Daily viva help for PhDs
Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.
This definition of survive applies to the PhD journey and to the viva.
You get to the viva and you’ve done the work. You’ve written the thesis. You’ve done the prep.
So you just keep going. Stay determined and do what you do well.
Keep going, then go on to your next difficult challenge.
It’s a good idea to reduce stress ahead of your viva. A little pressure might motivate some people but stress never helps anyone. You can reduce stress by planning your prep so that you aren’t overwhelmed. You can reduce stress by reading regulations and asking others about their experiences. You can reduce stress for the viva by doing the prep you need to do so that you feel more ready.
On the other hand, it will help to accept that there are tensions around the viva – and the best you can do is acknowledge them and work with them. For example, the tension between not knowing the questions you will be asked but still being able to respond. There’s a tension between knowing that most vivas succeed but not knowing your own outcome until the end. There can be a tension between being nervous because the viva matters but being confident that you have done enough to do well.
Reduce stress. Accept tensions. In both cases, you need to find your way forward.
Why does your research matter? If you can find a good way to explain that to others then you’ll start to feel ready for your viva.
Why does your PhD matter to you? If you can find a good way to explain that to yourself then you’ll start to feel motivated for your viva.
The Contribution is typically a lot of little contributions: lots of small pieces of new and good research that make a bigger picture of progress.
It would be nice if all of these pieces were uniform, regular and in pleasing proportions to fit together, but it’s probably more likely that your work creates a collage of contributions, each arranged just so to make the best Contribution possible after years of work.
Whichever perspective you consider you’ll find interesting things to ponder as you get ready for your viva – and interesting things to talk about at your viva.
Your preferences for the viva matter.
They can have an impact on how you engage with the viva and with what happens there. Some preferences can be met much more easily than others. And if some aren’t met you will have to decide what to do regardless.
Your preferences for viva prep are probably the most easy to meet: if you need to prepare at a certain time in a certain way or use particular materials to annotate your thesis that’s not so hard to do. You might have preferences around rehearsal – a mock viva date or help from particular friends – and these could be trickier, but not hard.
Preferences for examiner selection are just that: you can prefer certain people but have no direct control over their nomination or acceptance. Supervisors might ask candidates for ideas, but ultimately they have to select who they think will be a good choice. Academics asked to be examiners have to weigh up their other work and responsibilities. You might really want someone or an academic with a certain kind of background but ultimately your preference could be unsatisfied.
You might prefer a 90-minute viva or one that begins with a particular question. You might prefer to feel a certain way or to know in advance what the outcome will be. And you might prefer that you didn’t have a viva at all! But you can’t really control any of these things. There are things you might prefer and then the reality of what happens: some of your preferences might be met and some might not.
So what does all of this mean?
First, again, your preferences matter. It will probably help your general viva readiness to be aware of and fulfil your preferences as much as you can.
Second, you have to work past any emotional friction you feel from preferences that can’t be met. That might not be easy but there isn’t anything else to do.
Your PhD story, whatever difficulties you’ve faced, is one where you have grown into a more capable researcher – and where you have produced something valuable through your work.
So how did you get this far?
By considering some of these questions you build a story of your PhD. You don’t need all of them to tell yourself a good story and find confidence.
Also: reflecting can help you bring together one story of your PhD. If that perspective and focus doesn’t help, consider whether or not reflecting on other aspects can help you tell yourself a better story.
I live in the north-west of England and a few times per month we have cause to travel through one of the Mersey tunnels.
It’s gloomy in there no matter the time of day: the rear lights of cars, the not-daylight of the tunnel lights and the monotonous blurring of the walls.
Then you hit the end. Daylight reaches in-
-and you have less than ten seconds to be sure of which way you’re going! There are two exits and you need to be sure because there’s no turning back!
Veer left or right? Towards the stadia or the city? There are two lanes and it helps to get into the correct one before you enter. That way you’re on track for the whole journey.
Which brings us to the PhD journey, submission, viva prep and the viva.
The final weeks and months before submission can be a bit like the Kingsway Tunnel. You’re going forwards but it’s all a blur. You have to focus to get through but if you’re not careful you can reach the other side and not know where you’re going next.
Plan ahead. Decide on your route to being ready for your viva. When you get to submission do you need to take a break or keep on? Will you take your time or power ahead? You can decide how you make your way to the viva.
Sketch out a plan for your viva prep and don’t be surprised when that time arrives.
“Confidence is not being strong; confidence is knowing your strengths.”
A webinar participant shared this observation with me a few months ago. There’s a lot of wisdom to it.
For the viva in particular, you don’t need to know everything. You can simply know that you are capable. You can simply reflect on what has brought you so far. You can simply know what you know.
Know your strengths and you’ll know that’s enough.
A four word question to help you think about your significant, original contribution.
Four words that might help you get thinking quickly. What, practically, does your work do? What do your results do for others? We can spin a web of questions and connections from those four words.
Start with the simple and work out. Reflect, write and talk.
Get ready to tell your examiners all about the value of your contribution.
Reading your thesis cover to cover might take hours. Reading a page might take a few minutes.
Having a mock viva will take several hours of prep and several hours on the day. Responding to a question from a friend might take five minutes.
Carefully reviewing your thesis for what to annotate will take time. Adding sticky notes to the start of each chapter will take two minutes at most.
All of which is to say that there’s a lot of big prep but many small tasks that will make a difference.
You can’t focus solely on the latter and hope it’s enough, but if you’re tired or overwhelmed you can give yourself some small easy wins to help you get back on track.
Use small bits of prep to help move you closer to being ready.