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Nathan

7 Questions To Answer At Submission

Daily Post, Sabbatical

There’s a few key things it would be good to know around submission time. Questions which occur to candidates all of the time, but which I very rarely have answers for because they’re particular to their institution. If you’re submitting soon, find answers to these questions:

  1. In what time frame does your university hope to hold your viva after you submit?
  2. Under what circumstances would you be liable for fees after submission?
  3. Who will be in the room for the viva?
  4. What are the range of possible awards or results for the viva at your institution?
  5. In particular, how long are you given for minor corrections at your institution?
  6. What is the post-viva process at your institution?
  7. What are you unsure about when it comes to the logistics and process of the viva?

You’ll likely pick up answers to most of these questions by osmosis during your PhD. It’s within your power to find answers to all of them, and find out how things are done at your university.

If your answer to Question 7 is anything other than “nothing” then find someone who can help. It’s up to you.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on December 11th 2017.

Nathan

Eight Useful Reflection Starter Questions

Daily Post, Sabbatical

I encourage candidates to reflect on their research, their examiners’ publications and think about how these things connect. It’s useful advice but at the same time a little vague. What concrete steps can candidates take? It isn’t always clear to know what to think or do, so here are eight questions to get the process of digging deeper started:

  1. What are your examiners known for?
  2. If you have cited them, how have you used or been influenced by their work?
  3. How do you think your work connects with theirs?
  4. What is your research contribution?
  5. What are your examiners’ recent contributions?
  6. What would you like to ask them about their work?
  7. What do you think they would like to ask you about your work?
  8. What do you hope they will take from your research?

Saying “reflect” is easy; doing it can be hard. Use these questions to start the process, and if you find other questions that help then share them.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on September 25th 2018.

Nathan

Good Answers

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Good answers don’t just appear on the day.

Good answers to your examiners’ questions happen because you’ve done the work.

Good answers happen because you know things.

Good answers happen because you’re talented.

I think great answers in the viva come when you give yourself a few extra seconds to think…

…what else do I know?

…is that the best thing to start with?

…what did I say in my thesis?

…what did I do like this in my research?

A few seconds can make good into great, but don’t stress.

Good is enough.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 14th 2018.

Nathan

Disagreeing With Your Supervisor

Daily Post, Sabbatical

It’s possible your research went down a path you didn’t choose. Your supervisor insisted. You followed. Whatever that meant for your research, you still disagree with the approach or idea now.

OK.

…That’s it. You disagree. That’s OK. Disagreement by itself is not a problem.

Did it stop you doing your research? Did it remove possibilities? Did it help the research but was tricky to do? Was it a tough conversation?

What’s the real problem?

If there’s something to explain in your viva as a result, you might want to think carefully about the words you use. If there is bad feeling, think about how you express that if you want to – but who would that help? You can still say you disagree with something from the course of your research.

Explore and explain. If there was disagreement with your supervisor about something, it would be good to reflect before the viva so you have key points to reference if you need to talk about it.

Disagreement by itself is not a problem: the situation might be, but the disagreement itself is not.

OK?

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on May 9th 2020.

Nathan

7 Questions That Help

Daily Post

What do you need to know about the circumstances of your viva for you to feel happy?

Who do you need to turn to for support with your viva prep?

How do you describe your significant original contribution?

How much help do you need from your supervisor in the weeks leading up to your viva?

What are you most proud of in your research?

What are some of the most important references that support your thesis?

How do you explain why you wanted to do a PhD?

Reflecting on each of these questions can help as you get ready for your viva.

Nathan

Talking Comfortably

Daily Post

I think a huge part of viva confidence for a candidate is based on feeling comfortable when talking about their research.

Examiners need to ask the candidate questions, they need to share opinions and they need the candidate to respond so that they can have a discussion and examine. Candidates have to do their part and want to do their part, but too often worry that they won’t be able to in the moment.

  • “What if I forget something?”
  • “What if there’s a long pause?”
  • “What if I don’t know something?”
  • “What if it’s a bit awkward or I’m hesitant?”

The short answer for all of these questions and worries is that the viva will still happen. It’ll continue however you feel, but will feel better for you if you’re able to talk with some confidence about your research and all the related things your examiners want to discuss.

How do you get to talk comfortably? You prepare. You read your thesis and think and make notes. More important than anything you take time to rehearse for being in the viva through opportunities like a mock viva.

You can’t be ready with pre-loaded responses to every conceivable question or comment.

You can be ready to engage with whatever question your examiners ask by taking time before the viva to rehearse.

Have a mock viva. Talk with friends. Talk with your supervisor. Make opportunities to be in situations where you’ll talk about your work and respond to questions. Make sure you have real experience before the viva so that you feel more comfortable talking about your PhD research.

Nathan

Your Choices

Daily Post

Important questions in the viva are interested in the why of the decisions you made during your PhD.

Why this topic?

Why this method rather than that one?

Why did you decide to focus on this approach?

Take a little time in your preparation to review the choices you’ve made and the reasons that supported them.

Nathan

On Mini-Vivas

Daily Post

It was five years ago yesterday that I first published 7776 Mini-Vivas. Since starting this blog in 2017 it remains one of my favourite resources I’ve created.

Since then I’ve shared it with over five thousand PhD candidates in workshops and webinars, posted supporting posts on the blog from time to time – most recently in September – and adapted it as a print resource. Before the summer it inspired another new resource I’ve started offering with my sessions.

All of which is by way of preamble to say, “I made a thing to help with viva prep five years ago and I still think it’s really good and other people do too!”

If you’re looking for something to get you thinking or talking about your work then check out 7776 Mini-Vivas, because after five years it’s still a really helpful thing.

Nathan

Three Mini-Vivas

Daily Post

I’m still quite pleased with the Mini-Vivas Resource I made several years ago. I think it’s a nice little way to get ready for your viva with a friend; it doesn’t require a lot of preparation to use, and gives a little structure to having a conversation about research to help with speaking practice and confidence.

There are 7776 possible combinations of questions you can find by following instructions and rolling dice; here are three to save you a little time, indexed by the dice numbers!

Mini-Viva 61666

  • Why did you want to pursue your research?
  • How would you describe your methodology?
  • What were some of the challenges you overcame during your PhD?
  • What questions would you like to ask your examiners?
  • If you could start again, knowing what you know now, what would you keep the same?

Mini-Viva 13551

  • How would you define your thesis contribution?
  • What influenced your methodology?
  • How did the existing literature in the field influence you?
  • What comments or questions have you been asked about your work previously?
  • How could you develop this work further in the future?

Mini-Viva 25314

  • What are the three brightest parts of your research?
  • How did your process change as you did your PhD?
  • How does your work build on prior research?
  • How can you be sure of your conclusions?
  • What publications do you hope to produce?

Are these typical of questions you might be asked in your viva? Yes and no!

Yes because these are all the sorts of things that your examiners might want to dig into. No because your examiners will have read your thesis carefully and examined it against what they know about your area of your research and what they know from their own experience.

A mini-viva is different from a real viva, because while a friend may know a little about your research, they won’t have read your thesis to prepare. They’ll be using the mini-viva questions to provide structure and listening to your responses to steer things.

Still, a mini-viva is a little help, a little practice, a little step closer to being ready for your viva.

Well, three little steps in this post – and 7773 more at the Mini-Vivas Resource post!

Nathan

The Good Kind Of Feedback

Daily Post

Certain kinds of feedback can be useful as you prepare for your viva. By that stage you can’t make any changes to your thesis. Feedback has to be carefully targeted to things you can change.

If you have a mock viva it will help to get feedback afterwards. Focus on the good stuff. Ask questions that you want thoughts on, rather than simply see what your supervisor says.

If you rehearse by sharing your research or having a conversation with friends then ask key questions. Were you clear? What did they not understand? Was anything confusing?

When discussing your thesis with your supervisor after submission, remember that feedback has to drive action. Critical comments or things to think about must have real purpose behind them. If a method could be challenged then how could you respond? If X is open to interpretation then what can you do?

Time is limited after submission, so feedback needs to be limited too. To get good feedback ask questions that you really need responses to – and consider before you ask how you might act on them.

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