nehs

Eigen -- true, I'm not saying he didn't read my paper page-by-page. My main frustration is I thought this is not enough but he said " that's fine". I understand that no thesis/dissertation is perfect but it needs to stand to certain standards which mine did not. I was basically expecting help over research. I feel I have now addressed most concerns and I'm ready . I don't trust my advisor anymore and so, I'm scared as I don't want major feedback on this. This back and forth process will cost me one semester tuition.

I actually think the reverse -- if going for a PhD, why not leave the entire thesis/dissertation for the PhD stage. If the master's is probably the terminal degree for you, why not experience the thesis and have a piece of work? Also, the one thing I am learning from my master's thesis which is currently underway is that the idea is important but whati s more important is to be able to convey the idea.

I would say just start something now, and sleep in ab hour or two. You will have something to continue for tomorrow once you wake up

I am a master's student and I have been working on my thesis for the last 6 months, slowly progressing. I came to the point where I felt ok, not my best, and decided to submit. My advisor had been reviewing all along as I wrote. In my Department, my advisor goes through the thesis and then forwards it to the rest of the committee ( two others) and then if all approve/sign-off, I will have an oral presentation and then we close the case. My thesis went to my committee and I got nasty feedback. The truth is I agree with the feedback. The best thing is I can see the flaws. Also - My advisor is advising three other students as well and one other student also received major revisions. I'm basically mad at him: for not helping me enough with the review process. I say this after having a great relationship with him (even now). He would call us for a meeting and skim through the pages over a cup of coffee and say " Good, I like it. That's all for today. I need coffee now. Let;s continue next week". Then next week, he will read from where we left off. Basically, he has been reading in bits and parts and thus he may have not been able to keep checks on the flow. That is the major feedback I had -- flow is not uniform.I'm feeling like he did a half-baked job; ofcourse the thesis is primarily my responsibility and I am the one doing the revisions now. I'm just left with a feeling of bitterness because of no "real advise". Also, I worked on the revisions for about 7-8 days now and I'm ready for re-submitting; however, this experience has made me lose my trust in my advisor. So, I wonder how to feel "good" about my thesis revisions now? He does such a sloppy job, I don't trust him. I don't want it to come back for major issues as this will prolong the process and possibly annoy everyone involved and needless to say cost me another semester! How should I handle this situation? I'm left feeling worried about my graduation (hoping all goes well eventually) and bitter (I have ruin a wonderful relationship that we both had throughout the year).

Somethinbruin - Thanks, yes -- I could see the lack of organzation in my paper. I'm actually glad that I got this feedback. I now have the oppurtunity to work on it. Well, I'm mad at my advisor for the following reasons (1) Never guided us propoerly (most of his students have recceived this feedback) (2) Never reviews the ideas with us (3) He is happy to submit sloppy work! (4) He is not allowing me to see the person who commented

I mean the revision is substantial -- organizing etc but I have not been given any more comments(no guidance). My advisor is as confused as I am. I am working on the revisions and will possibly see the person when I go back with my revisions.

Yes, I know my readers. My advisor also suggested that I can sit down with them if this major revision does not work. The biggest tragedy for me is -- I do not have substantial comments which means I don't know know what to improve upon.

I appreciate your detailed response, fuzzylogician. I actually got weird comments on my thesis -- same idea and content is repeated and thesis quality needs to be improved. My advisor says these comments are very generic and will be hard to improve, nevertheless I should revise. My advisor has given me some help (comments) for tacking these comments. I agree with you - I prefer to make the changes, since the reader wants them anyway. I'm only concerned that my graduation may get postponed. I am willing to do any amount of work until the deadline. I started working on my revisions right away. I am stressed with this whole process and a larger question on my mind -- will these create bigger problems for me interms of graduation, letters of recommendation etc. Wow, crazy, all this for a master's thesis , I really can't imagine the work and stress that goes into a PhD dissertation.

I submitted my Master's Thesis a few weeks back and just got to know from ym advisor that major revisions are needed. I'm totaly bummed. I saw the 4 major comments and I agree with only one of those comments. Not even sure what to do of the remaining comments. My advisor is very supportive and says sometimes this happens, I would just need to add some more stuff and turn it in. How does this review process work in your program? I'm a little stressed since I may miss my graduation deadline.

juilletmercredi ----- somehow you have echoed my thoughts but just that I would not be able to put it down so neatly

Interesting discussion here. ...Has anyone travelled after the end-date of the program? Specifically, while completing Practical Training? My vis has expired and if I have to travel, I will need to visit the US Consul and complete my visa interview.

Hello all! I have been offered a full-time "lecturer" position in the same Dept. as I completed my Master's. I'm not even done with my master's yet, I finish in one month. This position is a temp one-year position for under-grad classes. The pay sounds good. However, I am told that I need to take 4 classes every semester and one for the summer/winter break. I want to negotiate on this offer saying, I can do 1-2 classes a semester. I need ideas on how to say this? Because I also work in the Industry and , right now, I prefer the industry but this is a good chance to get my feet into the world of teaching/academia which means I can make concrete plans about my PhD (if I happen to like this world). My plan is to keep my current job and take up teaching for 1-2 classes. Thank You

Makes sense but I don't think we would know about the politics until after completing a few months at the institute. I have never got the chance or seeked the oppurtunity to teach. I would have to think about it

Many do this. In my class 10 out of 20 students work full-time and take 2-3 classes per semester. And 7 out of the remaining 10 work part-time and take 3-4 classes per semester. I am part-time work and full-time school. It is doable but you need to get your priorities straight - for example, when you have exams ot ostudy for or projects to complete, you would have to give school a priority.

I've been thinking of academia for tha past few weeks now. I'm finishing up my master's and then I plan to go back into the industry(corporate). My major is MIS/Business. I used to work in the industry before I started my master's program and I thought I enjoyed it. Now, I have a job (part-time) during my master's program and I am realizing that I don't like the industry as much. The job makes me tired at the end of the day. I mean , not physical tiredness as I'm a very active person in terms of fitness levels , but mentally draining. I enjoy academia. I have published during my master's programs but I haven't done any teaching. I'm thinking seriously of going ahead and getting a PhD after my master's to go into teaching. why would you or would you not get into academia after grad school?

I think he just means you need to formulate the research question/narrow down a research area. This gets done only by reading more. Continue to read and you will get an idea soon, By the way I am aslo working on my thesis on Information Systems.

I'm continuing to write a little everyday. Getting just half a page done during a work week is a huge confidence booster and then I sit down and get 6 pages done in the week end.. Hoping to finish my thesis soon!

It was 4 when I started out 3 months ago. Gone down to 3 now and I am about 40% into my thesis. My main concern is the "main body" of the thesis.

I am surprised that you are asking others this question as opposed to doing some research yourself and/or talking to your advisor. I am an MS in CS too and my advisor was my only source of information to narrow down on a topic(I had the broad area in mind). You need to do more reading from papers/academics to understand which topic will be more useful to you in terms of the future. Do you have an adivsor yet?

Hmm, yes I would have a survey or possible a quick structural interview

Thanks Dal! By the way what is REB? Sorry Well, my advisor's idea was to go and survey some systems that they use and he also said he would make any phone calls, if necessary but since he had been away for a couple of weeks now, I would need to wait for next week to have my meeting with him.

I know of some students who went through the IRB exemption process but they haven't really heard anything yet. My advisor has a couple of students who are doing IRB paperwork but he did not mention anything of that sort to me.

Makes sense. My advisor did say that he will help me but he is out of town for two weeks and he comes back in a few days from now. I wanted to see if I can do some progress in the meanwhile.

Exactly! Same here. I didn't know that either.

Thanks rising_star. I will look into SAGE. Also, I had a related question - so if I do not actually go looking for quantitative data but talk/interview experts for qualitative data, then is this also a step that needs IRB approval?