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Month: May 2020

Nathan

Considering Examiners

Daily Post

I’ve frequently been asked, “What should I consider when selecting an examiner?” – a question which usually produces a very long response from me, but I’ll try to be brief and keep it simple!

First, candidates don’t get to select – they can be part of the discussion with supervisors, but supervisors choose.

Second, there’s no should. Good examiner qualities come from candidate preferences. Some will want an examiner they’ve cited; others won’t. Some want an expert, others will want a generalist.

Think about your preferences. What criteria does that give you? Who might meet those criteria? Talk it over with your supervisor.

I think the most useful criteria – for a candidate – are having met the examiners and knowing what other people say about them. If you’ve met your examiner at a conference or around your department then you know this is a real person. It’s not just a name at the top of a paper. And if you know what others say about them, you can build up a picture from their reputation about the kind of person who is going to be examining you.

Start with your preferences. Discuss with your supervisor. Be certain of who is coming.

Nathan

Boundaries For Prep

Daily Post

If home is nearly everything now, how do you make the space – physically, mentally and cognitively – to do the work you need to prepare for your viva?

You may need to close doors to signal to others you’re busy. You may need to tell them. You may need to ask for very specific things: leave me alone for an hour, can you do X so I can do Y, and so on.

Boundaries help. It’s OK to ask.

If you’re working from home alone, it’s probably helpful to put boundaries in place for you too. “I’ll spend thirty minutes per day” or “I’ll only do prep in the dining room” or “I’ll make a to-do list and mark things off”.

What do you need to put in place to help you prepare? What boundaries will help keep you working well as you get ready?

Nathan

3 Kinds Of Viva Clickbait

Daily Post

You won’t see these articles on the internet, but you will see them in what people say and how they tend to talk about the viva…

This person had their viva and OMG you’ll never guess what happened next!!!!!

Viva Coming Up?! Do these 4 Things academics don’t want YOU to know and you’ll get ZERO CORRECTIONS!!!!!!!!!!

Eliminate viva nerves with this one weird trick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is lots of clickbait around the viva. Because it is as seen as mysterious, uncertain – maybe even unwelcome – discussion and advice can be dominated by headlines, short thoughts and a desire to move past it quickly.

We need to take time with the viva. It might sometimes be uncomfortable, but go past the clickbait for a deep dive; reflection rather than quick tips. That’s what will help.

Nathan

Disagreeing With Your Supervisor

Daily Post

It’s possible your research went down a path you didn’t choose. Your supervisor insisted. You followed. Whatever that meant for your research, you still disagree with the approach or idea now.

OK.

…That’s it. You disagree. That’s OK. Disagreement by itself is not a problem.

Did it stop you doing your research? Did it remove possibilities? Did it help the research but was tricky to do? Was it a tough conversation?

What’s the real problem?

If there’s something to explain in your viva as a result, you might want to think carefully about the words you use. If there is bad feeling, think about how you express that if you want to – but who would that help? You can still say you disagree with something from the course of your research.

Explore and explain. If there was disagreement with your supervisor about something, it would be good to reflect before the viva so you have key points to reference if you need to talk about it.

Disagreement by itself is not a problem: the situation might be, but the disagreement itself is not.

OK?

Nathan

Actions & Outcomes

Daily Post

I am asked (a lot): “What do I need to do to be ready for my viva?”

There are of course general, good ideas about viva prep. Following simple task actions like “read your thesis” and “have a mock viva” can be useful because it creates the right sort of outcome – you have a better recall of your research, or you have more practice at responding to questions.

But if you need to go deeper, for your own circumstances, don’t start with a list of things to do – make instead a list of things you want. Maybe…

  • …I want to have marked out key sections, to make them easier to find.
  • …I want to feel better about explaining my methods section.
  • …I want to understand more of my examiners’ work.

If you have a list of outcomes, you can match actions to them, rather than get stuck into work straight away and only half-feel like you’re getting there.

(More broadly, every action you take is leading you to an outcome. Are your current actions actually leading you to the outcome you think you want?)

Nathan

When It Matters

Daily Post

Before your viva, for weeks or maybe months leading up, it might feel like the only thing that matters.

During your viva, perhaps it really is the only thing. You might forget everything else. You might genuinely be surprised or confused at how quickly time has passed while there.

And afterwards, there might be a brief spell where you think it was the peak. Maybe. But I have a hunch that the achievement will come to dominate more than the event.

I’ve been keeping thoughts of my viva as a little companion for a long time, but that’s because of work. In the twelve years since my viva I’ve done far bigger things. I’ve had much more important life events. I couldn’t be here today without going through my viva, but my viva doesn’t matter that much now.

Not as much as what I did during the course of my PhD, and not as much as what’s come after.

Perspective takes time, but trust me, if you’re finding any part of the time leading up to or around your viva tough, in future you will find some comfort.

Nathan

Who Do You Need?

Daily Post

Today’s post is even more personal than yesterday’s question. It depends on who is around you, in your circle, and what they can practically offer or do for you, as well as what you really need.

The cast of characters in your preparation play could include supervisors, mentors, colleagues, friends, university staff, family members – and from a distance your examiners too.

You might need someone to ask you questions.

You might need someone to check in with you.

You might need someone to get facts from (or, in the case of examiners, facts about!).

You might need someone to tell you what you need to know.

You might need someone to tell you it’s going to be OK.

You might need someone to tell you all about their viva.

Who do you need? It could be more useful to think about what you need others for first. Once you know that, you’ll know who to ask.

Nathan

What Do You Need?

Daily Post

Before submission you need your research to be finished and your thesis to be done.

Before the viva you need to prepare your thesis and yourself. You need to read, to think, to speak and get ready.

In the viva you need your thesis, something to write on, something to drink and anything that will help you feel good in those few hours.

After the viva you need a way to celebrate – and you will need to celebrate!

And you might need other things, far more personal than I could know or guess. What do you need? How can you make sure you have them?

Nathan

Feelings

Daily Post

It’s important to reflect on how you feel about your viva. It’s not enough, I think, to just feel nervous or worried or happy or unsure. Ask yourself WHY you feel that way: dig a little deeper to see what you could do.

  • Feel nervous? Why? What does that tell you?
  • Feel worried? Why? What could you do to feel less worried?
  • Feel happy? Why? What could you do to build on that feeling?
  • Feel unsure? Why? What could bring you greater certainty?

Remember that while it’s your viva you’re not the only person present.

Try to imagine how your examiners might be feeling. Nervous, maybe, because they want to do a good job. Pressured, perhaps, because of how busy they are and what’s happening in their lives. Impressed by what they’ve seen in your thesis? Certainly. And maybe a little excited at the anticipation of a good discussion.

So: how do you feel?

Nathan

Priorities Change

Daily Post

Even when a pandemic isn’t happening all around us, priorities change.

You focus on something and then… You have less time, less resources, less space, less energy, and you have to shift your focus. Or perhaps you suddenly have more of one thing: more responsibility, more to do, more to think about, and you have to change your priority.

If your viva is in the near future, it’s understandable to be concerned. Whatever approach you were going to take before might be in doubt. Timelines and outcomes may even seem uncertain.

The core tasks of preparation remain the same though, even if your immediate priorities might shift: you need to know about expectations, you need to read your thesis, you need to reflect on and reframe your work, you need to have some kind of meaningful rehearsal for responding to questions.

While these need to be done, they might seem a distant second (or third, or…) to everything else. That’s fine: be kind to yourself. Put your focus where you need to. When you can, take little steps to advance your preparation. It doesn’t have to be your focus.

A lot of small steps will get you where you need to be.

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