One may write a thesis without any trouble or hindrance, may feel that he/she has chosen of the best topics for thesis, but until it goes in hands of the referees (external examiners) and they oaky the thesis for degree of PhD, the final result cannot be concluded. Sometimes the referee may ask the candidate to change certain portion of the thesis, sometimes a thesis is returned for rewriting it, sometimes the data gets too old and therefore goes back for rewriting and at times due to poor language the thesis is returned.

Who can be the appropriate examiner? The examiners’ knowledge of the subject area is most important. His/her capability to scrutinize, assess, previous experience of PhD examining, and the assessment criteria by the University where the student is registered is moreover significant. The examiner gets his independence to judge quality of the research. If that freedom is not given, its better a person denies the responsibility of assessing. He or she should possess a PhD. Often, due to shortage of examiners, many thesis are kept pending in universities.

There are some good and some not-so-good examiners: The good ones assess the strength and weaknesses of the thesis; they are critical yet aware of the facts and figures mentioned in the thesis. They give due credit to the researcher and the supervisor, they are empathetic. Good examiners are experienced ones; they have their style of assessing a thesis and a good track record of doing justice to their job. Whereas, some supervisors believe in negative marking, they concentrate on finding weaknesses in a thesis. They take pride in finding mistakes and sending the thesis for amendment. Honestly, this happens when examiners lack subject knowledge and insight of assessing a thesis. An examiner becomes mature after assessing several theses. He/she gets hands on experience after assessing a number of theses. An examiner is supposed to check what contribution a thesis makes to society; the worth of the topic, uniqueness of the topic, style of presentation, findings, and the conclusions drawn by the researcher are important.

These are few things to remember:

Good document: The thesis must come out as a good readable document. The chapter schemes must be laid in logical and inter-reliant manner. The examiner must not be strained while reading a thesis. There must be natural flow in the written presentation. The examiner will be looking at whether you know the current scenario in the subject area. He will look for the evidences you have presented. The evidence can be in debate form, case form, news form. In short, the examiner looks at how familiar the researcher is with the subject.

Data has age: Remember that the data has an age. In today’s world when things are short lived, do not ignore the gaps in the data. If you have a purpose for choosing gaps, please mention it. The examiner looks out for new ideas, new methods, new modelling, and new strategies presented by the researcher. Make sure, that your thesis makes a significant contribution to original topic. The examiner must not miss your contribution in the chosen area.

Components of a good thesis: The examiners will assess the success of your thesis based on these components: the research problem or the research question; the significance for choosing the research problem; the chapter scheme; the relationship of your thesis to previous work done in the area; how your thesis builds on or adds to existing knowledge in the area; use of appropriate methodology; literature reviewed; conclusions and observations in regards to the research question; bibliography (is a list that goes at the end of a work of research writing. The list contains all the sources utilized in the thesis) there are marks for the bibliography, it goes to show quality of what you have picked up from existing theory, news, the books/journals etc.  A thorough examiner checks the bibliography to establish that all major writers are included. If they are not, you may fail to meet a major credibility criterion.

The role of your supervisor is vital: He must tell at each step of the research what is wrong and how to correct it. You can use your supervisor as a sounding-board in all of the above areas. Think of your supervisor as the channel between you and the examiner. He/she can tell you what the examiners look for. In my opinion, the guide must have experience of examining few theses, so that he/she can tell the gaps. A mature and serious guide will keep showing you whether your thesis demonstrates the capacity to be developed systematically over the length of the dissertation; whether it is ready in all areas in terms of writing and presentation.

The viva: the external examiners often start out by trying to put the candidate at ease. They usually tell the candidate what they expect to see and hear in the presentation. Even in the case of a well-written thesis, the viva can be tough. The examiner looks forward to discuss the thesis topic in more details. It is good practice to approach the viva as a discussion among professionals. A good examiner will never let down or ridicule the student, or ask questions aggressively or dismiss responses without due consideration. The supervisor is an onlooker; rarely the examiner asks questions to the supervisor. But, presence of the supervisor is a must. If the viva turns tangential, the supervisor can give his/her opinion. At the end of the questioning, it is also good practice for examiners to ask the student if there are any questions they want to ask, or any points they want to make about the thesis, the examination process or supervision. A logically concluded viva must not last for more than an hour.

PPT Presentation: make a Power-Point presentation not exceeding 25 slides covering research problem, literature review, chapter scheme, what they cover, hypothesis, research methodology, findings and conclusions. After which, the examiner may ask questions, sometimes examiners ask questions during PPT Presentation itself.  Take time to think before replying, remember to breathe and to speak practically slowly. Don’t become nervous, if the examiner criticises a point, don’t take it personally. Don’t become defensive. Instead, take the opportunity to talk about your research.

The questions that crop up in vivas are: What the thesis is about? What did you do? What did you find? Why does that matter? The time taken for completing the research, why that much time was taken?  What was the experience of data collection, methodology, statistical tools and its effects etc? Remember to keep a clam mind, exuberance and liveliness matters. Wear a formal outfit.

This about three decades ago, 7 out of 10 youngsters opted for Pure Science at UG and PG level. Be it chemistry, physics or biology the colleges in India had around 35 to 40 percent of students in the Science Stream. Then, most of the colleges used to have some of the best teachers who were known for their craft; they had the research aptitude and carried on lot of research in the laboratories. But today, the scene has changed drastically. As per a report of UGC, the percentage of students joining pure science courses has dropped down to below five percent, especially in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Many colleges in are feeling helpless as they are not finding quality teachers to teach physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Pure sciences deal with the study of natural phenomena through examination and observation, experimentation and use of scientific methods. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Biochemistry, and Microbiology etc are some of the major streams followed in Pure Sciences.

Pure sciences are one of the most interesting and research oriented fields. It plays a vital role in innovation, new discoveries and inventions. Studying pure sciences requires inquisitiveness in the different phenomenon that occurs in nature. It requires creating theories and hypotheses about them, and finally testing and validating them through experimentation and logic. Different science subjects address different aspects of natural phenomena. For example Physics deals with the study of properties of matter and its constituents in the universe, as they relate to motions, force and energy. Chemistry concerns itself with the reactions of the constituents of matter to create new forms of matter. And Biology is the study of life forms including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, and classification.

The basic eligibility criteria for pursuing Pure Science education are to complete a 10+2 education with subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Math or Biology.  Students can then pursue a 3 years bachelor’s degree followed by a 2 years master’s degree in their chosen area or go in for a 5 year integrated M.Sc. After that students can opt for higher studies like doctoral research in India and also abroad.

Let’s understand this right: development of a country purely centers on how actively its research and development responds to changes. Pure science stream stimulates research in various areas. If we don’t wake up from our slumber, we might have to depend on countries like China for chemical formulae for developing a soaps, detergents, toothpastes and shampoos. Unlike in India, pure science is given utmost importance in all other countries like China, US, UK and Germany.

A lot of parents don’t want their children to take B.SC followed by M.SC route because it takes a lot of time to complete studies and jobs are not guaranteed. Whereas it’s a notion that an engineering graduate can get a job immediately and start earning. One needs to spend lot of years in pure science stream.

Science students who get into research are an important link in scientific application cycle. They design, plan in instrumentation and formulas which doctors and engineers use. They are therefore an important and integral part of the system. A country’s growth depends on how independent it is in terms of technology, hence it is vital to groom students for taking up higher education in pure sciences.

Indians are known for their competencies in the area of science and utilizing it well across the educational institutes the world over. But today however, Indian parents feel that the number of good colleges in the country offering pure science branch are not fit and it does not offer lucrative careers to their children. I think, Science as a subject requires more practical approach and certainly it requires training and preparing good teachers without any waste of time. If science is taught theoretically with mere lectures, it will never attract students. Another fact is that of poor conditions of laboratories in schools and colleges; if they are not well equipped and well utilized it is a tragedy. We cannot afford preparing students of science stream with bookish knowledge. And, world over the stream of science as a faculty is developing rapidly; the syllabus of schools and colleges need regular updating, we cannot teach  students the subject  backdated. It requires regular modernization and reorientation. Basically, I think we are treating the science seam shabbily and hence its numbers are dropping.

Strong analytical and conceptual skills are essential to excel in any pure sciences field. In addition curiosity to investigate a chosen area and a passion to go deep into it is a must. Generally students are confused regarding the fields of study and career opportunities in pure sciences. Guidance by expert counselors can help in such a situation.

Also, we need to bridge the gap between learning science and employment opportunities. There must be a major push towards interdisciplinary programs in basic sciences. Diversification of avenues and new choices will encourage students to take courses according to their aptitude. Emerging fields that act as a link between technology and science such as bioinstrumentation, allied health sciences, forensic science and medical imaging techniques offer a lot of scope.

Practically, in the science research one more vital fact is that many scientists have interesting findings and technology, but they are not aware about its relevance to the business world. Isn’t this a sheer waste of talent? The reason why many findings in science is not often exploitable is because the industry quite often does not provide any feedback to the scientists. We therefore need to bridge the gap between scientists and industry. Scientists cannot work in vacuum.

Are we risk-averse? Yes, in the area of research, we need to take some risks. Even business firms need to take some calculated risks while launching new products and services in the market. The business strategy followed by the Indian biotech research firms is largely service-centric. They prefer working on outsourced model which requires less investment this is because Indian biotech companies cannot afford huge investments.

We need good administrators in the science labs. Sadly, front office people are not aware what is being researched in their laboratories. Most research is not even data based it is therefore difficult to know what is happening in Kolkata from Mumbai. Our scientists get penalized for making mistakes but not rewarded for taking risks. The industry and research institutes need a friendly dialogue. Scientists require a good work culture. Most of our scientists are motivated within rather than motivated by incentives, this is a good thing. If we don’t encourage them and maintain their dignity we might lose out of whatever talent is left in the country. We have to drop the reservation system in scientific research area; promote the right candidate for his worth, not what caste creed he belongs to. Most of the scientists are frustrated because they are under appreciated.

In India, very few scientists have industry experience. India is missing the business environment where entrepreneurs scout for ideas from research labs. We are very happy importing scientific technology. I think Venture Capitalists can play a great role; they need to encourage small, mini, and micro labs with the requisite funds. Venture capital can play a pivotal role in flourishing research field in this country.

About five years ago, the government of India set up five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) at Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram with a specific agenda: to attract scientific talent from among the youth and to nurture them to become world-class researchers in science. The integrated five-year bachelor’s and master’s program at these institutions, along with the PhD program, is designed to guide students along the research path right from the beginning of their undergraduate education.

But it is facing two major challenges; first, knowing how to select students with the potential to make important contributions to the growth of science. And, the second, implementing the kind of education that will develop and strengthen such potential, so that a significant division of those students will help picking the genuine scientific researchers. Hope the initial teething problems get sorted out fast and appropriate beginning is made.

The research in academics is built on a foundation of trust. On a similar topic simultaneously many researchers work across the globe; they trust that the results reported by others are true and sound. Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics linking research which includes verity of educational streams. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists and other researchers to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will continue only if the scholarly community devotes itself to typify and transmit the values associated with ethical research conduct.

Research malpractices include the design and implementation of research involving redundant human experimentation, animal experimentation, various aspects of academic scandal, including scientific misconduct such as fraud, fabricated data, plagiarism, pseudo conclusions and observations, unruliness of research, etc. Research ethics is most developed as a concept in medical research because it involves animal experimentation. While animal rights activists protest the use of animals in scientific experimentation, proponents of animal experimentation argue the logical warrant for the practice. Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments. About 20 million animals are experimented on and killed annually, three-fourths for medical purposes and the rest to test various products. An estimated eight million are used in painful experiments. Reports show that at least 10 percent of these animals do not receive painkillers. Animal rights advocates are pressing government agencies to impose heavy restrictions on animal research. But this growing criticism of painful experimentation on animals is matched by a growing concern over the threat restrictions on the use of animals would pose to scientific progress. Whether such experiments should be allowed to continue has become a matter for public debate.

Remember, your research should contribute to the betterment of society. It is your responsibility to secure the actual permission and interests of all those involved in the study. You cannot misuse any of the information discovered, as a researcher, you have moral responsibility towards the participants. There is a duty to protect the rights of people in the study as well as their privacy and sensitivity. The confidentiality of those involved in the observation must be maintained all through, keeping their anonymity and privacy secure. If you your taking help of some whistle blowers, respect their contribution while protecting their welfare.

There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First and foremost, you should comply with the aims and objectives of your research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For example, if your topic is ‘whether entrepreneurs are made or born’ your objectives have to fall in the framework of finding whether they are born or they can be motivated and made entrepreneurs. Remember, you are prohibited against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data. Your outcomes are supposed to promote the truth only. Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards are appreciated in collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in peer review, are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging collaboration.

I am sure, no researcher will like his/her credit for the genius work done, to be stolen by others. Also, please don’t forget a fact that your research work is answerable to the public at large. In India of late all PhD thesis are uploaded on UGC website; I believe many PhD holder’s work was questioned for various reasons for instance some copied research work from other’s thesis was withdrawn and the PhD awards also discarded. We cannot escape centralized policies on research conduct any longer. As citizens of this great nation, we should not publish poor standard work anymore.

Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government agencies, such as the Indian Institute of Science (IIS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA), UGC and the Department of Agriculture have ethical rules and regulations drafted for funding researchers, which cannot be overruled.

If you want to get pleasure from your journey of becoming a researcher with authenticity and consistency please follow few values and your will be successful forever.

Honesty: Strive for honesty in all your communications. Honestly collect, assess and report data and results. Don’t go for shortcuts, Follow methods and procedures, and publication grades. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public at large.

Have clear objectives of your research:  Avoid bias as far as possible in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, collecting grants if any,  expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Self-deception is worst. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.

Alertness: Avoid careless errors and negligence; always carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, correspondence with agencies or journals, have neat and clean bibliography prepared simultaneously. Keep your promises and agreements, be sincere and strive for consistency of thought and action.

Sincerity: Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas. Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or secrets.

Respect Intellectual Property of others: Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Avoid plagiarism. Respect each one’s contribution to your work. Respect respondents of your research work. Treat your assistants such as data entry operator, printer, binder, and your colleagues fairly.

Your publication is accountable: Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication. Strive to promote social good and prevent social harms through research of any kind.

Expertise: Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through lifelong education and learning; even after getting your doctoral or postdoctoral degree update yourself – do not end your learning. Take steps to promote competence in your area of work.

Legality: Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies. Don’t cut short any rule or regulation, you might come into some trouble if you do so – if not now in future.

Handle your topic with dedication: When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy. Take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the results of your research fairly.

In one of the seminars on how to write a good PhD thesis, where I was invited to as an observer, after about 2-3 papers, I couldn’t resist any further listening to the same rut, and I told the audience that every academic discipline needs a different style of presenting a PhD thesis. It needs a different handiness, different comprehension, and a different fashion to present it. The seminar was nicely organized because some librarians were also present in it; the librarians argued that all PhDs are the same.

I want to ascertain here that if you really want to do a good PhD, you need a lot of support from the librarians – they can guide you to a whole gamut of books, journals and citations.  Well, many of the features of doing a PhD are common to all disciplines, but there are some differences, especially between the sciences and the humanities. The science thesis is very collaborative in nature, where as humanities thesis can be done independently.

Remember, once a PhD is conferred, it is not the end of your academics life; in fact your academic life enhances further, because you are likely to contribute further.

Topic Selection: Pick a topic which has interested you for a long time; gather a lot of information on it, the topic must literally possess you. A PhD not necessarily answers every problem; many times it may raise more questions than it answers. The inquiries that you raise are the issues that later some other researchers will look at.

The foundation of a good thesis must be located inside a larger field, in sense your topic must narrow down the focus on one or two of the issues. Your topic must demonstrate new facets while identifying gaps. Your thesis must contribute to the betterment of society. We see repetition of some common topics; I call them over chewed topics.

Data Collection: Primary data is data that has been collected from first-hand experience; that means it is not been published yet. It is more reliable, authentic and objective-driven. It has not been changed or altered; therefore, its validity is greater than secondary data.

Most PhD research involves empirical work. As such, you should be able to collect relevant data. It is very important to pay special attention to the practicability of data collection. You must balance the scope of your research vis-à-vis the practical problems that can arise during data gathering. Pay attention to points such as: do you have special access to managers or organizations? How many potential variables or factors can you address? Is it possible for you to examine all of the proposed variables or factors? For primary research data, i.e. fieldwork, surveys, interviews, etc. what is your budget – how are you going to finance your data gathering? The biggest pitfall is ending up with too much or too little data. Studies gathering qualitative data can generate huge amounts of data, which are difficult to record and complex to analyze. If you do not have enough data, it can be tricky for you to address your research question in a meaningful way. Do not confuse data with information or evidence. Another piece of advice is – let your data be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Your composed data helps you in analysis and interpretation. Remember it should cover up your research objectives and problem statement both.

Research Design: The research design must be appropriate which covers the objectives and address the questions identified in the study. Methodology should be clearly described so that the study can be replicated in practice. For example, if you are doing a research in the area of Human Resource Development (HRD) and your topic is related to performance appraisals – your work should be worth replicating in practice. If you are choosing any innovative or exceptional methodology, or mode of analysis, it needs to be justified. You have to explain why you have chosen a particular approach.

The results should be justifiable, be confident to address the issue of a possibility of bias or alteration in the data identified. The results should also be presented in an appropriate manner and adequate interpretation of the results carried out. A good thesis shows the maturity of the author.

A good PhD thesis carries well-structured and focused arguments. It links diverse aspects of the topic with clarity. The sources of the material collected on the topic are reliable and dependable in nature. Each chapter is balanced, incorporated while touching diverse elements. The sequencing of chapters must be logically organized so that the flow of the research is peaceful.

Literature Review: The literature review is science as well as art. Would you like it to be a chapter at the beginning of your thesis or would it be better to have an imperceptible literature review throughout the thesis. The literature review should be balanced with your though process on the topic, your ideas are most important. Some researchers stuff half of their thesis with literature review. Keep in mind that the literature (secondary data) is somebody else’s idea and not yours. It is not new information either. Therefore, try to give something new to the reader. A good PhD indicates to the reader that the student is aware of the existing information.

Some supervisors recommend writing literature review after completion of results. Literature review must add to your own findings; its context indicates that you are aware of it. Beware, it should not overshadow your though process. Your contribution needs to be unique, and show originality.

Conclusions: Often this part of the thesis is shabbily handled. The conclusion is a key part of the text and thesis writers really need to spend some time getting it right. This is because the conclusions allow you to present your contribution to the knowledge area; where you show what it is, and discuss its implications. While it doesn’t have to be as long as other chapters, the conclusion does have to do its job. The conclusions should be clearly linked to data and evidence, not based on assumption or opinion. The thesis will address its stated objectives, even if the outcome differs from what was anticipated.

Uniqueness: How will you maintain uniqueness? I suggest if you can borrow a little from some other field (after all education is interdisciplinary in nature), try something new in research methodology, connect to new links, and bring in some new perspective – a new touch perhaps. I have corrected a thesis in which the first chapter was of Research Methodology – the researcher explained his methodology the 2^nd chapter of conclusions and observation, the next 4 chapters handled the history, present status and comparison. It was so well presented that not only me but the other two referees also had no objections. You need to visit many University libraries and see many theses before doing your final work.

Remember, your thesis should be well written, well-designed, and lucid. It should not lose the focus at any point. Try to resist writing an oversized thesis – let it be within word limit. Please for God’s sake don’t imagine your external referees to be morons. Let them derive pleasure while reading your thesis. Let it engage the reader all through. Let it be a thought provoking work.

How often you’ve come across a PhD scholar happy with his/her guide? How many cheerful PhD scholars have you seen? Everyone dreams of a pleasant, helping, and dependable in short a ‘dream supervisor’ for completing the PhD degree. But let me tell you they don’t exist. The reality is that even on the rare occasions when supervisors do turn out to be masterminds, or even just very brainy in reality, they are still neither gods nor saints; more likely they are simply overworked and underpaid, and just trying to do their job which is often thankless.

Yes, you are at liberty to pass on the buck of incompletion, hypothesis getting nowhere, inadequacy of primary data, literature review going nowhere, bibliography not completed etc, etc on your supervisor. Well, till you get your PhD degree every bit that you are doing is an “Illusion.”  The relationship between a doctoral candidate and the supervisor (guide) needs some definite outline; hence I am giving this brief account based upon my experience.

Your supervisor is responsible to conduct and monitor the prescribed course activity and report its progress to the Center for Research. Some Universities have the prescribed formats of course work while many universities in the developing nations are yet to formulate it. The course work must contain topics related to how to scientifically review the literature, collecting primary data, designing the instruments to collect primary data, centering the primary data on meeting the research objectives, hypothesis of the research, and the statistical tools to validate the hypothesis. In my opinion if the research scholar has a good industry experience, has exposure to professional life then, the course work option should be left flexible.

A PhD usually concludes in a dissertation of around 100,000-3,00,000 words, based on research carried out over the course of study. The research must be original work which aims at creating new information or supposition in a particular area. In this case the specialized area chosen by the student. It has been observed that many Universities initially make the students go through an M.Phil program and then upgrade them to PhD status after further work on the chosen topic. Thus students who are not considered to be doing work appropriate for PhD level can instead submit a shorter thesis and gain an M.Phil.

PhD students are expected to work independently, supported by their center and a supervisor. They need to work by themselves, attend seminars, workshops to gain many insights on the chosen topic. During their study, students are expected to publish some papers/articles, present their work at conferences, which will allow them to get feedback on their ideas for their dissertation. Be critical and reflect on your work. Take some time after intervals, before final revisions rework, acknowledge the limitations of your PhD. Your final work should elevate the tone of your PhD – leave the reader in an affirmative frame of mind.  Thus, discuss with your guide why, when, how, how many – will your work bring in some change to the world?  What we see most often is statistical authentication of the hypothesis. Well your PhD has qualitative importance also.

What is role of a guide in PhD program?

• Suggest and guide the research student for his dissertation on a suitable topic.
• Guide his participation in conferences, seminars and other discussion group of relevance and for paper presentations.
• Regularly follow up and monitor the progress made by the student in conformity with the study plan. The advent of Internet allows the guide and the student to communicate with each other through different Medias. But, meet at least once in six months personally.
• Suggest modifications/ changes if any required in the scope of the research study necessary by the external factors to make the study meaningful and relevant.
• Provide a quarterly progress report to the Centre for Research in the prescribed format for its review and feedback (if format is available )
• Make valid recommendation of the study to the doctoral evaluation committee in accordance with the specific requirements as may be stipulated.
• Recommend referees for the assessing the dissertation.
• Thus the guide must be available for consultation, collaborate with the Research Centre for brining in the best practices for the doctoral program.  The guide’s and student’s relationship may be described as ‘normal working relationship.’ 

If you guide tries to become your superior, your employer, your associate, your best friend, your editor, your search engine, lends his/her shoulder to cry, is socializing with you to remove your boredom is simply crossing prescribed limits.

Your PhD supervisor is a human like you. He/she has a character. Understand personality of your supervisor. He/she may like to see regular progress reports, others may be less demanding, particularly if your supervisor is in regular contact with you keep him/her updated. Whatever the case may be, it is important for a student to meet the supervisor, sort out problems if any, avoid misapprehension and mutual disappointment if any, make the first move always. Take the first initiative and generate a good relationship with your supervisor. Do not overburden your supervisor with too many similar drafts – they will not be able to cast a fresh eye over it after the second draft. Do not burden your supervisor with trivia, discuss what is important. I want to clarify one important point here – do not assume silence from your supervisor means approval, while forgiving them for assuming that silence from your end means you are doing your work without any problems.

However, a PhD scholar produces a good PhD when he/she opens up new area, provides amalgamating framework, answers long-standing question, does a through exploration of an area of study, removes bias in existing knowledge, validates a theory, provides empirical data, develops new methodology, develops a new tool to a finding in short explores something new, and is a brave innovation. Remember friends – let your PhD contribute to the goodness of the society. Don’t look at it as merely a certificate.

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