Onions
Peel an onion layer back carefully and there’s more underneath. Again and again, not infinitely but quite a way. It takes patience and effort to go down layer by layer. The same’s true with your research. One can see the...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Peel an onion layer back carefully and there’s more underneath. Again and again, not infinitely but quite a way. It takes patience and effort to go down layer by layer. The same’s true with your research. One can see the...
There are four elements of practical viva preparation, four key modes of activity to pay attention to: Thinking: specifically, reflecting on your work, how you did it, what it means. Reading: your whole thesis, carefully, and any papers that you...
Nearly every person that I’ve spoken to about mock vivas had theirs about two weeks before the actual viva. For them it was a chance to explore their thesis, get questions about their work and see how they would feel...
You asked questions, read things, thought deeply, gave some talks, did research and wrote a lot. Now your viva is coming up and… nothing changes. You don’t have to do all of these things with the same intensity, but you’re...
You’ve submitted your thesis. You’re done. The viva is coming up and it’s going to go well. You’re almost there. But… If you could, what would you write for one more chapter of your thesis? Was there something that you...
I’m a big fan of creative thinking tools. The Disney Method is one I like a lot. It forces you to break creative thinking into stages by adopting three personas: Dreamer: think of as many ideas as possible; encourage brainstorming;...
Why questions are the root of reflection. You have to take a step back and ponder. Here are six for viva preparation: Why were you attracted to your field of study? Why was your particular focus worth pursuing? Why were...
For some time I’ve suggested that researchers make an edited bibliography as part of their viva prep. If you have 200 references, what are the 20 most important? Make a list and add a few details to each of them:...
It’s the General Election in the UK today. Today is a day for a decision – but then so is every day. Every day is a series of decisions, some big, some small, some that don’t matter and many that...