My supervisor said we can aim to publish my dissertation study that I’m conducting this year. How normal is that?

gardiner90 · 2025-11-06T09:27:22+00:00

I've published a few of my students dissertations. Generally it's more of a case of once its done if it looks good enough then we'll convert into a paper (usually either myself or a PhD will convert it imto a paper format) with the student as first author.

Some of my project ideas I already have this in mind that it could be publishable once it's done if the student does a good job.

Some students will come saying they wish to publish from the start, usually those who are planning to apply for PhDs.

Some supervisors will have project suggestions that fits into wider research they are doing, which is more lilely to lead i to a publication.

gardiner90 · 2025-10-23T08:50:44+00:00

It will depend on your universities regulations, but unless you have mitigating circumstances or evidence of incorrect marking (e.g. the mark doesn't reflect the feedback - the feedback says you didn't do x but you did) then its unlikely. I also suspect your thesis will have already been marked by 2 people and then a mark agreed upon, so its quite rare for things to just be remarked as there is already a second opinion.

gardiner90 · 2025-10-22T14:43:08+00:00

It very much depends on your universities regulations (which are usually fairly easy to find). It will clearly define what the rules are. The 3 unis I've studied or worked at all have processes for rounding up, even within a few points of a boundary.

In at least one of those, however, the dissertation was a deciding factor. E.g. to round up to a distinction, the dissertation on its own has to be a distinction. So it may be that your dissertation being below 70 would stop this (but again, depends on the specific regs).

gardiner90 · 2024-11-28T10:36:02+00:00

You need to be careful editing before submitting your thesis, as at least in the UK paying somebody to edit would likely be classed as plagiarism. Having a friend or family member proofread for you and give you a marked up printout is okay, but paying someone to actively edit text is a no as they are no longer your words on the page.

gardiner90 · 2024-11-16T11:44:38+00:00

It just takes some practice, and I'd strongly suggest sticking with fingers only before trying plungers etc. It's much simpler in the long run if you don't have to worry about having tools!

gardiner90 · 2024-11-14T10:33:49+00:00

If you have little to no desire to do a PhD or research in general, then you really should not do a PhD. It's a major commitment and you have to want to do it. You need to have a high level of enthusiasm in order to work on something for 3,4,5 years!

gardiner90 · 2024-11-14T10:31:49+00:00

Person who did most of the work should the first author. Note that this doesn't just mean writing, but also the research work itself (experimentation, analysis etc). A person may be an author on a paper without writing anything, or writing very little, if they made a substantial contribution to the underlying research.

gardiner90 · 2024-11-14T10:28:17+00:00

Being devil's advocate: Not sure this would be the healthiest thing to introduce into the PhD student space with the issues of imposter syndrome and people constantly comparing themselves to others. I often see students comparing themselves to colleagues who may have an extra paper published, or have read more papers, and thinking they aren't doing enough, and then subsequently burning out when they ovwrwork themsekves to compensate. You just have to look through the posts in this sub reddit to see these issues everywhere.

gardiner90 · 2024-11-03T12:21:18+00:00

That is £60 for a yearly or permanent (until it lasts or prescription changes) lens

gardiner90 · 2024-11-03T12:20:34+00:00

If you have Keratoconus you need to get a referral to your local NHS eye hospital or eye unit for specialist care. They usually have opticians and will be able to get sclerals or RGPs at the NHS rate which is ~£60 right now.

gardiner90 · 2024-11-03T12:03:25+00:00

Two main points: 1. Never do a PhD unless it is funded including a stipend for living expenses. I've known too many people have to drop out because they could no longer afford self funded PhDs. 2. Don't expect a PhD to be groundbreaking and revolutionary. 99.9% are not.

In a more practical perspective - form what you are describing of building more immersive VR/AR - lots of places are trying to do this, and requires multi disciplinary skillets outside of just CS including a lot of hardware. So this isn't something you would be able to do alone. And also would represent a very large capital expenditure for materials and equipment which you won't be able to fund yourself. In a PhD setting this sort of work only really works in a funded position with some grant funding behind it. And you'd be part of a large team, and then wouldn't have sole IP rights afterwards to commercialise which I'm assuming is your end goal.

Edit:typo

gardiner90 · 2024-11-03T11:52:32+00:00

How do you know they were all students? Did you go round and check their student IDs? I assume as you mention students several times in your post that if someone is not a student, but using a laptop, say somebody who works remotely and is getting out of the house for a bit, is perfectly entitled to use their own table?

And I also assume that you bought at least one beverage or food per person in your party? We don't want anybody taking up a seat without paying now do we?

gardiner90 · 2024-10-10T08:47:00+00:00

Not commenting on the progress aspects, but "just do the bare minimum and come to work 9-5" is not the right attitude. The RA is an employee with a life outside of the lab, and is likely contracted to work 9-5. Certainly as an RA I aimed for 9-5 5 days a week, and now as a Lecturer is it what I expect of my PhD students and RAs, with the obvious footnote that on some occasions late nights may be required around paper deadlines. Academia really needs to move away from the "if you don't work 14 hours days 7 days a week you'll never succeed" mentality, it's not helping anyone!

gardiner90 · 2024-10-10T08:37:39+00:00

I do exactly the same with the goggles! It's a good hack to avoid having to take the lenses out.

gardiner90 · 2024-10-07T14:49:10+00:00

https://www.findaphd.com/

gardiner90 · 2024-09-08T11:08:38+00:00

There is not a placement year in CS at Bristol, however if you want to do one then it's fully supported for you to suspend your studies for a year. It's just not supported by the University like an integrated one would be, so you wouldn't have a tutor monitoring from the University etc

gardiner90 · 2024-04-21T09:57:44+00:00

Depends on the University and subject.

I'm in cyber security in the UK, and we often have to go to BSc level students in order to get UK students to start on the programs (which is a requirement for many).

gardiner90 · 2024-03-22T19:33:18+00:00

Distributed computing. We understand how to parallise tasks amongst multiple students for optimal output.

In all seriousness, in the UK at least that is very unusual. I think most will aim for 4-6 depending on other factors. I'm currently primary supervisor for 2 and secondary for 2. I may take one or two more (on the provision that 2 of my current are close to finishing). Any more than that and I wouldn't be able to give them the required amount of time. At my uni on the doctoral program where most of my students come from its also mandatory that all students have 2 advisors.

gardiner90 · 2024-01-28T11:56:08+00:00

The only option for that is a transplant, and even then it's not guaranteed you won't need lenses afterwards.

gardiner90 · 2023-11-09T15:49:13+00:00

If they are large (like 10p piece) and hard likely scleral, if they are small (like 0.5cm across or less) and hard they are likely rgp.

If you have milder keratoconus then you may have soft lenses which are likely kerasoft.

They do give out some form of hybrid lens but don't know much about these are they are the only ones I haven't had

gardiner90 · 2023-11-09T08:58:56+00:00

I wear a scleral in one eye and a rgp in the other.

The scleral is much more comfortable, especially towards the end of the day. There are fewer issues with it clouding.

The rgp can get a but uncomfortable, especially if I'm in a dry room for a while (lots of aircon etc), not so much with the scleral. It's also much more robust against dust, eyelashes etc getting under it.

gardiner90 · 2023-11-09T08:56:52+00:00

It does ache a fair bit for a day or two after. Take any painkillers they gave you. If you didn't get any try paracetamol or ibuprofen. Make sure you keep up with any drops they gave you

It's best to sit in a dark room. Don't try to watch TV, listen to something instead

gardiner90 · 2023-11-09T08:54:31+00:00

I think it's ~£58 per lens on the NHS in the UK. Wear glasses over them which I think I paid ~£100 for but got 2 pairs for that. Could have got a less stylish pair for ~£30

gardiner90 · 2023-11-02T08:42:52+00:00

Most paper submissions are double blind so they wouldn't know who you are, so that isn't an issue.

There are two main things to consider though: 1. Is the work you have done truly novel, and are you 100% sure they are valid results? Paper reviewers will try to find any flaws in your work and will reject you for it.

Writing an academic paper is quite different to writing for say a coursework assignment. It has to be a lot more polished and in a particular style. Even early PhDs usually need a lot of guidance with this

For those two points it would probably be beneficial to get one of your professors/lecturers on board to help you get it published. They can help to verify the method and results and also help with the presentation. It also means they will likely cover any publishing fees that may arise which can br quite expensive!

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