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Month: February 2022

Nathan

Unreasonable Corrections

Daily Post

After the viva most candidates will be told to complete corrections. For most, corrections will be simple things: amending spelling mistakes, making ambiguous sentences clearer, breaking up long and clunky paragraphs, and so on.

While no candidate wants to get corrections – however minor for the most part, they’re still more work – it’s rare that a candidate would be asked to complete unreasonable corrections. It’s rare that an examiner would ask for rewrites of chapters over a minor point or for a style change based solely on their preferences. Requests for more research have to come with real justification.

If a suggested correction strikes you as unreasonable:

  • Ask yourself why you think that.
  • Discuss it with your supervisor.
  • Decide if you need to appeal the request.

Everyone can make a mistake. You can make mistakes in your thesis. Examiners can sometimes make a mistake with a request. Nobody wants unreasonable corrections.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be asked to complete anything unreasonable, but if something seems wrong to you then know there are options.

Nathan

Corrections & Confidence

Daily Post

Consider making two lists as you read your thesis in preparation for the viva.

On one list, make a note of any typos that you find or any sentences that you think need revising. On the other, make a note of anything that you think is good, great or amazing.

After you’ve made your lists put the first one away until after the viva. You’ll find it useful then to help you complete your corrections.

Look at the second list every day on the lead up to your viva. Remind yourself that you have done good work and you can be confident that your thesis has value.

Corrections need to be done eventually. Before the viva it’s far more important to look for things that will help your confidence.

Nathan

Supervisor Presence

Daily Post

There are good reasons to have your supervisor present at your viva.

They can be moral support. They can make notes on your behalf. You could feel like it’s a fitting moment in your working relationship.

There are good reasons to not have your supervisor present at your viva.

You might be distracted. You might not want an audience. Perhaps you don’t have a good relationship with them.

Either way it’s your decision; you get to choose and that’s that.

Reflect on what matters to you.

Nathan

Remember You Are Talented

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The skill set, knowledge and attributes you have as a researcher are due to your experience. You are talented because you have put the effort in consistently over a long period of time.

You work through your PhD journey and build up your talent. You pass your viva because of that talent.

Don’t forget that while you get ready. Build a strong foundation of confidence for your viva.

Nathan

Questioning Weakness

Daily Post

There are many causes of doubt before the viva. One possibility is that a candidate believes some aspect of their research or thesis isn’t good enough. They find a weakness and then can do nothing but dwell on it.

If you find yourself in a similar position, reflect on one or more of the following:

  • Can you do anything about it at this point? If not, perhaps it would be better to reflect more on your research strengths – and your strengths as a researcher – than to focus on weaknesses.
  • Can someone help you explore this? Look to your supervisor or your friends and colleagues. Ask them to listen and help you find some way to move forwards.
  • How did your work come to have this weakness? It could be an accident, a mistake, a result of your research process, and so on. Knowing why it is there can help you to figure out what to do next.
  • How would you explain this in the viva? If a question or comment was about this aspect of your work, explore what you could say about it.

Finally, is it really a weakness? Are you seeing weakness when in fact there is just a small flaw that you are making into a bigger problem than it needs to be?

Nathan

Say No When You Get Ready

Daily Post

Say no to distractions. Find time and space to do what you need to for your viva prep.

Say no to typos when you find them in your thesis. They don’t need to be your focus. Make a note and move on.

Say no to other tasks to free up rest time. Getting ready requires more than reading and reflecting. You need time to just rest.

Say no to your doubts, if you have them. Could you have got this far by being merely lucky? Could you have got this far while making serious mistakes?

The answer, of course, is “no”.

Nathan

The Long Distance Viva

Daily Post

A video viva is still just a viva in the same way that an ebook is still just a book. There are fundamentals that we would expect in both cases – a conversation in a viva, text in a book – but features that mark the experiences of a long distance viva or an ebook as being different in some way.

Video vivas require special equipment. There are extra rules and regulations. It really helps if the people involved have had practice with the software beforehand. The distance can cause a signal delay that is awkward at first.

And yet, for all the differences between a video viva and one on campus, it’s still just a viva. Complete within a few hours, very little extra prep, no big differences in what is being done. Rather than focus on what makes the experience unusual compared to previous expectations, it’s much better to invest time in preparing for it.

Nathan

Citing Your Examiners

Daily Post

It’s not necessary for every PhD candidate to cite their examiners in their thesis.

It might be helpful for you in particular to have cited your examiners. Or rather, who you have cited might have an influence on the list of academics who might be considered to be good choices for your examiners.

If, as it turns out, you have cited your examiners then it’s worth looking at their work again during your prep for the viva. Be sure of how you have made use of their work in your own.

If, as it turns out, you have not cited your examiners then it will help you to take a look at their while you get ready. Get a sense of what they do and how it connects with your work, if at all.

You don’t need to cite your examiners in order for them to be good choices. You do need to read their work as part of getting ready, regardless of whether or not you have cited them before.

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