Morning all! Well done Star-shaped on your full draft, hope you can go away and relax! I am very envious of a holiday - we really need one :-(

Managed to start looking at the corrections list last night (still awaiting the formal paperwork in the post) so have done most of the easy nit picking ones! I sent off the appendix that needs attention from my sup re three values quoted (this is his work that I had to include in my appendices so am not responsible for it!). Today I wanted to look at wording a small clarifying paragraph for my lit review - my examiner had some 'fun' understanding the principles of my model compared to physiology, so I need to spell it out for the reader.:$

I have just passed my viva with minor corrections so I am very happy! I can finally see the end of my PhD journey and am looking forward to completion. I have learnt so much throughout the last six years and am amazed at the resilience I had by continuing to study/write up with three babies under 13 months old!  I guess I have learnt a lot about myself too.

I have only just passed (on Wednesday) and can totally relate to these posts.  My mind is still replaying the viva and disseminating the whole process and yes I have been so tired after all of the write-up phase and associated stress. It hasn't fully sunk in yet but I am sure it will once my head has dealt with this weeks experience!  I didn't celebrate, had a buffet lunch with the examiners, chair person and supervisor before driving 3 1/2 hours home to my family. Hubby and I had a glass of wine to celebrate but have not managed an evening out together yet (got to sort babysitters, blah, blah etc).  It would be lovely to go out and have a small celebration or better still a trip away but reality of a very young family restricts spontaneity. Oh well, just a few corrections to do and then maybe I will get a chance to celebrate properly.

I am glad you got an extension as you really had a bad time of it without news of family/friends.  So just a few weeks left now, how exciting :-) You are pretty much there once the draft is done, just corrections, tweaking and formatting. My thesis went to a second draft before some minor changes in the final version.

I have seen an unofficial post viva corrections list and to be honest they are mainly minor typos, symbol changes, modifying one abbreviation throughout (very tedious little p to read capital P :-s), a reference to add in and a small clarifying paragraph in my lit review section.  It is not too bad, no real mentally challenging revisions, just tedious and annoying bits really. However, I have yet to see the actual formal report via the post.  I am feeling ok, slightly excited but still a bit 'numb' as it was straight back to reality of three bambinos screaming for my attention. I think the excitement would be more prominent if I had had some real celebrations straight after!! Will get around to that soon I think :p

Hey Pink, glad to see you have somewhere to live, moving is never great timing but in the long run it will allow you to work better in your own environment. Must be a weight off your mind! Shame your sup hadn't read all of your thesis prior to now but hopefully these big changes will be the last. Keep working at it, you are getting so close. What is your deadline now (I noted the original post was 30th June)?

The last week or two prior to submission was pretty hectic for me.  I was tweaking things and checking over the thesis right up to sending the electronic version to the printers. I had some guilt issues with spending my time on it (and getting quite tetchy about having my space to do this!). This did mean hubby was resigned to evenings alone and the bambinos had an incredibly grumpy and selfish mummy squeezing every little bit of time out of the day  :$

I would try to stay focused on your thesis in this last week but compromise with your girlfriend by arranging a nice evening out with her after you have submitted. It is only a week and your friends/girlfriend should all understand that you just need this time to finish it all off.  That said you also have to realise that the thesis is never a finished product, you will find errors in it post submission and again when read years later! Good luck with submitting (up)

Ady - the mortar board had to be done, I couldn't put it on before in case I jinx'd myself (superstitious tripe I am sure!!). How are your thesis corrections going?

Thanks everyone for your kind words and wishes, I very humbled by it all.  I shall be keeping a close eye on this thread to see everyone else's success too. Obviously I still have some corrections to sort out and finalising to do so will let you know how that goes! Would love to go out and celebrate but sadly reality sees me clearing up after sick dog and looking after bambinos. However, their happy faces greeting me back home yesterday was priceless :-x

Hello to all the lovely summer submitters!  It is done, all over, yippee! So had a very relaxing night in the hotel with some swimming, entertaining tv and NO viva prep at all - took everyone's advice and didn't do a thing which really helped the nerves.  Viva was at 1030 and most of the questions/discussion with the external was about the differences between the lungs and my gas diffusion model. Some of the discussion really threw me as his expertise is in physiology whereas mine is in the circuitry and we had to meet somewhere in the middle!  There was no real Qs on the further experimental research utilising my model which he said was excellent. The viva prep didn't really help me as much as I hoped for the questions but at least it kept the subject alive for me.  The viva lasted for 2 hours and was very tough (gruelling really). My sup was really good in giving me a debrief during the deliberations.  So the verdict was pass with minor corrections! We discussed the minors (and other stuff) while having some lunch in the viva room.  Finally managed to escape for the four hour drive home via the disney store for a mickey mouse consolation prize for eldest toddler who was very upset that mummy had to go to school for a couple of days lol.  

I cannot thank you all enough for the help and support you have given me on this forum.

Hi all, so sorry for the delay in getting onto the forum but it has been a mad day!  Had my viva this morning starting at 1030 which lasted for two hours of grilling mainly from my external. At one point I couldn't answer a question and thought 'oh well that's blown it'.  However, about half way through I managed to turn the tables around and felt much more comfortable with it. So then I was sent out with my sup for a debrief of our own before being called back for the verdict. I passed with minor corrections!!!!  Some of the corrections are somewhat tedious and I wish I had been a little more forthright but well its done now. So we all had lunch together before me leaving for home at 1530.  Took about 4 hours drive to get home to three very excitable toddlers who have now been put to bed. Corinne - you were spot on about my absence on the forum. So now I can sit down, have a glass of wine and let it sink in.  Must say I am still rather numb with the days events, what an emotional rollercoaster!

Thank you so much for all of your support, the members of this forum have been amazing (up)

Well I am very nervous today and am about to drive 3 hours to uni in readiness for my viva tomorrow morning! I have been scaling down the prep for the last few days, just re-reading notes I have made. I am hoping for a relaxing evening and trying to put the viva into perspective! Oh well, done all I can now. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow sometime!

Hope everyone is progressing well to submission deadlines (up)

When I read back on my notes for logistic regression the confidence interval was left blank.  I too am not sure what this would mean for logistic analysis. I tended to stick with linear regression for my data which I find easier to manage :$  Sorry not a specific answer. Do you have access to statisticians at your uni to ask, this is where most of my help came from.

I have done regression analysis for my data with SPSS, don't profess to know much but what are you after?

Thank you all so much for your support. I have taken your advice and didn't really do anything yesterday and spent the evening watching pre-recorded episodes of Lewis! I woke up this morning without being consumed with 'hideous-out-of-my-field questions that I feel compelled to check out! In fact I slept in for an extra couple of hours. So today I have been packing my clothes and document case ready for putting into the car without the children seeing. This leaves me with just my answers to 'talk' to myself about! I think the children have had enough of me talking to them about my thesis so I have resorted to the dog now. I am worried that my children with be at preschool with a basic 'three Rs' knowledge but be geniuses in respiratory gas diffusion modelling!

Anyway, time to take it easy (despite some background nerves still). Thanks again for your suggestions, Beajay I fully understand your logic of looking after myself now but it takes alot to stop working without guilt, I am trying :p

Hi all, I am now contemplating my last few days of viva prep. Up until now I have

1. read through my thesis noting and creating a corrections list.
2. added post-its of extra pointers, key areas within my thesis and chapter starts etc.
3. made a list of potential viva Qs and answered those.
4. collected together the key papers and have looked over these (again)
5. Checked out my outfit and am in the process of packing.

My viva is on Wednesday morning and I am naturally anxious about keeping myself together, yes the usual nerves are getting the better of me. I am waking in the mornings with a flux of related questions that I feel I should check out which is taking over my viva prep. I have to travel to the uni on Tuesday afternoon and stay in a hotel for the night before driving into town for my viva on Wednesday morning. So I have until Monday evening for further prep. I am getting lost in the emotions/nerves of this exam that I cannot think straight on what best to do now. I am having trouble recalling info which is worrying me aswell.


Any help and advice would be gratefully received!

Yes, I am! Although I was about to finish up for the evening as I am trying to do my viva prep and I am struggling to remember methodologies of references cited. I think I am losing track of what viva prep I need to do, ie getting bogged down with what other authors have said and done rather than what I did and why. Think I need to re-focus my last few days of prep! Oh I wish it was tomorrow so that I could get it over with :$