UNDERSTANDING YOUR THESIS SUPERVISOR ==================================== WHAT YOUR SUPERVISOR SAYS WHAT YOUR SUPERVISOR MEANS ------------------------- -------------------------- Look on this as a learning You're going to suffer experience Let me explain the format of the Let me make you even more nervous defence I'm here to lend you support I'm here to destroy you so you won't look smarter than I do I found the overall concept This is my token compliment before interesting ripping your idea to shreds I would like to have had more time I didn't read it to study this I have some concerns about the I hate the theory but I can't insult theory upon which your study is the author so I'll insult your work based instead There are some aspects of the I read it but I just don't remember study that I would like to hear anything about it more about Your hypotheses are not strongly You came up with an innovative idea enough linked to the existing and I want to make sure you never do literature it again Your research is an interesting Why didn't I think of this before extension of my own work you did? You have failed to take into You failed to cite me account some of the more relevant literature I would like you to explain... I don't know anything about this stuff so you'll have to explain it to me Your statistical results don't I don't understand statistics seem to support your hypothesis Your selection of statistical I'm the only one here that understands tests is rather simplistic statistics and I wanted to rub it in How did you ensure that you had I had to come up with at least one drawn a random sample? question and this one always works Let's wrap this up I'm hungry Could you step out of the room We decided beforehand to give you your while the committee comes to a degree, but we still want to make you decision? sweat some more