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Tag: responding to questions

Nathan

Easy or Hard?

Daily Post

Questions in the viva do not fall neatly into one of two piles.

Easy and hard are relative terms that don’t help to describe the questions that prompt the kind of discussion found in the viva.

An easy question for one candidate could be very hard for another.

An easy-to-ask question could have a very hard-to-formulate response.

A hard question could have been considered many times before by a candidate, while an easy question has no certain response.

Best to get away from labels of easy and hard completely.

Questions in the viva can be challenging or not. In either case, they are there to drive the discussion. They’re asked with an expectation of a response from the candidate. You can’t predict what questions you will be asked before your viva, but you can prepare yourself to respond to whatever question your examiners bring to you.

Nathan

Spotlight

Daily Post

A part of my discomfort before my viva was due to general nervousness and lack of confidence in presenting and discussing my work. I knew my stuff but I wasn’t comfortable talking about it. I didn’t want to be in the spotlight!

A mock viva would have helped.

Talking about my research with friends would have helped.

Learning more about vivas would have helped.

If the viva spotlight seems at all scary to you then the best thing you can do is find a way to rehearse. The second best thing is to learn more of what to expect from that spotlight experience to prepare yourself.

Rehearsal is the key though: find and use opportunities to simulate the viva ahead of time.

Nathan

Too Little, Too Much

Daily Post

If you say too little in the viva then your examiners will ask for more.

If you’re saying too much then they will steer the conversation with comments and questions.

Don’t worry about whether you’re saying too little or too much in the viva. Show up ready to listen, respond and engage with the discussion.

Nathan

Reframe

Daily Post

As you prepare for your viva, consider your thesis as the record of your research.

You followed a method or were guided by a particular reference. Why? What did that give you? What if you had followed another method? What if you used a difference reference?

Reframing could help you to see other possibilities – not better, but maybe not worse. Something different.

Reframing could help you add more evidence for your thinking: now you are even more certain you made the right choice.

This kind of reframing can open your mind to questions from your examiners. They might ask you to consider other perspectives. They will probably ask questions to gain a better  understanding of your perspective. The more practice you have before the viva, the more comfortable this could be when you meet your examiners.

Nathan

All The Answers

Daily Post

Knowing exactly what to say to answer every question in your viva isn’t a reasonable expectation. It’s not required for the viva. Your examiners don’t expect it from you. You would probably need to know all of the questions before they were asked (and you won’t).

You’re not expected to know all the answers, but you are expected to respond to every question.

A response could be an answer or an opinion. A response could be sharing an idea or offering a hypothesis. A response could be a gut feeling or a question for clarification.

A response could even be saying “I don’t know,” and then explaining why.

You can’t have all the answers but you have many options for offering a response.

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.

Nathan

Answers and Responses

Daily Post

An answer is a kind of response. An answer is grounded in truth or a compelling argument. An answer could be what you offer after a question…

…if the question is part of a quiz. But the viva isn’t a quiz. It’s not an interview. It’s not even a question-and-answer session.

The viva is a discussion, steered by the questions of your examiners and the responses you offer. A response could be an answer depending on the question – but it could also be an opinion you offer, an idea that you share, a question to clarify a point or a hunch that you feel. There’s a place for answers in the viva, but you might not have an answer for every question.

However, given your knowledge, your skills, your work and your experience, it’s reasonable to expect that you could respond to every question.

Nathan

Doing Better

Daily Post

If an examiner asks, “How would you improve your research?” they’re not trying to trick you. There’s no trap in a question like, “What would you change?”

These are honest, simple questions to get you exploring the topic of what you’ve learned through your PhD journey. They might seem like questions that could only lead to more work, but they’re looking for evidence of your commitment to learning and developing, rather than a commitment to doing more for your PhD and your thesis.

You did a lot. Now you can do better.

Nathan

Defend

Daily Post

When you defend in the viva you aren’t throwing up a barrier with your words – that’s being defensive.

Defensive sounds like, “I’m right!” whereas defending says, “I hear you, but this is why I’m right on this…”

Listen to questions about your thesis and research, then support what you’ve done.

Nathan

Being Right

Daily Post

“What if I’m wrong?” asks the concerned PhD candidate, getting ready for their viva.

Typos are a kind of wrong. Not quite meeting expectations with the thesis is too. Not knowing something is a flavour of wrong, but can be fixed.

You could be wrong when you respond to a question. Your examiners could know something, or have a different opinion, or a different belief… But perhaps they’re not right either. Perhaps you’re in a situation where there are lots of good “right” opinions. That could be interesting

Most of the time, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you will be right.

That might be the easy part. Now you have to share what you know with others. That might be harder, but again, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you’ll rise to that harder challenge when you need to.

Am I right?

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