Check Their Publications

You will know who your examiners are before the viva, but it’s possible you won’t know much about them. Not everyone has examiners they’ve cited or met before; you can’t strike up a conversation over coffee or email to get to know them, but you can check out their publications. Look at the last couple of years and see what they’ve done.

• What’s the general area they’re interested in?
• Are there topics that they return to again and again?
• Is there a direction they are taking their research?
• How do their ideas connect with your own?
• What do you think their most important ideas or results are?
• What do you need to know about their work that you don’t?

Explore what your examiners have published. See what it might mean to you and your work.

See how that can help you with your viva preparations.