Preparing the thesis for submission

Yes there has been a big gap between my last blog and this one but I have been busy getting my thesis ready for submission. The art of good writing is repeated editing and rewriting of the work.... Rupert's words of wisdom. I had to return to the methodology chapter as now even I could see the flaws in the structure of the chapter and lack of connection to the process of research it was supposed to show. I returned to the original idea of choosing the methodology and then identifying major issues that arose through use of collaborative approach to carrying out the research.

I also went on to identify how each type of data gathering tool and analysis approach was going to be addressed in each experiment. The brief discussion was then linked to the relevant chapter. This actually made the links that were missing, and which actually improved the continuity of the writing. The next issue of linking arose during the discussion chapter where the links needed to be made back to the experiment chapters so that the statements could be traced back to the findings. It is hard to do that without repeating the information from previous chapters. Also Rupert felt that some sort of summary was necessary in relation to each question. Already I had reached the allowed word limit. After some thinking I developed key findings bullet points at end of each research question and then used those key findings to show the similarities and differences in the comparison chapter.

This collaborative approach to developing a PhD is fairly new to my education institution. Also using two ongoing research projects made writing of the thesis unconventional. It just does not follow the regular steps of thesis writing. However, I finally managed to complete it and submit it for examination. I am very happy about it and also a little surprised when I actually saw all that writing in print. Hard to believe I did it all. I am proud that I have completed this work. I feel I have managed to overcome all the odds thrown at me. Personally, I have been ill for all the time I have been doing the study. Social and emotionally I have had problems of sisters getting cancer and dying, as well as family not understanding my own health problems. Work colleagues also were not very supportive except my then manager Mary. When I asked for sabbatical to complete my writing the management decided I could not possibly be at the stage of writing and refused to give me time. So I feel proud that no thanks to my near and dear and work colleagues I have survived and achieved so much.

The next step is the viva. I have a mock one soon and will then put up about preparing for the viva. The basic understanding is to know what you have written and can identify examples when answering the examiners questions. Right now I am chilling as I have had the flu and its snowing outside.