SOSANT9050 ¨C Mid-term evaluation

Course content

These guidelines were approved by the Programme council for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences on 28.11.2024.

What is the midway evaluation?

The midway evaluation is a mandatory component of the PhD programme and must be passed in order to later submit the PhD thesis for examination. To be eligible for the midway evaluation, the candidate must have an active enrolment in the programme. The implementation of the midway assessment is pursuant to the PhD regulations with reference under ¡ì 4 to the University of Oslo Assurance System for the Quality of Education, which reads: "All candidates shall present their research results and account for their progress midway in the programme, in a relevant environment."

The purpose of the midway evaluations at the Faculty of Social Sciences is:

• to stimulate the candidates to maintain progress in their writing by establishing another milestone, thereby strengthening throughput.
• to give the candidates closer supervision during the programme, through extensive and systematic feedback on the thesis work at a point where important decision have been made, but when there is still reasonable time to incorporate feedback and criticism before final submission.
• to help the candidates gain practice in presenting their work to a wider audience ? to ensure that questions concerning quality and progress becomes a collective responsibility of the research communities of the Departments.

Teaching

When should the midway evaluation take place?

The midway evaluation takes place in the fifth semester for candidates with a four-year enrolment period. If the candidate started the programme in the first half of a semester, the midway evaluation will also be scheduled for the first half of the fifth semester whenever possible. If the candidate started in the second half of the first semester, the midway evaluation takes place in the second half of the fifth semester. For candidates with a three-year enrolment period the midway evaluation takes place in the fourth or fifth semester, depending on the fieldwork period.

Examination

Conducting the midway evaluation

The Head of PhD will normally act as the facilitator for the midway evaluation. If the Head of PhD is not available, another permanent academic member of staff may assume this role (not the candidate¡¯s supervisors). The opponents function as a combined commentator, examiner, and mentor. The candidate will first give a presentation of the submitted material, explaining their progress with the thesis and the PhD programme in general. This usually takes 20-30 minutes. The candidate may use visual aids, such as PowerPoint.

The opponents should jointly prepare for the midway evaluation and agree in advance on the division of duties during the session. Immediately following the presentation, the opponents will ask questions and give oral feedback for a total of up to 60 minutes. The opponents usually spend up to 30 minutes each on this, although a different division of time may be agreed upon. The 60 minutes should cover two essential elements:

1) Provide the candidate with feedback on the written material and presentation.

2) Engage the candidate in dialogue and discussion about their work; the opponents are expected to formulate views and questions and invite the candidate to respond.

The feedback should be constructive and aid the candidate in their further thesis work. The examiners will provide the candidate with written feedback after the evaluation. Fellow PhD candidates and other attendees are encouraged to ask questions or provide comments when the opponents are finished. The time frame for this section is a maximum of 30 minutes.

Who will be present?

The following must be present: the Head of PhD, the candidate's main supervisor, and two opponents/commentators, typically employed by the department and appointed by the Head of PhD. The opponents should have competence equivalent to associate professor or professor, and expertise relevant to the PhD project examined. The candidate presents the thesis work to date in an open meeting where fellow PhD candidates and other academic staff (including co-supervisors) are invited to attend. PhD candidates are strongly encouraged to attend all midway evaluations and actively participate in the discussions to gain experience in constructive peer feedback.

Submission of written material

The candidate must submit written material for the presentation to the facilitator, opponents, supervisors, and administrative advisor at least three weeks before the date of the midway evaluation. The material should also be made available to other interested parties upon request.

The material should include:

• A tentative overview of the thesis topic, research questions, theoretical framework, methods, and chapters, including a brief progress report and plan for further writing (2000-3000 words).

• A coherent draft (7,000-10,000 words) of a thesis chapter if the candidate is writing a monograph, or a draft of one article if the candidate is writing a thesis consisting of an 15 introduction and several articles. The submitted text must draw on the candidate¡¯s fieldwork.

• An overview of the PhD courses the candidate has completed and which courses are yet to be completed.

• A statement on how the candidate has addressed research ethics in their work to date. Necessary approvals should be attached to the note (e.g. from Sikt).

The written material should be proofread before submission, and references should be complete.

Language of examination

The midway evaluation is conducted in the language of the thesis.

Grading scale

Academic assessment

A formal academic assessment (pass/fail) is given. The assessment will be undertaken by the Head of PhD (or appointed facilitator) and the opponents.?

Assessment criteria for the midway evaluation

• The written material must be submitted by the deadline unless an extension has been granted. The material must meet the formal requirements in the guidelines. Failure to submit or incomplete submission counts as an attempt.
• The candidate must arrive on time for the midway evaluation and present their work according to the procedure mentioned above.
• Approval of the midway evaluation requires that all necessary permits and consents for the research underlying the doctoral work have been obtained. This includes the data management notification form to Sikt, which must be valid and approved by Sikt for the entire research period.
• The chapter/article draft must draw on the candidate¡¯s fieldwork and offer an original analysis.
• The chapter/article draft should include an introduction and a conclusion.
• The chapter/article draft should link the fieldwork material to relevant literature

Resit an examination

If failed, a new midway assessment will be undertaken within 2-6 months.

Postponing the midway evaluation

Should the candidate prove unable to submit the necessary material within the deadline, they may apply for an extension of the submission deadline or the midway evaluation itself. This must be done before the submission deadline to avoid counting as an attempt. The application must state the reason for the delay. An extension of up to six months for the midway evaluation can be granted if the application is approved.

The midway evaluation cannot be postponed more than once unless one or more of the following reasons apply:

• Leave of absence (parental or other)
• Sick leave/absence due to illness (documented)
• Other documented reasons beyond the candidate's control leading to an extension of the enrolment/employment period.

In case of leave of absence or sick leave that extends the enrolment/employment period, the date of the midway evaluation will be postponed correspondingly. If this occurs close to the scheduled midway evaluation, the candidate can choose to proceed with the midway evaluation as planned.

Should the candidate be on partial sick leave close to the deadline for submitting the written material, they must notify the PhD administration and Head of PhD at the department if they wish to postpone before the deadline.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• How to use AI as a student
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.