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Month: January 2023

Nathan

The Chair

Daily Post

It’s not good or bad to have an independent chair at your viva.

Independent chairs are not examiners. They’re often a senior member of staff from your institution who is mostly acting as an observer. In your experience of the viva, it will be like having a teeny-tiny audience making notes. They won’t ask you any questions about your work.

They might ask examiners to move on from a topic if they think enough time has been spent. They might ask if anyone wants to take a break. But really their job is to observe and ensure that your viva is a fair process.

Not every viva has an independent chair. They’re sometimes used if an examiner has less experience. They’re sometimes used as a kind of quality control, checking that vivas are held in a fair way. Some departments or universities always use independent chairs because that’s what their regulations say. An internal examiner can take on some of these responsibilities, which is why independent chairs are not a universal part of the viva experience in the UK.

The best thing any candidate can do is find out in advance what the situation might be for their viva. It’s not good or bad for you: it’s just something to be aware of and something to consider as you prepare for your viva.

Nathan

It Doesn’t Matter

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Lots of things matter about the viva and how you succeed at it, but lots of thing really don’t.

It doesn’t matter if you have typos in your thesis, not really. Do your best to proofread and eliminate them, but be prepared to complete corrections after the viva.

It doesn’t matter if you missed a “key” reference from your field. You might have to think about it. You might have to talk about it. But how many more things have you read?

It doesn’t matter if your examiners are experts or not – and it doesn’t matter if you have cited them or not. Whoever your examiners are, they will be professional, they will be prepared and they will be ready to examine you.

It doesn’t matter if your viva is two hours or three hours or longer, except in terms of how tired you feel and whether you need to do something to prepare for that investment of time and energy. Long vivas don’t lead to more corrections.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re nervous. It might not feel comfortable and it could be distracting, but recognising that your viva matters, i.e., being nervous, won’t stop you from succeeding. Work to build your confidence and you’ll see that nervousness is just one more detail of your viva experience.

Nathan

Comments & Corrections

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A comment from one of your examiners does not automatically become a correction that you have to make to your thesis. A correction you receive is not always something that needs to be commented on in the viva.

A comment doesn’t mean that something is “wrong” – it could be something interesting to talk about. A correction doesn’t mean that something is “wrong” either – it could be a typo or it could be needed to create a clearer piece of writing.

Comments and corrections have to be expected as part of the viva process. Your research and your thesis are not perfect and that’s OK.

You can expect to receive comments and corrections and also expect your examiners to think that your work is good.

Nathan

Special Days

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There are so many special days in the life of a typical human.

Special days usually invite some element of preparation.

A special day might make someone nervous.

You mark your calendar for a special day.

And a special day is often marked in some way: a celebration, big or small, to show that the day really was special.

The viva is a special day in the life of a typical human. Not every human has one, but those that do get there after a long series of days. Some of those will have been special too, but some will have been hard, others will pass without comment and some days will go by in a blur of activity.

The viva takes preparation, you might be nervous because you’ll know it’s a special day ahead of time.

And hopefully you’ll make time to celebrate somehow too.

 

PS: Today is a special day for me as it’s my birthday! I won’t say how old I am, but for a little fun and celebration of my own you can save 42% on all of my ebooks at my Payhip store until the end of the month if you use the code SPECIALDAYS when prompted at the checkout! 🙂

Nathan

If You Forget

Daily Post

Forgetting something in the viva could happen to any candidate. It’s a reasonable thing to worry about, even if there realistically wouldn’t be a great consequence to a minor lapse in memory.

It’s reasonable to worry about forgetting; if you do then you have to take action to help yourself get past the worry. There’s a lot you could do:

  • Mark out the start of chapters to make your thesis easier to navigate.
  • Mark key sections so you can find important details.
  • Highlight or underline parts of your thesis that you might want to quote.
  • Create summaries of important information.
  • Practise responding to questions to gain comfort for the viva.

There really is a lot you could do if you worry about forgetting something in the viva – and all of this work is part of regular viva preparation!

Nathan

Finding The Words

Daily Post

If you’re concerned about saying the right thing at the viva – or worried about saying the wrong thing – then invest time before then in finding the words to share your research.

Write summaries to draw out key points. Review literature that has helped your work. Take time to rehearse with your supervisor or with friends.

The last part helps a lot. You can’t find the words by only worrying and thinking. You have to talk, because that’s what you have to do in the viva.

Nathan

More Or Less

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Before your viva, work to feel more confident rather than less nervous.

The importance of your viva doesn’t change: you feel nervous because it matters.

Your confidence levels can increase though. You can reflect on your experiences. You can remind yourself of the successes you have created throughout your PhD. You can be sure of the improvement in your ability and knowledge. You can remind yourself that you did the work.

Work to feel more confident and you can feel less of the impact of nervousness.

Nathan

Practical Matters

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Every so often I’m asked the following sorts of questions by future viva-havers:

  • Will I need to solve equations in my viva?
  • Do I need to take a laptop with me to show my programming?
  • Would it be best to take a prop to demonstrate how I did something?

My response to these questions and the hundred-and-one similar questions I’ve been asked is, “Maybe!”

I solved equations in my viva. I was stood at a chalkboard, sketching diagrams, showing how they were connected and demonstrating the algebra that underpinned my work. But if you weren’t a mathematician you wouldn’t expect to do that.

Are there visual ways of representing what you’ve done? Are there clearly defined processes that show how to do what you did? Then perhaps you might be asked to sketch something in your viva.

You can ask friends, colleagues and supervisors: in fact, they are the best people to ask.

Do you need tools, equipment or resources? Might you be asked to demonstrate something? I don’t know – but you know someone who will. Ask them!

Nathan

Expect The Unexpected

Daily Post

There are regulations for vivas created by each university. There are expectations for the viva, general patterns of experience, that can be observed in the stories that graduates tell. There are norms we can derive from more considered inspection of stories with a departmental community.

These three aspects give a lot of certainty about the viva experience. Every viva is unique, but none of them are a great unknown.

And yet: questions are asked that can’t be anticipated. Corrections are requested that went unseen before submission. Opinions are suggested that have never been considered. And circumstances sometimes change, from simple logistical room switches on the day to last-minute changes to video vivas due to illness.

Expect the unexpected. You can’t discard the rules and patterns of experience. Embrace them, learn from them, but also remember that you have to expect that you won’t know any question until it is asked.

That doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared. That doesn’t mean you won’t be ready.

Learn about the range of possibilities. Rehearse to build your comfort for being in the viva. Expect the unexpected.

Nathan

Examiners’ Choice

Daily Post

Candidates don’t choose examiners. For all the good ideas you might have about this person or that person to examine your thesis and you in the viva, you don’t choose them outright.

Your supervisors choose your examiners. They might ask you for your ideas and they might respond positively to your suggestions but they don’t have to. They are responsible for nominating the academics who will examine you.

Your university has to approve the nominations. They have to check the details of who your supervisor selects to check they are suitable. There are criteria that examiners have to satisfy.

And after all of this two people have to say yes.

They can say no if they’re busy. They can say no if, for whatever reason, they feel it doesn’t seem like a good fit for them to be your examiner. They don’t say yes to tick a box. They don’t say yes because they know your supervisor.

When your examiners are confirmed then you can prepare. You can make a choice at that stage to be ready to talk to them at your viva.

That’s the choice you make.

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