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Month: May 2018

Nathan

Five Day Thesis Breakdown

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Your thesis is an expression of your research. But in the viva, and at any time when someone asks you about your work, you can’t just hand them this great book you’ve made and say, “Read it!”

I like thinking about ways to help candidates reflect on their work. I like exploring ways to help people explain their ideas concisely. Here’s a plan of how to spend five days in short activities to break down your thesis and your research contribution.

Day 1: Describe the Why-How-What of your PhD in a single page, no more than 300 words.

Day 2: Use Day 1’s page to write a single paragraph about your PhD. Try to keep it under 100 words. Remove the inessential.

Day 3: Use Day 2’s paragraph to write a sentence describing your PhD – no more than 20 words. You’ll never be able to say everything, so don’t try. What can you get across?

Day 4: Use the work of the previous three days to write down five words. What are the themes of your work? Think about where it all started, how you did it and what your outcomes are.

Day 5: Write down one word. The Big Picture. What is it that stands out?

It’s unlikely your examiners will ask you to describe your research in a single word, but they will ask you to talk about your work. An exercise like this can help you think about your PhD a lot before the viva. You might never say to someone, “In one word, my research is all about…” but I think you’ll get something valuable from following this process.

Nathan

Breathe

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Take a couple of breaths at the start as you sit down. Calm any nerves.

Take a breath whenever you get asked a question. Force a pause to compose your thoughts.

Mind starting to race? Take a few breaths. Need a second to make a note? Take one.

You will breathe throughout the viva of course. But remind yourself so you don’t get carried away with desperately answering questions. There’s time to breathe and time to think as you take a breath.

Nathan

How Many Questions?

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I was recently asked how many questions a candidate might get in the viva. What is the range like? wondered the nervous PhD. Was there a minimum or maximum number?

I tried to apply some logic to come up with some numbers, but gave up – the question is a red herring. Examiners will have a lot of questions in mind, some driven by your field, some by their interests, some by your thesis. They’ll have questions that you can expect, and some that you can’t. They’ll ask questions that they didn’t know to ask until you said something interesting in the viva too.

I don’t know how many questions will come up in advance of your viva: we could only know that after the fact.

If you’ve read this blog before then you’ll know I have ideas about how you can prepare for questions though. Do a good piece of research, write a good thesis and spend some practising answering unexpected questions to build your confidence.

Nathan

Listening To Others

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I started this site almost six years ago for a lot of reasons: I thought it would be useful to share viva stories and help promote an understanding of what the viva was really like; I wanted to know more myself about the variety of experiences that people have; and I thought it would be an interesting and fun challenge.

There’s over sixty episodes in the podcast archive but over time, due to work pressure, family pressure and technology failure, it became less and less easy for me to record the podcast regularly. Then last year I switched my focus to publishing a post about the viva every day. I’m glad that it’s still there as an archive, and if I hadn’t started it I’m sure I would not be doing as much on the viva as I am now.

Of course, you don’t need a podcast to find out about the viva. Ask your colleagues. Find people who have recently had their viva in your field – in your department if you can – and see what their experiences are like. Ask them clear questions and look for details to build as good a picture as possible. You can be unsure about what your examiners might ask in the viva or think about your work, but there’s no reason for anyone to go to the viva unaware of what the process is generally like or the expectations for the event.

Listen. Ask. Learn. Be ready.

And having said all of that… I’m working to make the podcast return in the autumn! Stay tuned for more details… 🙂

Nathan

One Step Closer

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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by research, by writing up, by getting ready for the viva and the day itself. There are lots of things you could do to advance any one of those goals. Sometimes the problem is that there are lots of things you could do alongside many things you already have to do just to be a part of the world.

Start small then.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed then find one small thing you can do (not could, can), and do it. Move yourself one step closer to the finish line of submitting your thesis, or getting ready for the viva. It might not feel like much, but lots of small steps will bring you to your goal.

So what’s your first step going to be?

Nathan

Perfect Examiners

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Like the perfect thesis and the perfect viva, perfect examiners don’t exist.

You can make a list of things that might be ideal (an expert, an experienced academic) or preferable (someone who is nice, someone who could be a good reference), but they’ll never be perfect.

Steer their selection in conversation with your supervisor. Find out what you need to know about their work. Get ready to talk with some experienced academics about your PhD work.

They’ll be good, maybe great, but don’t put them on too high a pedestal.

Nathan

Three Simple Hows For Viva Prep

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On this blog and in my workshops I share a lot of viva prep ideas. No-one needs to follow all of my suggestions: my hope is that the ideas I share spark a path forward. The danger, sometimes, on being presented with lots of options, is that someone might think “I want to do it all!” or “I need to do it all!” or “Oh my gosh, how will I do it all?!”

I spend a lot of time talking and writing about all of the ideas for viva prep; today let me shift gears to give three questions I think can help anyone break down what they will do to prepare for their viva.

Three simple “how” questions:

  1. How much do you need to do?
  2. How much time do you have?
  3. How will you arrange it all?

Focus on you. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. There are lots of options but only a few core areas to pay attention to.

Don’t make your viva prep complicated. Just ask three questions to get started.

Nathan

Dos & Don’ts For The End Of The PhD

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Do the work you’re supposed to do…

…but don’t worry if you don’t get every answer to all the questions you had.

Do your thesis as well as you can…

…but don’t stress about the odd typo (you can fix that later).

Do explore who might be a good examiner for you…

…but don’t forget that you don’t get to pick them formally.

Do think about how you’ll manage to prepare before you submit…

…but don’t start preparing until you’ve got the thesis done.

Do take a break after you submit…

…but don’t leave preparation until the day before the viva.

Do read your thesis carefully…

…but don’t feel that you have to memorise it.

Do check out your examiners’ recent publications…

…but don’t stress about the literature in general (there’s only so much time to read papers).

Do find ways to practise answering unexpected questions about your work…

…but don’t have a mock viva if it doesn’t sound useful to you.

Do reflect on your work in as many ways as you can…

…but don’t forget to take breaks while you prepare.

Do go to the viva fixed on the thought that you’ve only got this far through talent and work…

…but don’t forget that there’s a little more work to do, a little more talent to show.

Nathan

Hints

Daily Post

It happens occasionally that examiners tell a candidate at the start of the viva that they have passed. Universities don’t want examiners to do this – as it sort of begs the question, why are we going ahead with this exam? – but sometimes examiners do. They might think it puts the candidate at ease, maybe this will lead to a more relaxed discussion, who knows. Don’t expect it.

Nevertheless, can you pick up subtle clues during the viva about how things are going?

Maybe the phrasing of a question can give your confidence a boost.

Perhaps the slight suggestion of a smile from your internal will tell you, “They’re on my side.”

How about that short pause? Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s fine…

Your external’s making notes while you speak? Well, they have to write a report later. I’m sure it’s fine too…

You’re over two and a half hours in and still a way to go? Well, vivas take as long as they take, it’s fine, there’s no need to- !!

Breathe.

Nothing means anything. You can see, hear or feel anything and spin it any way your mind will let you. It doesn’t make it true or false, good or bad.

Be present in the viva. Think about your answers. Engage with your examiners. Be ready to discuss your work.

The best hint about your viva’s outcome is that you’re there in the first place. It’s not a guaranteed pass just because you showed up, but think about how you got there to begin with.

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