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Author: Nathan

Nathan

Running Updates

Daily Post

Updates need to be installed.

How do you feel when your computer gives you that notification?

Updates need to be installed. It’s not a suggestion. It’s not something you can do if it sounds good. It needs to happen. Maybe not immediately, but in the near future.

And yet despite the need, your computer will probably still work fine without them; it will still turn on, fire up, navigate to Viva Survivors for the latest post – but your computer will be better with the updates installed.

 

Thesis corrections are like a software update.

Your thesis needs corrections probably. You’ll be notified of what they are. You won’t have to drop everything but you will need to do them. Maybe not immediately, but within a matter of weeks. You’ll be told what they’re for. You’ll be told why they need to be done. And your thesis might be fine without them in some cases, but it will be better when they’re done.

 

Software updates can be inconvenient, so you might want to do them at the end of a day or at the weekend. They appear without warning sometimes – which is where the comparison to thesis corrections breaks down!

It’s very likely you’ll need to complete corrections after your viva. So likely that it’s worth checking the regulations in advance to learn the timescale involved. So likely that it’s worth looking in your diary and marking out a few times, in the first instance, when you could do some of the work involved.

Computer updates appear without warning. Thesis corrections can be expected.

Nathan

Vivas Have Structure

Daily Post

Every building has multiple blueprints or plans. On one plan are the walls, but another diagram shows where pipes and cables go.

If you compare building plans for different buildings you’ll notice similarities and differences, but look closer and you’ll see common structures.

Certainties for what you would find.

 

Vivas are based on regulations, expectations and norms.

  • Universities set thesis examination regulations.
  • Expectations rise from the general stories in academic culture.
  • Your department finds norms, the “good practice” ways of the viva.

All three give the viva structure. Every viva is unique because every thesis and candidate are unique but vivas tend towards patterns of experience.

You can make predictions and have expectations of what your viva will be like. You’ll have to wait until viva day to know exactly what it’s like.

Every viva is unique – but that doesn’t make yours a big unknown.

Nathan

Between The Lines

Daily Post

Perhaps when you annotate your thesis to get ready for the viva you won’t strictly write “between the lines” – but you will need to consider what things mean and draw something out.

Maybe you’ll spot a keyword or two that could be highlighted. Or a sentence that stands out or needs a note in the margin for clarification.

As you prepare you’ll probably want to write a summary or two as well. You’ll consider a section and “read between the lines,” capturing the big ideas or points in a few sentences.

There are a lot of words in your thesis. You don’t need to remember them all to succeed at your viva, but carefully reflecting on what’s there, looking between the lines, is a valuable investment of time as you get ready.

Nathan

The Whole and The Parts

Daily Post

To get ready for your viva you need to focus on the whole of your research, your thesis and your PhD journey. You need to know that your examiners could ask you about everything: why you did the work, how you did it and what happened. What you learned, what you know, what you can do.

To get ready for your viva you need to focus on the parts of your research, your thesis and your PhD journey too. You need to narrow your focus to what really matters. What are the key papers that helped? What outputs or outcomes matter? What successes have helped you the most?

You have to consider the whole. You have to consider the parts.

Nathan

Prep Progress

Daily Post

Keep a tally of your viva prep. Every day you do something to help your preparations, big or small, make a mark. One mark per day, not one mark per task. Watch as the number of marks build over time.

If you’re pre-submission this could be a task as simple as downloading regulations or as big as finishing your thesis. After submission this could be marking when you write a few notes or have a mock viva.

Just one mark per day. Every time you add a mark you’re showing your commitment.

It’s a simple little message that you’re sending to someone: you, days or weeks from now on the morning of your viva.

Whatever else you feel, whatever else is happening, when you look at your tally you can see clearly that you’ve done the work.

Nathan

Respond Well

Daily Post

Two words that really summarise what you need to do in the viva.

Respond: you don’t have to have an answer for every question. You may or may not have an idea or opinion that’s fully formed. The viva is a discussion, not an interview, not a quiz. You respond to questions, offering what you can…

Well: …and it has to be your best thinking in that moment. Whatever you remember, know or can piece together needs to be shared clearly. You need to pause and think about what your examiners are really asking, so that you can meet the expectations of their question or comment.

Respond well. Pause, think, speak.

Nathan

Ask Your Peers

Daily Post

Where peers are your friends, colleagues, acquaintances and whatever other titles you can think of!

Ask about their vivas. Ask about their experiences. Ask what they know about the viva.

Ask them what they did to get ready and if they have any advice (but only if they will offer suggestions and not instructions).

Ask them to help you if it’s appropriate.

Seek help now. Offer help later.

Nathan

Your Preferences & Needs

Daily Post

Preferences are the things that we’d like, but which we could work around if needed. Preferences for your viva and viva prep might include:

  • Starting in a morning;
  • Reading your thesis with a fresh pot of coffee;
  • Knowing your external a little;
  • Having a mock viva to help you get ready.

You might have a strong preference but, for example, if your supervisor was unable to host a mock viva then you would still go on.

Needs are different. For your viva and viva prep you might need:

  • Advance notice or special arrangements for your viva;
  • Specific stationery or time to annotate your thesis;
  • Agreement that your viva will definitely be over video;
  • To not have a mock viva!

Preferences are very different from needs.

 

To begin with: what do you want for your viva? Which of these wants are preferences and which are needs?

For the preferences: what can you do to get your preferences met? Who might you need to ask for help? What could you do if a preference couldn’t be fulfilled?

For your needs: what can you do to ensure your needs are met? Who can you ask for support? How can you clearly communicate those needs to the people who need to know?

Nathan

Preparing When Busy

Daily Post

You could have many things to do when you’re getting ready for your viva – work, family life, responsibilities and obligations – and viva preparation might not break into your top ten time commitments.

It won’t help to be stressed. It won’t help to rush. It won’t be a boost to your confidence if you have to cram prep work in.

So plan ahead.

At submission or in the weeks leading up to it, get a sense of your diary. You may not know your exact viva date but you will have an idea of when it will be – as well as an idea of everything else that you have in your life.

Plan. Break down the prep tasks, sketch out the timeline between submission and the viva. Give yourself breaks. Ask for help and ask for space.

Whatever you do, don’t overload your schedule to success.

Nathan

Small, Medium, Large

Daily Post

Or, a handy guide to the scope and scale of various viva preparation activities!

Small Tasks

  • Downloading regulations for your institution.
  • Putting a sticky note at the start of each chapter of your thesis.
  • Bookmarking the staff pages of your examiners.
  • Messaging a friend to go for coffee and talk.
  • Raiding the stationery cupboard for annotation supplies.

Medium Tasks

  • Preparing a plan for completing your viva prep.
  • Reading half a chapter of your thesis.
  • Working through with highlighter to mark out key references.
  • Summarising five important ideas from your research.
  • Reading regulations or stories of viva success.

Large Tasks

  • Having a mock viva.
  • Reviewing your thesis and reflecting on it.
  • Giving a presentation to rehearse key thesis ideas.
  • Writing a list of ten key papers in your bibliography.
  • Building your confidence for the viva.

There’s lots you could do to get ready. You don’t need to do everything, but everything you do will help.

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