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Tag: reflection

Nathan

Questioning Weakness

Daily Post

There are many causes of doubt before the viva. One possibility is that a candidate believes some aspect of their research or thesis isn’t good enough. They find a weakness and then can do nothing but dwell on it.

If you find yourself in a similar position, reflect on one or more of the following:

  • Can you do anything about it at this point? If not, perhaps it would be better to reflect more on your research strengths – and your strengths as a researcher – than to focus on weaknesses.
  • Can someone help you explore this? Look to your supervisor or your friends and colleagues. Ask them to listen and help you find some way to move forwards.
  • How did your work come to have this weakness? It could be an accident, a mistake, a result of your research process, and so on. Knowing why it is there can help you to figure out what to do next.
  • How would you explain this in the viva? If a question or comment was about this aspect of your work, explore what you could say about it.

Finally, is it really a weakness? Are you seeing weakness when in fact there is just a small flaw that you are making into a bigger problem than it needs to be?

Nathan

How Can I Know?

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If you have doubts that you’ve done enough, that your thesis is good enough or that you are good enough then take a little time to reflect on what you’ve done.

  • How many days did you do the work?
  • How many papers did you read?
  • How many things did you try?
  • How many times did you present your work in some way?
  • How many times did something not work – but you tried again?
  • How many days did you sit down and write something for your thesis?
  • How many times did you have a breakthrough?

For questions like these you won’t always have an exact number. You can know the scale of your past efforts and determination.

You can know that you’ve come this far because you did the work. You can know that whatever mistakes you’ve made along the way that you have done enough. You can know that whatever doubts you have that you are good.

Nathan

Useful Questions

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The two most useful questions for a PhD candidate to reflect on, particularly after submission, are:

“When is my viva?” and “How do I feel?”

The first is often a useful prompt to realise that there is still time. There’s always time to do something to get ready. If you have ten minutes to go you can still breathe, try to relax, check your notes and remind yourself that you’re almost done. If you have ten days then you have lots of time to prepare and build your confidence. If you have just submitted your thesis you have time to take a break. If you’ve not submitted yet then you know your time is best invested in getting your thesis finished.

The second question has a partner: “So what can I do?” If you feel relaxed, what can you do to build on that? If you feel nervous, what can you do to calm yourself? If you feel unprepared then what can you do to get ready? If you feel afraid who could you talk to so you can get help? If you feel confident, how can you maintain that for the viva? It’s good to reflect on how you feel; it’s better to take the time after that to think about what you need to do next.

“When is my viva?” and “How do I feel?” are good questions to reflect on for a candidate.

“When is your viva?” and “How do you feel?” are fair questions to ask a friend after they’ve submitted their thesis, provided you have time to really listen and then ask one more question:

“Do you need help?”

Nathan

Verbs For The Viva

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You will survive – manage to keep going in difficult circumstances – because you’ve done that throughout your PhD. You will most likely thrive too – grow, develop and be successful.

Prepare rather than perfect. You can get ready for the conversation you’ll have but you can’t be a paragon.

You can expect certain things will happen but you can’t assume that everything will play out that way.

You can respond to every question. You might not be able to answer every question.

Words matter. Verbs matter. Check that yours are right for how you think about the viva and how you engage with it when it’s your turn.

Nathan

Contributions Make A Difference

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Every PhD candidate in their viva is, at some point and in some way, going to need to talk about their contribution. Examiners will raise the topic and the candidate will need to talk about why their research is significant and original. No small thing, and so it’s no wonder that it might feel tough to do.

When it’s your turn to get ready, think about the difference your work makes. A research contribution makes a difference. Sharing new ideas or a new perspective; discovering something or making something clearer. Helping someone or maybe helping lots of people. Showing that something is true or proving that something is false. Updating old ideas or revealing something for the first time.

Your research contributions must make a difference in some way. If you’re stuck trying to find the words to express your contribution, consider starting with the difference your work makes.

Nathan

Self-Made

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I love Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rejection of being described as a “self-made” man. He’s responded to that thought in many interviews and talks but writes emphatically about it in the foreword to Tim Ferriss’s book, Tools of Titans:

I am not a self-made man.

Every time I give a speech at a business conference, or speak to college students, or do a Reddit AMA, someone says it.

“Governor/Governator/Arnold/Arnie/Schwarzie/Schnitzel (depending on where I am), as a self-made man, what’s your blueprint for success?”

They’re always shocked when I thank them for the compliment but say, “I am not a self-made man. I got a lot of help.”

He goes on to describe the practical help and support he got from others, the inspiration that motivated his journey and keeps him going. It’s worth reading the whole piece. I like that recognition: working hard, but knowing that he couldn’t have got that far without the help of others.

 

It resonates with what I think about the journey of a postgraduate researcher. A PhD demands a lot of work from a candidate and the result is a huge success for them – but it wouldn’t be right to say they were self-made. Every candidate has supervisors supporting them; every candidate has friends and family who want them to succeed. Every candidate has influences and inspirations that have prompted their journey or helped keep them on track.

In preparation for the viva it could be helpful to reflect on these two elements: the work you’ve done and the support you’ve received. For the work, recognise that you couldn’t have got as far as you have without your efforts; you did that work, you built your knowledge and talent.

For the support, thank those who have helped you get to where you are. Reflect on the things that got you started, the ideas and inspirations. If appropriate, ask for help one more time as you prepare.

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2021: Confidence

Daily Post

I finished my look back over favourite posts last year with the theme of “surviving” – a break with several years of tradition.

2020 was a hard year, 2021 has continued to be challenging, but it feels right to come back to confidence. Confidence makes a real difference for the viva and how a candidate engages with it. Here are some thoughts from this year:

  • Confident or Arrogant – the difference between the two. (it’s a big difference!)
  • The Basics – a lack of confidence for the viva sometimes comes, very simply, from not having a good picture of what the viva is like.
  • A Few Thoughts On Survive – while confidence is the theme for today, it feels appropriate to share a few thoughts on this too.
  • Clearing Out Viva Doubts – confidence blossoms when we remove doubts.
  • Be Brave – a little extra step you might need to take.

Survive means “manage to keep going in difficult circumstances”. If you’ve made it through the last few years and your viva is some time in 2022 then you can be confident that you can rise to the challenge.

If you have managed to keep going so far, you can continue. You’ve not come this far by being merely lucky.

Keep going.

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2021: Long Posts

Daily Post

The Viva Survivors review of 2021 continues with some of my favourite long posts from this year.

Most of the time my daily posts range between 100 and 200 words; occasionally I go a little longer. Here are five that will take more time to read but which hopefully also contain more for the extra words.

They’re a little more reflective in most cases; it’s been that kind of year I guess.

  • Still Interesting Times – a year on from my first post about the pandemic on the blog. I have a feeling there will be another post like this in March 2022 at the two year anniversary.
  • Solving The Prep Problem – a big post all about getting prep done!
  • The Missing Things – another post reflecting on how things have changed in the last few years and what you might need as a result.
  • The Essentials – a story from my journey as a researcher-developer and some questions to help unpick what you might need to get ready for the viva.
  • Space To Feel – a reflection on something important that has stood out to me more and more while delivering webinars.

More posts but fewer words tomorrow – I’ll share some of my favourite short posts from 2021.

Nathan

Alone For The Viva

Daily Post

Consider the movie Home Alone and the PhD viva, two very different things:

One of these things is a story about someone preparing to face two determined professionals in advance of a really important day. A particularly talented protagonist uses everything they know to be ready for the challenge ahead. They face uncertainty and mixed feelings about the situation, but very quickly become prepared despite a tight deadline. In the end, the challenge is resolved quickly and positively thanks to the protagonist’s talent and their preparations.

And the other thing is the movie Home Alone.

Nathan

End Of Year Blues

Daily Post

It’s a lovely time of year, but looking back I felt a little blue reflecting on my work of the last twelve months.

The projects that stalled. The work that never went ahead. I had to cancel some sessions because of lockdown. The contacts that never followed up.

 

Then I reminded myself to reflect some more.

On all the sessions that did run – and there were lots of them. All the people I shared them with – and there were lots of them! I didn’t develop my new zine project, but I did share another year of daily blog posts. And I was asked to deliver a keynote talk for a conference, something that I was thrilled by and still smile about now!

If you aim high with your PhD then there will undoubtedly be times when you feel blue. When you prepare for your viva you will probably be reminded of things that could have gone better. The answer isn’t to set your aim lower, but to remember that for all the things that don’t work out as well as you hope there will be plenty that does. There could even be things that have greater results or impact than you imagined possible.

Beat end of year blues by focussing on the things that worked out well.

Beat end of PhD blues by preparing for your viva with a focus on your successes.

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