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Tag: getting ready

Nathan

Ready At The Viva

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Everyone at the viva is ready.

Your examiners have prepared. They were selected for good reasons and have taken the time to study your thesis and do the work required. Your examiners are ready.

Your independent chairperson, if you have one, is there to support the viva. They are experienced, know the regulations and know how best to support the exam. Your independent chair is ready.

Your supervisor, if they’re observing, is ready to watch. They can’t respond to questions and won’t ask any, but can be a friendly face or make notes for later. Your supervisor is ready, if they’re there.

Above all you are ready. Years of work and weeks of prep, all for a few hours when you can show what you’ve done. You are ready.

Nathan

Unique Prep

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There’s a lot of viva help out there, particularly when it comes to ideas around viva prep.

Your PhD is unique. It’s reasonable to think your prep will be too. Take onboard suggestions and examples that you find when you look for help, then consider how you might need to adapt the idea to make it work for you.

The work to annotate a thesis by publication is similar but different to annotating a thesis which is a single project. Preparing to respond to questions about a creative work has similarities to preparing for questions about experiment-based research, but it will be different.

 

Your PhD, i.e., your research, your thesis, your process, your preferences, your situation, your knowledge, your skillset, your worries, your feelings, your plans and your hopes – all of it is unique!

It’s reasonable to think your prep will be too. Adapt ideas and good advice to fit your needs and circumstances.

 

PS: the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select, The Sparks Issue was released this week! It has twenty-five curated posts from the Viva Survivors blog archive and two original helpful resources as well. Your PhD and viva are both unique but you’ll find help in The Sparks Issue that you can apply to your situation, whatever it is and whatever you need. Please take a look. Thanks for reading! 🙂

Nathan

Symbols & Signs

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There are many elements of the PhD journey and the viva process that are symbols or signs. Some you need and some you don’t. Some you can choose and some you can’t.

  • A completed thesis is a symbol of the work of your PhD.
  • An annotated thesis is a sign that you have taken time to prepare and get ready for your viva.
  • A piece of paper with questions held in your external examiner’s hand is a sign of the respect that they have shown your work.
  • The outfit you choose for your viva can be a symbol to help how you want to feel.

For the symbols and signs you can’t choose, remember what they really mean. For the ones you can – and particularly for the ones that have an impact on you – choose carefully.

Nathan

Disciplinary Expectations

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Regulations and general viva expectations are helpful to steer viva prep. They can also impact how you think and feel about your viva.

Take a little extra time to check and be sure whether there are any particular expectations within your discipline:

  • Are you more likely to have a different examiner setup?
  • Might you be more or less likely to have an independent chairperson?
  • Is it typical for people from your department or discipline to give a presentation at the start of the viva?
  • Are vivas in your field more likely to be quite long – or quite short?
  • And are there any general questions that seem common?

Ask around. Explore the expectations, if there are any, that seem particularly prevalent in your area. A little extra knowledge can only help you as you prepare for your viva.

 

PS: Need to know more of what to expect at your viva? Follow my Eventbrite page to get notified of upcoming independent viva help webinars!

Nathan

The Best Support

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What were the best references that supported your research?

Who were the most helpful people who have supported you?

What practices have you used for getting things done?

Whatever your best sources of support – whether they’re papers, people or practices – it’s a good idea to think about them as you get ready. In some cases, it might be a good idea to consult or use them one more time.

You did the work but everyone needs support.

Nathan

Percentages & Preparation

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From research I’ve done in the past I estimate that 75% of vivas are finished by the three-hour mark. The vast majority of candidates pass and around 90% of candidates are asked to complete some form of correction, with most of those being minor corrections.

Knowing the stats helps but preparing helps even more. It’s good to know that you’re likely to succeed but far better to know that you’re ready. Learn about what vivas are like and then invest your time in preparation.

Percentages help a little, preparation helps a lot.

 

PS: If you want to know more about the viva and what to do to get ready then follow my Eventbrite page to get notified of future independent webinars like Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva. Dates coming soon!

Nathan

Dealing With A Difficult Topic

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It’s reasonable to be concerned about unexpected questions, but those aren’t the most difficult topics or questions. You probably already know the most difficult topics that would come up at your viva.

What don’t you want to talk about? What do you struggle to remember? What might be controversial in your research?

Difficult topics are the kinds of things to take your time with in preparation and in the viva. There’s time. There’s no need to rush but if a difficult topic comes up at the viva there is a need to talk about it.

If you know a difficult topic ahead of your viva then prepare. Ask for help, ask your supervisor, rehearse by discussing the area and taking questions. Don’t try to ignore it. Don’t simply hope that it won’t come up.

Nathan

Planning Ahead

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The viva is a big deal. Consequently viva prep can feel like a big deal too.

Viva prep isn’t trivial but the emotions and pressures of the viva and the end of the PhD – not to mention a busy daily life – could make viva prep time feel stressful.

One of the simplest ways to remove stress from viva prep is to plan it out. Sketch a plan when you submit. How would you space the work out? You can know what you need to do – there is a lot of information about it on this blog! – so by sketching a plan you can get a feel for how you can do the work given your situation and preferences.

Planning ahead isn’t the only way to approach viva prep. It is probably the path to getting the work done with the least stress.

 

PS: Looking for more viva prep help? Dig deeper into the topic with the third issue of Viva Survivors Select, my viva help zine of curated posts from the Viva Survivors archive!

Nathan

Sooner Or Later

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“It’s never too late to find out more, but you might have felt better if you’d found out sooner.”

There are many parts to the viva process: expectations, regulations, culture, ideas for prep and confidence and more. Right up until the moment you enter the viva you have opportunities to do something to help you feel more ready and better about the viva.

You don’t need to do everything and you don’t need to rush to do it all now. You can make a difference a day, an hour or a minute before your viva.

But you might feel better if you did something sooner.

 

PS: One thing that might help you feel better about your viva is to make a summary as part of your viva preparations. Summaries help you to focus, to think ahead about what you’ll need to talk about in the viva and can help you reflect on the best parts of your PhD and research. Summaries are also the topic of this month’s Viva Survivors Select, out now and available via my Payhip store 🙂

Nathan

Why Worry?

Daily Post

You’re not wrong to worry about your viva.

A PhD takes a long time. Postgraduate research culture builds the viva up as some monumental event. The outcome – even when it is overwhelmingly positive for most people – is such a big thing that wanting to pass can lead to worries for all sorts of reasons.

What will your examiners say? Will you be OK? How long will it be? Will they be fair? Will your viva be fair for you and your needs?

And just what will happen?

Even though most vivas are a matter of a few hours, your viva is a big deal.

You’re not wrong to worry about your viva.

 

But…

…what will you do about it?

Worry doesn’t have to be the end. If you feel worried, nervous, anxious, scared or unsure then there’s a reason for it. By knowing the reason you can then start to make the situation better for yourself.

Ask for help. Take steps. Prepare and get ready.

You’re not wrong to worry about your viva.

If you are worried, what are you going to do?

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