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Tag: viva prep

Nathan

Questions and Processes

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Some candidates approach preparation for questions in the viva like it’s a great big quiz.

If they try to think of every question that examiners could ask and make notes, they’ll have all the answers. But whenever they have another thought, or get another question from a colleague or supervisor, that’s something else to take account of. Another question and response to add to memory. At some point the weight of all that could crush a person.

A better process for question prep: find, make and use opportunities to get practise answering questions.

A process for the viva: pause when you get a question, think it through for a moment, then answer.

You can’t anticipate every question but you can be ready to answer any question.

Nathan

Zine Time

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I like zines! Small publications, often made with passion, often made because the creator has to make them once they’ve had the idea. I got interested through role-playing games zines. I made some in that area before I made The Viva Prep Handbook and The tiny book of viva prep.

A zine is a good small project: you have an idea for something that you want to exist and a series of problems to solve to make it real. Everything from content curation through to publishing is an interesting, stretching little challenge. You can learn a lot by making a zine.

For some researchers, a PhD thesis is like a really big zine – you make it because you have to, you have an itch that has to be scratched, a drive to make something that wasn’t there before (and you do nearly all of the work yourself!).

And I have a hunch that making a zine about your thesis could be a really interesting way to prepare for the viva – and share something about your research with others! Not a paper, not “just” an introduction, but a meaningful beginner’s guide maybe. I need to think about this more. There might be some future posts on this topic, but if you decide to play with the idea in the mean time, let me know.

Finally, I have a new zine project that I hope to share in the next few months, so watch this space!

Nathan

Zoom

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Obsessed with the fine detail of your thesis? Take a step back and think about where your research fits in the field.

Pondering over how your work relates to other researchers? Zero in on all of the steps that made your work what it is.

Don’t just focus on the big picture or the small stuff. Change your perspective. Zoom in and out. Build up and reinforce the connections ahead of your viva.

Nathan

Prep Procrastination

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Procrastination is a permanent hot topic in PhD circles. If you suffer with it, it might not go away when you submit. You can still procrastinate about prep, about thinking about the viva, about jobs and everything else that comes next. Of course, just because you’re not actively working on something, it doesn’t mean that you’re not turning it over in the back of your mind. But you may feel bad for putting it off, and feeling bad tends to not feel so good!

Maybe a solution doesn’t have to be hard though. Pick a simple task for prep. Put it in your diary. Remove your distractions. And then get it done when the time comes.

30 minutes at this time, on this day, to do this task.

Phone on silent, email off. Start small, but start. Get something done.

Then something else, and something else, and so on. Prep doesn’t have to be three great big, long tasks. It could be lots of smaller activities with breaks in-between. You’ve figured out how to do a PhD despite procrastination woes! You can prepare for your viva.

Nathan

Eight Hows & Whys To Unpick Your Methodology

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Unpick your methodology before your viva. When you’re preparing, make sure to spend time to get your thoughts and ideas clear. Here are eight hows and whys to get you started on reflecting:

  1. Why did you use the approach that you did?
  2. How well did you think it would work?
  3. Why was it a better choice than other methods you considered?
  4. How did you apply it in the case of your research?
  5. Why did you have confidence in the approach?
  6. How well does it fit with other choices you made in doing your research?
  7. How would you rate it now?
  8. Why might you make changes with hindsight?

Your examiners might ask you direct questions about your methodology in the viva, they might not. But they will discuss your research. If you spend time before the viva getting your thoughts in order, you’ll be in a better position for the discussion.

Nathan

Review Review Review

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I started this blog almost a year ago. I’ve written over 300 posts in that time. Over 50,000 words. I have to check my records constantly. I have a spreadsheet with every post listed by date, and often when I’m thinking of a title I have to doublecheck I’ve not used it already.

Last week I wrote a post and was super-proud of it…

…until I realised that it was very similar to a post I had written the week before, only slightly better! (which is something at least)

I review the blog all of the time. I’ve recently started a project to make themed posts easier to find. I’ve started at the beginning and am adding tags to posts to make ideas easier to search for. Hopefully I’ll be able to put them into useful categories.

Doing a PhD you have to review your ideas and progress all of the time. Are you on track? What’s left to do?

Writing up you have to review what you’ve done and how you can communicate it. What works? What do you need?

Preparing for the viva you have to review… everything! Start at page 1. Made notes? Review them. Used key papers? Review them. You don’t need to remember everything, but you do need to feel sure about what you think.

If you’re doing something important – like a PhD, like the viva – then the review never stops.

Nathan

First Questions

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There are lots of ways your examiners could begin your viva, lots of questions to start the discussion.

It could be “how did you get interested in this topic?” or “how would you summarise your findings?”

Maybe they’ll ask “what’s your most important result?” or “why did you decide to follow this line of enquiry?”

Or maybe they’ll simple ask “how are you feeling today?”

There are no trick questions in the viva, especially with whatever your examiners ask first. The first question is likely to be something you’ve thought about before; you can’t guarantee what it will be exactly, but you can be sure it’s something you can answer.

Nathan

5 Questions To Ask Your Supervisor After Submission

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When it comes to asking for help from your supervisor a lot of focus is given to mock vivas. While these can be valuable, there are other questions you could ask that will help a lot. Here are five valuable questions to ask your supervisor:

  1. What do you need to know about your examiners’ work? You may know a lot, or have ideas, but it’s good to get another perspective.
  2. Are there any parts of your research they think your examiners could challenge? That doesn’t mean something is wrong, but it’s good to get thinking.
  3. What do they see your most important contribution as being? Again, you’ll have your own thoughts, but their opinion counts.
  4. What are the most recent papers or developments in your field? Explore what you might have missed while writing up your thesis.
  5. What do they do when they examine a thesis? Find out if there is a process that is common in your field, or at least get some ideas of how examiners think about the viva.

Your supervisor’s help doesn’t stop at submission. You might have to pick your moment or negotiate a good meeting time to discuss some of these topics, but they could all help a lot with your viva preparation. Think about it, then ask for what will help you the most.

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