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Tag: viva process

Nathan

Unrecorded

Daily Post

The vast majority of viva experiences are unrecorded.

Candidates don’t typically write an account of it or give an interview afterwards. Until fairly recently vivas were occasionally audio-recorded for quality assurance but it wasn’t common at all to record vivas beyond examiners’ paperwork and notes.

During and after the surge to video vivas during 2020 and 2021, the opportunity for recording vivas has grown massively. It’s now possible to record many vivas quite easily with a few software options. My suspicion, based on hunch and anecdotes, is that vivas still are not typically recorded in this way though.

I can see that it might be helpful for some candidates if they were. I am confident that no major objections would be made if a candidate wanted to make a recording to review the viva discussion afterwards.

(I can’t imagine it would be something the candidate would watch a lot though!)

 

It would be helpful if PhD candidates reflected and recorded their experiences after the viva though. It could help someone else to hear or read a short account of what happened at your viva, what you thought and what that might mean.

It might also be a good memento of the day: a reminder when you encounter future challenges that you are very capable of rising to big things.

 

PS: one thing that will be recorded in the near future is my Viva Survivor live webinar on Thursday 5th December 2024! I’d love everyone to be there for the full three hours, but if you have to arrive a little after the start or dash away before the end there will be a four-week catch-up recording you can stream. More details here, do check it out.

Nathan

Overconfident For Your Viva?

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It’s unlikely!

Even the most self-assured individual will probably feel some nerves and disquiet on their viva day. It’s unlikely that anything will go seriously wrong, but fairly probable that you might be asked a question you’ve never considered, face a criticism you don’t like or simply feel awkward at being in there.

So I don’t think you’ll be overconfident for your viva.

 

The one dangerous area that a PhD candidate can stray into is feeling that they need to have the last word. That they’re the only one who can be right. That they’ve considered everything.

Your viva is a discussion. Your examiners are exploring your thesis, your research and your capability. You might be the best-placed person to respond to their questions but you are not the only smart person in the room.

Listen carefully, take your time in responding and don’t forget to pause and think!

Nathan

What To Expect

Daily Post

Viva expectations are hard to pin down sometimes.

Every viva experience is different, but there are patterns in the stories. Viva regulations vary between institutions but there is consistency around key practices.

More than anything you can build up a general impression of the tone of vivas; you can get an idea of what areas are discussed and what topics examiners focus on. You can get a better sense of all this if you get a feel of what vivas are like in your department or your research area.

It’s important to remember that expectations aren’t guarantees. Past experiences don’t automatically drive future events.

Expectations are a feeling: you feel that your viva will likely go a certain way. Ask enough questions, read enough regulations, see enough stories and you can get a good sense of what your viva will be like. Eventually you know what to expect.

Nathan

Zero Corrections?

Daily Post

It would be really nice to have no corrections to complete after your viva!

I bet that would feel great.

Hope for it, but that’s all it is: a hope that your writing, proofreading and efforts didn’t miss any mistakes that need fixing. A hope that your thinking has been clear and consistent across tens of thousands of words.

 

Corrections are a part of the process for most PhD candidates. It’s not because most candidates are sloppy: it’s a reflection that writing is hard, editing is hard and proofreading is hard.

It would be really, really nice to have no corrections to complete after your viva!

You’ll probably have more than zero to resolve. Accept that situation when you submit, do the work that’s asked and then move on.

Nathan

The Next Challenge

Daily Post

That’s one way to think of the viva if you’ve submitted your thesis. It’s just the next challenge.

You’ve faced, figured out and overcome many more on the way to submission. You can rise to this one too.

And then on to the next challenge – because for all of the importance you might give your viva, your thesis and your PhD, there’s another challenge coming along for you.

Nathan

The Final Hours

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A full-time PhD could take about a thousand days from when you start work on your research to when you submit your thesis.

Getting ready for your viva is a modest chunk of work that could take twenty or thirty hours spread out over two to four weeks.

The viva itself might go by so fast that you’ll blink and miss it! Two, three, four hours? Maybe less, certainly not much more even for a “long” viva.

 

Thousands and thousands of hours of work to get to submission.

Twenty or thirty more to get ready.

Two or three to finally get the job done.

Those final hours matter, but rather than stress about what will, won’t or might happen in those few hours, it’s probably better to focus on the work you will have done in the thousands of hours before then.

Nathan

Healthy Expectations

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Listening to horror stories, half-truths or suggestions by people with no direct understanding of vivas can skew your expectations drastically and negatively.

Only hearing about the viva from happy people who say you have nothing to worry about can mean you don’t have a full picture of the variety of viva experiences.

Healthy viva expectations give you knowledge, understanding and general awareness of the processes involved.

Healthy viva expectations are like the components of a healthy diet: they probably involve variety, they definitely require some tailoring to circumstances – and it’s always helpful to consider the source!

Nathan

The Expectations That Matter

Daily Post, Sabbatical

It’s not length of the viva or asking for breaks.

It’s not the opening questions or depth of discussion.

It’s not the number of corrections or when you know the result.

Knowing about all of these things help, but the expectations that really matter are knowing that you are good enough. Knowing that your examiners have prepared. Knowing that you have prepared. Knowing that you’re overwhelmingly likely to succeed.

There are lots of expectations for the viva. There are ranges for many of them and having a sense of what to expect from that variety can give you a sense of what to expect. While you wonder about viva lengths and questions though, pay attention to expectations for you, your examiners, your preparations and your success.

Focus on the expectations that matter.

 

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 July 16th 2022.

Nathan

Examiner Maybes

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Maybe they’re nice. Maybe they’re a bit unknown to you. Maybe they have a special interest in your research area.

Your examiners might be experts. They could be among the many people you’ve cited in your thesis. Maybe they know your supervisors; they’re friends, more than professional colleagues.

There are lots of possibilities for examiners – and lots of certainties too.

They will have prepared. They will be ready. They will have questions. They will have expectations for you, the viva and themselves.

They will not have been randomly selected – supervisor friends or not, experts or otherwise – they will have been asked for a reason. They will have been selected as a good choice.

Best choice? Perhaps. Capable? Certainly.

Find out who they are and you can help yourself as you prepare for your viva.

 

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 November 26th 2021.

Nathan

“What Can I Get You?”

Daily Post, Sabbatical

There’s no viva menu. You can’t sit down at your table and order it exactly as you like…

I’ll have a two-hour viva, plenty of praise, skip the bad stuff and go easy on the methodology questions. I don’t need a side-order of corrections, thanks!

Your examiners are not there to serve you what you want, but what the situation needs. Some of that might be unclear until the viva starts. Remember that you know what the raw ingredients are for the viva: you, your thesis, your talent, who your examiners are. You know what the process is trying to achieve, even if it’s not an à la carte experience.

 

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 December 17th 2020.

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