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Nathan

The Pledge

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I will engage with my examiners’ questions, whatever they are.

If you commit yourself to this goal then you won’t go too wrong in the viva.

Keeping this in mind means you’re open to discussion. You’re ready to listen. You’re well-prepared.

You’re not listening to worries about “hard questions” or hoping to keep certain topics off the table.

You’re remembering that while you can’t know every question ahead of time, you can take your time in the viva to think and respond as well as you can.

Pause, think and respond as well as you can to each question and comment in your viva. Engage with your examiners’ questions, whatever they are.

Nathan

Questions For Your Examiners

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The viva is a discussion about you, your thesis and your PhD journey, along with other relevant related topics. Most questions in the viva will naturally flow from your examiners towards you because they’re examining you and your work.

The viva is a conversation though: you might have some questions of your own.

  • You might want to ask your examiners for their opinion on your work.
  • You might need clarification of a point they’re making.
  • You might need a question rephrased.
  • You might just want to know what they think about something.

You have space in the viva to ask your examiners questions. In most cases these opportunities will arise naturally, for example, asking for clarification. It could still help to think through what you would want to know more about if the moment came where you could ask them something.

The viva can be a great opportunity to ask some experts what they think.

Nathan

The Meaning

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A simple and effective way to tackle a tricky question in the viva is to look for the meaning behind it.

  • If your examiner challenges a method, look for why they might be doing that.
  • If you go blank or think “I don’t know” then ask yourself why.
  • If you can’t see what your examiners are getting at then ask them why.

Searching for the meaning behind a difficult question or comment is far better than trying to stumble your way to a few words. It’s far better than sitting in silence and hoping that something clicks.

Ask yourself why or ask your examiners why, and watch as information and ideas start to move.

Nathan

What They Want

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Your examiners want to read a good thesis with interesting research.

They want to follow the viva regulations for your institution and meet the expectations of your field or disciplines.

They want to engage with a capable, knowledgeable candidate.

They want the hours of the viva to be an appropriate challenge for you.

They want to see you rise to that challenge.

So what will you do to give them what they want?

Nathan

What’s The Connection?

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It helps to read your examiners’ recent publications before your viva.

Look for connections between your work and your examiners’ research. Look for similar terminology. Check to see if they have done work like you or something a little different.

Finding connections doesn’t make the viva easier: it gives you reference points you can connect to and ideas of how you can relate your research in the discussion.

Noticing that there aren’t many or any connections doesn’t make the viva harder: you may have to explain some ideas in more depth, but also trust your examiners to do their homework to be ready to talk with you.

It’s not good or bad to find connections, it’s not good or bad to realise there are few or none. Checking, noticing and reflecting helps you to think through what you need to do next in your prep and in the viva.

Nathan

Who Are Your Examiners?

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Unless they are both well-known to you before you submit your thesis, take some time in your viva prep to find out more about both your internal and your external.

  • Ask friends and colleagues what they know of them. What work do they do? What are they known for?
  • Explore their recent publications to get a sense of their interests and research focus. Is their work similar to yours or very different? Are there interesting connections between your areas?
  • Talk to other academics about the role of the examiners. How do they approach the task? What do they look for in a good thesis?

Your examiners, whoever they are, are not just two random people. They are chosen for particular reasons. Explore that choice with your supervisors, explore your examiners’ work and explore the role of the examiner to be well-prepared for meeting them in your viva.

Nathan

An Invitation

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Your examiners are invited to be at your viva. Like most invitations they can decline if they need to or want to.

A viva is a much bigger commitment than the hours on the day for an examiner. If they accept and attend it’s because, more than anything, they find the invitation to be compelling. There is something about your work as it’s been presented that makes them think it will be a good use of their time.

Reflect on what your examiners might be seeing in your work. Focus on that as part of your preparations. How can you share your research with them? What do you need to do to be prepared? And how can you make sure that the invitation they’ve said yes to results in a good experience for them?

When you have ideas for that question you’ll also have ideas for what will help the viva to be a good experience for you too.

Nathan

Your Questions

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The viva is a discussion but as your work and capability is being assessed most of the questions will flow from your examiners. Their questions will prompt response and the discussion that follows.

You have the opportunity to ask questions though: if there are things you want to discuss, opinions you want to check or ideas you want to explore then take the time to ask.

In preparation for the viva take some time to think about what you might ask. What opinions would you really value? What aspects of your work do you want to talk about? And as this is a limited opportunity, which questions would you prioritise asking?

Nathan

Exploring Objections

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It’s reasonable to expect that examiners might object to something in a thesis.

In all the many words you’ve written – the ideas, results and conclusions, and the chapters, methods and formatting – in all of this there’s a chance there’s something they might object to.

Does an objection mean there is something “wrong”? Does it mean you need to make changes? Does it mean you need to apologise?

No, not necessarily; it would be rare for something to need an apology!

An objection needs to be understood first. You might need to ask questions if the comment or point isn’t clear. You might need to think. You might need to read or check something in your thesis. And it’s possible that you can’t simply give a short, quick response to an objection.

You need to understand what the objection is, then respond to it.

And that could be it. That could be all you need to do. It could be that you need to add a sentence to your thesis. It could be that you just need to explain your thoughts because they weren’t clear on the page.

Objections: understand, then respond.

Nathan

Preparing For Examiners

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When you know who your examiners will be, start your preparations for meeting them by reflecting on three questions:

  • Why have these people been chosen?
  • How does your work connect with what they do?
  • What do you need to do to prepare now?

Reflect and make notes on who your examiners are and what they do, then think about what you need to do to get ready for them.

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