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Author: Nathan

Nathan

The Epiphany

Daily Post

My PhD was in an area of pure maths. Maths was the thing I was most interested in for many, many years. Looking back I can remember the day that maths became exciting for me.

It was a long time ago. I was nine, sat in Mr. Dodd’s class, and as a group we were reciting our times tables.

We got to “four times six is twenty-four” and I felt as though I had been struck by lightning. Twice actually, for in a split-second I first realised that four times six was the same as six times four – and then realised that two numbers always give the same result when you multiply them, regardless of what order you arrange them.

It was a small thing, but it felt like I had just found out a special secret. No-one else in my class seemed to care! To me it was magical: I wanted to know more about numbers, more about maths and what it could be used for.

 

When did you first connect with your research area or topic? Or even just the general field that you work in? What was the moment? Remind yourself. Towards the end of a PhD it’s not uncommon to become tired, stressed or in some way down about everything you’re doing (and everything still to do).

Look for the epiphany in your story. Look for the moments that set you on your path. Remind yourself of why you’re doing this – and perhaps reflect on what has kept you going. Use that to help you through the final stages.

Nathan

The Happy Candidate

Daily Post

You could feel happy at your viva because of the opportunity to talk with two experienced academics about your work. You could feel happy that your PhD journey is almost finished. You could feel happy that your hard work has paid off!

You could feel happy for many reasons at your viva – and I hope you do. If that’s not the first feeling that comes to you then do what you can to navigate your way to finding some positive thoughts. Find a little ray of happiness, anything you can, for meeting your examiners and heading towards the conclusion of your doctoral journey.

Whatever you feel, work towards feeling ready. Work towards feeling as good as you can for the work still to do.

Nathan

Summarising The Difference

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Consider some of the following questions ahead of your viva to capture thoughts on the difference your work makes:

  • What does your thesis add to what was known before?
  • How does your work change previous perspectives in your research area?
  • What could someone do in the future with your conclusions? How could they develop your ideas?
  • What is new in your field as a result of your work?

One question that always applies to a PhD candidate is to consider how am I different now, compared to when I started my PhD?

Because you must be different.

You’ve learned. You’ve grown. You’ve developed yourself.

Remember that the difference you’ve created through your work is a result of the difference you’ve made in yourself.

Nathan

Red, Yellow, Green

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A viva prep exercise to sort out worries and concerns.

Take two sheets of paper. On one of them, write down all the things you can think of that make you worried or concerned for your viva.

  • Think about gaps in knowledge. What else do you need to know and what are you uncertain about?
  • Reflect on your thesis. What do you need to do to feel confident about talking about your work?
  • Think about yourself. What do you need to do to feel good about presenting yourself as a capable researcher in the viva?

When you feel you’ve emptied your head, make three columns on the second sheet of paper. Title them Red, Yellow and Green. You’re going to make three lists, but these aren’t static records so you might want to write in pencil or use sticky notes to capture thoughts.

Red, Yellow and Green are going to be your way of solving your worries. You can’t just leave them. You have to work past worries to help get ready for your viva. Use the columns in the following way:

  • Red: this column captures worries that you don’t know what to do with. You’re aware of the situation, but you haven’t figured out what will resolve it. Items in this column need solutions. Ask yourself what you could do or who you could get help from.
  • Yellow: move items from Red to Yellow when you have an idea of what to do. Maybe you need to perform a particular task (like annotate your thesis or have a mock viva). Maybe you need to ask someone for help. Items in the Yellow column are in-progress; you’re on your way to resolving the problem.
  • Green: move items from Yellow to Green when you have sorted out the worry. It’s no longer a problem. Now, it serves as a record: you’re making progress, getting closer to feeling ready for your viva.

It’s natural to have worries or problems related to the viva. Succeeding at the viva matters.

If something is bothering you it probably won’t go away by itself. Get the worries out of your brain so that you can focus on doing something about them.

Nathan

That’s Just What Happens

Daily Post

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

Doing More

Daily Post

At the viva you’re doing more to tell your examiners about what you’ve done, how you did it and who you are. You’ve set that out in your thesis but now they need more from you.

They need you to do more to clarify what you did.

They need you to do more to explain what it means.

They might need you to do more to convince them of an opinion you hold.

They can ask you to do more to tell the story of why your research makes a contribution.

Whatever they need you to do, however, it’s more of what you’ve already done. Doing more is showing your knowledge, your ability, your thinking and all-round capability as a researcher.

It’s only a little more though. That’s all you need and all your examiners need for this final challenge.

Nathan

Tell Someone

Daily Post

If you need help with some part of your viva prep, tell someone who might be able to assist you.

If you feel concerned, tell someone who might have experience or advice for your situation.

If you have questions about what to expect from your viva, tell someone who will understand and be able to share realistic expectations with you.

If you feel like you’re missing something in the weeks leading up to your viva, then tell someone who can offer considered advice to help you find what’s gone astray.

And if you want to mark your viva success when it’s all done, tell someone who will enthusiastically join in with your celebrations!

Nathan

Only You

Daily Post

Remember that your viva comes as a response to the work you’ve done. There may be regulations for thesis examination and ideas for what makes a “good viva” but yours is just for you, based on the thesis you’ve written.

Because it follows your work it’s a challenge that only you can rise to – and because it follows your work it is a challenge that you will rise to.

Nathan

Perspective, Not Perfection

Daily Post

As part of your viva preparations, make sure you have researched your examiners’ most recent publications. For both external and internal, take a look at their last two or three papers. Get a sense of their interests, the methods they use and the questions they have been considering.

Compare that with what you’ve done. Look for commonalities and differences, and build an idea of what that means for you, your work and your viva. Are there questions you might anticipate? Are there topics in your thesis that you might have to explain to them because they might be outside of their knowledge base?

Read your examiners’ recent papers to gain perspective. You don’t need to become perfectly aware of everything they have ever done or everything they currently do.

A little work will help.

Nathan

Before You Forget

Daily Post

There will be congratulations after your viva, from examiners and others, telling you how well you’ve done, how great you are and starting the necessary celebrations for a wonderfully big and amazing thing!

And before the celebrations really start to happen, take five minutes to make some notes. Grab a piece of paper, divide it into four and quickly jot down some thoughts:

  • What was the viva like for you?
  • What did your examiners ask?
  • What did you enjoy?
  • What corrections stand out to you?

Five minutes, four questions and one important task to complete before you forget. Those four questions and the notes you make could be a big help to you in the weeks that follow – or to others in the years afterwards.

Take the time to write a few things before you forget.

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