Writing a dissertation is only the first stage in the complex matter of obtaining a degree. Further, the applicant will have to prepare his scientific work for protection, namely:
- submitting your research to the dissertation council, where a decision is made about the possibility of defending a dissertation;
- writing an abstract for a dissertation accepted for defense;
- collecting feedback on the abstract and dissertation.
Who writes reviews?
Any specialist of the organization present on the mailing list of your scientific work can write a review of the dissertation abstract. The only requirement for reviewers that the Higher Attestation Commission presents is that the activities of these organizations should be directly related to the topic of research carried out in the dissertation.
How many reviews do you need?
The Higher Attestation Commission does not limit the number of reviews to the abstract, but the usual condition for dissertation councils is the presence of at least 8 reviews. Each council establishes its requirements in this matter, therefore it is advisable to coordinate the necessary number of reviews on the abstract with the scientific secretary of the council, in which the dissertation is supposed to be defended.
How do reviews end up on the dissertation council?
Usually, reviews of the abstract and dissertation are sent to the organization on the basis of which the defense council is located. Further, the scientific secretary of the university passes them to the secretary of the dissertation council, and only then they get to the author.
However, it often happens that without prior agreement with the reviewer, feedback is sent late or not sent at all. It should also be noted that reviews may come before the very defense of the dissertation, in which case the author may not have time to prepare a worthy answer to critical comments.
Therefore, constant monitoring of the review process by the applicant is necessary. It is recommended that you contact the reviewers directly. It may turn out that a personal meeting with a specialist who will write a review and a discussion on controversial issues of the abstract can tip the scales in favor of the applicant, and the review, originally planned as negative, will be written in a positive way. Often together with the abstract send the so-called "fish", ie A ready-made review layout, which the pre-warned reviewer can only sign.
How are reviews used to defend a dissertation?
During the defense, the Chairman of the Council reads the testimonials immediately before the start of voting. After that, the applicant is invited to respond to the comments indicated in the reviews. As the “Regulation on the awarding of academic degrees" states, in those cases where the reviews are mostly positive, then, with the permission of the council, the secretary may not read them in whole, but make a general review, paying attention mainly to the comments noted in them . Negative reviews must be read in full.
After the defense, in the case of a positive decision by the dissertation council, the dissertation materials, together with all the reviews, are formed in the certification case and sent to the Ministry of Science and Education within a month.
Basic review requirements
Requirements for recalling a dissertation abstract are set out in the "Regulation on the award of academic degrees," according to which the reviews submitted to the dissertation abstract should be posted on the website of the organization, which is the basis of the dissertation council, within 10 days from the date of defense.
In a response to an abstract of a candidate dissertation (as well as a doctoral one), the following must be noted:
- surname, name, patronymic (if any) of the author of the review;
- the name of the organization whose employee is the author of the review;
- postal and electronic addresses and telephone numbers of the organization.
The review of the abstract should reflect the following provisions:
- The relevance of research;
- the connection of the topic of the dissertation with state and scientific programs;
- the degree of logic and validity of the conclusions presented in the study;
- scientific novelty of the research results and the possibility of their applied use;
- compliance of the content of scientific work with the criteria of the Higher Attestation Commission.
Responses to the abstract are presented in duplicate with the signature of the author certified in the personnel department and the seal of the organization.
How to write a quality review? Recommendations for Reviewers
Before writing a review, you must carefully read the abstract, note its advantages and disadvantages. When writing a negative review, you should adhere to constructive criticism. For each comment, it is necessary to cite a proof from the abstract.
In addition to the structural elements listed above, which should contain a review, it is necessary to evaluate how logical and scientifically justified the chosen research methodology is, how reliable the stated materials are. It is also worth indicating the degree of visibility and structured work.
Next, it should be noted the shortcomings of the abstract. The most common include the incompleteness of the study, insufficient attention to the review of studies of other authors on this topic, errors in the design of an abstract, etc. An important point is to indicate how fundamental the flaws are and how they affect the scientific significance of the study.
At the end of the review, a conclusion is placed in which it is necessary to reflect the following points:
- the fullness and independence of scientific work;
- completeness of display of each level of research in the abstract of the thesis;
- the degree of argumentation of the scientific hypothesis underlying the dissertation research;
- inclusion in the abstract of illustrative material confirming the conclusions of the author (graphs, tables, figures, etc.);
- the possibility of practical implementation of the presented developments;
- compliance of the dissertation abstract with the requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission;
- conclusion about the possibility of awarding a degree to an applicant.
Review Writing Examples
Below are examples of reviews of dissertation abstracts (Ph.D. and doctoral). As mentioned above, each organization has its own templates for the design of reviews, so this article directly provides the texts of reviews.
An example of a response to an abstract of a candidate dissertation
The dissertation research is relevant, as it is devoted to the problem of ensuring the environmental safety of the population of a modern city, namely, the reduction of the negative impact of road transport on the air environment of urbanized territories.
In the abstract of the dissertation, the object, subject, goal and objectives of the scientific search are clearly defined, as well as the logic of solving problems, which is reflected in the structure of the dissertation. The content of the abstract fully discloses the stated topic. In the first chapter of the dissertation, an analysis is made of the regulatory legal mechanisms for controlling atmospheric air quality, as well as methods and means of analytical control and prediction of air pollution in motor vehicles.
The second chapter presents the results of the assessment of the technogenic impact of traffic on the air basin of the city near the studied section of the road network. The third chapter presents a draft of measures to reduce the technological pressure on the environment caused by emissions from vehicles. The fourth chapter assesses the environmental and economic damage to the environment before and after the implementation of the proposed measures, i.e. analysis of their economic efficiency.
The advantages of the dissertation research include the original approach to determining the volumetric flow rate of exhaust gases, which depends on the characteristics of the fuel, and the environmental and economic damage to the environment of a particular territory before and after the implementation of the proposed measures.
Disadvantages of work: increasing the accuracy of calculating the volumetric flow rate of exhaust gases by introducing fuel characteristics is most likely offset by the approximate empirical dependences of the concentration of pollutants in the exhaust gases on the relative coefficient of excess air and effective engine power; hardly it is generally worth talking about improving the accuracy of calculating the masses of pollutant emissions by the traffic flow, relying on a number of data that are difficult to account for (the composition of the flow, determined according to the traffic police, the rated power of the engines of vehicles located on the road transport network at the moment, is not clearly defined angle of inclination of the roadway to a horizontal plane, etc.).
Nevertheless, the results of the dissertation research are of high practical importance and can be used in environmental activities carried out by the city administration. The proposed program to reduce pollutant emissions by motor vehicles is sufficiently substantiated and effective both from an environmental and economic point of view.
The candidate dissertation was performed at a high level in accordance with the requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission. The author of the study deserves the award of the degree of candidate of technical sciences in the specialty 03.02.08 "Ecology".
Feedback on the abstract of a doctoral dissertation
The abstract on the topic “Development of a methodology for processing gold-containing raw materials” submitted for review contains information on the results of research and development on improving technology and equipment for the enrichment of gold-containing raw materials. The topic of the dissertation seems relevant, since it is connected with the monetary and economic potential of the country and the expansion of the raw material base of the gold mining industry. The development of new technologies and equipment for the extraction of gold in conditions of deterioration in the quality of gold ore and placers, are of particular importance and relevance.
The author developed a new method for calculating the magnetic field and particle velocity in liquid media, new mathematical models of particle separation, studied the effect of vibration on the separation of minerals in a magnetic fluid, the laws of separation of minerals in two-layer media, the interaction of phases in a turbulent upward flow, a probabilistic deposition model was developed. This allowed us to develop new equipment designs: a hydro-separator, several types of magnetic and MF separators, drum and centrifugal separators with a two-layer separation medium, mobile separation complexes for finishing concentrates and primary processing of gold sands.
The practical significance of the dissertation is that the work examined rather deeply the problems of enrichment of gold ore from the Olimpiada, Norilsk-1 and other primary deposits, which made it possible to assess the development prospects of these enterprises and the appropriateness of using the developed technologies and equipment.
The most important provisions of the dissertation have been sufficiently tested, and 63 works have been published including 2 monographs and 7 patents.
Notes on the abstract. “Effective operation of a centrifugal MF separator is possible only with the use of ferrocolloids of relatively high concentration, and therefore of relatively high cost. Therefore, to assess the possibility of industrial use of a centrifugal MF separator, data are needed on the consumption of ferromagnetic fluid, its cost and the economic calculation of operating costs for this operation. ” In the abstract, information on these issues is not given, which probably requires additional research and correct justification.
However, in general, the dissertation seems to be a significant contribution to the theory and practice of the enrichment of gold-bearing ores and concentrates. The research results are presented clearly and consistently, the tasks are formulated specifically, the conclusions are reliable, the recommendations are justified. The work uses modern methods of theoretical and experimental research and analysis.
The presented study is a completed scientific and qualification work that meets the requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission presented to dissertations for the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences. The dissertation has been carried out at a high level and is of scientific and practical interest. The author of the dissertation deserves the award of a doctorate in technical sciences, specialty 25.00.13 "Mineral processing".
Negative feedback. What to do?
Getting a negative response to your scientific work is always unpleasant. However, in no case should you despair and give up. First of all, criticism points to the weaknesses of your research, and if there is enough time before the defense, you can always manage to make the necessary improvements. In addition, truth is born in a dispute, and a constructive discussion with opponents and reviewers can shed light on many points.