What examiners do: what thesis students should know

Abstract

Although many articles have been written about thesis assessment, none provide a comprehensive, general picture of what examiners do as they assess a thesis. To synthesise this diverse literature, we reviewed 30 articles, triangulated their conclusions and identified 11 examiner practices. Thesis examiners tend to be broadly consistent in their practices and recommendations; they expect and want a thesis to pass, but first impressions are also very important. They read with academic expectations and the expectations of a normal reader. Like any reader, thesis examiners get annoyed and distracted by presentation errors, and they want to read a work that is a coherent whole. As academic readers, examiners favour a thesis with a convincing approach that engages with the literature and the findings, but they require a thesis to be publishable research. Finally, examiners give not only a final evaluation of a thesis, but also instruction and advice to improve the thesis and further publications and research. We hope that these generalisations will demystify the often secret process of assessing a thesis, and reassure, guide and encourage students as they write their theses.

Facilitating Knowledge Visualisation as Communication and Knowledge Transfer Mechanism in Postgraduate Learning

“…One of the things all postgraduates are required to do is to gather information about a specific topic and then to provide a synthesis thereof (Golding et al 2014;James 1998;Mullins and Kiley 2002). This is a time-consuming process and, despite the availability of similarity checking tools, plagiarism remains a concern.…”

The role of knowledge visualisation in supporting postgraduate dissertation assessment

“…This probably helps them to assess research rigour (have they consulted the right papers, whether it is up to date, and whether it is substantial enough) and, indirectly, professionalism (sloppy referencing is often an indicator of sloppiness elsewhere, according to Golding, Sharmini & Lazarovitch, ).…”

“…Examiners will look at whether the conclusions flow from the introduction, and how well the student explains what he or she did. Phase 2: Check whether the correct sources have been consulted This probably helps them to assess research rigour (have they consulted the right papers, whether it is up to date, and whether it is substantial enough) and, indirectly, professionalism (sloppy referencing is often an indicator of sloppiness elsewhere, according to Golding, Sharmini & Lazarovitch, 2014). Phase 3: Slow and careful perusal The time taken for the third phase is more or less directly proportional to the number of pages and supports assessment of the criteria mentioned in Table 3.…”

A Good Supervisor–Ten Facts of Caring Supervision

“…The doctoral thesis should fulfil the following criteria of scientific contribution and the student's scholarship and ability. It has to (a) include new scientific information and well-developed results and be scientifically convincing; (b) show the candidate's ability to critical thinking, deep familiarization with one's academic field, and knowledge of scientific research methods and their application; and be scientifically honest and follow the research ethical guidelines (Golding, Sharmini, & Lazarovitch, 2014).…”