Handed my bound thesis into the uni last week! Didn't believe it was actually over until then. Phew! :)

Thanks everyone! And really good luck to everyone! I so encourage everyone just to stick at it. I had moments of real self-doubt and I'm not any intellectual just determined to get a job done. I work in the area I research so felt quite passionate and invested in my research and interacted daily with people who had participated and helped me. This kept me going or kept me sitting at my computer at any rate! And back here now working on my minor revisions and trying to take my own advice :). Sometimes the hares make a very impressive start but it's often the wee tortoises who steadily and slowly reach the finishing line. Hope that makes sense and helps at least one person :).

Done! Simple and straightforward.

Well done and I'd agree with the advice already given. Another resource that I used was Interviewer Viva CD/ DVD (I think that's what it was called) from my uni. You get it up and running, introduce it to your webcam and then it asks you to choose an interviewer/ examiner from a choice of four. He/ she asks you a generic viva question and then it records your answer which you can view back. Is totally cringeworthy but helpful. Lots of different questions on different aspects of phd. Good luck!

Hmm. That's a bit of a tricky one. Prob best to ask your sup. My instinct would be that it could be ok if perhaps interspersing it with critique, if relevant, to ensure it's critical rather than descriptive and that your own 'voice'/ line of thought is evident. Good luck!

I'd advise you to take a deep breath and go back to basics. I often bounce back to textbooks like "Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology" or whatever would be more apt for your subject. This outlines the key concepts and methods in research and gives references for further reading. Then once I had clarified that, I would look at examples of studies using these methods. Sometimes when panic strikes, it's hard to see the woods for the trees and it can be helpful to gain clarity and a clear overview by rebooting the who, why, where, what and when foundations for your research. I agree that it's really important to speak to your sup. Ultimately it is your decision and I wish you luck in whichever path you choose!

Hi Giddypig, I found mytomatoes.com (which I discovered via this forum) a really helpful tool to get things going. Am also a stickler for a to do list or posting your task for the day on the accountability thread on here. Good luck!

Okay; So this is how it went down Charliebrown. Have had some Cava so hope makes sense :). My sup gave me the sage advice of defend but don't be defensive. So went in and all made big effort to make me feel at ease. First question was the predictable what was your motivation for choosing this topic. Then a question on conceptual/ theoretical framework. I started to relax but something in me thought - no, stay alert. Then they opened the thesis and started with - right, let's look at page 69, here you say... can you elaborate. So was like a funnel shaped approach general, then specific, then towards the end general again. They went through each chapter with quite precise questions then said ok, what's the story of your thesis, what's new, how will it affect practice and policy and finished with how will you disseminate your results and what will you do next. It was tough but fair. I had a mock viva and only two of the questions came up but I would recommend it so that the first time you are in that situation is not the actual viva. I read some of the "how to survive your thesis" books but ultimately I relied upon knowing my work and being passionate about my topic. The only thing I did take from the book was identify parts of your thesis that are highlights and aim to guide your answers towards them if poss. People say enjoy your viva and it's an opportunity to share your work with eminent academics. It was that and part of me did enjoy it but it was tough and thorough. Overall though, I guess I am glad it was a challenge as that makes me feel it's an achievement worth attaining. I spent the week before rereading my thesis 3 times and made note of 5 studies that were the backbone of my work. These became a solid reference for today and I was so glad I had these in the bag. Listen, pause, breathe then answer.

Occasional user and long time lurker. Just passed my viva this morning and wanted to thank everyone on this forum. Am working at a distance from my uni so this forum was often a point of solace and solidarity. There were points along the way where I thought this outcome was unforeseeable. I just want to encourage anyone who is struggling that you can do it just, in the words of Churchill, keep buggering on :).

Hi, first of all I want to say that you sound lovely! :) the Phd is a strange beast and i think everyone on here could probably relate to how you're feeling. It is by nature quite an isolating experience but it is finite. It will end! A guy I knew who moved away used meetup.com to meet new friends during his Phd and this established a solid social group for him with regular cinema outings ect. Might be worth a try! Good luck!

I agree with all the advice that's been given so far. I would also suggest becoming familiar with Mendeley or whatever program you prefer as these can be really helpful and also create your bibliography for you and find out exactly how your uni likes the thesis to be presented. Look at previous theses (ideally from supervisor's former students). You can then create a template before rather then after when helter-sketering towards a final deadline. I also created a document called 'deletions from thesis' to dump stuff into which I felt didn't need but also wary of completing losing in case became relevant later. If you are doing any qualitative research you may want to become familiar with the programs for that and download transcription software. I also kept notebooks for whatever I was working on - just now it's write up! This kept me focussed and good to jot down ideas and start next day with a look back at previous day's thought and aims. Oh, and register on mytomatoes.com as is great for keeping focus. And em... don't get distracted by the Internet...doh! good luck!

Hello - can I join too? I'm 3 years and 3 months in and due to submit soon. Deep breath. Am tackling all the corrections on first draft and frowning at stats and badly aligned endless tables of data. I'm in the pyjamas, spots and sticky up hair determined stage. You know when you get that - right this needs to get done point. Good luck today everybody! Think today might be a mytomatoes.com and to do list sort of day.

Thanks Alleycat! Also worked out that could copy and paste selected Mendeley references and insert them into non-Mendeley sections. Doing it that way round seems to be the way forward. Amazing how time-consuming all the formatting can be!

Hi all,
I have used Mendeley for some references but not all. Now, I'm trying to insert some non-Mendeley references into my bibliography but the Mendeley sections aren't letting me insert non-mendeley ones. I hope that makes sense to someone! Any suggestions welcome :-s

Good luck today everyone! Today my first goal is not to go on Facebook or Twitter and just focus on my work. Too easy to pop onto Facebook for 5 mins and 45 mins later still there flicking through someone's holiday pics or photos of their cat! The washing can stay in the washing machine, the Sunday papers can stay in the shop and I will stay at my desk and I WILL WRITE 1000 WORDS TODAY. Sorry for shouting but am so frustrated with lack of progress which is entirely my own fault (although the Internet should feel partly responsible). I am starting the writing up and it seems a mammoth task so think am avoiding taking the first step. However, every journey etc....