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Nathan

Terms & Conditions Apply

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A pass in the viva is not typically no strings attached. Most candidates have to complete some kind of corrections. These can mean different requirements at different institutions.

You can’t know what corrections you might get in advance, but you can find out what conditions they’ll have to be done under. How long is given to complete them? Who do you have to get approval from? When corrections are complete, how long do you have in order to get your final, complete thesis submitted? How long from then until you’ll have graduated?

Find out now.

Nathan

Flaws

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You can’t expect your thesis to be perfect. Your examiners don’t expect it to be perfect. There might be typos or clumsy writing, something vague, but nothing too awful.

But what if there’s a flaw? What if there’s something which is just wrong? A hole in your logic perhaps, or maybe a result or reference that doesn’t support your argument. What then?

First, read your thesis carefully before the viva. Then you can be sure of what’s in there. If you find a flaw you can figure it out. You’ll know how to respond to comments about it in the viva. If you don’t find anything, then you’re probably fine.

If your examiners find something you didn’t, then talk it through with them. Ask questions to get as much information as possible. Think it through. Talk through each point in turn, make notes and see where your discussions lead you.

A flaw can be a tiny imperfection, not a big deal at all. No thesis is perfect. Not every problem is a problem.

Nathan

Think Again

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Like most PhD candidates, after my viva I had corrections. For two of my chapters in particular, my examiners were convinced I had proved what I stated, but they didn’t like how it was explained. It read too much like a story, they said, not like maths at all. They told me I had to correct it by re-ordering those chapters.

It seemed impossible. I had spent almost three years developing my explanation. As far as I was concerned, this was the only way to do it. Slowly though, I restated all of my terms. Bit by bit I built it back up. In the end, the chapters were shorter, more precise, easier to read and more effective at communicating the algorithms I had developed. My thesis was profoundly better as a result.

I’m grateful that my examiners gave me the opportunity to re-explore one of my big results. I’m grateful because it gave me a chance to start again: I knew the result was true and I worked out a more helpful way of communicating it.

On the run up to the viva, it could be useful to take a step back. Explore whether or not there are alternate ways of expressing your work. If your thesis is finished it can still be valuable to let your mind wander. How else can you explain your research?

Nathan

A Few Words on Corrections

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By submission your research has to be good. You don’t get to that point by luck or by doing only bad work. But is your thesis perfect? Is it impervious to criticism? Probably not. Your examiners might have some notes for you, or even suggestions for changes.

How would you feel about that?

Are you going to be happy if they tell you, “You should change this…”?

Will you feel alright if someone thinks you’ve made a mistake?

Remember, your examiners suggest corrections to make your thesis better. It’s not about you. It’s about the work.

Nathan

Feedback & Corrections

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I was six and had painted my dad. A circle with a crude face, rectangle body, chunky arms and oval legs. I showed it to the teacher, Mrs M., and all she said was, “Does your father have a green face?” Again, I was six: the response crushed me.

It was my first dose of feedback. I remember it thirty years later! Also, thankfully, I have thirty years more life experience. However it’s given, however it is meant, we can choose how we take feedback. Mrs M.’s comment was about the painting, not me. She may have thought I was a bad artist, but she didn’t think I was a bad human.

Doing a PhD, you must have done something to get to the viva. Your research is most likely great. Your examiners may not think all of your thesis is good though. They may have comments. They may have questions. They may say, “I’d have liked to see more of this…” or “You need to change that…” It can hurt to hear it. I was not immediately happy with some of my corrections.

Corrections are feedback. You can either make them about you or about the work. You can think, “Ugh, why do I have to do this?” or you can approach them thinking, “How can I make my thesis as good as it can be?”

It’s you or the work.

Nathan

Nevermind

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I didn’t listen to Nevermind by Nirvana when it came out. I was in my teens in the 90s, but for some reason the album never connected with me. Of course, I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit but it just sounded loud and angry. I didn’t get it.

In my thesis I wrote a really detailed explanation of how I produced a particular algorithm. I walked the reader through it step by step. And it didn’t connect with my examiners. They thought it read like a story. They didn’t get it.

In both cases though, there was an opportunity to correct. In my viva I was able to explain the process, and my examiners got it. They asked me to re-write my explanation, but they understood what I was trying to get across: my thesis was better as a result.

And last month I listened to Nevermind for the first time: life is better as a result.

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