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Nathan

What Matters To You?

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Your examiners have to ask you about the significant, original contribution that you put forward in your thesis. They have to do this. They have to ask questions about what it adds to your field, how it’s different and why it’s valuable.

In effect they are asking you, “Why does this matter?” – although they probably won’t say it as simply as this.

Every thesis has a logic to it; you have reasons that bring your ideas together. To start exploring yours just ask yourself why your work matters to you.

What is it about your work that made you want to do it? What did you find and what carried you through long hours and hard work?

It’s a starting point – there are more questions to reflect on that will help you find words to explain what you’ve done to your examiners – but as a starting point it gives you a powerful motivation to say more and explore more.

Nathan

Traffic Lights

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Traffic intersections use simple colour-coding to indicate what actions should be taken. They’re used to prompt very specific behaviour and action. Perhaps we can borrow the terminology to consider the kinds of questions that might come up at a viva…

Green light questions are anticipated; you are entirely comfortable with them. Whether it’s about something in your thesis, your research or your general field, if you were to hear a green light question you would be happy to just go (and start talking)!

Yellow light questions force you to slow down. You might have to change pace. There’s no problem but you need to think and focus more. There’s nothing wrong with doing that. You’re not expected to know everything or remember everything in your viva; pausing for a moment to get your thoughts together is good.

Red light questions make you stop. A question could be unexpected. It could be something you struggle with. And it might make you feel uncomfortable.

 

In the real world, red lights make people stop – but then they go again, and that’s also like the viva.

If a question is hard, unfamiliar or unexpected at the viva you still need to respond to it. You still have to engage in order to meet the expectations of the viva.

If you know of a red light topic for you, what could you do to improve how you feel about it? If it’s a yellow can you make it a green?

Nathan

True or False

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It’s true that binary questions – yes or no, true or false, A or B – could feature in a viva as a means of simply qualifying details.

It’s a false expectation to think binary questions are the dominant format of the viva though.

The viva is a discussion, not a quiz. Engaging well at yours means sharing responses to questions, not merely providing short answers.

Nathan

Pre-empting Questions

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You can’t know what your examiners will ask you at your viva.

You can have a good idea of what topics they will be interested in. You can make reasonable guesses. You can expect certain lines of questioning. You can look at past patterns, vague or clear, from what others tell you about their experiences.

And while all that is useful it is still very different from knowing what questions you are going to be asked.

It’s important to prepare for the viva – and necessary your focus doesn’t skew towards pre-empting particular questions. Don’t prepare only for questions you want, questions you expect or questions that you simply have a hunch about.

Prepare for the discussion by engaging in discussion. A mock viva could help set the tone and help you to find the balance between expecting topics and being prepared for questions that arise from what you’ve done.

Nathan

Questions About Questions

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Your examiners will ask you questions. They have to: it’s an essential part of the viva process. They will share opinions or make statements to encourage you to make a response but they couldn’t get through your viva without asking a question.

Engaging with a question could be as simple as pausing to consider what was asked, thinking about what you’re going to say and then respond as clearly as you can. If a question was surprising or had an unexpected element you might want to reflect further:

  • Did I understand this question correctly?
  • Why is it surprising? (if it is)
  • What do I know about this examiner and their work?
  • What information do I know that might be relevant?
  • What could I check in my thesis that might help?

It would be wrong to expect every question in a viva to be mind-meltingly almost-impossible. They won’t be.

It’s right to remember that if you encounter a tough question that there is a lot you can do to engage and respond.

Nathan

That’s Just What Happens

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If you open a cafe then you can expect occasional customers who want to make changes to what’s on the menu. They’ll ask for toast instead of bread, or wonder if you can take the tomatoes out of the salad.

That’s just what happens.

If you live near a primary school then you’ll come to expect that twice a day a lot of children and their adults will be moving through the area. Twice a day there will be more street noise and the roads will be more difficult to cross.

That’s just what happens.

And if you pursue a PhD, stay determined through years of work and produce a thesis, then you can expect that a couple of academics are going to want to talk about.

You could reasonably expect that, at your viva, you will get questions about what you did. Questions on anything and everything because your work is important. Your research makes a difference and that – among many other things – is interesting to the two people who will take on the role of your examiners.

More than anything, questions and discussion are what you can expect from your viva. That’s just what happens.

Nathan

How Much Do You Say?

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This is a very common question about the viva and I have a lot of thoughts!

  • The most honest response is simply, “It depends,” because it really does depend on the question, the discussion, the situation and what is really being asked.
  • In some situations you might want to convince your examiners of something. You respond by saying as much as you need to: you give details and reasoning and respond to any objections.
  • Sometimes you might respond to a question in the viva with as much as you can: you share what you know, you check your thesis and perhaps reach a limit for what you can add to the discussion (or at least you reach the limit that you feel in the moment).
  • Maybe you encounter a question and don’t really know what you can say. You share a little or offer thoughts because you don’t know exactly the sort of thing your examiners want. That’s fine: if they need more they can ask for more. It might also help to ask them directly, to ask them for clarity or information.

How much do you say in response to a question? It depends on the question. It depends on the situation. It depends on your knowledge, your experience and your research. It depends on knowing what your examiners are looking for.

To know that you might have to ask them a question or two.

Nathan

Three Mini-Vivas

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I’m still quite pleased with the Mini-Vivas Resource I made several years ago. I think it’s a nice little way to get ready for your viva with a friend; it doesn’t require a lot of preparation to use, and gives a little structure to having a conversation about research to help with speaking practice and confidence.

There are 7776 possible combinations of questions you can find by following instructions and rolling dice; here are three to save you a little time, indexed by the dice numbers!

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  • Why did you want to pursue your research?
  • How would you describe your methodology?
  • What were some of the challenges you overcame during your PhD?
  • What questions would you like to ask your examiners?
  • If you could start again, knowing what you know now, what would you keep the same?

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  • How would you define your thesis contribution?
  • What influenced your methodology?
  • How did the existing literature in the field influence you?
  • What comments or questions have you been asked about your work previously?
  • How could you develop this work further in the future?

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  • What are the three brightest parts of your research?
  • How did your process change as you did your PhD?
  • How does your work build on prior research?
  • How can you be sure of your conclusions?
  • What publications do you hope to produce?

Are these typical of questions you might be asked in your viva? Yes and no!

Yes because these are all the sorts of things that your examiners might want to dig into. No because your examiners will have read your thesis carefully and examined it against what they know about your area of your research and what they know from their own experience.

A mini-viva is different from a real viva, because while a friend may know a little about your research, they won’t have read your thesis to prepare. They’ll be using the mini-viva questions to provide structure and listening to your responses to steer things.

Still, a mini-viva is a little help, a little practice, a little step closer to being ready for your viva.

Well, three little steps in this post – and 7773 more at the Mini-Vivas Resource post!

Nathan

The First And Last Questions

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Old viva advice says that the first question you’re asked at the viva will likely be easy, while the last question likely won’t be. Like a lot of advice, there’s a kernel of truth to this belief but a lot more to be said.

Let’s say that the first question you’re asked in the viva will likely be simple: whatever it is, you’re being asked to start the viva and start it well. Your examiners want to get you talking, get you past nerves and worries; they ask something simple about the beginnings of your research or get you to share an overview of what you’ve done.

These might not be easy questions, but they will be simple to understand and likely be topics you’ve thought about and talked about a lot in the past. First questions are asked for a specific purpose. They get the viva started well. They may or may not be easy, but your examiners won’t be looking to make things hard for you.

The last question of a viva could be many things:

  • “Do you have any questions for us?”
  • “How would you like to see your ideas developed in the future?”

Or it could just be another question: challenging, probing, digging into the work and words of your thesis.

First, last and everything in between: take every question as it comes.

Breathe. Pause. Think. Respond as well as you can.

Every question is an opportunity for you to share a little more and add to the good things that your examiners think about you and your research.

Nathan

The Questions You Expect

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A question that’s expected can be prepared for.

A question you expect can still be difficult to respond to.

If you expect a question you might not be asked it after all.

And if you prepare you may still find something new to say on the day of your viva.

 

Remember that rehearsal for the viva doesn’t mean memorising talking points on expected questions. Rehearsal helps you find a process to engage with all questions about your research, your thesis and you – expected and unexpected.

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