Daily viva help for PhDs
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.
Stories say that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The reality is that a rainbow’s end moves as you move. Make any progress in getting closer to where it appears to be and you’ll find that it’s not where you thought it was. Struggle and strive but it moves further away.
You can perhaps figure out where the end of the rainbow would be based on where you are now – but by the time you reach that point it will have shifted (or maybe disappeared).
I think this resonates with the reality of the PhD journey. The viva or graduation might seem like the big event you’re aiming towards, but as you get closer you’ll realise that there’s something more. You get closer to what seems like the end, only to find that there’s more waiting for you.
The PhD journey is just a part of the greater journey; it’s an important stage, and the benefit could be valuable to your future. If you feel like there’s nothing else but your PhD, remember there’s no pot of gold at the end. The end is further away and you are more than your research.
As you get ready for your viva:
Looking back helps remind you of the journey that has lead you this far. Taking action now can help you be more prepared for your viva. Looking ahead and reflecting on the challenges you’ll face will allow you to be more ready for when they arrive.
PhD success is built on work.
The happy accident can happen. You can be in the right place at the right time. When all things are considered though, you put yourself in that happy place with the decisions, determination and dedication in your work.
Hard work takes you to the viva. You can’t pass by being lucky. You will pass through your own efforts.
PS: One way you can remind yourself of all the good you’ve done would be by playing How You Got Here, a reflective writing game about the PhD journey that’s part of the Viva Help Bundle – a collection of helpful viva prep resources on sale for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023 – that’s today!
The viva isn’t hard to understand. You do the research over years, write your thesis probably over months and then talk with your examiners for a few hours.
In the viva itself you’re discussing what you’ve done, what it means, what you can do and how you think. You’re showing that your skills and knowledge are enough and that the work you’ve done makes a difference.
This is all simple to understand.
That doesn’t mean it is easy to do.
All that work and effort is hard. The viva is a difficult challenge despite being so simple to grasp.
Partly this is due to the level that you’re working at. Partly it’s the unknown aspect of the viva. And partly it is because you will probably be nervous at your viva.
Your viva will most likely be a difficult challenge for you – but only difficult. You’ve come so far by becoming good at what you do. After all, that’s the only way you could have written and submitted a thesis.
It’s quite simple really.
PS: If you’re looking for simple, easy-to-follow advice about the viva and viva prep then check out the Viva Help Bundle of ebooks. A collection of three helpful resources, on sale for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023. Do check it out!
Today is the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who and as I’m a massive nerd that had to inspire today’s thoughts!
As a character, the Doctor is curious, helpful, determined and very, very clever – all things I believe that a PhD candidate and subsequent graduate have to be too!
When an actor has finished their time as the Doctor and someone else takes the role, the character regenerates: as an alien from another world, the Doctor has the power to cheat death, refresh themselves and change their appearance.
A PhD candidate can’t do that – but there is an element of regeneration that holds true. Regeneration in Doctor Who involves change, but also continuation. The Doctor continues with the same memories, the same knowledge and the same drive – even while so much about them changes.
As a PhD candidate becomes a doctor they undergo the same process too. More slowly perhaps but it definitely happens. A PhD journey is a slow process of regeneration for a candidate, becoming someone new while remaining fundamentally the same inside.
What differences do you see in yourself from the start of your PhD to now? How have those changes helped you as you go through the process of pursuing your research? And who might you be when you are finished?
What did you discover during your PhD journey? I don’t know if that’s a typical viva question, but reflecting in advance on your discoveries can help you realise just how fruitful your journey has been.
Discovery isn’t limited only to research ideas, methods, conclusions and questions. Discovery could be about you:
Reflect on everything you discovered during your PhD. There will be a lot and everything will have contributed to the success of your research – and the growth of you as a capable researcher.
Be careful when you come to generalise your probable viva experience.
Regulations, viva stories and hearing about vivas from your department all have a role to play in building up your personal expectations. Be sure you have enough suitable information to build your expectations.
This idea also counts for when you think about your work.
You can’t generalise past experiences and responses to your research directly to your viva. Seminars, and past discussions don’t dictate what your examiners might make of your research. If you’ve had tricky meetings or difficult conference talks in the past that doesn’t have to define your future viva experience.
Read regulations, ask people you can trust and build up a good picture of what to expect. Reflect on your journey and remember that you have grown throughout the process.
You are capable, you are good enough and you must have made something by now.
That’s a reasonable generalisation to make about someone close to their viva.
The viva is an ending but also sparks questions about where your research could go next.
At the viva there’s no expectation that you will continue in research after your PhD, but it’s reasonable for your examiners to ask you what those next steps might be. It’s important for you to take a little time to consider them before your viva.
Before you submit your thesis check and double-check that it says everything you want it to say.
Before your viva day take time to get ready: practical preparations and confidence building!
Before your viva begins spend a couple of moments breathing, reminding yourself that you have done everything you can to get ready and that you have done enough to pass your viva.
Before the end of your viva take a moment to see if there are any questions you want to ask your examiners.
And before you finish your PhD journey take a little time to really reflect on what the journey has meant to you.
It’s more than a book you’ve written or a piece of paper you get from your institution.