Nathan

Being Wrong

Daily Post

There’s always a chance you’re wrong about something. There’s always a possibility your examiners believe you’re wrong. Until they ask they won’t be able to know either way.

Being wrong or being asked something because you might be wrong is not comfortable. It invites all sorts of feelings and worries.

Did you make a mistake in your research? Did you write something up incorrectly? Did you misunderstand? Were you unclear?

Remember:

  • You’re not perfect.
  • Your research can’t be perfect.
  • Your thesis won’t be perfect.

There’s a chance that you’re wrong in some way but a much greater chance that if you are then you can make it right.

You can do the work. Do the work in your prep to figure out how to correct things. Do the work in the moment in the viva to clear up what you mean. Do the work while you talk to your examiners to explain something. Do the work to correct your thesis after the viva.

You might be wrong, that’s human – as is working to make things right.

Nathan

In The Margins

Daily Post

You have lots of useful, empty space on the borders of every page in your thesis. In the margins you could:

  • Mark out important sections.
  • Highlight particular types of information.
  • Leave notes to expand on key points.
  • Improve a reference.
  • Clarify something that’s unclear.
  • Correct an error.

You can help yourself: you’re the only person who will see these marginalia, so make them really helpful.

In your preparation, take time to consider what will help your thesis be as useful as possible for the viva. Decide on a consistent way to make margin notes as easy to read and understand as possible.

Then do the work. It won’t take long.

Afterwards you’ll have a better thesis for the purposes of the viva. All of the valuable work you’ve done for years plus, in the margins, some helpful notes to help you succeed when you talk with your examiners.

Nathan

Clearing Out Viva Doubts

Daily Post

Viva doubts thrive in wondering whether or not you really have made a contribution. Viva doubts prosper in worrying that you’re not quite good enough. Viva doubts linger around stories and what-ifs, concern that things aren’t going to go well or that others’ experiences won’t match your own.

Viva doubts are cleared away by knowledge. Asking questions leads to information that helps remove them from your mind. You can ask your supervisor about your research to gain certainty that you’ve made a contribution. You can ask yourself questions to reflect on your journey and see that you’ve become even better than you were. You can ask friends about their experiences to really see a set of good expectations for your viva.

Ask the right people the right questions and there’s no home for doubts about your viva.

Nathan

A Small Part Of The Story

Daily Post

It’s essential to read the regulations for thesis examination at your institution before you submit. They’ll tell you what you need to do and what you need to know. Some of this you’ll have picked up by being around other postgraduate researchers for years, but there can be key points you have missed.

Check for details on timelines. Check for paperwork you need to complete. Check, if needed, what the requirements are for having a viva over video.

Remember that reading the regulations is only a small part of the story. They won’t tell you what questions will come up. They won’t tell you what you need to do to get ready. They won’t tell you what vivas are really like.

So ask your friends and colleagues. Talk with your supervisor. Read blog posts and viva stories to get a sense of what to expect. Explore whether or not there are norms within your department for how vivas take place.

And when your viva is finished and you’ve passed, consider sharing your experience to help shape the expectations of other candidates. They’ll read the regulations too, but will need your story to help guide their expectations, preparation and confidence.

Nathan

Valuable, Interesting, Vague, Ask

Daily Post

Around 2013 I invented a series of prompts to help a candidate reflect on their thesis.

Through not-so-subtle phrasing I got these keywords to spell out VIVA. The tool is used to explore the contents of a thesis chapter. All of these reflections combined then create a useful summary of the thesis.

The four prompts (and associated questions) are:

  • Valuable (to others): what would someone else find valuable in this chapter?
  • Interesting (to you): what interests you about your work?
  • Vague (or unclear): what doesn’t seem clear when you read it?
  • Ask (your examiners): what questions would you like to ask in the viva given the opportunity?

I shared VIVA for years in seminars. Switching to webinars I couldn’t find the right way to share this tool in a session. I’ve felt sad about this for a year now. There are other tools, but this one really speaks to me. I’ve done some reflecting on why this is the case:

  • Valuable: as a set of prompts I think it intuitively allows a candidate to find the key ideas that are going to be useful to them, both in the prep and in the viva.
  • Interesting: for me, it was always fun to present and not mention the acronym at the start, only drawing attention to it at the end. Acronyms are fun!
  • Vague: or “unclear” – I had to add this word because vague was a little too vague at times, not as known a word as I thought.
  • Ask: I like that the tool invites and prompts questions. It is a little open-ended and allows a candidate to dig deeper and engage with the thesis and research – just like a candidate would have to do in the viva.

I would encourage every candidate to spend a little time in advance of their viva using VIVA to reflect on and analyse their thesis.

Every chapter of your thesis has something valuable in it. Everything you’ve done springs from something you found interesting. Find what’s vague so you can make it clearer in your thoughts for the viva. Consider what you might ask your examiners – and thus how you’ll play your part in the viva.

And find more thoughts on VIVA at this link!

Nathan

Happy

Daily Post

Happy to be there?

Happy to be discussing your research with your examiners?

Happy that your viva day has arrived?

Happy that it will all be done soon?

Happy to have made a contribution?

Happy to be starting something else soon?

The viva could means lots of different things. Can you be happy in some way that you’ve arrived at this almost-end to your PhD journey?

Nathan

Too Little, Too Much

Daily Post

If you say too little in the viva then your examiners will ask for more.

If you’re saying too much then they will steer the conversation with comments and questions.

Don’t worry about whether you’re saying too little or too much in the viva. Show up ready to listen, respond and engage with the discussion.

Nathan

The Sum Of The Parts

Daily Post

The phrase “significant, original contribution” is probably the best combination of words that we have to describe the something that a PhD candidate needs in their thesis to demonstrate that they are a good researcher and that they have done good work.

It’s also a worrying concept to grapple with for many candidates.

A “significant, original contribution” sounds like a singular result. It sounds like one fantastical theory, a number, a paragraph that shares knowledge with incredible impact.

Many candidates imagine something like this and worry because they don’t have one contribution, they have lots of little things. They have a collection of papers. They have a collection of projects (that was my thesis). They have many small results presented in one thesis, but perhaps no unifying conclusion.

Of course, as the title for this post suggests, these all add up to make a contribution.

The chapters, sections, results, papers, ideas, developments, conclusions – all together these make the contribution. “Significant” is a worrying word to candidates in my experience, because they try to imagine the number that goes with that. How many pages? How many papers? How big a bibliography? How much of the thing that I do?

This sum doesn’t have a number for an answer. Taking all the parts together, you have to judge for yourself: is this enough?

Ask your friends and colleagues: is this enough? Ask your supervisors: is this enough?

Is this enough?

And why?

Once you feel sure for yourself then you can move past a “significant, original contribution”. The sum of everything you present, everything you’ve done, all shows a real contribution to knowledge – and it shows a capable person who has created that contribution.

Nathan

Tech Woes

Daily Post

In over eighteen months of delivering sessions from home I’ve had many minor tech problems.

My connection has failed. I’ve been caught out by lag and not realised people were trying to catch my attention. I’ve displayed slides and they’ve not been seen. I’ve had mics act up, cameras turn off and so many other little things – like forgetting to use an option or remembering I needed something to hand.

Over time I’ve found ways around these problems so that they don’t have an impact.

Using different software and practising with it has helped. Upgrading my connection and wifi router has really helped. Having a checklist before I go live has been a lifesaver. Rehearsal has helped me move past frustration and woe to being able to do what I need to do.

Most of these solutions apply to video vivas too. There’s no great secret or hidden knowledge: if you have a video viva coming up, check everything.

Practise with friends. Get used to the delay of saying something and seeing the other person respond. It’s not quite real time and you need to practice to feel happy in that space. Be sure your tech is working well. Know where all the buttons and options are.

Tech woes don’t have to get in the way of having a great viva. A little time invested in advance can make a huge difference.

Nathan

Flick and Find

Daily Post

Your thesis is a useful resource in the viva, and can be made even more useful by clever annotation.

  • Add Post-it Notes or tabs to make the beginnings of chapters easy to find.
  • Add bookmarks to help you reach important parts more easily.
  • Use highlighters of different colours to make different sorts of valuable information easier to see as you flick through.
  • Explore and decide on ways to make things stand out.

You may need to flick through your thesis to find something during your viva. Making that process easier in advance can reduce the possibility for stress on the day. It could also help you reflect on your thesis during your prep.

What else will you do to make your thesis an even more useful resource for the viva?

1 … 143 144 145 146 147 … 319