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Year: 2017

Nathan

Making The Cut

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My thesis could be described as a collection of six chapters that all explored different niches in my field of maths. I have a couple of appendices that contain summaries of results and listings of computer code. It’s all self-contained and linked and good.

And still, nine years later, I have a folder with bits and pieces of at least three other chapters. Projects that didn’t end up getting finished. Ideas that fizzled out or didn’t come together. Every now and then I think, “What if…?” It would have been nice to adapt some of the techniques that I used to get one more result. It would have been cool to just push that bit further and classify one more type of mathematical object.

Except: there’s only so long to do a PhD. There’s only so much space in a thesis. There has to be some sense that Result A is worth more than Result B, that Potential Chapter X is a more powerful contribution than Potential Chapter Y. Your thesis is finite. You have to stop somewhere.

What doesn’t make the cut in your thesis?

Make a list of the half-projects and the maybes that didn’t quite make it. Make a list of the reasons why. Make a list of what you would need to do to take them further. Your examiners might not pick this thread up in the viva, but you’ll build up a good summary for yourself.

Leave it in a good enough state that one day you could pick it up and keep playing with it. If you’ve got plans to do this already, in your post-doc, in your spare time, that’s good. But if passing your PhD is your exit from academia, leave some notes just in case you want to explore later on.

You never know when inspiration will strike.

Nathan

Responsible

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What are you responsible for in your viva? I get a lot of questions about expectations for the length of the viva, or types of questions, what examiners do, and so on. I don’t get a lot of questions about expectations of the candidate. What do your examiners expect from you?

  • They expect you’ll be prepared.
  • They expect you’ll be ready, willing and able to discuss your research.
  • They expect you’ll be ready, willing and able to discuss your field.

You were responsible for doing your research. You were responsible for getting the thesis done. You can easily meet your examiners’ expectations on the day.

 

Nathan

Shadows

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A shadow can be bigger than the object that casts it. Depending on the light, the distance, the angle, it might not be clear what the object even is if you only look at the shadow. Edges can be blurred, and perfectly normal things can seem scary from a glance at a shadow.

When you look to find out more about the viva, are you looking at the viva itself, or a shadow? What you see might depend on another’s experience, on the rules of your institution, on how you’re feeling that day about your research, and on many other factors.

Make sure when you find out about the viva that you get as full a picture as possible. Look for more than shadows. Build up more than simple impressions. Then you’ll be able to prepare well.

Nathan

A Good INTRO

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I used to be petrified of public speaking. I would only give talks during my PhD when I absolutely had to. I was always concerned that I would forget something, make a mistake or be asked a question for which I had no answer. I was even nervous about being too nervous!

Then I started a business where I had to present all of the time. My fears went partly because of regularly being in situations where I had to present, but also because I went out of my way to explore ways to give talks. I liked to find out about how to structure talks, particularly the beginnings. I knew that if I could get that right I’d feel good about the rest of the presentation, whether it was ten minutes or two hours.

A few years ago, my good friend Dr Aimee Blackledge shared an effective tool for starting talks with me. The tool is, fittingly, called INTRO and is an acronym to provide structure for the start of a presentation:

  • Interest: start by sharing something that will grab the audience’s attention, a fact, an image, a joke.
  • Need: say why what you’re going to talk about is important. Why does it need to be addressed?
  • Title: share the title of the talk.
  • Range: say something about how long you’ll speak for, what you might cover and how you want to handle questions.
  • Objective: close your introduction by sharing what your goal is with speaking. Is there something you want the audience to do as a result?

I really like how it helps start things off but also leads to a good overview. There’s a nice logic to it, and done well it can be a great start to a presentation. I think the five prompts also give a great format to create a summary of your research when it’s time to prepare for the viva.

  • Interest: how did you become interested in your field of research?
  • Need: what need does your thesis address?
  • Title: what is your thesis’ title, and why?
  • Range: what does your thesis cover?
  • Objective: what do you hope that someone would know, think or do after reading it?

Give INTRO a try when you next prepare a talk, see if it helps. Try it too when your viva is on the way to help break down what your work is all about.

Nathan

Rehearsal

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The mock viva is generally valuable because of the kind of practice it provides. Your supervisors might have some clear ideas about what a mock should be like. But if you think about it, the mock is a sort of test run for later success.

So think: what do you need to succeed?

  • Are you looking for certain types of questions or a particular focus for the discussion?
  • Do you want practice or pressure?
  • What kind of feedback would be most useful from the experience?

Think about what might help you. Everyone has different needs. It’s not wrong to think about how you can make the most of the opportunity.

Nathan

Coming Attractions

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I went to the cinema recently. The movie was excellent, but even before that I was getting excited because of the trailers for other movies coming soon. The new Star Wars movie, Murder On The Orient Express – I’m not even that interested in seeing the new Justice League movie, but I watched the trailer and thought, “Wow!”

Here’s an odd question for you: what trailers have you seen for the viva?

Have you seen any? If not then maybe you’re not sure what it’s going to be like. I meet a lot of people who are confused or uncertain about the viva. That’s how I was, I didn’t really know what it was about.

I meet plenty of people who have seen bad trailers for the viva: they hear it’s really long, that the characters are unfriendly and harsh, that it’s an exhausting but necessary experience you have to go through.

I thankfully also meet candidates who have caught a trailer for the viva which leaves them intrigued or excited. It’s the end in an epic story after all, and they’ve seen the other parts. They’re looking forward to this final part to see what happens.

Movie trailers are awesome because when they’re done well they make us excited and compelled to watch the film. They tell a tale that leaves us hungry for more and hyped for the time when we get to experience the full story. Of course, you don’t really see trailers for the viva, but there’s a lot of word of mouth. Your supervisors, your colleagues and friends, post-docs, there are lots of people who can tell you about what expect. There’s no reason to be ignorant about the viva format when there is so much help nearby.

What would be an awesome trailer for your viva?

Nathan

Fear Doesn’t Matter

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It’s alright to be anxious or afraid of the viva. Maybe you feel it, maybe you don’t; maybe a little, maybe a lot. It could be specific or vague, keep you awake with “what ifs” or sound asleep with uneasy dreams.

Do nothing and let it fester, or explore why you’re afraid and figure out what to do about it. Viva fear is a sign you recognise the viva is important. Once you figure out the root of your fear you can do something to help.

Fear doesn’t matter; your actions do.

Nathan

Missed

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A frequent worry in the mind of viva candidates is that their examiners will say something like:

I was really surprised that you didn’t mention Famous Paper X by Professor Important in your literature review…

What if your examiners say that you’re not cited something important? What then?

Well, that’s their opinion. Your examiners are in the viva to have opinions and ask questions. You’ve not thoughtlessly compiled and read the papers that you have to help support your research. You have reasons for citing the articles that you have, and you have reasons for not citing the articles that you haven’t.

If you’ve intentionally not included Famous Paper X then discuss why – and then explore the papers that you have referenced.

Remember, there will be a lot of papers relevant to your field, it isn’t possible to read them all. If you’ve not read Famous Paper X or not heard of it then ask questions. Why does your examiner think it is important? What do they think it would have added? Listen, and then discuss with them all of the papers or work in your thesis that is relevant to their point.

The viva is an exam disguised sometimes like a conversation. Some questions are testing, others are exploratory. Your examiners might have a different opinion, but they can’t claim that you’ve not done the work. Listen to questions, listen to comments, listen to opinions. Then respond.

Nathan

Rare

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Failure at the viva is rare. There are many, many reasons why this is the case. The three that come first to my mind are: you did the research, wrote the thesis and you know how to answer questions about your work and field.

Still, the brain looks at outliers and thinks, “Why not me?”

Remember: the viva is pressured, important, but also just the latest occasion you’ve had to talk about your research and field.

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