were there and had hoped they would provide guidance) and although I don't care for the project as such, I don't want to fail due to others and am unhappy given that it I had to do a project they wanted and not one that reflected my interests.

Any advice as to how I can protect myself?

Sorry if this post doesn't make sense but I'm quite uptight as I write this.

Hi Delta

Congrats on being almost there! I take what you are saying that you have major doubts if your supv team has read your draft properly but it's not in their interests that you fail so surely although they may not have given it a close read, they must genuinely think it's submittable. Could you request a meeting and outright ask them 'do you think it will pass?' Ask them what they think you are likely to be grilled on in the viva. My supervisor has marked one bit (actually lots of bits, but one bit in particular) and said "they're going to come after you in the viva about that so be prepared...!). Are they happy with your theoretical framework, your methodology, your results, your contribution to knowledge - ask them.

Failing that, is there another person in your uni that you could ask to read it with a view to giving you constructive feedback?

[note to self: must follow own advice :$]


Good luck, submission can only be a short time away (up)

I have similar worries. The beginnings of each of my chapters has been extensively scribbed on by sup, but flick through a few pages and they are all blank. She basically reads the first few pages, gets an idea in her head how it should be structured, asks me to re-structure and NEVER reads the full chapter. This means that ALL my dsicussion sections have never been read - this is concerning to me.

All I can hope is that they will be good enough to scrape through without too many amendments and trust my own judgement.

Hi Delta,

Your post makes a lot of sense, and I can very much relate to what you are going through.

In the end I submitted with the idea that any correction from the external examiner would have made my thesis better, but of course the fear of failure was there 24/7. I was confident about the material I had, but I was not so confident about the way I laid out some of the chapters. In the end, I passed with minor corrections, and none of these involved structural or any major change. Nonetheless, I still feel that the thesis could have been better in some areas, with a little guidance.

All I can say is: do your best, and ask other academics in your field to read it if you have time. I am pretty sure that your supervisors wouldn't let you submit anything that is a potential failure, but I understand your frustration, because I still find very difficult to detach from this myself.

Also, if you have had the chance to present papers at conferences and/ or published, it is already a very positive sign that what you have been doing is considered positively.

Anyway, I'll be around the forum if you need an injection of positive thinking!


:-)

it's interesting hearing others' experiences. tbh, while I have often had to wait ages and ages for feedback, when it's come I have never doubted that it's been read, to the extent that my supervisor is able to refer to sub-sections by reference number! However, it has meant that I have lost all faith in my thesis as I don't think any of it is up to scratch.

Maybe if you asked them specific questions about specific sections, it would give you a better idea if they really know what you have written.

======= Date Modified 10 Oct 2011 10:23:11 =======
Thanks everyone! If anything is read, it is always the first parts and nothing else receives comments unless I direct them to parts and even then I don't always get feedback. I don't doubt myself but lack confidence in them and feel with good supervisors I'm more than capable of a PhD. I feel I'm learning and will and should make mistakes (because I am learning). The job of a supervisior, in my opinion, is to guide the way and show you how to learn from your mistakes but this doesn't seem to be happening. I don't think the PhD has been a good learning experience as I don't feel I've learned anything....I'm being very serious. I just have more knowledge about a topic that holds no interest!!!

Your posts have been very helpful, thanks(up)

haha I ask my sup about specific sections e.g. "I really need some guidance in section X, what do you think of it, and do I need any changes" - response comes within 5 secs (i.e. not read section X" = "do whatever reads best"...great. :-s

DrCorinne, thank you for your post, and it gives me hope given what you went through and what you achieved, and do hang around as I need the support!!!

Sneaks, seems we are currently in the same boat. If the water gets in, I hope we swim rather than sink! I find it reassuring to know I'm not alone...still feel for you though because I understand your frustration.

Ady, you're an inspiration, I like the sound of your supervisor and having a supervisor like that would give me great confidence going into viva. You've got a fantastic work ethic. I've every confidence in you, you just need more confidence in yourself.

Strangely enough, I never found the PhD workload stressful but my source of stress comes from my supervisors:-s

======= Date Modified 10 Oct 2011 11:45:48 =======
one thing I have done is send colleagues chapters - i.e. people who are 1-2 years out of their PhD. At least its something! Actually a forum member who has 'phinnished' (won't name so they won't be stampeded with reading requests) has given me some excellent feedback on my methods chapter which is far more in depth than I'd ever have from my sup!


Maybe there should be a 'I'll read yours if you'll read mine' reading exchange on here.

Unfortunately its probably a bit late for me as I need to submit in the next 2 weeks!

my husband has just suggested that perhaps my Supervisor owns 'johnny no. 5' (if you can remember that) and that's how she gets me feedback so quickly (I sent her thesis last night and got an email early this morning saying it looks broadly ok) - those 80,000 words must have been a quick read lol.

Same here Sneaks, too late for me to swap thesis but it might be an idea for others who still have a bit longer before they submit.

Delta, I completely agree with DrCorinne that your sups wouldn't let you submit if they didn't feel confident (or at least I'd hope they wouldn't!!). Could the apparent lack of feedback be a reflection of their trust on your work? We are our greatest critics after all!

If you really want feedback, you can always ask others, whether through here, colleagues, friends and family, anyone! I'm not sure about your field, but I've always been told to write as if you were writing to the public so if it's the same to you, then anyone should be able to read it. I've had friends reading bits and bobs over the years and it's been helpful even if they don't have a clue about the subject...

Thank you Skig! That what my hope is but time will tell...

======= Date Modified 10 Oct 2011 14:50:03 =======

Delta,

If they are happy enough, then just go ahead and submit. If you feel uncomfortable with the situation, then read through yourself one more time to iron out any more errors (typos, bad grammar, etc.) and then submit.

Is there someone that can read through critical bits for you (useful, especially if you're native tongue is not English - though I sense you are a native English speaker)?

If it does go badly wrong at viva, then you can make issue of you supervisor's laid back attitude then.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Thanks Mac for the good advice. I'm going through it and correcting stuff. I think it would cause problems if I ask anyone within the department to read it because it might get back to them. I certainly won't hold back if it causes problems at the viva. The thing is one of my supervisors would turn up at the opening of an envelope if it got them noticed and so they intend to be there. I didn't really want them there as I know they won't help if things go adrift but I politely asked them but hinted I would prefer it if they didn't attend. They, as per usual, ignored my hint.