Daily viva help for PhDs
A poem, seeing as it’s February 14th!
Most candidates won’t love their viva,
‘Though most PhDs won’t hate it either;
If you prepare and give it a chance,
Examiners won’t lead you a merry dance.
Believe it will be tough
You’ll make your day rough,
But trust what you know
And a good day will show.
Three verses suffice,
I’ll stop this device!
Reflect, prepare – give your confidence a shove!
Thus a greater chance your viva to like, if not love.
Take several years of difficult and demanding work.
Sieve together with months of writing.
Stir in vague half-truths and uncertain expectations.
Add two experienced academics to the mix.
Fold together with nervousness, worry, future plans and, depending on circumstances, pandemic-related uncertainty.
Bring to a slow boil over weeks of preparation and serve at the appropriate time.
A candidate might not feel stressed, but it’s not hard to appreciate why someone could be stressed by the thought of their viva. They would most probably still pass but the experience might be uncomfortable.
There’s no silver bullet to defeat viva stress, but there are remedies for each of the ingredients above.
Review your work and highlight what really matters. Re-read your thesis to be sure of how information flows. Find out more about what happens at vivas. Check recent publications by your examiners. And instead of bottling up stress as you prepare, use that time to build your confidence.
There’s a clear recipe for viva stress – but you don’t have to follow it.
I love starting something with a list. There are lots of lists that can help with getting ready for the viva:
You start something with a list. A list can focus or highlight, but it’s not the real work.
Any of the lists above and any others you might write could lead you to action or summarise information. So once you have a list related to your viva or prep, ask yourself what you need to do next.
Then do it.
After submission you need to prepare for your viva – but you also need to prepare for life after the PhD.
For some that could be simple (or welcome!) but for all candidates, particularly those who have attachments to physical spaces, people or even access to resources, consider:
If you’re not sure if you plan to continue with research in some way, then really think about what you need to take home. Do you need all your notes? Do you need all of your papers?
Whatever you need to do, remember that life goes on. You will continue to have opportunities to show your ability and knowledge. Reflect on what you are taking away from your PhD journey – and remember that all of that talent and capability is available to you in your viva as well.
Later this year I’ll “celebrate” fifteen years since I had my viva, and remembering that makes me realise one more time just how different my viva was to everything I’ve heard since about vivas.
Before I had my viva I was quite ignorant about the process. It didn’t occur to me until a few years afterwards that my viva was a bit odd:
On that last point I have, so far, found myself to be unique in my viva experience.
And despite all of that:
Every viva is unique. Some are more different than others! But all vivas follow key expectations and regulations. Read the rules, listen to stories and build up a good general picture that you can prepare for.
I forget where I first heard that “slow is fast and fast is slow” – the point being that taking one’s time to do something helps it to get done more quickly than charging ahead and risking problems.
This idea holds a lot of relevance to viva prep and the viva.
In viva prep, taking your time gives space for the work to be done. You can build up your confidence and the feeling of being ready. It’s something to savour, maybe even something to enjoy! Not something to be crammed in at the last minute or got out of the way. Going fast won’t help someone to get ready for their viva.
And nobody wants a six-hour viva, but pausing to think when asked a question helps more than blurting out the first idea. Pausing to think helps a candidate consider what a question means and what they know. Pausing helps them to find the best words for their response. Far better than trying to get the viva over and done with. Far better than rushing and then needing to clarify – far quicker too.
Take your time. Slow is fast.
Limitations in your research are constraints, parameters and requirements.
They could arise from setbacks and problems or be a result of the project specifications for your PhD.
You might acknowledge them, regret them or be frustrated by them.
They could have been anticipated, they might have surprised you or they could be a previously unforeseen complication due to the pandemic.
If your research – and consequently your PhD – has been impacted by limitations then you have to address it at some point in your thesis, and probably also in your viva.
But you get to choose the words you use to describe those limitations. Of course, be honest: but also realise that words mean something, and the words you use help to convince a reader, a listener and also oneself.
So: what words do you choose to use to describe the limitations of your PhD research?
Pick a method or process that you have used many times through your PhD. It might involve special equipment or software, precious resources or simply be related to how you get something from journal articles.
Now write the procedure out step by step. Start at the beginning and work through how you would use it to whatever the goal is. Unpick the stages and what triggers them, whether it’s simply moving on to the next piece of work or reaching a certain condition.
“How do you do it?” is a less common question at the viva maybe, but it’s in the background of many candidate concerns about being good enough, knowing enough and feeling confident. If you’re sure that you know how to do something then you have one less thing to worry about.
Find something you have used a lot and take it apart. Be certain of all the steps. Then use this as one more example of something you’re good at; it can help you to show others what you know, but also demonstrate to yourself that you are good.
A question that’s expected can be prepared for.
A question you expect can still be difficult to respond to.
If you expect a question you might not be asked it after all.
And if you prepare you may still find something new to say on the day of your viva.
Remember that rehearsal for the viva doesn’t mean memorising talking points on expected questions. Rehearsal helps you find a process to engage with all questions about your research, your thesis and you – expected and unexpected.
If it’s hard to get started on viva prep or you’re putting it off then perhaps you need to make a plan – not to procrastinate but to give yourself some structure.
If you get distracted then maybe you need to put distracting things out of your reach.
Perhaps set a time to do some viva prep and set a time afterwards to do something that feels fun or like a reward.
And if the work feels like too much for right now then maybe you need to rest before you get ready for your viva.
Actually: remember that rest is part of what you need to get ready for your viva.