You Are Here

Category: Daily Post

Nathan

Using Lists Of Viva Questions

Daily Post

There’s a simple, foolproof, two-step process for getting lots of potential viva questions:

  1. Google “PhD viva question list”.
  2. Take a look at the results.

Not every question you find from these results will be relevant. Some you can discard, some you can refine, some you will see connections that you could make more specific for your research.

Ask your supervisors, ask your friends and colleagues to see what they think. What questions are likely? What might they say? What do they want to ask you and how are they prepared to help you?

The goal is not to prepare an answer for every possible question: that’s an impossible task. Instead get a sense of what can come up. Through exploration you can become certain you are capable of answering questions in the viva.

Nathan

Use Your Acknowledgements Page

Daily Post

The acknowledgements page of a thesis is a lovely opportunity to be thankful.

Thank your supervisors for all they’ve done.

Thank your family and friends by name.

Thank your funders if you have them.

Thank anyone who has really helped.

Looking back at mine, and at others I’ve seen, the acknowledgements page is a time capsule. A little slice of a time when you were someone else. I’ve not stayed in touch with many of the friends who helped me through my PhD. That page reminds me of who I have to be thankful to, and who made a difference.

Say thank you.

Nathan

Magical Viva Prep

Daily Post

I don’t have a magic wand or secret spell to help you get ready for the viva. It’s fun in something like Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons when the name of the spell almost literally describe what is going to happen. Expecto patronum, and whoosh, there’s a Patronus. Magic missile and, well, a magic missile!

Alas, viva preparation isn’t as simple as saying Read thesis with a wand flourish.

The magic of viva preparation is more like the witches in Macbeth. They take their time stirring ingredients together… Some thesis reading, a few hours of question practice, five chapters of annotation and let it simmer…

The magic of viva preparation is slow, patient, organised.

Still, if it worked… Preparo viva!

Nathan

Finite

Daily Post

Just because some properties of the PhD and the viva are difficult to count, that doesn’t mean they’re infinite.

There’s only so many papers you could have read.

Only so many ideas you’ve had time to consider.

Only so many experiments you could have tried.

Only a few months at most for you to prepare.

Only so many questions that you’ll be asked.

Only so many words you could use to answer a question.

Only a short time really that you’ll be in the viva.

There are real boundaries. You might not be able to see them but they are there.

You can’t do everything, so think about the finite steps you can take to get yourself from where you are to where you want to be.

Nathan

Viva Day Essentials

Daily Post

At a minimum you need to have your thesis, pen and paper and something to drink for the viva.

Your thesis is there to refer to. You don’t have to commit everything to memory. It’s your guide to years of work.

Pen and paper is for making notes. You might need to work something out, depending on your discipline, or might want to record a question or a thought. It’s good to have it with you.

Refreshments are not always provided. Take something to drink. You could be talking for some time, and as well as staying hydrated you can stealth-pause by taking a sip of water!

These are the absolute essentials. What else do you think might help you?

Nathan

Vivaversary

Daily Post

Prompted by the fact that today is my wedding anniversary, I’ve been wondering whether or not people generally celebrate passing their viva years afterwards. June this year marked my tenth vivaversary (if you like forced portmanteau words!). I think about mine every year, but I’m an anomaly because it’s sort of my job to think about the viva a lot.

I imagine for some people, after a few years, it just becomes part of the background radiation of their life: a low level buzz you only notice when you have to fill in a form and someone asks about your title.

For some it’ll be front and centre, a defining moment, part of who you are, what you do, how you live your life – and not because you’re an academic or have a job that requires a PhD. It becomes a core bit of your identity.

Whatever it means to you, however you celebrate it at the time or afterwards or even if you don’t, it’s worth making a note of your viva date. You won’t get a present every year, but it will fix that achievement in your life’s calendar.

It means something.

You did it.

Nathan

What Examiners Do

Daily Post

Their job.

They read your thesis. Think about it. Make notes. Think some more.

Think about topics that need to come up in the viva. Check some of your references, and maybe do some more background reading. Think about specific questions to ask in the viva.

They think about whether or not your thesis is good enough. They think about what to do on the day of the viva. They write a report and think about what the likely outcome of the viva.

Your examiners understand what this all means in terms of your thesis, the process and the outcome of the viva. They understand what your viva means to you.

Your viva is a big deal for you. It’s not trivial for them either.

They take your viva seriously, and although it could feel overwhelming that they do so much, it really is good for you.

Your examiners do their job.

Nathan

Profiteroles & Preparation

Daily Post

A good hour of viva preparation is like a short stack of profiteroles.

What? What are you talking about?

Consider a profiterole.

A little globe of choux pastry, a delicious cream centre and a set chocolate top.

Take a few for a dessert. Separate parts that combine into something more.

But eat too many and you’ll be sick.

……..O-kay, and viva preparation?

Consider preparation for the viva.

All you need is a little structure: targeted tasks aimed at reflection, checking ideas and annotating your thesis.

Do several small pieces of prep – annotate a chapter, reflect on a question, check on a paper – and the benefit you get builds up.

Do too much and you’ll get tired and confused. You can undo your good efforts by doing too much.

………..

See, profiteroles and preparation!

…….OK, you just about saved this blog post……..

Two or three profiteroles of viva preparation is enough for any sitting. When you’ve done a few small tasks, take a break before you do more.

(from the mind that tried to make something of salmon swimming as an analogy for the PhD!)

Nathan

A Really Cool Post-Viva Idea

Daily Post

Last month I came across a lovely idea by Dr Kay Guccione: Corrections Club!

I love the idea of a dedicated space and time in a university’s calendar that says, “Come here and get it finished!”

Even if you’ve got more to do than will fit in a couple of hours, this will help along the way. If you’re not at the University of Sheffield like Kay, see if you can set something going at your own institution. It only takes a couple of people to start something awesome.

Turn up, get to work and celebrate with others that you’ve all almost passed the final finish line for your PhD!

Nathan

Off The Treadmill

Daily Post

Turn up at 8:30, start work by 9, check the list to see what edits need doing, start work, check every half hour or so that I’ve saved and the new pdf works, break at 11, back to work, lunch around 1, back to work, type-type, edit-edit, keep going and pack up around 4:30.

Come back the next day and do it all again.

That was pretty much the last six months of my PhD. Every day I got on the thesis-finishing-treadmill. The structure helped, working towards getting it done, a plan to follow.

The first few weeks after submission I felt adrift. No job at that time, no plans on what to do next, and no idea really what to do to prepare for the viva.

If this is you when you get off the treadmill – or if you feel overwhelmed because there’s so much other non-PhD/non-viva stuff to do – then put a little more structure around things. Not a lot; find a new little treadmill to get you going.

When will you sit down and prepare for your viva? What time, and where? For how long? Thing about what you think you need to do to feel happy and ready.

Then start.

1 … 248 249 250 251 252 … 303