Supervision Meeting 31 (15 November 2022)

I met with both of my supervisors this morning and had a very productive meeting discussing some of the practicalities of the next eleven months.  I updated them on my progress since the last time we met, explaining that I am finding this re-drafting phase challenging as I do not feel I am delivering tangible outputs daily.  It is a case of reading, re-reading and then revising parts of Chapter 2 of my thesis.  I am taking small steps as I decide which sections to ditch as not being as relevant as other parts of my writing.  I suggested that this phase is about taking possession of the text and making every word count.  I recounted a fear of omitting key parts of the thesis at this stage and that I had created a Word file of the sections I have taken out called “Chapter 2 Snippets”.   My supervisors suggested it may be the case, that in due course, some sections might be reinstated as footnotes.

I talked about my new Thesis Structure as follows:

Introduction                            5,000 words

Practice Chapter                     15,000 words

Theory Chapter                       15,000 words

Reflection and Chapter           5,000 words

The chapter titles are indicative at this stage.

My supervisors suggested I bring in a brief reference to theory in the practice chapter when I am referring to “moments of insight”.  We also discussed the term I should use consistently in speaking about my PhD and we agreed on “practice-led research as best describing my approach.  My supervisors suggested that I refer to this explicit choice in Chapter 1 and explain what I understand practice-led research to be.

We spoke about the elements of my submission:  the thesis, a handmade book and perhaps a box of printed images that were included in the thesis.  My supervisors confirmed that the University only required an electronic version of the thesis to be submitted.  I spoke of my wish for the examiners to see a high-quality printed rendition of my images.  We talked about timing and my intention for the examiners to see both the handmade book and the printed images from the thesis, on the day of the viva.  My supervisors suggested that I should include all the images from the handmade book that would be available on the day of the viva, in the Appendices as electronic versions, so the examiners were able to see all outputs in electronic form before the examination.  DJCAD will require a copy of the handmade book and the box of images.

We also spoke about the referencing system that I should use.  I need to decide between Harvard and a derivative of it, APA and then be consistent with the style I use.  The use of footnotes will be a consideration as I intend to use footnotes to provide URL links to my blog.  I was suggested that, on the assumption that I am successful in defending my thesis, hard copies of the thesis should be produced after corrections/amendments have been made.