2. “the presentation of the thesis falls short,,,substantial proof reading,,,” “the literature,,raises a number of issues,,,many of them are also left open, without being resolved” “this chapter is, however, way too long and almost lacking in analysis. There is simply a regurgitation of very long quotes from the interviews” “I am reasonably happy that the candidate understands the topic, but he does not marshal his arguments well” “this is sheer waffle. This is the first time I have seen a researcher grand-standing in their own thesis. This section should be deleted” “The study is missing a research methodology chapter” “ p 57 the research questions start appearing. They are buried in the chapter and should be more evident” “one odd statement “none of the managers in this study are ageist or hold prejudices against older people”. How does the candidate know this?” “The chapter is somewhat heavy with data and there might have been some more discussion and analysis of the data”

3. What Examiners Look for in a Thesis Professor Alan Brown School of Management Edith Cowan University

4. What is a good PhD? No specific criteria apart from university guidelines for examiners Makes “a substantial and original contribution to knowledge” - what is substantial, what is original? It is important to show your contribution Judgement of supervisors Mullins, G and Kiley, M. (2002) “It’s a PhD, not a Nobel Prize”: how experienced examiners assess research theses, Studies in Higher Education, 27, 4, 369-386

5. Examiners ECU requires 3 external Some universities use 2 Comments often conflict Supervisor + student select or supervisor only Who are best? (junior/senior, used their work, supervisors network, sympathetic to methods, etc) Several levels of pass can be awarded Have you/your supervisor published with them?

6. Examiners checklist Identify and justify a topic > research problem Formulate research question(s) Review relevant literature Develop theoretical/conceptual framework Identify appropriate methodologies Obtain valid and reliable data Conduct appropriate analysis Draw appropriate conclusions Communicate clearly

7. Research questions Not too broad Define boundaries Limitations Significance (academic, practical) Link to a gap in the literature Primary and secondary Q’s

8. Introduction Gain the readers (examiners) interest Clarity, specify Q’s, etc Research is relevant Has academic merit Has practical value Not on basis of personal interest A comprehensive yet concise overview

9. Literature review Extensive yet concise Include key references in the field Not a kitchen sink, not padding > relevant Up to date (check list <5years old) Structure - cluster references by dates and themes Link to research question Need to address conflicts Synthesize with conceptual framework

10. Methodology General overview of methodology options Fully explained details for your research Justification of methodology (eg why 2?) How questionnaire/interviews developed Using existing questionnaires Pilot work Validity/reliability checks Links to theoretical framework Proposed data analysis

11. Analysis Could be several chapters eg qualitative and quantitative Keep some stats in an appendix Present facts and offer explanations Avoid broad generalisations Some link back to the literature/theory May be long and boring so good summaries are important

12. Conclusions Answers to research questions No new ideas introduced here Theoretical contribution - worthwhile Practical contribution - worthwhile Limitations Further research Interesting to read Strong link back to chapter 1

13. References Current Properly presented Cross referenced in text-reference list Good references not just conference papers Don’t over use your own publications Many examiners look at this first!

14. For each chapter…. Introduction Summary Sections clearly identified Table of contents gives an idea of how well structured the thesis is

15. Top Tips! Don’t make examiners guess – make it easy for them to read and follow Structure References Chapter introductions and summaries Justify methodology Final chapter Conceptual/theoretical framework – linkages Explanations, summaries of findings Your contribution is clear