In a few weeks I will be editing my literature review and I am concerned about this too!

What field are you in TreeofLife?

I have seen people getting minor corrections when publishing on papers with multiple authors. It seems tricky being a sole author in the social sciences with little support from sups when publishing.

Another moan, more related to trying to prepare for 'after' the PhD whilst still working on the PhD: Spending hours of your writing time on job applications then not even getting shortlisted when you have all the experience that they are asking for :(

Thank you Hugh, you have made me feel better about the journal outcome. One that I have been trying to publish for 2 years, yes 2, was based on my MA work. That one came back with majors twice- but I knew it was a weak paper as it was based on a rushed piece of research for my MA dissertation. That journal give me 3 months each time. The one I got a response from today gave me about 1 page of corrections (no where near as much as the other one) and gave me 6 months. That is another drawn out process too!

If this helps, my conclusion individually answered each research question drawing the overall themes in the findings together to do so. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I am pleased with the result. I did repeat bits of key literature when doing this, but kept it to a minimum as I was focusing on *my* findings- I brought in the literature to show major contrasts really. I would recommend maybe printing your findings/discussion chapters and going through them whilst sat in front of your computer with a word document loaded, and just bullet point what you feel are the main contributions to knowledge are, but try to do it in as few points as possible (this will help you avoid just repeating the findings/discussion) then maybe build your writing around these bullet points?

I only really get the critical feedback on paper then I raise any points I am confused about to my sup face to face. They did once make some super critical points in person and I think I got visibly anxious as they haven't done it again- it's safer on paper haha

Thank you for the congratulations and the hugs Hugh! Much appreciated :)

I suppose I worry RE employment as its so dog eat dog out there as it is. Its a recurrent illness with no cure. Not life threatening, just excruciatingly painful. I was down too as when I had my initial op last year, I could not believe the difference. I felt like a new person! It was short lived though *sigh*

No worries- I am happy to help. I did three combined findings and discussion chapters. I have never managed to separate the findings and discussion into separate chapters, even at undergrad and MA level as I would just repeat myself. I present a finding, then dedicate a few paragraphs to discussing it, before moving on to another aspect of my findings. Did you discuss your findings throughout your findings chapter(s)? If so, you may not need a discussion chapter if you have done it throughout?

Our department is the opposite- they keep telling you it takes 4 years, and to use those 4 years. I have worked my hardest to try and get it done in 3, but then the whole waiting around for others thing takes it over that regardless. So frustrating!

Yes I did (in my conclusion as I do not have a separate discussion chapter) but it is not very detailed. I discussed strengths and limitations a lot in my methodology chapter, so I only included the strengths and limitations that emerged when I was considering the research reflectively that I had not previously mentioned. I felt as though I needed to put it in just to tick a box really, but I had not been specifically advised to do so. It focused mainly on validity because that is a frequently debated point in the methodology I am using.

I have had a good day in some respects and not in others. I sent my conclusion chapter off (hurray!) and dedicating the rest of this week to conference preparation and job applications. I got an article accepted, but with major revisions after waiting 6 months for a decision. This is two articles accepted with majors and although it is good news, sometimes reading reviewers comments makes me feel a bit inadequate! My general feeling is 'why can't I ever get minor amendments?' Academic stuff aside, I discovered I may need another surgery for a health issue that was diagnosed last year. It's a recurring thing and the only way to treat it is through surgery. It made me feel really down as I am trying to apply for jobs and fear I will look like a liability when I eventually get a job if I keep needing surgery.

Exactly. I was discussing these same points with a friend of mine who passed her PhD in 2014, and got the award last year. Her sup sat in her viva and was confident she had passed with no corrections, then the examiners kept her waiting 30 minutes to make the decision. She got minor thankfully. But the point is that your sup could think your thesis is perfect and an examiner find faults.

A big reason why I am applying for jobs at the moment is I know it will take my sup quite a while to read the thesis and I do not have the funds to be waiting around. Best case scenario while considering how lengthy the process is is that I graduate next summer! Its a bit of a downer when friends assume that it is over when you submit and that no, we will not be celebrating at Christmas haha

I just want to moan that while I plan on submitting my final chapter to my sup tomorrow, I feel I cannot celebrate as I have a ton of editing waiting for me over the next two months that I am dreading!

I do not think you are doomed and I think you can pull this off- the beauty of social science research is that it is very reflective. If you wish you could change something in your approach, you can reflect on that in your thesis. This may be an approach you need to take when discussing reliability. Validity however can easily be discussed depending on what paradigm you are approaching your research from. If it is interpretivist, then this will be easy.

I did no pilot studies for my research as I was working with educational institutions and gaining access was challenging enough, never mind trying to gain access for a pilot study on top of recruiting for the main study. Time was tight too. I am wondering if you had any of these issues? Did you opt for an online survey for convenience? It could also be seen as more ethical as an online survey will minimise the time demands of the pupil participants- it does not disrupt their daily schedules nor does it disadvantage the scheduling of the school e.g. they are not sacrificing learning time to complete your survey. Consider access and ethical issues like these to frame the approach you took in a positive light, but then also leave room to reflect on why a pilot would have been useful.

I hope this helps :)

The process seems a bit too drawn out for my liking as it is. When people who are not studying a PhD ask me when I will get my PhD, I have to explain that its not so straightforward and that it depends on a lot of things e.g. how speedy your sup is at reading the draft, how long examiners take to read it, examiners availability for viva, whether you get corrections and to what scale, how long to submit corrections, how long for the corrections to be accepted etc. Phew!

It is wise to start thinking about it sooner than later and discussing with your sup. It may take a while for the potential examiner to have the availability to examine you and they are allowed (at my university anyway) up to 3 months between submission and examination. So, it is best to have some names in mind so that it is a smooth process and one that does not involve long periods of waiting around for the examiners to become available etc.

Hi Hugh

Rather then writing 'conclusions' at the end of each findings chapter, I just write a summary of what was discussed at the end of each. My actual conclusion chapter is where I discuss more of the meaning behind the findings in relation to each research aim and make recommendations for future research as well as for policy and practice. My own conclusion chapter is quite long, but I hope to (as always) reduce the length! It is about 20 pages, but I do not plan on going much lower than that. I have always read that examiners prefer detailed conclusions rather than something that is very brief. I don't think bits of repetition can be avoided in the conclusion, though mine appears to give the illusion of not being repetitive because I draw together conclusions from three findings chapters and refer back to gaps in the literature. Does this help?

Viva has been discussed to take place either Dec or Jan. There is no date set up though however. In my last supervision, me and my sup were discussing job applications and they went on to say that if I found a job that was demanding, I could use the fourth year to complete so that obviously disregards the potential viva date of Dec/Jan. Yet I am thinking that they were referring to a worse case scenario here. As I mentioned previously, my internal is sorted, but not officially- they have verbally agreed with my sup. External has not been arranged yet. I had one in mind but my sup is trying to push for another who is still in my research area (broadly) and has examined in our department before (I suspect the process is less complicated if it is an examiner who has examined at the university before from what my sup has mentioned in passing).

I did not wind up working much with the results. I was angry and frustrated. I wound up meeting with my friends for a few drinks in the evening as we were just all too distracted and saddened by the news :(

Thank you Hugh :)

I submitted a long winded job application last night, and finished proof reading a conference paper.

Today will be entirely dedicated to my PhD- I have one small section of my conclusion to write then I can get stuck into editing. I was concerned the conclusion would be challenging but I was pleasantly surprised; I had all my findings chapters printed out and combed through them to draw out the key points and recommendations. I found the findings chapters tough though. Thankfully, my supervisor really likes the findings chapters, and there are just a few tweaks here and there to make on those. I am dreading sorting the introduction and literature review though! I also found out that my first choice of internal examiner has agreed to do my viva which I am happy about :)