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Tag: viva prep

Nathan

Advice

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It will be like this. It will be like that. You need to do it this way. I did it that way.

Check this book. Listen to that podcast. My friend said this.

A friend of a friend had a nightmare experience. A friend of a friend of a friend FAILED.

My sister’s brother’s best friend’s dead dog’s former owner knew someone who had their viva and said it was no big deal, so what are you worried about?

Everyone has an opinion about the viva.

Ask a few questions. Listen to the answers. Decide for yourself. Keep doing good work.

Nathan

Skimming

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It’s really tempting to only read the good parts of your thesis.

When you’re done and you’re preparing for your viva, it’ll feel good to read the parts you’re most proud of. The chapter where you reach your amazing conclusions. The masterful description of your methodology. And then within those chapters, you’ll know that there are sections which are superb. You zero in on your favourite paragraphs.

You glance at the rest, because, yeah, you know what’s in your thesis, you wrote it after all. You are in a good position to know what is most important, most valuable, in your thesis. But it’s all necessary. Everything in your thesis has a reason or a purpose or a value, otherwise it wouldn’t be there.

So don’t skip. Don’t skim. Read it all. That could be hard, but read it all at least once after submission – if for no other reason that you can then be sure about what is there. You don’t have a false memory of a chapter or section.

Don’t skip the “bad” stuff because you need to know what’s there. Don’t skip the good stuff because everything can be reinforced and made better.

Nathan

Best Bit

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My favourite thing in my thesis is on pages 33 and 34. I struggled for a couple of weeks on a single detail that I needed in order to prove the most important result in my research. I couldn’t get it. I knew what I needed and I knew intuitively it was true, but I couldn’t see the step.

And one day I took a break, and realised that the result I was aiming for was far bigger than what I needed. I was trying to slice bread with a chainsaw, but couldn’t get the damn thing to start.

As I realised that I needed a much smaller result to prove what I needed, I knew exactly how to prove it! It was a huge feeling of elation after a string of disappointed days. As I wrote down my proof, I realised that this tiny result could also be generalised: I’d spotted the blockage on the chainsaw, and now had the stronger result that I’d not been able to get.

I had a brief tug of war between satisfaction and frustration; thankfully satisfaction won out.

Three-and-a-half questions:
What’s the smallest meaningful result in your thesis?
What are you most satisfied or frustrated by in your research?
What’s the best bit of your thesis? Why?

Stepping back when doing research is important. Stepping back afterwards helps you grow.

Nathan

How Do You Feel?

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I start every workshop by asking the room how they feel about their viva. I get a range of answers. Most are centred around nervous, anxious, stress. One or two fears or terrors. A few people will say they don’t know what to feel because the viva is such an unknown. Some people just want it over and done with.

Occasionally one or two candidates will be excited: they see the viva as a chance to talk about their work with experts, or they’re looking beyond the PhD at what comes next.

There’s no right or wrong to any of these, of course. In every case you can say, “OK, so what do I do now?” If you’re stressed, find ways to prepare and lower your stress. If you’re afraid, figure out the root cause. If the viva is an unknown to you then find out more. And so on.

So how do you feel? And what do you need to do?

Nathan

Strategy

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“What’s a good strategy for answering questions in the viva?”

It’s a common question I get in workshops. I’m not sure why. I understand that people want to do well, but at the same time I wonder if it’s overthinking things too much.

You’re asked a question? Pause briefly to think, then answer.

Your viva is probably going to feel more like a discussion or conversation than anything else. If an examiner wants to know more or less then they’ll steer things. If they want to talk about something else or ask a particular question then they will. When asked a question, answer as well as you can. That’s probably all you need to have in mind for a strategy.

Alternatively…

From xkcd, at https://xkcd.com/1403/
Nathan

Ask

Daily Post

I love helping people prepare for the viva. One of the happiest parts of the workshops that I run, for me, is the opportunity to answer questions at the end. It’s important to answer questions (typically which are “what if…?” or “how do I…?”) because then people can move on. If you have an answer then you can step forward and do the really important stuff.

In general, ask more people more questions. Even if it’s not about getting a better picture of the viva. Ask your supervisor about your thesis. Ask them about your examiners. Ask your friends about their vivas, and be specific with your questions. Ask your family for help (whether that’s giving you space, taking on chores or putting the kids to bed).

You can ask me questions about the viva too. Send me an email, I’ll get back to you ASAP. I’ll keep a list of questions for future Q&A specials of the podcast. You can find two past episodes here.

If you don’t ask…

Nathan

Day Off

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If you spend every day between submission and the viva doing some effective viva prep, then you’ll be in a great position for the viva. If you do nothing between submission and the viva, you probably won’t be in a great position for the viva.

Do some viva prep regularly on the lead up to the viva. But if, say, on a Bank Holiday, you take a day off? You’ll be fine. If there’s no bank holiday in the period leading up to your viva, still take a few days off. Well-placed breaks are just as important as the hard work you put in towards a goal.

[inspired by #takebreaksmakebreakthroughs which Dr Kay Guccione tweets about a lot!]

Nathan

The Power of Post Its

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I love Post It notes. They’re like joyful paper. They can break big ideas up into smaller thoughts. They can help group disparate thoughts into larger concepts. They label. They highlight. They’re so so useful for viva prep.

Put a Post It at the start of every chapter and make your thesis easier to navigate. Read through and highlight the most important sections of your thesis. Use larger square Post Its to add notes and breakdown jargon. If you find anything that could be clearer when you re-read your research, use a Post It to make it clearer.

There are lots of useful things that you could do to prepare for your viva. Before you begin, get a selection of Post It notes.

Nathan

Your Greatest Hits

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Examiners and graduates tell me that the viva typically starts with a question like, “Can you tell us about the most important parts of your research?” or “What is your work all about?” It’s a question worth practicing when the opportunity presents.

It is a big question though, so if you’re preparing for the viva, here are five questions that will help unpick it.

When were you most engaged during your PhD?
What do you want people to refer to in your thesis?
What would you most like to build on?
Which of your chapters or results is closest to perfection and why?
What parts of your research are least important? (followed up by “What’s left in your thesis after this?”)

You’re a talented researcher to have the viva in your future. You can think of more questions which will help you unpick this possible viva-opener.

Nathan

Talking Helps

Daily Post

Last year I chatted with a PhD graduate about their viva prep.

In her department they encouraged final year students to give a seminar about their PhD. As the viva approached they would deliver a talk summarising their research and then take questions. For the graduate I spoke to this was a hugely helpful practice: she got to spend time thinking about how to communicate her work, an opportunity to practice talking about what she had done, and lots of chances to answer unexpected questions from her audience. Three things that are perfect preparation for the viva.

A great idea. At the time I heard the story I thought, “I wish my department had suggested we do this.” A while later I realised, “If it had occurred to me, I could have just done it.”

And so could you. You don’t need permission, you just need a room. Find a space, invite some people, share your work, prepare for your viva.

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