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Tag: viva process

Nathan

How To Answer Difficult Questions

Daily Post, Sabbatical

In some cases, you won’t be able to.

The viva is not a question and answer session or a quiz. Some questions won’t have memorisable facts that you can serve up to your examiners; instead, you will have to offer another contribution, a response – a detail, an opinion, an argument, a feeling, a hunch, a question – in order to keep the discussion moving forward.

Your response may not be the entirety of everything you want to say. It may be that you have to pause and reflect first, make notes, stand up and draw something, or ask for clarification.

You may not be able to answer a question, but after a little thought you will always be able to respond.

If the question is difficult, then you owe it to yourself to think a little more, pause a little longer, take a little more care, even ask for a little more, so that you can respond as best as you possibly can. That response could be an answer (truth, or an argument with a lot of evidence), but it could be something else that is just as much what your examiners could be looking for.

Every question, not just the difficult ones, deserves a little time, a little space, a little thought in order for you to give your best response.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’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 January 5th 2021.

Nathan

Your Preferences & Needs

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Preferences are the things that we’d like, but which we could work around if needed. Preferences for your viva and viva prep might include:

  • Starting in a morning;
  • Reading your thesis with a fresh pot of coffee;
  • Knowing your external a little;
  • Having a mock viva to help you get ready.

You might have a strong preference but, for example, if your supervisor was unable to host a mock viva then you would still go on.

Needs are different. For your viva and viva prep you might need:

  • Advance notice or special arrangements for your viva;
  • Specific stationery or time to annotate your thesis;
  • Agreement that your viva will definitely be over video;
  • To not have a mock viva!

Preferences are very different from needs.

 

To begin with: what do you want for your viva? Which of these wants are preferences and which are needs?

For the preferences: what can you do to get your preferences met? Who might you need to ask for help? What could you do if a preference couldn’t be fulfilled?

For your needs: what can you do to ensure your needs are met? Who can you ask for support? How can you clearly communicate those needs to the people who need to know?

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’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 16th 2023.

Nathan

More Examiners

Daily Post, Sabbatical

The most common viva situation in the UK includes two examiners, one internal and one external. Some universities have independent chairs to steer and confirm the process, and in most cases a supervisor is allowed to attend with the candidate’s approval, but there are nearly always only two examiners.

Nearly always.

There are good reasons for exceptions. It could be that the research requires people with different research backgrounds and interests. A third examiner might be needed so that certain knowledge can be brought into the viva. Or perhaps the candidate is also a staff member at their PhD institution and a second external is required to ensure that the viva is seen as fair.

 

More examiners could mean more questions in the viva; more people talking could mean the viva has more hours than most.

But it doesn’t mean significantly more work in preparation. An extra person won’t take long to look into: a few more papers to consider, a little more thought to consider what they might be interested in.

A 50% increase in examiners doesn’t lead to a 50% increase in prep, questions, viva time or corrections!

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’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 April 13th 2023.

Nathan

Say More

Daily Post

Two words to keep in mind for your viva.

If your examiners want more from you in response to one of their questions then they will ask for it.

If you want to say more about a topic because it’s interesting or fun or difficult then you can offer it.

You don’t need to talk for the sake of it though. Any question or comment in your viva is inviting the best response you can give in that moment. Not the longest. Not the wordiest. Just the best you can do.

Say more or say less. Give your best.

 

PS: the Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical starts on Monday! A daily post from the archives all through the summer while I take a creative break after seven years of Viva Survivors 🙂

Nathan

Connect The Dots

Daily Post

If everything is in your thesis then what are your examiners asking about?

Questions in the viva are asked for a range of reasons.

Sometimes it’s to dig deeper into a topic. Sometimes examiners need to understand something that isn’t clear to them. A question might not be about the thesis at all, instead looking to explore a candidate’s skillset, knowledge base or way of thinking.

And sometimes a question is a means to explore and get the candidate to explore. Can they connect the dots between ideas? Can they show what they think would happen? Can they combine their ideas with something new?

Whatever the question in your viva: pause, think and respond. Be clear. Take your time. Connect the dots so that your examiners can be confident in awarding you your PhD.

 

PS: the Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical starts on Monday! A daily post from the archives all through the summer while I take a creative break after seven years of Viva Survivors 🙂

Nathan

Who You Ask

Daily Post

Lots of people say lots of things about the viva. It depends who you ask. It depends on their experience.

If you ask your supervisor about your upcoming viva they might tell you not to worry. They could offer a small piece of experience-tempered wisdom.

If you ask friends also working towards their PhDs about your upcoming viva they might share some things they’ve heard. Rumours, half-truths and apocryphal stories of possible vivas past.

If you ask friends who have had their viva already then they might offer some interesting details. You might have to ask specific questions and give them space to remember. You will have to be mindful that all vivas are different, even if there are trends and patterns in the process of how they happen.

If you were to ask yourself about your upcoming viva, what would you say? Would you be positive? Would you be concerned? What would you focus on?

Nathan

The Nightmare Viva

Daily Post

What’s the worst thing that could really happen at your viva?

Failure is a very, very remote possibility. If you have real concern you should talk to your supervisors and friends – and unpick whether failure is more than a very, very remote possibility for you.

So then, what’s the worst thing that could really happen at your viva?

Perhaps you could be asked to complete corrections that you weren’t expecting or don’t want. That would be a nuisance but corrections come after the viva, after you’ve passed. You need to do the work to complete your PhD, but that’s all. Do them and you’re done.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Maybe an examiner could make a comment that you don’t like or ask a question you don’t want. It might be an uncomfortable moment but it wouldn’t stop you passing.

What’s the worst thing you could find at your viva?

Your viva could be long. It could have questions you don’t like. You might freeze or forget something. Your viva might not follow the trends of expectations you had heard about.

 

And yet: you’d still succeed. Because whatever happens, you still would have done the work. You still would have prepared. You still would be ready.

Maybe none of the things above match what you think the worst thing might be at your viva. It’s all hypothetical. Some or none of the above and perhaps none of your deepest worries might come true. They’re just traces of nightmare fuel for you, secret concerns that perhaps you’ve missed something in some way and that will spell the end.

It won’t be.

There is an end coming – the end of your PhD – and it’s a good thing. It might be different than you expect and it might have surprises you don’t like, but they’ll pass. You’ll be on to whatever you’re dreaming of next.

Nathan

No More, No Less

Daily Post

The viva is no more than a discussion about your research and thesis.

The viva is no less than a final, great challenge at the end of your PhD.

Your examiners want no more than to have a conversation with you.

Your examiners need no less from you than to see a capable, knowledgeable researcher.

Your viva needs no more from you than to show up and be good, determined and thoughtful.

You wouldn’t give it any less than your best – and that’s enough.

Nathan

In The Frame

Daily Post

Pause, think, respond.

That’s how you engage with a question or comment in the viva. You pause in order to think and you think in order to respond well.

Pause and Think: Are your examiners clear with their question? Do you know what they are asking or needing you to speak about?

Think and Respond: Be calm and clear as you respond. Are you responding to their question or comment directly? If not, how are you reframing that?

If you can’t respond directly to a question then you need to think about how you can still engage with it. “I don’t know” and exploring why you don’t know is a good response. Trying to steer away and talk about something different is a bad response.

Pause and think to fully understand how a question or comment is framed. Think then frame your response well so your examiners can clearly understand you.

Nathan

Always Something You Can Do

Daily Post

These words sum up part of my general philosophy for PhD candidates at and before their viva.

There is always something you can do.

Before the viva if you feel nervous, anxious or worried, there is always something you can do to improve how you feel. If you are concerned about a particular aspect of your research and how to communicate it then will be something you can do to help yourself.

If you don’t know something about the viva process then there is something you can do, someone to ask or regulations to read. You can always do something to help your preparation, even a little more, right up to the moment you go to your viva.

In your viva, whatever happens, there is always something you can do to engage with the discussion. There is always something you can do to help how you’re feeling in that moment. There is always something you can do to respond well.

You can pause. You can think. You can take a sip of water. You can ask for a break. You can ask for clarification. You can write a note. You can work something out. You can check your thesis.

And you can be brilliant. That’s what you have to be to get to your viva.

There’s always something you can do – and actually there is a lot you can do to help yourself, whatever the situation.

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