Daily viva help for PhDs
Your examiners want to read a good thesis with interesting research.
They want to follow the viva regulations for your institution and meet the expectations of your field or disciplines.
They want to engage with a capable, knowledgeable candidate.
They want the hours of the viva to be an appropriate challenge for you.
They want to see you rise to that challenge.
So what will you do to give them what they want?
Most vivas result in success, the majority result in minor corrections and a fair percentage are only one to two hours long. Questions are challenging but fair for the person who has to respond to them. However:
What percentages of candidates have these experiences? Which candidates are more likely to have them? I don’t know. It would be almost impossible to say. But I do think if we try to summarise vivas with single attributes we can run into trouble. For example:
I don’t think you can expect your viva to be the most amazing event of your life. I don’t think you can expect that it will be awful either. There’s a range of overlapping patterns of expectations that can guide you to getting ready.
Your viva will probably be neither “good” nor “bad”. Expect that it will be alright and expect that you will be fine.
I think a huge part of viva confidence for a candidate is based on feeling comfortable when talking about their research.
Examiners need to ask the candidate questions, they need to share opinions and they need the candidate to respond so that they can have a discussion and examine. Candidates have to do their part and want to do their part, but too often worry that they won’t be able to in the moment.
The short answer for all of these questions and worries is that the viva will still happen. It’ll continue however you feel, but will feel better for you if you’re able to talk with some confidence about your research and all the related things your examiners want to discuss.
How do you get to talk comfortably? You prepare. You read your thesis and think and make notes. More important than anything you take time to rehearse for being in the viva through opportunities like a mock viva.
You can’t be ready with pre-loaded responses to every conceivable question or comment.
You can be ready to engage with whatever question your examiners ask by taking time before the viva to rehearse.
Have a mock viva. Talk with friends. Talk with your supervisor. Make opportunities to be in situations where you’ll talk about your work and respond to questions. Make sure you have real experience before the viva so that you feel more comfortable talking about your PhD research.
The chapters in your thesis might have titles, but what are the headlines?
How could you summarise what they’re all about in a few short sentences? What details or terms do you need to emphasise? What points must you get across?
A short headline or two for each chapter could be a neat and simple way to add a few useful annotations to your thesis. What would you add?
If you have any worries or concerns about your viva then take steps to address them.
It sounds like really obvious advice, right?
But I talk to hundreds and hundreds of PhD candidates every year who are worried about their viva. They aren’t sure what to expect. They worry about technical aspects of their research. Some are afraid of meeting their examiners.
And for some reason they keep hold of those worries rather than take actions to work past them.
I love helping people, but for their own sake, I do wish for candidates to realise that they can find help or release worry sooner. Ask your supervisor. Check the regulations. Do something rather than hold on to worry.
If you have a worry about your viva, don’t let it fester. Don’t let it become something bigger than it needs to be. If you need to know something or you aren’t sure then take steps.
By all means ask for advice – ask me! – but take steps rather than just worry.
What are the best bits of your thesis?
What are your favourite memories of doing research?
What stands out when you think about how you’ve developed as a postgraduate researcher?
It’s important to spend time to reflect on difficult things and hard topics – but equally important to be certain about the good in your work and in your growth as a researcher.
Focus on the best bits first.
It’s not enough to plan your viva prep and write read my thesis: you have to spell out what you’re trying to achieve by doing that.
Don’t just pencil in a date for your mock viva: what do you want from that experience?
And you can’t simply allocate time for checking a few papers written by your external: what do you want to know from reading them?
Plan your prep so you have an idea of how and when you’ll do the work.
Set prep goals so you have a good sense of what you’re achieving and how it will help you.
What viva prep actions would have a great impact on how ready you were for your viva?
I’m thinking about the Pareto principle – in brief, that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes – and I wonder how it might apply to viva prep and building confidence for the viva.
I don’t have an answer! I do have some thoughts though:
Some big activities in viva prep can be broken down into little steps that add up. But perhaps some small actions by themselves can give big advantages to being ready.
I’ll have to think more about this! But perhaps you already have ideas of little things that you know will help you to feel ready.
Most vivas are not too long. They regularly result in minor corrections. They most often have two examiners, with a possibility for an independent chair as well. The great majority of vivas result in success.
Remember all this, but also remember that your viva will be unique. Your research, your contribution and you are all unique elements to your viva experience.
As you prepare, take time to reflect on what your viva will likely have in common with every other viva. Be sure to focus on what makes your contribution and journey unique too.
What could you do to get ready for your viva? A lot! For example you could:
All of these could help but finding what makes you a good candidate – in terms of your knowledge, your research outcomes, your thesis, your success – is really important. It’s the kind of work that helps develop confidence.
It’s last on this list, but not least in importance. Take time to reflect on what makes you a good candidate.
Remember that success and confidence are founded on your actions – and there are many, many actions you can take to build confidence for your viva.