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Nathan

Examiner Notes

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Do a little homework when your examiners are selected. Make notes on each of them and concentrate on the following questions and points:

  • Why were they asked to be your examiners? Knowing the relevance of their selection gives you helpful information.
  • What do you know about their work? Have you cited their work? Are you familiar with it? Are there recent publications that it might be useful to read?
  • What do you expect from them? What do you know about their reputations?
  • What questions might you expect from them? What could they want to know?

Gather your thoughts on who your examiners are, what they’ve done and what you can expect from them. Like any viva expectations, there’s no guarantee for what they will ask or think in the viva – but like any viva expectations you can be prepared to meet them and engage, whatever happens.

Nathan

Describing Examiners

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Your examiners are interested in your work. They have to be, or they just wouldn’t be there.

Your examiners are prepared for the viva. Like you, they have to get ready to do this particular event.

Your examiners are experienced. They are academics – even examiners at the start of their academic career have training, guidance and support to do the job well.

Your examiners are human. They’re just people, like you. They know the viva could make you nervous and they know you want it to go well.

They want it to go well too – and given the work that you’ve done and the work your examiners do, your viva most likely will go well.

Nathan

Always Something

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No matter how much work you put into your research and thesis, or how much time you spend on viva prep, there’s always something that your examiners could say or ask that you haven’t anticipated.

And no matter what they ask, because of all of the work you’ve committed to your research and thesis, and all the time you’ve invested into getting ready, there’s always something you can do to respond to their questions and be part of the discussion.

You can ask a question. You can pause. You can think. You can check your thesis. You can remember something. You can take a situation and analyse it. You can work through a question or a problem. You can, in the end, always find a way to respond.

Whatever situation you find in the viva, there’s always something you can do.

Nathan

The Formality

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There’s a general expectation that a candidate will pass their viva if they’ve submitted their thesis. The pass rate is so high that reaching that stage is a really good sign that success will follow in due course.

But the viva is not simply like ticking a box on some paperwork, nor is it a simple process in general. Perhaps compared to the scale of the rest of the PhD journey we could say it was “a formality” but only with reference to that great scale!

Expect to succeed – but also expect your examiners to be prepared, to do their jobs, to ask questions and expect you to respond. Do the work that’s needed, following a pattern of work and dedication that you have demonstrated over the course of your PhD and perhaps the viva will feel – with hindsight – like a formality.

Nathan

When To Cite Examiners

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Cite examiners in your bibliography before you consider them for examiners.

Cite examiners because their work is relevant.

Cite examiners because you’ve used their results, conclusions or ideas in some way for your own research.

Don’t cite people if their work doesn’t connect. Don’t select examiners then look for ways to crowbar their research into yours. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can only be examined by academics whose work is prominently in your bibliography.

There are more important reasons for considering academics as potential examiners than whether or not they feature in your bibliography.

There are better reasons for citing someone’s work than you’re thinking about them as a potential examiner.

Nathan

Without An Audience

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An important expectation for the UK viva is that it is private. Members of the public don’t attend and you’ll never have an audience present while you talk with your examiners.

Two examiners, one internal and one external, is the typical situation at the UK viva. It’s possible to have more, but rare. It’s possible to have an independent chair as part of your viva process, but they’re not an “audience member” either.

Your supervisor could attend, with your permission, but even then they are not like an audience member. They can only observe, they can’t participate like an audience member at a public thesis defence.

The UK viva is a discussion, not a presentation, not an open forum. It’s closed, and even if there are others present – chairs or supervisors – they’re not the audience.

Nathan

Certainty

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You can’t know in advance what questions you’ll be asked at your viva. You can’t know how long it will be. You can’t know exactly what opinions your examiners will hold. A viva experience happens based on a range of expectations, combined with the regulations of an institution and the individual thesis and candidate.

And with all of that true, there’s still a lot you can be certain about for your viva.

You can be certain that your examiners have prepared. You can be certain that their questions, whatever they are, are all carefully considered. You can be certain of who your examiners are before your viva by researching them, if needed. You can be certain of the range of expectations because so many people have shared their viva stories.

And you can be certain of who you are, what you’ve done and what you know. You can be certain that you are ready.

Nathan

Your Role

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At the viva you have to engage with the questions and comments of your examiners. You have to be a good participant in the discussion that rises from your thesis, the questions and what unfolds naturally.

That’s it.

You don’t have to be extra-smart or super-relaxed. They’re not looking for you to take on a persona. You don’t have to have an answer for everything or speak in a certain way.

Your examiners want to hear what you think and see what you know. Your role in the viva is to respond. You don’t have to be anything you’re not.

Nathan

Examiners Are Human

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Doctor Important or Professor Amazing perhaps, but your viva examiners are still just people.

They know that exams can be stressful for the people taking them.

They know that you have worked hard. They know you might be nervous.

They can’t take your nerves away but they can create as good a space as possible for the viva.

Your examiners will do everything they can to make sure the viva is fair. Remember, they’ve likely had a viva or similar in the past too. They know what this means to you.

Nathan

Presenting To Start

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If they’ve read my thesis, why would my examiners need a presentation from me to start my viva?

This was one of the last questions I was asked at a webinar before I started my summer break.

There are many possible reasons that particular examiners would ask:

  • They want an overview to begin the viva process.
  • They want to see what the candidate really things is important – where do they put the focus?
  • They think that a presentation is a good way to begin the viva.
  • They think that a presentation could help the candidate to be less nervous at the start.

If examiners ask for a presentation it’s for a good reason. You might not know exactly what the reason is for them, but you can be certain that it’s good for you – even if it involves a little preparation on your part.

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