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Nathan

Why-How-What

Daily Post, Sabbatical

If you’re looking for a way to share a summary of your research, as you might in the viva, think Why-How-What:

  • Why is your topic worth researching?
  • How have you gone about researching it?
  • What have you found?

Every time you give a summary of your work you get to try new ways to communicate what’s important. These questions are only the beginning, you might want to elaborate. You have to start somewhere though.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: Iā€™m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on September 22nd 2017.

Nathan

The List

Daily Post

Every candidate has at least one list for their viva.

It could be a list of typos they’ve found or ten papers they think have made the most contribution to their research. Maybe it’s a to-do list for viva prep or a must-have list for their viva day. A list of questions to ask their supervisor or a list of questions they think their examiners might have for them.

There’s at least one list you’ll think to write for your viva. And while you don’t need to do anything to prepare until after submission, you also don’t need to wait to capture things on a list for later.

Nathan

What Matters

Daily Post

An incomplete list of what matters about you, your PhD, your thesis and your viva:

  • That you did the work;
  • That you put the time and effort in;
  • That you feel reasonably confident for the viva;
  • That you prepare for the viva;
  • That you have examiners who have done their prep;
  • That you have done something meaningful;
  • That you have talent and are a capable researcher in your field.

An incomplete list of what DOESN’T matter about you, your PhD, your thesis and your viva:

  • That you do or don’t have a certain number of publications in print or forthcoming;
  • That you have decided to stay or not in academia after your PhD;
  • That you feel nervous;
  • That you have typos in your thesis;
  • That you will get corrections in your viva;
  • That you haven’t read everything in your field;
  • That you don’t know everything.

In my experience, sadly, candidates pay a lot of attention to the second list but mistakenly think that the items either matter a lot or are problems that have to be solved.

Which list will you focus on?

Nathan

Some Significant, Original Questions

Daily Post

A thesis needs to contain a significant, original contribution. A viva needs to have some exploration of this. So in preparation for the viva’s discussion, it makes sense to spend some time reflecting and exploring these factors.

On significant:

  • Why is your work valuable?
  • Who is it valuable to?
  • How would you describe the importance of your research?
  • What makes it special?
  • What makes it matter?

On original:

  • What aspects are novel?
  • In what ways is your work different?
  • What exists now that didn’t before?
  • How does your work change your field?
  • How can you qualify the originality?

Not every useful viva prep question is typical of a question you might get in the viva. Not every question might prompt an answer for you. Some answers might overlap. The point is to get thinking and writing and see where this leads you.

Nathan

The Anti-Top Ten Top Fives

Daily Post

Lists can be a good way to start reflections and summaries. I’ve previously shared Top Ten Top Fives and Ten More Top Fives as prompts to get candidates thinking about the best of their research. They can be a nice way to highlight valuable aspects of your PhD ahead of the viva.

But can we find something useful in taking another point of view? Looking at the negative or the worst aspects? Let’s see!

  1. Top Five Bad Papers You’ve Read!
  2. Top Five Worst Talks You’ve Attended!
  3. Top Five Frustrating Challenges Of Your PhD!
  4. Top Five Typos In Your Thesis!
  5. Top Five Examiners You Don’t Want!
  6. Top Five Mistakes You Made!
  7. Top Five Changes You Would Make!
  8. Top Five Things You Don’t Want In Your Viva!
  9. Top Five Ways You Could Improve Your Skills!
  10. Top Five Improvements You Could Make To Your Thesis!

Some of these might seem silly but remember: this is the start of a reflection or summary.

After you list these details, keep going. Ask why. Ask how. Ask what you learned from your mistakes. Think about how you overcame your challenges. Why were those papers bad? How would you improve your thesis?

Simply dwelling on the negative isn’t often helpful, but you can use it as a springboard to something great.

Nathan

One Minute Prep

Daily Post

No, you can’t prepare for your viva in just one minute, but there are tasks you can do to help your preparation which only take a minute. Most of them lay foundations for later, deeper work.

Here are ten ideas; some might seem like little things, but all will help!

  1. Stick Post-it Notes at the start of every chapter in your thesis.
  2. Take a minute to write down any questions that come to mind about your research.
  3. List keywords you associate with your contribution.
  4. Gather stationery to help annotate your thesis.
  5. Decide on whether or not to have a mock viva.
  6. Find your examiners’ staff pages on the internet and bookmark them.
  7. Record yourself describing why you wanted to explore your thesis topic.
  8. Message a friend to come for coffee with you and listen to you talk about your research.
  9. Think about what you need to feel confident for the viva.
  10. Subscribe to Viva Survivors and then get posts in your inbox every day!

The little things you do for prep can add up, just like in the rest of your PhD.

(and in life for that matter)

Nathan

20 Uses For Post-it Notes In Viva Prep!

Daily Post

Post-it Notes are some of the most useful things you can use to support your viva prep. They are excellent for helping to annotate your thesis. Raid the departmental stationery cupboard, then begin:

  1. Mark out the start of each chapter.
  2. Bookmark important parts of your thesis you want to be able to find easily.
  3. Stick in a small square summary at the start of a chapter.
  4. Stick in a small square conclusion at the end of a chapter!
  5. Highlight an important reference.
  6. Expand on a point.
  7. Explain jargon.
  8. Summarise key points in a section.
  9. List notable questions on a piece of theory.
  10. Use as a placeholder for a future correction or update.

And this is just a sample of what you might stick in your thesis!

You could also use Post-it Notes to:

  1. Map out your preparations.
  2. Jot down notes about examiners.
  3. List key points about aspects of your work.
  4. Make notes for your mock viva.
  5. Prompt your reflections.
  6. Remind yourself of important points.
  7. Leave an uplifting message for your future self.
  8. Draw attention to an important paper you need to check.
  9. Sketch out a step-by-step process.
  10. Count down the days until you’re all done!

As ever with viva prep, consider what you might need to feel ready for your viva, then what you might do to get to that feeling.

This Post-it Note post not sponsored by Post-it Notes!!! šŸ˜€

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2018: Lists & Questions

Daily Post

To finish 2018 I’m sharing my favourite posts from the last year. I find lists helpful. I find questions helpful. A list of posts about lists and questions should be super-helpful! Structure helps, and having organised sets of tasks can make prep or thinking about the viva better. Useful questions to dig into topics helps a lot too.

A real mix of topics in today’s post. What did you like? What other areas would you like to see me explore? Drop me a line and I’ll add it to my musing for 2019. Do share this post if you think it will help someone else!

Nathan

20 Small Steps To A Better Viva

Daily Post

Your viva can’t be the best, but there are many steps you could take to make yours better.

  1. Proofread your thesis before submission.
  2. Read your institution’s thesis examination regulations.
  3. Take a break after submission.
  4. Put Post-it Notes in your thesis to mark the start of chapters.
  5. Do a little research on your examiners
  6. Plan how you will get to the viva on the day.
  7. Have a mock viva.
  8. Talk to PhD graduates about their viva experiences.
  9. Talk to your supervisors about the choice of examiners.
  10. Annotate your thesis.
  11. Read your thesis carefully at least once between submission and the viva.
  12. Take steps to boost and maintain your confidence.
  13. Reflect on your research contribution.
  14. Explore your bibliography a little.
  15. Re-read any sections of your thesis that are conceptually difficult or tricky to explain.
  16. Figure out why you’re stressed (if you are).
  17. Help your friends and family to understand what the viva is all about.
  18. Take a bottle of water to the viva.
  19. Remember how much work you’ve done to get this far.
  20. Plan how you will celebrate passing your viva.

How you feel in your viva is not down to luck. Do everything you can to make your viva better.

Little things add up.

Nathan

7 Questions For Selecting Examiners

Daily Post

Need some help thinking of who could examine you? Start with these six questions to get a list of names:

  1. Whose work have you built on in a meaningful way?
  2. Who have you met at conferences?
  3. Who has a good reputation?
  4. Who is an expert in your field?
  5. Who have you cited a few times?
  6. Who do you think you can trust to do a good job?

With these six questions you can get a long or short list quite quickly. Then you have to figure out how you narrow it down so that you can have a chat with your supervisors.

A more useful question perhaps: what are you really looking for in an examiner?

Once you know the answer to this, you can have a more meaningful conversation with your supervisors about who might be a good choice.

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