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Nathan

Magpie

Daily Post

“Hello Mr Magpie, how’s your wife?”

If you see a lonely magpie then you’re supposed to ask where his wife is, supposedly to ward away sorrow or bad things. I don’t know where the superstition comes from, I heard it at a very young age. I would never consider myself to be a superstitious person, but for some reason this has hooked into my brain. I can’t get rid of it. Whenever I see a magpie I look around hoping to see a friend for it, and if I don’t I whisper, “Hello Mr Magpie, how’s your wife?”

I wouldn’t class myself as superstitious, but I did wear a pair of my “good day socks” to my viva.

I often listen to Daft Punk while I set up for a workshop, it puts me in a happy sort of state that I find really helpful.

You should do none of these things. These are things that help or have helped me. You can call them superstition, ritual, process, practice, whatever. For the viva, think about the things that help you: a good night’s sleep, psyching yourself up, listening to music, three coffees, someone saying good luck (or not). Find what helps you.

But if you see a lonely magpie, say hi from me.

Nathan

First Thoughts

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Here’s a quick reflective exercise for the end of the PhD. Take a sheet of paper, divide it into three:

  • In the top write WHY: why did you do a PhD? Answer the question.
  • In the middle write HOW: how did you do a PhD? Answer the question.
  • At the bottom write WHAT: what did you find during your PhD? Answer the question.

What were your motivations? How did you go about doing research? What were the results?

Nathan

Sip & Pause

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The viva is questions: your examiners want to talk to you about your research and there’s 101 things they could want to know.

The viva is answers: if you don’t talk about your research you’re not going to get very far.

It’s 100% fine to pause before answering – questions deserve a little thought at least, not just an automatic response – but social conditioning tells us that we have to answer as quickly as possible. In workshops people say things like “Won’t my examiners think I’m rude if I pause?” and “My examiners will think I don’t know anything!” Either could be true if you were pausing for minutes, but we’re talking about seconds.

Still, sitting in silence in an exam like the viva can be uncomfortable. I like Dr Claire O’Callaghan’s suggestion in Episode 27: take a big bottle of water to sip after each question is asked. That way you can take those seconds to get the question straight in your mind, start thinking about a response and answer well.

Nathan

Spoilers

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For years I’ve avoided spoilers. I remember racing home with the final three Harry Potter books on the days they were released, turning my phone off and reading until they were done – partly because I was desperate to know what happened, but also because I didn’t want anyone else to spoil them for me.

Spoiler Alert! A small number of vivas start with examiners telling the candidate that they’ve passed. Some examiners do it to reassure the candidate. Examiners who declare a pass at the start have good intentions, but universities would prefer examiners didn’t do it. It begs the question, “Is this an exam or not?”

After I’ve shared this possibility in workshops – usually because someone has said, “A friend of a friend was told they’d passed…” – I have to add that it’s not that likely and if it were your viva you would never know until it happens. You could spend all the time on the run up to the viva thinking, “Will they tell me at the start? Will they tell me at the start?” Is that helpful? I don’t think so.

You can’t control what your examiners will do in the viva or at the start.

Spoiler Alert! You can control what you do and how well you can be prepared.

Nathan

Shhh

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My friend Shaine kept his viva secret. In his final year he got married, wrote up his thesis, applied for and got a place on a teaching course, prepared for it, submitted his thesis and then prepared for the viva. He had a lot going on, and I guess he didn’t want people asking after one more thing. We only found out after he had passed.

It worked for him. Most people won’t keep the viva a total surprise from their friends, but I can understand why they might. As with many things, there are pros and cons. What will work for you? Think it through: do you want the help your friends could give, or the space that might help you to think? There’s no right or wrong. Think about what you need and do what will help you most.

Nathan

Hours and Years

Daily Post

Two to three hours is pretty standard for a viva. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Two to three hours is the right neighbourhood.

Three to four years is pretty standard for a PhD. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Three to four years puts us in a meaningful ballpark.

People worry about “long” vivas. Mine was four hours. I’ve heard of the occasional six-hour viva. It can seem like a long time to be on and discuss your research. But you get to those hours of discussion after years of work. You’re in a good place.

Nathan

Significant

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A PhD thesis needs to have a significant, original contribution in it. So a postgraduate researcher needs to make a significant, original contribution for it. Significant, original contributions (to research, to knowledge, to the world) don’t grow on trees. They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t happen by accident.

If you’re feeling nervous or even afraid at the end of the PhD, weigh it against what you’ve done to get this far. The dedication and work you’ve put in tip the scales in your favour.

Nathan

Bookmarked

Daily Post

If I gave you ten bookmarks to put in your thesis, where would you put them?

Do you go for the start of every chapter? This could make your thesis easier and quicker to navigate in the viva.

Do you find the ten most important sections of your thesis? This way you can find the thread of your research with no problem.

What if I gave you only seven? Or three?

One?

Of course, you’re not restricted on bookmarks or Post It notes. Questions can really help you to think. Cut through everything and find what matters most, both in your thesis and to you. What’s important about your thesis that you need to make it stand out, and why?

Nathan

Not Lucky

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Winning the lottery is lucky: you buy a ticket, or lots of them, and maybe yours is the one that wins. There’s no skill, it happens or not.

Winning a race is fortunate: you develop skill, and even if there are other skilled people taking part your skill wins out. It isn’t luck, because you didn’t leave it to chance.

One of these descriptions is like the viva, and one is not, despite both being about situations involving a great many people.

If you’re lucky, you did something but it wasn’t in your control really. It could have been anyone else who succeeded, and what you did didn’t particularly matter. If you’re fortunate, then something good has happened, but what you did made a difference. Success in the viva is fortunate, I think, because it comes down to your developing talent through the PhD and what you are able to show on the day.

This is how I put the line between lucky and fortunate; you might define them differently, but I think you take my point. If you’ve read a lot of posts on this blog then you’ll know it’s a recurring theme for me: success in your PhD and viva is down to your talent and is not just good luck. This is important for the story you tell yourself afterwards. Not “I was lucky with the questions I got,” but “I was fortunate that I had done the work and could answer their questions well.”

You’re fortunate, you’re not lucky.

Nathan

Workout

Daily Post

An idea for Saturday: six minute viva prep workout! It’s playful, but there’s serious prep at work here too.

Got a voice recording app on your phone, tablet or computer? That’s all you need. Make sure you can keep an eye on a clock or timer.

There are four items on the following list for you to talk about. Focus on one at a time. Don’t worry if you say um or pause to think. Don’t worry if you say less or more than the indicated time. Just try.

Start recording.

  • Talk for one minute about why you got interested in your research area.
  • Talk for two minutes about the general thrust of your thesis.
  • Talk for two minutes about how you did your research.
  • Talk for one minute about the importance of your results.

All done? Set a reminder on your phone or calendar to come and listen back to the recording in two days.

When you listen back, what do you notice? What would you say more or? Less of? What did you forget?

Practice is key, but without reflection you don’t get all the benefits.

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