Daily viva help for PhDs
One way to look at the viva is that it’s the end of the PhD. The finish line. The finale. You’ll probably have corrections to do, but in your mind, this is it, the end.
Except… It’s not. Not by a long stretch. Whether it’s been three, four or seven years, all that time has been when you were doing a PhD. The viva is the start of having a PhD.
Being a PhD.
Something to remember.
In the viva you may have to defend your work. Ideally, you need to do so without becoming defensive.
Defending: “This is why I made this choice…”
Defensive: “I made the right choice!”
Defending: “…that’s a fair question. I think…”
Defensive: “…that’s not relevant because…”
Defending: “…well, I think I addressed this point in Chapter 3…”
Defensive: “…oh yeah? Well what would you know!”
Stay on the right side of defending in the viva. No thesis or PhD is perfect. You can defend, explain and explore your decisions and conclusions, of course, but don’t make it personal. Make your examiners’ comments about the work.
Take a step back and breathe if you feel that you’re being criticised. If your examiners don’t agree, ask them why. Listen and then bring it back to what you did and why. That’s what will help your answers.
Do none of these things.
Candidates sometimes worry that they might do the wrong thing in the viva. Common sense rules. You’re going to have a great conversation with experienced academics about your long-term research project. Your instincts won’t lead you astray.
Thankfully there’s not a lot of bad viva advice out there. Listen for the good stuff, run it past your gut feeling. You’ll get it right.
There are lots of things people think will have an impact on their viva or their prep. Here’s a partial list of factors people think could make a difference, for good or bad:
Your examiners. Your institution. The number or types of awards or results. Whether you were part-time or full-time. Home or international. Number of supervisors. Time spent on your PhD. Do you have a Masters? How long between submission and the viva? Will you have an independent chair? Have you cited your examiners? Number of references in your bibliography. Number of chapters in your thesis. Number of published papers during your PhD. Number of hours spent on prep. Will you have had a mock viva? Have you read a book about the viva? Did you go to a workshop about the viva?
I’m a mathematician and there’s part of me which would love to take all of these variables and make an equation. But there’s far too many. Lots of them could make a difference.
So why not focus instead on the constants? The things that are always there.
You did the work. You made the choices. You steered yourself. Your examiners are capable researchers, who know what they’re doing in the viva. You are a capable researcher by the time you submit, and have the time to prepare yourself for the viva.
Focus on the constants that hold true for everyone.
Endure or enjoy?
Fear or focus?
Survive or thrive?
You may not have total control over how you feel about the viva, but you can steer yourself.
Choose your verbs carefully.
Make three lists for the viva:
And then, of course, for every item you’ve listed, the first follow-up question is “Why?”
Reading and refreshing your memory helps. Reviewing your work helps more.
…it’s possible that you forget something.
…it’s possible you don’t understand something.
…it’s possible that you realise something.
…it’s possible that you think about something.
…it’s possible that you doubt yourself.
…it’s possible that you convince your examiner.
…it’s possible that you know something no-one else does.
…it’s possible that you’re the expert.
…it’s possible that you’ve made a mistake.
…it’s possible that you’ve got the answer to that unexpected question.
There’s a non-zero probability of all of the above. They can depend on a lot of things, but there’s a chance they all could happen, good or bad. Focus on some and you can find help, focus on others and you’ll only find distraction. You get to choose what you focus on, and what you do as a result.
Remember: it’s impossible to get to the viva without doing the work. You’re the reason you’ve got this far.
Who could you send this to? (after completing it of course)
Hi ______________________
My viva is coming up soon and I need your help please!
I feel _______________ about my viva because _______________________________________ . I was wondering if you could help me by ______________________________ ?
I know that you’re busy, but I also know that you’ll be a great help because _______________________________________________ . If you’ve got a lot on and can’t help, I’ll understand. If you can help, then let me know what will work for you.
If you’re free soon maybe we could chat about it over coffee at ____________________________ !
Thanks for reading, speak soon,
__________________________
Maybe your supervisor? Maybe a colleague? Your office-mate? Best friend? Think carefully about why someone could be a big help to you, and tell them.
Or maybe it’s useful just to write down and get out of your head that second short paragraph: how you feel about your viva, why you feel that way, and what steps could help.
The wind blows. That’s what it does. Some days it’s fast, some days it’s a gentle breeze, and some nights it sounds like it is bringing the end of the world. Depending on the situation I might wear a coat, bunker down, pick up the bins in our garden, or just go for a stroll and try to smile as my hat flies off.
Experiences shape perceptions and responses.
Back to the blog about viva help!
The viva is questions. Questions about your work. And you’ve been asked questions before. Maybe not this or that, but you’ve been asked questions. And you’ve answered them. You know how to deal with difficult questions about your research. You know how to explain your work. You know how to think around your research area.
You can worry about a unique or novel situation, but you can also still prepare for it. You did the work, you wrote your thesis, you can succeed in the viva.
Every now and then I look at the stats for the blog to see which of my posts have helped or resonated. Here are the ten most read posts from 2017:
There’s a mix of practical advice about preparation, reflections to get a candidate thinking and also discussion about examiners and worry. I’ve written on these themes a lot more on the blog, so you don’t have to look far beyond these posts to find something useful.
It’s also interesting because it gives me a perspective on what people find helpful and worth sharing. I’m really grateful whenever I see that someone has posted a link to one of my posts. The fact that these are the most read will help me to think about how I can do more to help people feel ready.
There’s lots of help on this blog, but there’s also lots of viva help elsewhere. Figure out what you need to feel ready and go looking.