[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-594859-105":59,"doc-detail-594859-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","australian-universities-review-examiner-feedback-and-australian-doctoral-examination-processes","Australian Universities' Review - Examiner feedback and Australian doctoral examination processes","","Doctoral thesis examination is treated as a high-stakes, quality-defining assessment stage in Australian higher education, yet limited knowledge exists about what occurs after examiner reports reach an institution. The article examines how institutional protocols filter examiner recommendations and feedback to shape thesis outcomes, and how candidates and supervisors engage with required revisions. Findings are drawn from a desktop review of policies governing doctoral examination, with particular attention to the absence of a PhD viva and its implications for candidate autonomy and feedback uptake.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/australian-universities-review-examiner-feedback-and-australian-doctoral-examination-processes/594859/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/australian-universities-review-examiner-feedback-and-australian-doctoral-examination-processes/594859.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mary Man","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is doctoral thesis examination considered a key indicator of doctoral quality in Australia?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Doctoral thesis assessment is tied to research excellence and the integrity of higher research degree programs, where both the thesis product and candidate development must meet established standards.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What gap does the article address about examiner feedback after reports are received?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It focuses on how recommendations and feedback are processed through institutional mechanisms, including the role of candidates and supervisors in taking action on examiner reports.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the article link the lack of a PhD viva to candidate engagement with feedback?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Because the viva is described as rare, the authors question whether current examination processes provide sufficient opportunities for candidates to actively engage with examiner feedback and demonstrate or develop authoritative judgement and research autonomy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},594859,1792634011,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},7421720224475,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nExaminer feedback and Australian doctoral examination processes  \nKerry Dally, Allyson Holbrook, Terence Lovat & Janene Budd University of Newcastle  \nDoctoral thesis examination is the litmus test for doctoral quality. Of those candidates who reach examination, most are notified they have more work to do on their thesis. Receiving and responding to feedback are integral parts of a formal learning process that continues until the final thesis is submitted. However, little is known about what happens after examiner reports are received by an institution, how recommendations and feedback are filtered through institutional processes to influence thesis outcomes, or about the roles that candidates and supervisors play in determining and giving action to thesis revisions. This article reports the findings from a desktop review of institutional protocols and policies governing doctoral thesis examination in Australian universities. Given that the PhD Viva, or oral examination, is rare in Australian universities, the authors question whether current examination processes allow adequate opportunities for candidates to actively engage with examiner feedback and take advantage of this final opportunity to demonstrate, or further develop, authoritative judgement and research autonomy.  \nKeywords: doctoral examination, examination process, examiner report, response to feedback  \nIntroduction  \nA key indicator of research excellence institutionally and systemically is the quality of doctoral theses and this in turn presupposes robust, fair and equitable assessment processes. Getting assessment right is fundamental to any successful academic program and is therefore especially critical in high stakes programs such as those for higher research degrees. There are approximately 8000 higher research degree completions annually in Australia and hundreds of thousands of completions world-wide (OECD, 2016) . What distinguish doctoral thesis examination from other types of assessment are the level and focus of the degree. The award of the doctorate implies both the completion of a successful product (thesis) and the development of a well-qualified researcher. Institutions have become increasingly  \npublicly accountable to ensure that both conform to the appropriate standard. In order to fulfil the traditional aim of knowledge creation, doctoral education needs to develop and elicit the highest levels of cognitive functioning and skills in candidates (Kandiko & Kinchin, 2012) . Recent debates concerning the aims of doctoral study have also positioned the thesis as an ‘object of learning’ and it is in connection with the latter that feedback by examiners requires further study. The intention of examiner feedback, implicitly or explicitly, is to broaden the outlook or extend the knowledge of the candidate (Holbrook et al. , 2004) . It is an interesting feature of doctoral examination processes that examiners are able to feed into learning at the examination stage. It is even more intriguing that there is little evidence about how this feedback is managed through institutional processes and how it influences candidate outcomes.  \nvol. 61, no. 2, 2019 Examiner feedback and Australian doctoral examination processes Kerry Dally et al. 31  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nThere has been intensifying interest in studies of assessment feedback in higher education (Pereira, Assunção, & Niklasson, 2016), including doctoral education. Almost two decades ago,Tinkler and Jackson (2000, p. 168) observed that the PhD examination process was ‘shrouded in mystery’ and attempted to ‘shed light’on this process through an interrogation of institutional policies governing examination practices in Britain. In a recent review of research investigating thesis examiner practices, Golding, Sharmini and Lazarovitch (2014) called for more detailed research to ‘demystify’ examination processe","cbCaitkWY6Ga4iAD","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitkWY6Ga4iAD","pdf",175230,11,"English","# Introduction\n# Summative and formative assessment\n# Examiner feedback and institutional processes","[{\"question\":\"Why is doctoral thesis examination considered a key indicator of doctoral quality in Australia?\",\"answer\":\"Doctoral thesis assessment is tied to research excellence and the integrity of higher research degree programs, where both the thesis product and candidate development must meet established standards.\"},{\"question\":\"What gap does the article address about examiner feedback after reports are received?\",\"answer\":\"It focuses on how recommendations and feedback are processed through institutional mechanisms, including the role of candidates and supervisors in taking action on examiner reports.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article link the lack of a PhD viva to candidate engagement with feedback?\",\"answer\":\"Because the viva is described as rare, the authors question whether current examination processes provide sufficient opportunities for candidates to actively engage with examiner feedback and demonstrate or develop authoritative judgement and research autonomy.\"}]","Australian Universities' Review - Examiner feedback and Australian doctoral examination processes | PDF",1792079978,28]