- Location
- The TerrorVortex
You'll be tyred after that.
IGM kevlar-belted C
IGM kevlar-belted C
Tea? (Part 1)
- Thread starter LordoftheTeapot
- Start date
- Status
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Landslide
Rare Migrant
- Location
- Called to the bar
Mornings! How's our little den of vice?
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Landslide said:
It's all dovetailing nicely.
Landslide
Rare Migrant
- Location
- Called to the bar
OP
OP
LordoftheTeapot
Guru
Landslide
Rare Migrant
- Location
- Called to the bar
Ta! Biskit? I've got some of those oaty ones.
OP
OP
LordoftheTeapot
Guru
Any dunkable biskit would be appreciated, thank you Landslide.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
*snares Tea? and biskit*
Thanks both!
Thanks both!
Amanda P
Legendary Member
- Location
- York. Well, York-ish...
Chuffy said:
Arch, look away now.
Has she gone?
Wanna bet? I ended up having two. The two examiners acknowledged that at that moment, I knew a lot more about my subject than they did. Having done that, rather than quiz me about the main subject, they grilled me over the statistics. It was a very hot day, a small room, and they both had very loud voices. I began to feel like a prisoner being interrogated.
Eventually I said that I wasn't writing a thesis on the finer points of statistics, it was on wildlife ecotoxicology, and stats was merely one of a number of tools I'd used; could we move on from stats and talk about something else now?
We did so, but it was not an enjoyable experience.
They do not make good tea at Reading University School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, either...
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
<Wail!>
That would be my nightmare, as I'm only just clinging on to understanding the stats - I let the computer run the test and that's more or less it.
I am seriously worried about coping - under stress like that I just tend to want to cry. People keep saying I'll be more confident by the time I hand in, but I've never been the sort who can withstand criticism (and I mean even the constructive sort) well. I just assume the other person knows best, and I'm an idiot.
That would be my nightmare, as I'm only just clinging on to understanding the stats - I let the computer run the test and that's more or less it.
I am seriously worried about coping - under stress like that I just tend to want to cry. People keep saying I'll be more confident by the time I hand in, but I've never been the sort who can withstand criticism (and I mean even the constructive sort) well. I just assume the other person knows best, and I'm an idiot.
Amanda P
Legendary Member
- Location
- York. Well, York-ish...
You weren't supposed to be reading!
However, my mistake was putting up with the statistical grilling for too long. It was an area the examiners knew well, so they enjoyed talking about it. I didn't. I should have deployed my "not a stats thesis" argument earlier. Now you have the same argument ready!
It was also partly my fault for suggesting an examiner who was so statistically orientated - I should have known the second one (who I didn't get to suggest) would be too! They were both very well-known and respected ornithologists too, but neither knew anything about the applied, toxicological aspects of things. Can't blame them for sticking to what they knew, I suppose.
Like you, though, I was really at the point of not caring whether I got the damn thing or not, and that was a coping strategy in itself. It's very rare for anyone to fail a PhD once they have got to the stage of submitting a thesis and the thesis has been through a revisions stage.
To fail at the viva, the thesis would have to be pretty weak. If the thesis were weak, your supervisors would tell you.
So a viva seems to be a sort of initiation rite which may not be strictly necessary but continues anyway.
I have been improving the English of a number of papers and theses for some of my german oppos. Two of them have been through vivas (one in English!) and said afterwards that they enjoyed them. So don't let my unfortunate experiences scare you too much!
However, my mistake was putting up with the statistical grilling for too long. It was an area the examiners knew well, so they enjoyed talking about it. I didn't. I should have deployed my "not a stats thesis" argument earlier. Now you have the same argument ready!
It was also partly my fault for suggesting an examiner who was so statistically orientated - I should have known the second one (who I didn't get to suggest) would be too! They were both very well-known and respected ornithologists too, but neither knew anything about the applied, toxicological aspects of things. Can't blame them for sticking to what they knew, I suppose.
Like you, though, I was really at the point of not caring whether I got the damn thing or not, and that was a coping strategy in itself. It's very rare for anyone to fail a PhD once they have got to the stage of submitting a thesis and the thesis has been through a revisions stage.
To fail at the viva, the thesis would have to be pretty weak. If the thesis were weak, your supervisors would tell you.
So a viva seems to be a sort of initiation rite which may not be strictly necessary but continues anyway.
I have been improving the English of a number of papers and theses for some of my german oppos. Two of them have been through vivas (one in English!) and said afterwards that they enjoyed them. So don't let my unfortunate experiences scare you too much!
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Uncle Phil said:
I gather the original purpose was simply to make sure you were who you said you were (and presumably, not a conglomerate of people).
Anyway, that's months away. <tries not to think about it>
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
Heh…
Sorry old girl, I know it’s not that easy. Personally I’d look at it as a chance to have a very genteel argument which has fairly clear rules of engagement. They aren’t allowed to physically attack you and the idea is to probe and enquire, not to make you cry. So there are definite boundaries which are worth bearing in mind. I had to do a presentation recently to a group of the Great & Good ™ about some work I had done. I went through my stuff and then took questions on some of the minutiae of the methodology. The actual findings were almost ignored.
It was actually quite invigorating, even if I did find it annoying that they weren’t focussing on the substance.
Sorry old girl, I know it’s not that easy. Personally I’d look at it as a chance to have a very genteel argument which has fairly clear rules of engagement. They aren’t allowed to physically attack you and the idea is to probe and enquire, not to make you cry. So there are definite boundaries which are worth bearing in mind. I had to do a presentation recently to a group of the Great & Good ™ about some work I had done. I went through my stuff and then took questions on some of the minutiae of the methodology. The actual findings were almost ignored.
It was actually quite invigorating, even if I did find it annoying that they weren’t focussing on the substance.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Well, I think I'll be off shortly. This weekend I am going to <fanfare> do some bike fettling! New tyres new brake blocks, and probably a new chain, on the FCR. And give it a wipe down. And if it's nice on Sunday, I may even go for a spin.
So if you hear cursing tomorrow, it'll be me trying to get new tyres on, or adjust the brakes.
Meanwhile, it's that 'what's for dinner' time again. Found a pie reduced last night enough to fit in my 'protein for 50p or less' rule, so it may be pasta tonight, unless I have a tin of mackerel in, in which case it'll be kedgeree.
Then an evening of hot water bottle cover knitting while I pay attention to the funny bits of Comic Relief, and zone out of the rest.
I'm sure you're all fascinated by my scintillating life, eh?
So if you hear cursing tomorrow, it'll be me trying to get new tyres on, or adjust the brakes.
Meanwhile, it's that 'what's for dinner' time again. Found a pie reduced last night enough to fit in my 'protein for 50p or less' rule, so it may be pasta tonight, unless I have a tin of mackerel in, in which case it'll be kedgeree.
Then an evening of hot water bottle cover knitting while I pay attention to the funny bits of Comic Relief, and zone out of the rest.
I'm sure you're all fascinated by my scintillating life, eh?
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Mornings!
Nothing much to report, just filling the kettle and rescuing Tea? from the obscurity of page 2.
Biskit?
Nothing much to report, just filling the kettle and rescuing Tea? from the obscurity of page 2.
Biskit?
- Status
