Daily viva help for PhDs
A term from maths: sometimes a peak in a graph is not the topmost point, but just the highest one for now. A downward slope afterwards might not run down forever. The curve may rise again, higher, further and faster.
Your PhD is a local maximum. Not the biggest and best thing ever. It might be the best thing so far, and it is important, but it has to be put into perspective.
The best is yet to come.
Why didn’t Achilles wear a boot?
If you know there’s a problem, wouldn’t you try to address it? If you know you have a weak spot, wouldn’t you at least try something?
For example, I knew my background knowledge on one of my thesis chapters was a bit shaky. I just hoped my examiners would focus on the results instead. I could explain how I’d tackled it. I could explain the results. I just crossed my fingers they wouldn’t ask me to explain what a certain kind of manifold looked like and why it was relevant.
Hoping it won’t come up is not a solution: actions help.
If you have a gap in your knowledge, take action. If you have trouble remembering a reference or an idea, take action. If you want to boost your confidence, take action.
Weak spots in your thesis or research probably aren’t as devastating as Achilles’ heel, but if you’re aware of something that could be a problem it’s up to you to do something about it.
Don’t just worry and hope it won’t come up. Do something.
Talking to friends about their viva experiences is useful. Picking up on bits and pieces of what goes on in vivas while you do your PhD is inevitable.
Generally, candidates have a fair picture of what they need to do procedure-wise; the regulations might not need to be spelled out for you, but if you have any questions, concerns or “what if….” worries:
Your university has one, and it will have a lot of the answers about situations and circumstances that come up around the viva.
Find it. Read it.
You will know who your examiners are before the viva, but it’s possible you won’t know much about them. Not everyone has examiners they’ve cited or met before; you can’t strike up a conversation over coffee or email to get to know them, but you can check out their publications. Look at the last couple of years and see what they’ve done.
Explore what your examiners have published. See what it might mean to you and your work.
See how that can help you with your viva preparations.
I really like the following lines of a poem by Rudyard Kipling:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Whenever I’m trying to analyse a problem and get stuck, I think about these six starters and search for questions that will help.
They are valuable when unpicking the contribution you’ve made in your research. As your viva approaches, consider taking the following six questions as a starting point for reflecting on what you’ve done.
There are many other questions you could use to reflect on your work. Start with these, see what thoughts and ideas they lead you to.
It’s summer! There’s no days off for Viva Survivors, there’ll continue to be a new post every day, same as always, but I will be taking more time off for August so if anyone drops me an email or tweets at me there could be a gap before I get back to you.
I’m using some of my down time to think about more resources that I want to share on the site. I have some ideas that I would love to share but I think they’d be done best through the medium of video rather than text, so we’ll have to see how these develop 🙂
I’ve taken my print books off sale for now, as I don’t want to go to the Post Office throughout August, but to compensate for that there’s a 40% code off all of my ebooks until the end of August. Simply go to www.payhip.com/DrRyder, select whichever ebooks you want and then use code SUMMER2018 before you pay. That’s it, 40% off 🙂
There’s a new post every day throughout August. Take a day off here and there, even if your viva is coming up soon. Take time to reflect, refresh and revive.
Enjoy your summer!
A couple of months ago I got an interesting question at a workshop:
“How can you tell when the viva is going badly versus when you just think it’s going bad?”
This is a good question. Sometimes when we perceive things as being a problem, or tricky, or going bad, it’s just down to our perception. If you were worried that something might go wrong in the viva you might prime yourself to look for any data that would back that idea up. The tone of a question, the inclination of an examiner’s head, the slightest pause – anything could help to confirm your worries.
I’ve reflected on the question for a while, and the best thing I can say in response is “assume it’s going to go well, and assume while you’re in the viva that it is going well.” Unless your examiners pause things to say, “There’s a big problem” or “This is not what we expect” – both of which are really, really unlikely – then you can continue to assume it’s going well.
There’s perhaps a deeper question that needs addressing for the person at my workshop, which I didn’t have time to follow-up then:
“Why would you think your viva wasn’t going to go well?”
If you’re assuming there could be a problem then do something about it. Prepare more. Talk to your supervisor. Find out more about expectations. Learn more about your examiners.
Change your assumption.
FWOOOOOOSH-ZAP!
The portal opens between here and the antimatter universe!
Look here! We’ve found it. A small and unremarkable planet orbiting a cold yellow sun. Don’t be deceived. Many things are different in this strange and weird place, but some things are almost the same.
But not quite.
Let’s call this planet Oppositeworld.
The vivas in Oppositeworld are odd events. Candidates still do research for three or more years, but in the end have nothing firm to show for it. The viva takes place with a couple of examiners, but the candidate drives the process with questions. They want to know what examiners think, see what they’ve understood in the thesis.
Examiners regularly fail candidates for not asking enough questions, for not asking the right questions, for not asking perfect questions. The rules are arbitrary, almost without definition. You could surmise that this might make things very stressful, but since most people fail, they expect that they probably will too and so don’t feel too bad when that expectation is matched by their experience.
Preparation is discouraged. Taking a copy of your thesis is forbidden. Your examiners are mean and hyper-critical, your supervisors give you the cold shoulder and no-one can help in any way. The road to the viva in Oppositeworld is dark and dangerous and those who pass are held in even lower regard than those who don’t. Hushed tones accompany them for the rest of their days, “There’s that Dr… What did they do?”
FWAZOOOM!
The portal collapses and Oppositeworld is shrouded behind the quantum mists once more. Notice how strangely familiar it was. Even when things were different they were not so different as to be incomprehensible.
While you may not wish to visit Oppositeworld, remember that they might not wish to visit here too. They might not really understand us nor would they care to have a “proper” viva in our universe.
After all, why would they want to go towards a viva which most people pass but still find stressful and anxious in preparation? Why, we can imagine them asking, would they worry when so many people in that situation pass?
Why indeed.
I advise candidates to annotate their thesis, but the word really in my mind is augment:
To make something greater by adding to it…
You’re not just adding some notes or bookmarks, some Post-its or highlighted sections; your thesis will be better for you doing it.
I use the word annotate in workshops, because that’s what people expect. Let’s be clear though: if you add Post-its to show the start of chapters, underline typos, add notes in a consistent way, highlight references, insert clarifications, decrypt technical language, update a thought and anything else like this – you’re augmenting. Your thesis is greater than it was, a richer resource for you.
Step one, ask yourself: what would make your thesis even greater for you?
In ten years of working with researchers I’ve met one person doing their second PhD. PhDs are fairly rare in the population; a person with two is like finding Bigfoot riding a unicorn!
For most candidates though, PhDs feel quite common. You’re around people all the time who either have them or want them. Often it can be easy to feel like maybe you’re not as good as others (hello impostor syndrome!). While you’re on track you’re not quite there yet. You see people who have succeeded and it’s easy to feel like you might not ever get there.
Well: give yourself a break!
It’s the first time you’ve done a PhD!
Whatever else you’ve done, whatever your achievements, interests or professional standing, this is a big deal. It’s important and it’s difficult – doubly difficult because usually you’re learning how to do research while doing it. Your process evolves while you do.
Appreciate that this is your first time. You don’t have to have all the answers. No-one expects the impossible.
If you feel like the PhD is beyond you, or the viva is out of reach, take a step back. Every day is an opportunity to get a little better, a little closer to “done,” but this is still your first time doing a PhD.