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Nathan

Episode 45: Dr Eileen Pollard

Episode

In this episode I’m interviewing Eileen Pollard, who completed her PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2013. Eileen’s research was on the writing of Hilary Mantel. We had a good chat about how she came to do her research, how she prepared for her viva and what happened on the day.

Eileen talks on the podcast about a technique she found particularly useful in her viva prep; you can find the method in the chapter ‘The Examination Process’, in How to get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and their Supervisors, which you can find on Amazon here, and I think I found a link to the method on Google Books.

If you’ve got questions or comments for this or any episode then feel free to comment on the site, or email me. You can also tweet @DrRyder or @VivaSurvivors. I love hearing from people who want to come on the podcast to share their PhD and viva experiences. If you can, consider supporting the podcast by buying one of my ebooks on viva preparation.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 44: Dr Steven Caldwell Brown

Episode

In this episode I’m chatting with Dr Steven Caldwell Brown, who recently had his viva at Glasgow Caledonian University. Steven’s thesis was titled “The Psychology of Music Piracy,” and we talked about his research, his viva preparation and what happened on the day. Steven has written a post about his tips for viva prep, which you can find here, and you can find him on Twitter as @musicpiracyblog.

If you’ve got questions or comments for this or any episode then feel free to comment on the site, or email me. You can also tweet @DrRyder or @VivaSurvivors. I love hearing from people who want to come on the podcast to share their PhD and viva experiences. If you can, consider supporting the podcast by buying one of my ebooks on viva preparation.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 43: Dr Fiona Whelan

Episode

In this episode I’m talking with Dr Fiona Whelan, who recently completed her PhD at the University of Oxford. Fiona was kind enough to come on the podcast and share not only her interesting research, but also to talk about her viva – which was quite stressful in places but which had a positive outcome.

Since completing her corrections, Fiona has gone on to create Beyond The Doctorate, a blog looking at what comes after the PhD, particularly for PhD graduates in the humanities. On the podcast I asked Fiona for suggestions of articles to check out, and she recommended pieces on academic affiliation, major corrections and transparency. You can find Fiona on Twitter as @FionaEWhelan.

If you’ve got questions or comments for this or any episode then feel free to comment on the site, or email me. You can also tweet @DrRyder or @VivaSurvivors. I’m always happy to hear from people who would be interested in coming on the podcast to share their PhD and viva experiences, or to join me for a special about Academic Jobs or being an examiner. And you can support the podcast by checking out my ebooks on viva preparation!

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 42: Dr Katy Shaw

Episode

Eagle-eyed followers of the podcast will know that this is not the first time that Dr Katy Shaw has come on the podcast – in fact it’s the fourth time that she has joined me on Viva Survivors! You can find her other episodes here. In this episode we had a catch up of what Katy has been up to recently, and she shared some really interesting experiences and advice for people wanting to work in academia.

The book that I asked Katy about was Mining the Meaning, and you can find all of her other books on Amazon too (and probably from other retailers too!). Katy is on Twitter as @DrKatyShaw.

If you’ve got any questions or comments then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! Please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode. I’m always looking for PhD graduates who want to share their research and viva experiences. And if you’d like to support the production of the Viva Survivors Podcast then check out my ebooks on viva preparation.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 41: Dr Malcolm Craig

Episode

In this episode I’m talking with Dr Malcolm Craig, who completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh last year. Malcolm’s research is in Cold War history, and we have an interesting conversation about how he came to research in that area, and also how he did research in that area. Malcolm’s viva was in June 2014, and he shared his preparation and experiences, as well as talking about his blog, The Atomic Age, and the podcast he co-hosts with Mark McClay, American History Too! You can find him on Twitter as @contestedground.

If you’ve got questions or comments for this or any episode then feel free to comment on the site, or email me. You can also tweet @DrRyder or @VivaSurvivors. I’m always happy to hear from people who would be interested in coming on the podcast to share their PhD and viva experiences, or to join me for a special about Academic Jobs or being an examiner.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 40: Dr Chloe Sharp

Episode

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Chloe Sharp, who had her viva in January 2013. Chloe did her PhD at the University of Bedfordshire and her thesis  was titled “Examining the relationships between deceased organ donation, gift exchange theory and religion: a Polish perspective.” Once again, it was fascinating for me to hear about a research topic very different to my PhD! You can find Chloe on Twitter as @formalcuriosity, and check out her website Formalised Curiosity for articles on research and more information about her work. You can find the article about common viva questions that Chloe wrote here.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this episode, then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! And please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode. I’m always looking for PhD graduates ready to share their research and viva experiences. I’m also looking for academics happy to talk in future specials on Academic Jobs or being an examiner.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 39: Dr Denise Proudfoot

Episode

In this episode I talk with Dr Denise Proudfoot, who completed a Professional Doctorate in Health in 2014. Her research was a narrative exploration of the experiences of mothers living with HIV in Ireland, and she completed her doctorate over seven years while working as a nurse lecturer in Dublin City University. It was great to hear about Denise’s research and experiences, and you can find her on Twitter as @Denproud.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this episode, then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! And please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode. I’m always looking for PhD graduates ready to share their research and viva experiences. I’m also looking for academics happy to talk in future specials on Academic Jobs or being an examiner.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 38: Dr Robin Wilson

Episode

In this episode I’m chatting with Dr Robin Wilson, who had his viva in January. Robin’s PhD at the University of Southampton was in remote sensing, and it was really interesting to hear about how he got interested in that area, as well as the results and applications of his research. Robin also shared some of his experiences of doing his PhD in a Doctoral Training Centre – something that is becoming more and more common. You can find Robin on Twitter as @sciremotesense.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this episode, then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! And please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode. I’m always looking for more PhD graduates who are happy to share their research and viva experiences. I’m also looking for academics happy to talk about Academic Jobs or what it is like being an Examiner for future specials.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 37: Dr Jennifer Ferreira

Episode

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Jennifer Perreira, who completed her PhD in Economic Geography at the University of Manchester in 2012. Jennifer is a Senior Research Assistant at Coventry University, and you can find her on Twitter as @jennywrenwatts. It was great to hear about the research experience of someone whose research was very different to mine, and also to hear of another great viva experience.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this episode, then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! And please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode. I’m always looking for more PhD graduates who are happy to share their research and viva experiences. I’m also looking for academics happy to talk about Academic Jobs or what it is like being an Examiner for future specials.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 36: Dr Anna McFarlane

Episode

In this episode I talk to Dr Anna McFarlane, who recently completed her PhD in English Literature at the University of St Andrews. Anna’s thesis is on one of my favourite authors, William Gibson, and so it was great to have this opportunity to interview her about her research, and of course, her viva. Anna is the co-editor of Vector: The British Science Fiction Association’s Critical Journal, and you can find her on Twitter as @mariettarosetta.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this episode, then comment on this post, tweet @VivaSurvivors – or email me! And please get in touch if you’d like to appear on a future episode – either to talk about your viva, or if you have the experience, to talk about Academic Jobs or being an Examiner.

Thanks for listening! (and reading!)

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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