You Are Here

Tag: questions

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.

Nathan

Fifteen

Daily Post

What should I include in a 15-minute summary of my thesis?

The candidate asking me this had been prompted by their examiners to prepare a presentation to start their viva. This isn’t a common situation, but it’s one way to begin the viva. I can’t remember what I said in the moment that I was asked – it was towards the end of a three-hour webinar – but remembering it today I’m struck by several thoughts.

Fifteen minutes isn’t very long to summarise a thesis, so it pays to be concise. It helps to rehearse. It helps to think things through. And the question, as asked, is worth interrogating: should isn’t helpful. There are lots of things one could do.

Here are fifteen points and questions to reflect on if you were asked to prepare a fifteen-minute presentation for the viva:

  1. Why did you want to do this research?
  2. Why did the research need doing?
  3. What were the main methods you used?
  4. What literature supported the approach that you took?
  5. What makes your work an original contribution?
  6. What are you proudest of in what you have done?
  7. What was the hardest problem you overcame?
  8. What can you explain simply in the space of fifteen minutes?
  9. What can you not explain in the space of fifteen minutes?
  10. Given that your examiners have read your thesis, what do you need to re-emphasise in a presentation at the start of your viva?
  11. How does your work make a difference?
  12. How has your work made a difference in you?
  13. What do you need to start your presentation by saying?
  14. What do you need to conclude your presentation with?
  15. What can you safely leave out of your presentation?

Even if you – like most candidates – are not asked to prepare an opening presentation, reflecting on many of these questions could be useful before your viva!

Nathan

Boring

Daily Post

What can I do in the viva if my research is boring?

Oof.

This was a tough question to hear at a webinar.

My first instinct was to turn the question around and ask, “Well, why do you think your research is boring?” but this was a group webinar and not a coaching session. Thinking or feeling that something is boring is related to perception: how someone sees something might not represent what that situation is really like, at least not fully.

There’s no shortcut to magically fix thinking if you feel your research is boring, difficult or highly specialised; a little reflection on one or more of the following questions could help:

  • Why did you want to do research in this area?
  • What is valuable about your contribution?
  • What is original about your thesis?
  • What have you enjoyed in exploring this topic?

If we think or feel that something is dull we can’t click our fingers or push a button to change that. Asking the right question, taking time to reflect and consider can help shift our perceptions. The process of doing your research could be boring at times – I remember the feeling well! – but perhaps with the right question you can get excited regardless.

Nathan

An Unexpected Question

Daily Post

You can’t know exactly what questions your examiners will ask, but you can have a good idea of the topics they’ll want to talk about in the viva. You can’t have a response ready and waiting for every topic, but you can feel fairly confident in your preparations that you can engage with almost anything your examiners might want to ask.

Almost anything.

There’s always a possibility that they ask something you’ve never considered. There’s a chance they may notice something you haven’t. An unexpected question could be asked that you, at first, don’t know how to handle. You just might not know what to think or say.

At first.

Whatever the unexpected question, however left field it is, you can still engage with it. Pause to consider it. Think about what it means. Respond as best you can. Ask your examiners questions to unpick what they mean. Be patient with yourself.

Pause. Think. Respond.

Nathan

Examiner Feedback

Daily Post

Feedback from your examiners could be a great help if your plan is to continue in academia. Questions, opinions, insights – whatever they offer or you ask for could give you a boost.

If you’re hoping for something from them, it might help to think in advance about what you really want. Make a list of questions, prioritise them; stay on track when the time comes to ask or if a moment comes that seems appropriate to follow up.

Consider again who your examiners are, where their interests lie and what they do. What would you really want to know from them if you had the chance to ask?

Nathan

Ask Someone Why

Daily Post

Faced with a difficult question or unexpected comment in the viva, perhaps the best thing you can do is ask why.

  • Ask your examiner(s) why that question is important.
  • Ask why a comment matters to them.
  • Ask why they think the way they think.

Or ask yourself why. Why have you gone blank? Why is something difficult? Why did you write something the way you did, or do something the way you have?

When you ask why you uncover some of the reasons beneath the surface of a question or comment. You take the first steps to being able to respond and participate in the discussion.

If a question or comment makes you pause, ask someone “Why?” and see where that leads.

Nathan

Use Your Opportunities

Daily Post

The viva is a discussion driven by questions from your examiners. Every question is an opportunity for you to share your work and show your capability.

Every question is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you did, what you know or what you can do. Every question is a step closer to finishing and passing.

If any question causes you to stumble, to freeze, to forget, then you’ll be alright. Another opportunity will present itself.

Every question is an opportunity in the viva, but there will be far fewer questions and opportunities than those you’ve already answered, responded to or made the most of on your PhD journey. The viva itself is one more opportunity to learn, grow, develop and show your ability as a researcher.

So make the most of it.

Nathan

7 Questions To Ask Friends About Their Vivas

Daily Post

Friends who have recently had a viva in your department are good to ask about what to expect. Listening to their stories can give you certainty for your viva.

There’s great variety generally when it comes to viva experiences; local knowledge of your department’s practices can both shape your expectations and help you to prepare. By asking the right questions you can get the information that will be most useful to you.

  1. Was your viva in-person or online? (this helps frame other expectations)
  2. How long was your viva? (everyone wants to know this!)
  3. How did your viva begin? (it’s helpful to know the sorts of things that happen)
  4. Was anyone else apart from your examiners present? (some vivas have chairpersons; some candidates invite their supervisors)
  5. What was the flow of questions like? (were they big picture, focussed and so on)
  6. How did your viva end? (get a sense of what to expect)
  7. How did you feel throughout your viva? (knowing some of the thoughts and feelings that flow can help)

If you ask only one person then you might hear a helpful story that puts the viva in perspective. If you ask several people you might spot patterns in the structure of vivas in your department. Perhaps your department has a certain way of doing things. Knowing that information could really put you at ease.

Don’t simply ask a friend, “How was it?”

Go deeper. Ask more to help yourself more.

Nathan

Pause, Think, Respond

Daily Post

The three words to keep in mind when you are in your viva.

Pause: take a moment to check you understand the question.

Think: invest a little time into organising your thoughts.

Respond: start talking, being clear to yourself and your examiners.

  • Big question? Pause, think, respond.
  • Little question? Pause, think, respond.
  • Easy question? Pause, think, respond.
  • Hard question? Pause, think, respond.
  • Know the answer? Pause, think, respond.
  • Haven’t a clue? Pause, think, respond.

Pause because you don’t need to rush. Taking time will help how you think and what you say.

Think because that’s the only way to get the ideas that you need to come out right.

Respond because you might not always have an answer, but you can always find something appropriate to continue the conversation.

In your viva: pause, think, respond.

1 2 3 4 5 … 16