How research examiners go about examining a thesis?
Hey all! I am pursuing my PhD in Environmental and resource economics from Ohio State University, in Columbus, United States. I am at the last stage of my course. I submitted my thesis 3 months ago and I am waiting for my viva now and I am pretty nervous about my thesis too.
• What if they reject my work?
• How do the examiners make decision?
• What ‘weight’ do they give?
So, yeah, I am pretty curious and writing to simply ‘know more’!
Discuss your Dissertation 
sharonbaneey1 9:15 am on February 12, 2016 Permalink |
Well, I don’t know about your university policies, but in mine, external examiners are appointed to review our thesis. They are also provided with guidelines to help them review but I don’t really thing they do so. Who has the time to go through all the pages? They usually concentrate on the abstract, methods used, findings and conclusion, at least my guide does.
But really, you should concentrate more on your viva. Sometimes if your viva is good, then you place a good impression on the examiners and they might not ‘critically’ review your thesis.
davidm34 11:05 am on February 12, 2016 Permalink |
Go through your institution policies and practices. They all vary!
tappedward 7:07 am on February 13, 2016 Permalink |
My examiners are external and my supervisor says that thy focus on the findings of the research and how much it contributes to your domain. That’s about all I know.
@sharonbaneey1 How should I prepare my viva?
sharonbaneey1 9:47 am on February 13, 2016 Permalink |
Well, you need to be the’ expert in the room’ on your research topic. For that, re-read your thesis and keep track of all the latest technologies or new in your area of research. Be up to date with all the research papers that are being published since you have submitted your thesis and gain the additional knowledge.
terrywellch 10:49 am on February 15, 2016 Permalink |
The examiners are usually chosen on the basis of their expertise in the field of your research work. As it’s basically about impressing them, study their contribution in the field. You’ll get to know about their knowledge and anyways, the papers written by them will be related to your field, so it won’t be a waste of time.
robertmaxeey 11:51 am on February 15, 2016 Permalink |
When I was in my viva, the examiners were totally onto me, they asked everything man. And not just asking, they literally probed on everything I said or ‘didn’t say’. Like they asked the limitations of my study and I only mentioned the usual ‘time constraint’ and what a mistake it was!! They counted off every single limitation there could be in this world! why did you choose this method, how will you justify it, why didn’t you go with this approach? The 1-hour-exhausting-frustrating-bite-my-nails viva killed me, but I did pass, though not with good marks :(. Anyhow, it was a relief, pheww!
What I understand is that, it all depends upon the state of mind the examiner is in! A piece of advice: Viva is about defending your thesis or dissertation, so carefully consider what and how you are going to defend and what you will concede to. Also, don’t hide your limitations, like never!
tappedward 6:06 am on February 17, 2016 Permalink |
@Robertmaxeey Sorry to hear about your marks. Other than thoroughly reading my research, what else can I do to impress my examiners?
robertmaxeey 11:11 am on February 17, 2016 Permalink |
Focus on your contributions, practice on how you will explain them in a clear manner. Don’t be silent, and you’ll be good to go. And yeah, try to have fun, the moment won’t last for long!