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Month: February 2022

Nathan

Five Minutes of Reading

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A few years ago I used a little bit of code to make a random post link: use the link and you find yourself reading one of the 1700+ posts I’ve written! I just did that five times and got the following results:

If you find yourself with five minutes to spare one day and are looking for something to help with the viva, then the random post link could be interesting.

If you want to spend five minutes every day reading something to help your viva then subscribe and get each new post sent to you when it goes on the site.

Nathan

Separating Viva Prep

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Doing viva prep reminds me a little of separating rubbish into recycling and non-recycling.

For your rubbish you might have two or more bins to collect things in. You could have a system in place for cleaning tins or bottles, stacking them somewhere and so on. It’s not a good idea to put everything in one container and then get on with things: with a little organisation the whole process works better.

It’s a necessary task so it helps to have a good way to get it done.

Viva prep is also better with a little planning. It pays to structure your time. It pays to set tasks in advance rather than decide what to do as you go along. It’s necessary as well: despite the many, many hours of work on your PhD you now need to prepare for the particular challenge of the viva.

Hopefully you get my point – please don’t let your takeaway be that good viva prep is rubbish!

Nathan

Finding Fault With Your Thesis

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It’s necessary to read your thesis in preparation for the viva. It’s natural that you might find things you want to change now you’re reading it one more time. It’s possible you could even start to worry about the faults you uncover:

  • Seeing the number of typos…
  • Reading sentences that don’t quite make sense now…
  • Remembering ideas you didn’t include…

All these things have simple explanations. A typo escapes spellcheck. A sentence slips past your proofreading. An idea now seems good that you previously left out. Faults don’t just happen, but that doesn’t mean you’re at fault. You’re human. You’re responsible, but they don’t have to matter as much as you might think.

Most candidates are asked to complete corrections, an opportunity to amend little things and make your thesis better. The great majority of candidates are also responsible for doing research that matters and writing a thesis that contains a significant original contribution.

You’re responsible for both the little faults and the great, big wonderful parts of your thesis.

Nathan

The Next Question

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Some candidates fixate on a not unreasonable concern about the viva: that they will be asked a question for which they will find no good response. It could be a question they dread. Or a question they’ve never considered. It may be a question that feels easy but which they can’t figure out. Or even just a comment that hits them harder than they like.

Candidates worry that this moment, if it happens, will be too much. They fear that, if it happens, it will impact the rest of the viva. Given the importance of the viva, this kind of concern is reasonable.

The roots of the problem can be really complex but the solution is simple: if you are faced with a question as described you have to breathe and focus on the next question coming up.

Because there isn’t anything else to do. If in one moment on one day you find that you don’t have what you need, then there is still the next moment and the next question to engage with.

Simply thinking about questions before the viva is not enough to eliminate fears. Making notes for possible responses falls short. To help, you have to put yourself in situations where you need to respond. Practice makes a difference. Mock vivas, conversations with friends or seminars can all make a difference.

Each question you’re asked is an opportunity to demonstrate something: what you know, what you did or what you can do. And if you fall short in an opportunity then there is the next question coming up, another chance to show something good.

If you face a difficult moment: breathe and focus on the next question.

Keep going.

Nathan

Ask Yourself Why

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When you’re getting ready for your viva it could help to ask yourself why a lot.

  • If something is particularly strong in your research: why is this good?
  • If you find a typo or a part that needs changing: why will that change make things better?
  • If you find yourself unsure about something: why are you unsure and what could you do?
  • If you feel nervous, confident, uncertain or amazing: why do you feel that way and what does that mean for you?

Whatever happens, whatever you find, what you feel – if you ask yourself why you can go a little deeper. Ask yourself why and you can uncover more.

Ask yourself why and you can find a way to become even more ready for your viva.

Nathan

Catastrophes

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Last Christmas Eve just after dark, without warning, there was a power cut in our neighbourhood.

In our house our whole evening changed. Plans for a festive dinner and a movie were abandoned. We made sandwiches by torchlight and ate them nestled under blankets. We read with candles and kept busy with little jobs so that we didn’t think too much.

When I did think I could only worry and imagine the worst. What if the power didn’t come back on? Would everything in our fridge and freezer be ruined? Would we be able to celebrate Christmas the next day?

Over the course of a few hours the power kept coming back on and then shutting off abruptly. Then it stayed off again for a long time.

What now? What should we do?

For half an hour I just panicked. Then by torchlight I got out my notebook and wrote:

We’re fortunate enough to have torches. The power will get fixed at some point. We’re fortunate enough that we could buy more food if needed. We can still find a way to celebrate. We can find other options. It’s not ideal but we can figure it out. We will still have Christmas.

I felt better. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew that whatever did happen we could do something.

Moments later the power came back on and stayed on. I felt a little anxious for the next few hours that it would go off suddenly, but the problem was resolved. We went to bed and the next day was Christmas, just as we’d planned.

 

On Christmas Eve I was catastrophising the situation. Something went wrong, suddenly, and all I could do was imagine the situation getting worse and worse.

The power cut hit me out of the blue, completely unexpected, but for the viva some potential situations can be anticipated. And depending on how you view things, you could believe that you have a future catastrophe. What would you do?

You could forget something.

Your examiners could ask a tough question.

You could doubt yourself.

There could be a delay.

And so on. Lots of things could happen. They could happen. They might not. And even if they do they’re not totally beyond your power to resolve or do something about.

A delay could be uncomfortable, but you could find a way to use the time. If you doubt yourself at any point then you can find a way to remember the contribution you’ve made in your thesis and the talent you’ve developed as a researcher. A tough question or a forgotten detail will not disqualify you from achieving your PhD; taking a moment to think is probably all you need.

Expected and unexpected “catastrophes” are not always as terrible as they first appear. A problem or situation may not be as dire as it seems. Even when confronted with a tricky situation you have the talent and knowledge to do something.

Nathan

Wait For It

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There’s a lot of waiting in the thesis submission and viva process. Waiting to hear that your examiners have got your thesis. Waiting to find out when the viva is going to be. Feeling like you’re waiting for the day to arrive. Waiting on the day to begin – and waiting to find out what it will be like.

I don’t have any tips for the day-by-day waiting for things to come around, but one thing you can do for the day of the viva is to make a plan for the short break at the end of the viva. Your examiners will need a little time to talk and reach their conclusions before they tell you what the outcome is. Make a plan for that short period – it’s commonly between five and twenty minutes but could feel a lot longer if you don’t have something to do.

Whether you’re on campus or at home, decide in advance to take a short walk around the space you’re in. Or stretch. Or make a drink. Or read a book. Or whatever you need to do at that time.

Decide beforehand what you will do so that you are not left with just nervous thoughts, waiting to find out what the outcome will be.

Nathan

Push Yourself

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In preparation for the viva it might help to push yourself, to make that extra effort even if it’s hard. You don’t have to do a lot, push yourself, just a little.

  • Push yourself to read your thesis, even if you’re bored!
  • Push yourself to find out more about what to expect.
  • Push yourself to read your examiners’ recent papers.
  • Push yourself to practise being in the viva.
  • Push yourself to believe that you can be confident of your success.

Push yourself before the viva; then when you meet your examiners the experience won’t be a surprise or a great stretch for you.

Nathan

Important Details

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Before your viva, ask yourself what’s important about your thesis:

  • What’s important in each chapter?
  • What’s important about the references you cite?
  • What’s important about the contribution you make in your thesis?
  • What’s important for you to share with your examiners?
  • What’s important for you to remember?

Focus yourself to consider what really matters about your thesis.

Remember the most important detail: you did it.

Your thesis would not exist without your work, skill, knowledge and determination.

Nathan

Patterns

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Vivas are governed by regulations. There are over 100 universities in the UK, each with their own set of rules for thesis examination – but these rules are all very similar in purpose.

Vivas are mostly conducted by academics. While there are typically two examiners in any viva they have colleagues who they talk to. Ideas of what makes a viva “good” or “right” are passed around.

This leads to cultures of thesis examination.

Culture can be specific to individual departments. Academics can have the idea that a certain length of viva is desirable, a certain focus, a certain structure and so on.

So: there are rules for what happens, ideas for what is right and these lead to patterns of experience by candidates. Viva stories describe exams tending to be a certain length, beginning with similar questions, and so on.

Patterns of experience, if passed on, give rise to useful patterns of expectation.

You can’t know exactly what will happen at your viva. Every viva will be unique, but if you ask the right people the right questions you can get a good idea of what to expect – and then prepare accordingly.

Talk to your supervisors, friends and colleagues to find out more of what vivas are like in your department. Understand the pattern of what happens at the viva and you’ll know what you need to do to be ready.

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