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Month: April 2024

Nathan

Jargon Busting

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You probably have terms in your thesis that are unfamiliar to anyone who doesn’t do what you do. These could be names of key people in your field, references to important information or just a piece of jargon that means something important.

Over time words can become forgotten. To make sure that you have what you need, take an hour in your viva prep to refresh your memory.

Write a glossary of fancy words and jargon. Make a list of key names and data. It might seem like overkill to think and write about terms you know but a little extra thought won’t hurt to be sure you know what everything in your thesis means.

Nathan

Demonstrating Capability

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Assuming that you pass your viva it’s you who are the PhD, not your thesis. Your thesis is part of the mechanism for your success. Your examiners need to explore the contribution you’ve made and also examine your capability as a researcher in your field.

It might help before your viva to reflect a little on the last few years:

  • What have you learned?
  • What skills have you developed?
  • What research processes can you do now that you couldn’t when you started?
  • What makes you a good researcher?

The last question is simple to ask. The details should all be there when you look at the last few years, but it might be hard to put them into words. Take time to think about how you can demonstrate that you are a capable researcher.

What makes you good at what you do? What makes you good enough?

Nathan

A Chance For Final Changes

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Most PhD candidates are asked to complete corrections as a result of their viva.

They’re not a mark against the candidate. Corrections result from the fact that writing is hard and writing a book is very hard.

Most candidates get corrections. It’s likely you will as well. After the viva you have a chance to make final changes before your book is finished forever.

Thank your examiners for their time and observations. Do the work. Then move on.

Nathan

6 Reasons To Create A Summary

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There are lots of reasons to create summaries as part of getting ready for your viva. Here are 6!

  1. They help you to figure out what you think.
  2. Writing a summary can help you find clarity about some aspect of your thesis or research.
  3. You can highlight key information or details.
  4. You can gather useful thoughts you might want to use in the viva.
  5. You can build confidence by reflecting on what you’ve done.
  6. A summary is a small project.

I think number 6 is overlooked sometimes. Viva prep can feel big, daunting and even open-ended. A summary is a finite task to be done. The process helps and the output is a resource.

Find an important aspect of your thesis or research. Spend a little time thinking about it and capturing useful thoughts about it.

Nathan

Annotation Needs

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Take time after submission to annotate your thesis and create a one-of-a-kind special edition. This can then be an even greater resource for helping you respond to your examiners.

So what do you need to add to have a well-annotated thesis for your viva?

 

To unpick this question we have to add some emphasis. What do YOU need to add to have a well-annotated thesis for YOUR viva?

Annotation is highly personal. From particular needs and wants, the actual text of the thesis, the circumstances of the candidate and the situation of the viva, there are lots of things that someone could need or want. Of course there is then a great variety in how these things could be expressed in annotation.

A typical need is to be able to find the start of a chapter with ease. This could be done with bookmarks, sticky notes, colouring the edges of pages or folding down page corners. There’s no wrong way to do it, just a personal way – and it’s not wrong if you’d rather not have any indicator marking the start of a chapter!

What do you need to annotate your thesis in a good way for you? How will you do it?

Nathan

Value Your Contribution

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A key topic for discussion at your viva is what you’ve been doing for the last few years.

Your examiners need to explore your significant original contribution. They need to ask questions that get you to share what makes your work matter. They need to get you to talk about why it makes a difference. So in preparation for your viva:

  • Reflect on what makes your contribution valuable.
  • Think about how your work connects with the field or disciplines it’s a part of.
  • Explore the difference your research makes.

You can do these sorts of things through reading your thesis, writing notes or summaries and talking about your work. Make sure you find opportunities to talk about your research and respond to questions.

It’s not enough to just think a bit: you have to do more to explore what makes your work special.

Nathan

Questions For Examiners

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The viva is a discussion. While your examiners lead with questions and comments to get you talking there is plenty of space within the conversation for you to ask questions too.

Before your viva think a little about what you might ask. You don’t have a specific limit but it could help to give this some thought beforehand. For example:

  • “What did you think of Chapter X?”
  • “Can you think of any interesting areas related to…?”
  • “Is it a good idea for me to publish something on…?”

You might not get to ask every question you have considered, but thinking ahead of the viva will help you make the most of the opportunity.

You could ask what they liked about your thesis but that’s probably going to come up anyway!

Nathan

Deep Down

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Nervous. Anxious. Concerned. Worried. Afraid.

If any of these words describe how you feel about your viva then you need to ask why.

They don’t all mean the same thing. Be sure of which best describes the situation, then dig into why. Why are you worried? What’s the reason for your concern? Do you know why you’re feeling this way?

Deep down there is a reason. If you feel negative about your viva, try to unpick the cause.

It’s not wrong to feel any of these things. The viva is important and important events have a way of making us feel nervous and more. If the feeling isn’t helping you to get ready then ask why, reflect and see what the reason might be.

Do you need to know something about the process?

Are you worried about something you’ve heard about vivas and aren’t sure if it’s true or not?

Do you feel concerned about your thesis or prep?

Whatever the reason, uncovering it gives you the means to start resolving that situation. Don’t just sit with the feeling. Find something you can do to shift that feeling.

Nathan

Behaving As Expected

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PhD candidates can get a sense of what to expect for their viva from reading their institution’s regulations, learning about general viva experiences and asking about recent vivas in their department.

Together these create expectations.

Some expectations will be really clear, like knowing the people who will be examining. Others will cover a range of possibilities, like expecting the viva to be longer than two hours. Some aspects may be unknown but a candidate can still get a sense of the situation: you might not know the first question but will still have an idea of what examiners typically ask.

Viva expectations prompt behaviour. This sort of thing will happen so I will do this to be ready.

Consider what you know about the viva and how that can help you as you prepare.

Nathan

Supervisor Support

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Talk to your supervisor around submission time to get a sense of how they can support you when you prepare for your viva.

Your supervisor is best-placed to offer advice and perspective as you get ready. You might not need a lot from them. Maybe you want a mock viva. Perhaps they can share some thoughts on your examiners or the general process of vivas.

Whatever you need, you can be sure that they are busy. They’ll want to help but will only have a limited amount of time to do so and a limited availability as well. So talk to them at submission to get a sense of what they can do, when they can do it and how you’ll make it work.

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