How to convince examiners of the merit of your thesis, by making your thinking visible within the thesis right from the start of your doctoral journey

Quality in research is to be recognized and applauded for its conceptualization and high level thinking. This thinking must be visible in the text of the thesis so that researchers, supervisors and examiners can acknowledge the scholarship of the thesis.

Questions that examiners intend to ask in doctoral defense events (vivas) is determined by what they read in your thesis. These questions display patterns of emphasis as they are then posed in the viva itself. Recognizing and acting on those patterns can provide insights into what examiners consider to be the determinants of doctorateness in a thesis. This will also determine the level of award that they will recommend to your university. So, knowing what the criteria are and what questions will possibly be asked, provides a framework from which to approach and undertake your research. Making the destination explicit should be the starting point and guide the subsequent planning and execution for your doctoral research.

• So, how can candidates be assisted to reach the level of conceptualization which is expected from a doctoral thesis and make it visible in their writing?
• How can candidates influence the outcome of the doctoral studies, by starting at the end of the journey (examiners’ questions) to visualize and plan how to begin and progress through the doctoral journey?

The workshop will introduce inescapable pre-requisites for a thesis to become doctoral- worthy. It will provide insights on what examiners consider to be the determinants of ‘Doctorateness’ in a thesis so that you can incorporate them right from the start of your writing. It will offer strategic practical tools to apply in your thesis and help candidates and readers appreciate:

 1. The ‘whole’ and the’ parts’ that form ‘synergy’ between the account of the research that has been undertaken and the written text. 

 2. The high quality of conceptualisation expected from a doctoral thesis and recognized by presentation of argument and structure, which make the thesis a coherent piece of research. 

The workshop will include both theory and practice where participants will be able to interact with each other and discuss issues regarding their own research.