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Nathan

Known & Unknown Questions

Daily Post

It’s likely that you’re very aware of many questions you’ve been asked in the past:

  • Questions about why you’ve done the research you’ve done;
  • Questions about how you’ve done your research;
  • Questions asked because people don’t know what you know;
  • Questions asked for greater clarity from you;
  • Questions that help unpick what you’ve done;
  • Questions that show the limits or problems of your research.

And, I’m sure, a lot more besides.

It’ll help you to think about these past questions as you prepare for your viva. If any of these questions have been asked several times during your PhD it’s worth thinking about why that is. Perhaps you’ve addressed the question now in your thesis but it’s still worth thinking through. Perhaps some questions are natural consequences of what you’ve done before.

You can be aware of the many questions you’ve been asked in the past. You don’t have to have an answer for all of them though – and you don’t need to worry about the many possible unknown questions you could be asked at your viva.

Or rather, you might worry but you can do more than that.

For example, you can:

  • Read your thesis in preparation;
  • Consider your past questions and think again about how you’ve responded before;
  • Create summaries that help you to focus on what matters in your research;
  • Rehearse for the viva to give you opportunities to think and respond in the moment;
  • Make opportunities to tell others about what you’ve done;
  • Find out more to know the general expectations for viva questions.

You can’t prepare to answer every possible question at the viva by having a big list and thinking about them all – but you can be ready to respond to any possible question that comes up even if it is an unknown.

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