“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”
“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”
“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”
 What
Examiners Look for in a Thesis

Professor Alan Brown

School of Management
Edith Cowan University
 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
 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?
 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
 Research questions
• Not too broad
• Define boundaries
• Limitations
• Significance (academic, practical)
• Link to a gap in the literature
• Primary and secondary Q’s
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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!
 For each chapter….
• Introduction
• Summary
• Sections clearly identified

• Table of contents gives an idea of how well

structured the thesis is
 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