My original viva got cancelled 2 weeks ago because the examiner could not make it in due to to the snow. Its now scheduled for a day next week. Wonderful I hear you all say. More time to prepare. I just want to know if I have passed or failed though. more likely failed. My supervisor was talking to another PhD student today saying that its important that they learn from my PhD and that they must not repeat the same mistakes. Apparently my data collection was wonderful but my analysis was awful. She said that it will let me down in a big way - during my PhD I emphasised that it was important that I analysed my data properly with the help of a social scientist... i dont know why I didnt - i was looking at my time plan and thats when I became depressed. Not an excuse but an explanation. But now this PhD student has told everyone (well people) that my thesis is not very good. This phd student said to me that my thesis was not a very good thesis. I knew this but to have this told to another student who had not completed her MPhil ... I just feel humiliated. I do not need this the week before my viva. I am tempted to email my supervisor to ask why she had to say this before my viva and why its ok to tell another student in this way who would come and tell me what was said. I am not impressed and now feeling the worst. I don't know how to handle this. Is this normal? Is it normal for supervisors to talk about their other students in this way? The PhD student said that she will come to me for help with data collection techniques but not for analysis help. I don't know what to feel or how to react. Sorry for the random rant. I just didn't know where to go.

I'm only at Masters level so I'm not in a position to help with viva preparation or PhD data analysis, I just wanted to express my sympathy, what you're going through must be really difficult. From reading your other topic as well I think you need to approach your supervisor and tell them that you are depressed if you haven't already.

I also think you need to tactfully mention what you have said, that you don't want to be the subject of malicious department gossip, especially before your viva - she should be supporting you at this time and helping you to iron out the problems with your analysis before the viva rather than telling everyone what was wrong with it; to be honest, without knowing the actual circumstances, I think she is being rather unprofessional.

And I wouldn't bother helping the other student with her data collection, let her ask someone else, she doesn't deserve your time.

I really hope things work out for you though, take care Nx