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Nathan

Practical Matters

Daily Post

Every so often I’m asked the following sorts of questions by future viva-havers:

  • Will I need to solve equations in my viva?
  • Do I need to take a laptop with me to show my programming?
  • Would it be best to take a prop to demonstrate how I did something?

My response to these questions and the hundred-and-one similar questions I’ve been asked is, “Maybe!”

I solved equations in my viva. I was stood at a chalkboard, sketching diagrams, showing how they were connected and demonstrating the algebra that underpinned my work. But if you weren’t a mathematician you wouldn’t expect to do that.

Are there visual ways of representing what you’ve done? Are there clearly defined processes that show how to do what you did? Then perhaps you might be asked to sketch something in your viva.

You can ask friends, colleagues and supervisors: in fact, they are the best people to ask.

Do you need tools, equipment or resources? Might you be asked to demonstrate something? I don’t know – but you know someone who will. Ask them!

Nathan

Out With The Old

Daily Post

What are you holding on to that you don’t need any more?

Perhaps it’s a drift of papers that you’ve never quite got around to reading. Maybe some scraps of notes for a section you’re not sure you need in your thesis. Or maybe you’re holding on to ideas about the viva that don’t help you.

If you think that vivas are a big mystery, then you can replace those thoughts with real expectations. Talk to people about their viva experiences, read blog posts and find out more. If you wonder what examiners might ask about your work then talk to your supervisor. Again, ask people about their vivas for a sense of what’s wanted. And read your thesis because that’s something you’ll definitely be asked about in your viva.

And if you worry that you’re not good enough, that you need to know more or need to be better, then look back over your PhD journey for the success. Look for the highlights. Realise when and how you have become a more capable researcher.

Let go of the old ideas that don’t help, and find new ways to think about yourself, your work and the viva.

Nathan

Just Ask

Daily Post

Need help before your viva? Just ask.

There are lots of people who can help you practically. Your supervisors, your friends and your colleagues could all do things to help with your preparations.

Need to know more about the viva? Just ask.

You know people who have succeeded who can share their story. You know people who know what’s involved. And there are some people out there – hello! – who write blogs or articles or can otherwise share thoughts if you need them.

Just ask. A lot of viva prep depends on what you do by yourself but you are not alone. Ask for help if you need it. Look for support if there’s something missing.

Nathan

A Clear Desk

Daily Post

Start your viva prep with a clear desk, then think about what you might need to add back.

Just imagine…

  • You need your thesis.
  • You need some small bits of stationery, either to add things to your thesis or to make notes.
  • You need a few papers you want to check, or perhaps a device to read them on.
  • You need your diary for making arrangements with your supervisor or friends for some practise.
  • You probably need some refreshments too!

Now with all of that in your mind’s eye realise that viva prep doesn’t take much. It doesn’t take lots of resources and it won’t take long to complete.

Nathan

Not Noticed

Daily Post

Twenty minutes before my first webinar of the autumn I realised that I couldn’t close my office door.

The panel from the side of the bath was in the way, leaning just beside the door. I had taken it off two months earlier to fix a leak and never quite got around to putting it back. I’d become so used to it being there that I no longer noticed it when I was passing through the doorway.

I spent two hurried minutes jiggling and fiddling with it to get it back into place on the side of the bath where it belonged. Then I washed my hands, took a deep breath and it was time for the webinar.

My bath panel is pretty big but it was only a little problem to resolve. It was stressful in that moment because of the urgency. It would have been far better to look around in the previous days (or weeks!) and sort it out sooner.

 

Little problems can be overcome once we notice them. Little problems in your thesis or your research are less stressful to resolve before the viva than in your viva. While you can’t just prime yourself to notice what you’ve not noticed previously, you can work carefully during your viva prep to look for little problems.

  • Read your thesis without skimming. What do you see? Typos aren’t a problem because they don’t require you to come up with a solution. A clunky sentence might be a problem. How do you make it clearer? A forgotten topic is a problem. What can you do to refresh your memory?
  • Ask for considered feedback when you rehearse. Your friend not understanding you is a problem. How can you explain your point better? Your supervisor disagreeing with you is a problem. How can you explore the issue?

A clunky passage in your thesis or a misunderstanding in the viva will not lead to your failure. Little problems are little, but remember: little problems are less stressful to resolve before the viva than in your viva. By working to spot what you’ve not noticed before you can pre-emptively fix things – or give yourself more practice solving little problems for the viva.

Nathan

Asking Your Community

Daily Post

Who do you know who could help you get ready for your viva?

Your supervisors can help with a lot: setting expectations, hosting mock vivas, sharing ideas of what examiners do – there’s a wealth of support from them potentially.

Departmental friends and colleagues around you understand: they may have first-hand experience of the viva, they could listen to what’s bothering you or even be a part of discussions to help you practise.

Family and friends might not understand: they can still help you by providing a space that you can prepare in, or by giving you time to do the relatively small work involved in preparation.

No person is an island. You don’t have to do everything alone. You might be doing the most work, but others can help lighten the load, in lots of different ways. Ask your community. Perhaps ask early to help set their expectations and schedule support, but know that there are lots of people in your life who can make a difference as you prepare for your viva.

Nathan

Whispers

Daily Post

Postgraduate researchers find out a lot of things during the PhD through whispers.

  • “Psst! How do I do this?!”
  • “Who do I talk to about that?”
  • “What even is a viva?!”

Of course, some conversations have to be held quietly: perhaps the topic is sensitive or difficult. More often, there’s a lot that could be talked about openly in academia, but we don’t because of culture, power structures and “the way things have always been done”.

Thankfully, despite all of this, there are people who do share good, helpful advice. You’ll find quite a few curated on the Whisper Collective site – a great initiative that’s been running for a year now. Over a dozen blogs, including Viva Survivors, standing around saying, “Can I help?”

Whatever stage of the PhD you’re at, you’ll find helpful, practical advice by checking out the Whisper Collective. And when you find something helpful don’t whisper: pass it on! 🙂

Nathan

A Problem Shared

Daily Post

You’re the only person who can pass your viva, but there are many, many people who can support you before you get that far.

It may be that you just need a little encouragement, but if you have a problem then consider how others could do something practical to help:

  • Your supervisors can help you understand the role of examiners. They can help you unpick how you express your research. They can help you by hosting a mock viva. They can’t solve your problems for you, but if you share them they will do their best.
  • Friends and colleagues can help by understanding what you’re going through. They can share viva expectations or perhaps simply listen while you explain your research and ask questions. If you have a problem they can signpost you towards something that will make a difference.
  • Your family and loved ones may not understand your research! But if you have a problem then they will listen. If you can share the root cause they might have a suggestion that could help. More than anything, if you have a problem, they will want to be there to help.

With the viva, as with many things in life generally, there are problems and there are Problems. There are little things and Big Things. You are not alone. You don’t have to solve every pre-viva problem or Problem by yourself.

You are good, you are skilled, you are capable and knowledgeable – and you are not alone.

Nathan

On Banishing Impostors

Daily Post

Impostor syndrome is a commonly discussed topic in academia. It’s not unusual for a postgraduate researcher to feel they’re somehow not good enough as they get closer to their viva.

I don’t know that anyone has a 100% solution to getting rid of these sorts of feelings, but I have some ideas of what you could do if they feel particularly difficult around your viva.

  • Check in with friends. Talk to trusted friends and colleagues who have already passed their viva. Ask about how they felt. While it’s not comfortable to feel like an impostor, knowing you’re not alone can be the start of helping yourself.
  • Be honest with your record. Look at your progress, the real progress you’ve made. Look at what now exists that did not before. Reflect on how and why that has come to be: you did this work.
  • Imagine what an impostor would really do. How would they act or behave? What would they know? Now compare that to yourself. Do you act or behave like a fake?

I think most thoughtful PhD candidates and academics would admit that they are not perfect. They’re always learning and always will be. Sometimes knowing you don’t know everything or can’t do everything can make you compare yourself falsely to others. Sometimes being around other talented people means that you feel smaller by comparison.

Start by being honest with yourself. Not only about how you feel – because then you can act to change that feeling – but also with the reality of the situation. You don’t feel good, but you couldn’t have got as far as you have if you hadn’t done the work and found success.

Nathan

Interesting Times Forever

Daily Post

It’s two years since my world changed, just before the first pandemic lockdown in the UK. Two years ago today I shared Interesting Times, thoughts on where I was and where I might be going in the weeks that would follow. A year ago, things had changed and were continuing to change, in ways that a year earlier I couldn’t have predicted. I wrote and shared Still Interesting Times.

And now it is 2022.

In the last year I’ve continued to work from home. I’ve been jabbed three times. I’ve seen my work and life continue to be impacted. I’ve avoided COVID but cared for my wife and daughter while they were poorly with it a few months ago. I’ve been fortunate to keep serving PhD candidates via their universities and sometimes through webinars I’ve set up myself. I’ve been fortunate to keep writing, keep helping and keep responding whenever anyone gets in touch.

 

What stands out to me when I think about the last two years?

Everyone needs help. Helping others helps us to grow too. So when you can: help. When I think about the viva it reminds me that there are lots of people who need help and lots of people who could help.

  • Candidates should reflect on their needs. What do you need to feel confident? What do you need to know to have a good picture of the viva?
  • Candidates should know they are not alone. Who can you turn to for support? Ask early and be honest. Work to get what you need from supervisors, colleagues, friends and family.
  • PhD graduates can help friends who are finishing. Can you tell your friends how much time you have for them and what you can offer to help? Can you tell your story to help set good expectations?
  • Supervisors should help set expectations with candidates about what is expected in the viva now. Supervisors can guide candidates past doubts and help them to focus on what really matters.
  • Graduate schools, doctoral colleges and doctoral training programmes can support PGRs by offering resources of all kinds that help to emphasise personal development. Share things and do things that help candidates feel stronger as a result.

I’m here too! This blog is updated every day, but you can email me or tweet me if you have questions. There’s almost five years of posts on the blog. There are over sixty viva stories in the podcast archive.

 

We live in “interesting” times. We always did, of course, but they’ve become even more interesting. More challenging. More surprising. Sometimes, more upsetting.

If you’re reading this though then, like me, you’re still here. Still learning. Still growing. Still making mistakes and persevering. So far, you have managed to keep going in difficult circumstances – and difficult might be an understatement in the last two years.

Get help if you need it, offer it to others if you can, but keep going.

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