Daily viva help for PhDs
Instead of simply feeling the swirl of “what ifs”, “I wonders” and “maybes” that circle your viva, ask yourself three questions:
Or reflect: what would make your viva right for you, and what can you do to make it right for you?
There’s a lot you can do with only a few resources to prepare for your viva.
There aren’t a lot of resources needed for viva preparation. Perhaps raid your department’s stationery cupboard before you take a trip to the local stationery shop!
Have you heard of the “rules of three” for surviving in extreme conditions?
People survive in extreme conditions, but only just.
I’ve heard PhD candidates wonder how they might survive in a potential three hour viva. That’s not extreme conditions, even relative to the viva! Most candidates could expect to be finished within three hours. It’s difficult to imagine what an extreme viva might be. There are challenges inherent in the process, but they’re not all or nothing, do or die.
PhD candidates survive the challenges of the viva – they manage to keep going in difficult circumstances – because of the challenges they’ve already faced in the three or more years of doing research.
The years help with the hours.
…but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something by asking questions about your friend’s viva.
Every viva is different, but there are expectations.
Yours will be unique, but you can have a picture of what it will be like.
Find out. Ask. Learn. Get ready.
A couple of thoughts…
The question might not have an “Answer”.
Your response might be, “I don’t know.”
The only answer anyone could give might be, “I don’t know.”
Your response could be a hunch, a theory, an idea, a hypothesis, a gut feeling or another question.
Your answer might only be Part 1 of your response.
You don’t have to rush.
Two words that people use a lot around the end of the PhD.
Finished makes me think that something is over. But there’s always more! More experiments, more words, more questions. So I don’t like finished for a thesis, a viva or a PhD. There’s always something more that could be added.
(could, not should)
Done doesn’t feel quite right either. It’s a bit too short, a bit final, a bit simple for the complex and messy nature of research.
The thesis, the viva, your PhD, they all mean something. Done and finished feel lacking.
The word I’m leaning towards is completed. Completed feels right. The thesis, the viva, your PhD can be completed. They have everything they need and it sounds like more of an achievement than simply being done.
If you’re on the path, I wish you all the best as you head to completion.
Listen to any comments, especially in the viva.
There might be a question underneath.
The question might be in the comment. It could be a challenge, but that challenge might be a small thing that only needs a small response.
It could be the question comes from you. It could be you listen to your examiner’s comment, and you ask a question to bring that thought into the discussion more. You can find out more, get a sense of why this comment is important to your examiner. Then you’ll see what you need to do to say more.
Or you might listen and realise it’s just a comment.
An idea, nothing big, serious or scary. Just a thought, an “I wonder…”
Something to acknowledge, but nothing to do.
You probably can’t commit your thesis to memory, getting every fine detail stored away somewhere.
But you could make lists of key places in your thesis where you can find useful information. You could make a couple of summary card prompts. You can highlight important sections with Post-it Notes. You could create a little index card with page numbers and helpful hints. You can do a lot to make your thesis clearer.
You don’t need to remember everything for the sake of the viva. Doing what you can to help your memory of the details will help your confidence.
I ask people at the start of Viva Survivor sessions what they need to know about the viva. I ask if they have gaps of knowledge, worries about what might happen or vague hypotheticals.
I’m happy to answer anything and everything that candidates want to talk about. Recently, a participant in a session turned the question around on me: what did I think people needed to know?
It’s a good question. Here’s my answer:
And that’s what I think candidates need to know about the viva.
There isn’t a perfect time to start preparing for the viva. You don’t really need to start until after you’ve submitted; apart from that you have to think sensibly about your priorities. How you can add this work to your other commitments?
If you think you can manage all the things you need to do in two weeks, that’s fine. Need a month to space things out? No problem.
But… If you’re not sure, if you’re just leaving things for a while… If you’re waiting for the right time… What are you waiting for?
What’s going to be different? What will make next week better than now?
There’s no danger you might be overprepared if you do something now rather than save it for later.
Far better not to wait, start well, than to leave it and rush.