QUOTE(Michael_Light @ Nov 13 2022, 08:01 AM)
Hi guys, I am considering a phd programe but have some confusion on the graduation criteria below:
(1) Publication in ISI journals
How does ISI publication works? Do we need to present it in conference or to any panel before our paper is accepted? What happen if our submission is rejected, do we need to rework the whole research?
Would be great if anyone can share their valuable experience on paper publication. 😀
(2) viva-voce
Is this basically a discussion/presentation with the university examination panel on my thesis? What is the purpose of viva-voce since my papers have already been accepted and published in the journals?
Really appreciate any clarification for these two components above. Thanks!
Hope this reply is not too late for you.
1. ISI journals means journals indexed by the WOS ISI. In the easiest way I can put it, publication in ISI journals mean that you need to submit and publish your research in journals indexed by WOS ISI. No conference or presentation required. Just submit and wait.
Publications in ISI journals are usually challenging and time consuming as these are the highest quality journals and sometimes you will need to wait for a long time for the feedback (prepare to wait at least few months for the feedback). You can consult with your supervisors regarding suitable journals that you should publish as they usually know more about publications than you.
Generally submission won't be rejected (unless your work is far below the standard or you try to publish in the top 1% journals) as long as your work matches the journal's general direction. Generally you will only get 3 possible outcomes: Accept without correction (unlikely), accept with minor correction or accept with major correction. You will be given the deadline for the correction but in my experience, usually these corrections are quite simple to correct and may take only few days or 1 week since we know pretty such everything about the article we try to publish.
2. Yes Viva is just a formal presentation of your thesis. Viva and publications are 2 completely different things. Publications are submitted and accepted by the journals while Viva is the final test from your university. Even if you managed to publish your research, that does not mean that you meet your requirements of your university for the phd degree. They will need to test you for 1 last time on how well you know the area you study.
When you attend your viva, your thesis has not yet been accepted by your university to meet the requirement of the graduation. You can still fail your viva (albeit very unlikely). During your viva, external examiner(s) will test and challenge you orally on your thesis. In some cases (including mine), the external examiner(s) can be alot tougher than your publication reviewers so prepare to defend your thesis well.
Hope this reply helps.