www.le.ac.uk apg status, examination and success hugh busher school of education

www.le.ac.uk

APG status, examination and success

Hugh Busher School of Education

www.le.ac.uk

What this presentation covers

2012APG guidance to Doctoral students2

What do is meant by the APG?What do you need to do to pass from APG

status to PhD?Developing the APG reportHow it is examined?

What is meant by APG?


Every Postgraduate research student begins at the university as an Advanced Postgraduate Student

This is a preparation stage for becoming a PhD student.

[It is equivalent to the taught programme of the EdD students]

It is not automatically passedTo find out more go to:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/current/handbook/administration/apg?searchterm=APG

Why examine APG student progress


Transfer from APG to a named research degree is an important milestone for a student

Your tutors (and the University) need to be convinced that you can implement your study successfully and ethically

there must be an honest assessment of a student’s performance and potential that is fairly and rigorously reached

It is vital for both the student’s individual guidance and the maintenance of good completion rates across the Graduate School

What is expected of APG students?


Pass your APG transfer within 9-12 months of starting your studies if you are a full-

time student, or 21-24 months if a part-time studentsubmit your thesis within the normal period of

registration For PhD students, this is 3 years full‐time and 6 years for part‐

time.

Requests for Extending the APG Period If the department is concerned that a student is not making

satisfactory progress a recommendation can be made to extend the APG period.

This should only be considered in exceptional circumstances and the extension should not usually exceed for full-time students and six months for part-time students.

Being a responsible trainee researcher!


Student responsibilities are set for all Research Students at

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/current/handbook Attendance is an essential requirement. Full‐time students

must reside in Leicester or within easy commuting distance of the city for the duration of each term, and all students are normally required to attend specified lectures, seminars, and other formal classes

Full‐time student are required to attend the research methods training classes and your supervision sessions with your main supervisor.

Blackboard offers a provision for part-time students Full‐time students/ Term‐time employment: Full‐time students

are expected to undertake a full week’s work of at least 40 hours on their studies or whatever is needed to complete their studies in 3 years.

Paid employment during term‐time should not exceed 15 hours per week.

What do you need to do to pass from APG status to PhD?


RegistrationIt is important that you register every year as a

student with the Graduate Office, the Library, and the Computer Centre as early as possible.

Only once you have completed this will you have access to the computer and library facilities that you will need for your studies. There is some guidance registration at http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/

NOTE: students have to re-register each academic year if they wish to remain on the programme

The supervisory system


University’s current policies Departments have a ‘Thesis Committee’ for all APG/PhD students,

This meets with the student twice a year, for full-time students, and includes the first and second supervisor and the PG(PhD) tutor or his/her nominee

Main supervisor carries primary responsibility for supervision http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/current/handbook/supervision

Second supervisor helps the main supervisor and may occasionally give academic advice to the student when requested by the main supervisor

PG Tutor (or nominee) is involved in monitoring progress but is independent of the supervisory team

What you supervisor might first want to Know: Discuss with your colleagues


What are the purposes and intended outcomes of your thesis?

Why are you carrying out this study?What is the context of this study?

Your main supervisor’s functions:Full time students can expect to have around 12 one

hour tutorials per year (roughly one every 3 weeks) face‐to‐face as well as email/ telephone contact with their supervisor

This is to advise a student on planning, reading and general progress of their research.

Supervisors also provide written feedback on partial drafts of preparatory papers for the APG Report and on draft chapters of your thesis

Part‐time students receive pro rata support, assuming that part-time is equivalent to half‐time. They may expect to have contact with their first supervisors at least nine times a year by email, telephone, as well as face‐to‐face


Taking control of the APG process


http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/current/handbook/supervision/supervisory-meetings

Discuss with your supervisor any issues you have, even if they seem trivial, the type of guidance and comments you find especially helpful.

Keep notes of all your discussions in your research diary Agree a mutually convenient schedule of meetings with your

supervisor and attend your supervision sessions punctually. Keep in regular contact with your supervisor and/ or the PhD office. Maintain and sustain the progress of work in accordance with the

stages agreed with your supervisor, in particular the prompt presentation of draft material written in good, clear English.

Expect to do a full week’s work of at least 40 hours on your studies or whatever it takes to complete your Doctoral studies in three years.

What you will need to develop: Discuss with your colleagues


What are the main concepts behind your study?

How are these concepts understood in the literature?

What are your main research questions and how do these relate to your main concepts?

Identify your research training needs


Analyse what research training you need in the light of the focus of your proposed thesis – discuss this with your supervisor

Attend appropriate research methods training courses and programmes provided for you

To pass your APG examination you will need to show:a) your student’s training needs analysis (training passport

etc.) as agreed by the thesis committee (or equivalent) upon the commencement of studies.

b) that your training has now been completed successfully, as agreed.

[On the EdD students have to pass the thesis proposal at at least Grade

B to progress to the thesis

How will you carry out your study: Discuss with your colleagues


Explain and justify your choice of research design, including your sampling,

Justify your methods of data collection in the light of your main research question.

How will you analyse your data? And why have you made this choice?

How will you make sure your research is carried out ethically?

Developing your APG report (1)


Be clear what length of APG report is expected of you in your department and what is expected to be the content of your APG report

Write a series of draft papers to construct the different sections of your APG report

Get feedback from your supervisor on each of these in turn and listen carefully to the views of your supervisor as an expert in your field

0‐3 months: Complete your research methods training form to help you plan your

research methods training and share it with your supervisor. Write a brief paper stating why you have chosen your thesis topic,

why it is important and what you hope it will achieve (max 3000 words).

Write a literature search for your topic that explains clearly how you have searched a recent and relevant range of bibliographic sources, and what you have found (discussion of max 1500 words plus appropriate reading list).

Developing your APG report (2)


3‐6 months: Write a literature review that begins to construct the main conceptual

framework of their thesis and clarify the main research questions of the thesis. Use the objectives of the thesis to structure this (max 5000 words).

6‐9 months: An outline discussion of the proposed methodology of the thesis, that

reflects a student’s choice of ontology and epistemology to meet the purposes of the study and guide the selection of appropriate methods of data collection and analysis (max 5000 words).

9‐12 months: write the APG report (6000‐8000 words long if in the School of

Education), as a distillation of what you have constructed of your thesis already.

Structuring your APG report


three main sections: IntroductionLiterature ReviewResearch Methods

followed by:FeasibilityTimetableReferences

Any questions?


the APG transfer process


The Graduate Office will contact your department about your transfer from APG status 9 months after a Fulltime student begins her/ his studies or 21 months after a part‐time student begins her / his.

Your department will require you to produce a progress report which is examined by at least two members of the academic staff including your supervisor.

You will also attend an oral examination or present a departmental seminar on your report.

The assessment of your report will form the basis of the formal recommendation to the Board of Graduate Studies on your transfer to a named research degree (MPhil or PhD).

This must be made before a full‐time student begins her / his second year of studies, or the third year for part‐time students.

Once the Board of Graduate Studies has approved the recommendation you will receive confirmation from the Graduate Office.”

oral examination:


you will be examined by interview with your supervisor and at least two other members of the academic staff

Usually you will be asked to make a presentation to the examiners about the main aspects of your thesis shown in your APG report

The questions asked will relate mainly to the written progress report previously submitted and read by your examiners.

The examination will not normally exceed 45‐60 minutes. You will be judged on the quality of your answers to the

questions in terms of clarity, relevance, subject/topic knowledge and critical insight.

BECOME A DOCTORAL STUDENT

Introduction


Background informationWhat is the context of the study?What is your role in/ knowledge of the context?What is it that has prompted you to choose the topic?Why are you setting the study in this specific context?

Topic of your research Purpose

Why do you wish to conduct the research?What do you hope to achieve?

Importance of the researchObjectives or provisional Research Questions

What, exactly, are you trying to find answers to?Outline of the rest of the report

Literature Review


Concepts and terms explained/definedWhat are the key constructs in your study?What precisely do you mean by them, and how does that relate to

whatother researchers mean?

Conceptual FrameworkWhat other research is there on your topic or related topics?Are there differences or controversies in the field?Are there trends (e.g. towards a constructivist approach…)?What is your own position?How do research questions and findings of previous research relate

toyour own study (e.g. are you filling a gap, conducting parallel

research,expanding or improving on prior research…)?

Main themes emerging on which the thesis will focus

Research Methods


Main Research Questions ParadigmResearch DesignMethodologyEthical considerations

For more detail: School of Education PhD Student handbook Appendix 2

www.le.ac.uk apg status, examination and success hugh busher school of education

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