Hi. Just an update, having slept on it, I feel a lot more positive about the whole experience. For those wondering exactly what questions they asked, this is what I can remember

Why did you choose this topic? Did this come from previous studies, or from other experiences (because I work in Criminal Justice)
What is the most original thing about the thesis?
How could this apply to practice in the area
What would other theorists say about your work (the theory i used is controversial)
What was your epistomological approach (yikes!)
If you had a theory in mind which you wanted to test out, why did you use grounded theory (fortunately I had a really good answer!)
Have you supported or refuted the theory with your evidence?
what was your most pertinent finding
What were your experiences as a female researcher working with some dangerous people?
Did you think they were honest with you?
Was there anything you could have done to triangulate your data?

Some of these are very thesis specific of course, but I answered them ok. What was interesting was questions such as triangulation and validation of data were not posed because they thought i should have done more (as they explained afterwards) but to make sure I understood what I had done correctly and why in terms of coding of data and so on.
The questionsabout whether I supported or refuted the theory were to test how much i thought my findings (which apparently were very intersting and have impact) had either negated, or developed a long standing and hotly contested crime theory. They wanted me to state this more clearly in my colclusion - i had pussy-footed around this I think as I was not confident enough to say that I had siginificantly altered the content of sucha theory, but that is what they have said they want me to do. Who am I to argue!

They were very constructive, and i am glad I had those examiners!

Thanks to Chuff, Ady and Pineapple and others.

I just wish they had been able to say minor corrections, so I didnt have to go through the resubmit which I think is what may be bothering me. The main reason they didn't was becasue of the time limit that imposes. Unfortunately the resubmit is a requirement of anything more than minor corrections under regulations, even if they say it will be ok once I follow their suggestions.
I guess I am still a bit mixed up!

Thanks Ann and Dafydd.

To answer your questions: yes, I agreed with their criticisms. What they said made a lot of sense and seemed right to me. They did not question my argument or conclusions at all, rather that I needed to be more explicit about stating them if you see what I mean. Their criticisms were about a lack of confidence in stating my thoughts. In terms of the supervisor's comments: no, they had not said anything to suggest exactly what their comments would be, and to a great extent, I think that the criticisms they made were a compliment in that they stemmed from me not making as much of my work as I could have done by stating my contribution to knowledge more strongly, and the potential applications it could have for theory and practice which is why they want me to expand my intro and restate my conclusion more strongly. I don't think either my supervisor or myself expected that!

I am of course dissapointed I can not say to people, yes I have now passed, but I have not failed, and should secure the degree once I have made the changers.

Hi all.

I have just returned from my viva, and wanted to get some info down here. It has helped me so much reading everyone else's experiences I thought it may help someone else to hear about mine.

Outcome - well I passed, with what they classed as 'medium' corrections. I know this is not a category, but they gave good reasons. They were happy with my thesis, found it interesting and enjoyable, and thought it made a good contribution to knowledge. The corrections they have given me are varied, and include splitting my long discussion into two chapters, and defining my reasons for methodology more clearly. Also, they feel there are are a few more studies I can add to my lit review to widen the scope, and accordingly review again in the discussion. also typos etc
They have given me the option of major corrections rather than minor, as they think they will take me more time to fix than the minor corrections time limit will allow, and they are taking into account that I work full time.

I am not sure how I feel about this yet, or whether I can allow myself to feel I have passed until I do the amendments to their satisfaction. The option they have gone for under univeristy regulations suggests a repeat viva, but both examiners think that should not be necessary and are not expecting to have another one, which is good.

I think I am pleased????? Most of what they asked me to do makes sense, a lot of it is straightforward and just involves a little more writing, some of which I have already done and cut out!:p
I do not have to do any more research or data analysis, and the emphasis is on restating some things rather than adding new stuff- they said what I had written was good, sometimes the way I had written it did not do my work justice.

The viva itself - lasted about 3 hours or just over. It went really, really fast. I was shown into the room and introduced to the examiners by my supervisor, who then left. They poured me a glass of water, and offered me a bikky, which i refused lest I vomit on their shoes! I was so nervous, but they started off with easy questions, such as what my background is etc, and led into questions about how I chose my topic and why. There were lots of very specific questions about the theory I had used (criminology) and about my methodology, what I did, and why I did it that way. They also asked me what I thought was the original contribution. It was challenging but very friendly. The discussion was interesting and thought provoking. They were pleased with some of my findings, and said I represented myself well. The main thing I need to process is that it is possible to understand on an intellectual level that criticism is constructive and will make the thesis better, but hearing it when you are emotionally overwrought (As I was with nerves) is a different matter. Even writing this is helping.

I am rambling now so will go away, but will happily come back and add more info, or answer any questions.

Hi Sim

My Viva is wednesday too, and like you i feel unprepared. If I can keep the insides of my stomach in throughout the viva that will be a bonus!

Good luck, let us know how you get on

Congratulations JoJo
I have just been for my pre-viva meeting with my supervisor who has at the same time made me feel better, and made me feel worse! I wish i was where you are today!
Well done, you will have the corrections done in no time Dr!

Hi Jojo

Not sure if you will see this before the big day, but I wanted to wish you best of luck, from your posts you sound thoroughly prepared and like you will blow them away! My viva is 26th jan, so i will be looking forward to hearing all about yours!

Be thinking of you with my fingers crossed

Rach

Hi all. I have my viva in jan, but if I pass will not graduate until Jun. I assume I am not allowed to call myself Dr until after then, but I know people at work will start using it before then ( again if I pass) and I will feel a fraud! When should you start using it? Do people use this title outside of the academic world at all?

Hi all. I am preparing for my viva too, and wondered if you would pm me the questions? I think it would really help me focus my prep as I am floundering a bit at the moment.
I haven't got a date yet, though it is likely to be January. I hope to get the date some time this week. Scary stuff.

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Hi everyone.

I am in the humanities, and as far as I see it, the table of hits is to illustrate which search terms you used to look for relevant literature, and demonstrate how you narrowed the search based on progressively narrower combinations of search terms, which also demonstrates that you used a logical approach and searched in sensible places!
I did get some very valuable help from a forum member on here (Thanks Nieky) so I will pass on the favour, and as soon as I get some time will PM CATE the table I came up with. I am not able to do so at work and wont be home until about 10pm, so it may be tomorrow - but i wont forget.

I did about 50 interviews, of between an hour and three hours duration and had to transcribe them myself. It took a looooong time but I had no other choice. However, I did find that it helped immerse me within the data, and through trial and error I found some methods that were helpful. As someone else suggested headphones are very useful, as is slowing down the speech. I found that contrary to what I expected, it was easier for me to write longhand than type, which meant i wan't concentrating on the screen and getting sore eyes. I had help with the typing up afterwards, but again did most of it myself. Maybe you could try this, and use some of the money for a typist? I also got up an hour and a half early three days a week to do it, and this soon added up. Good luck

HI. I sumbitted on the 29th Oct - awaiting my date still but am starting to get nervous. Will probably be January now I think

Well after 7 years and working full time I finally submitted last friday! I feel like I left my baby on the bus. It is a very odd feeling - I was expecting immense relief but it hasnt happened yet - maybe after the viva?

Hi

My sup has just told me I now need to include a table showing the number of hits for each combination of search terms I used for my lit search. I haven't kept any of this info (stupid I know) and I was wondering if any of you had done this - I will have to run the searches again I think, but any ideas about what it should look like would be helpful. Thanks

Hi Keenbean, i have never been published, but I am sure if they have accepted it, especially if it is a little controversial, then they must have thought it not only good enough to publish but also interesting and important enough to potentially start a lot of discussion and debate.
As for the 'little PhD student' bit, we all feel like that (Lord knows me especially) but you must agree that they dont accept work out of feeling sorry for you, you really are up to it! Congratulations, and double congratulations given that you found the paper hard to write and a difficult topic. That is probably because the paper is a difficult topic, as it challenges some conceptions that are established. Enjoy! I only wish I was in that position too!