The present case study explores the assessment practice of two examiners from different academic backgrounds on an undergraduate thesis work in mathematics education. Reflection notes and feedback from two instances of a thesis-writing process are interrogated using a framework based on a semiotics perspective to meaning-making. It is shown that…

The PhD is the highest formal qualification and signifies a scholar's rite of passage as a legitimate contributor of new knowledge in a field. Examiner reports make claims about what is legitimate in a thesis and what is not and thus articulate the organising principles through which participation in a field is measured. The authors analysed 39…

As we were aware of the confusing and wide-ranging disciplinary and individual positions on the importance of theory in research, this study sought to determine how thesis examiners emphasised theory in their reports in order to inform candidate learning. While references to theory were not prominent in reports, examiner comment coalesced into six…

The question of what a doctorate is has been looked at before. The author argues that the issue of "doctorateness" is a recurring debate which needs to kept alive and revisited regularly. The aim of this article is to suggest five different areas or arenas in which the question can be addressed, forming a framework which can perhaps be…