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Tag: the PhD journey

Nathan

Regeneration

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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?

Nathan

Discovery

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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:

  • What did you learn you liked?
  • What did you learn you were good at?
  • What skills did you develop?
  • What talents did you discover in yourself?

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.

Nathan

Generalisations

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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.

Nathan

New Beginnings

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The viva is an ending but also sparks questions about where your research could go next.

  • What could someone do with your work, now that your thesis is finished?
  • What would be the next steps for your research if you had the option to continue?
  • What new ideas did you not have the space to explore during your PhD?

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.

Nathan

Before You Finish

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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.

Nathan

Unfinished Projects

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Your PhD thesis and your success at the viva don’t rest on you doing “all the things”. You need enough of the right outputs and outcomes for your research to demonstrate that you’ve achieved PhD status.

If you have unfinished projects and they worry you or occupy your thoughts, consider:

  • Unfinished now doesn’t mean unfinished forever. As you complete your PhD it could help to make sure your work is left in a state where you can pick it up again some day.
  • Unfinished doesn’t mean that you didn’t learn something. What ideas grew out of that effort? Did any of it make a difference to your thesis?
  • Unfinished could invite questions. If the pandemic or something else stopped your progress that could be a topic for discussion in the viva. Or if you made a choice to focus in another way that’s also interesting and worth talking about.

Remember that a project that’s unfinished now could remain unfinished forever. As you finish your PhD you could be leaving something behind. That could also lead to mixed feelings for you.

Take time to resolve your emotions either way, so you don’t carry them with you longer than you need to.

Nathan

Forever

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That’s how long your thesis will be finished.

Once it’s done, it’s done.

Maybe it will be a physical book on a shelf in the library or a file downloaded by researchers. It could be appreciated for many years to come.

Perhaps it will only be looked at by a few – and perhaps, like me, you wonder who else your thesis is for…

 

Whatever the case, if it’s going to be finished forever, make it as good as you can.

Do your best when writing it and then listen to the suggestions and requests of your examiners. Corrections are the most likely outcome for the viva because writing is hard. After the viva you have one final chance to make any sensible, realistic changes to your thesis.

Because then it will be done. Forever.

Nathan

It Takes Time

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The PhD, the viva, your prep, the discussion, the decision, coming to terms with what it means to have achieved after you pass…

”It takes time” is a phrase that can be applied to every aspect of everything to do with the viva.

It could be years, minutes or seconds, but there is time involved and a necessary passage of it. There might be pressure at different stages of your PhD journey, but no rush unless you make it that way.

Take your time to do whatever stage you’re at as well as you can.

Nathan

On Worry Tummy

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Worry Tummy – that’s what we call nerves and apprehension in our house.

That’s what my daughter called it. Over time my wife and I took it on as part of the “secret language” of our family – the in-jokes, portmanteaus and phrases that probably don’t make sense outside of our little context.

But worry tummy is hopefully clear enough.

 

Worry tummy is the general feeling of apprehension that bubbles up when an event is imminent and you’re not really sure you feel ready for it.

Perhaps you don’t have a good enough sense of what it will be like and consequently don’t know if you can meet the challenge. Perhaps you know a little but can’t feel sure that you are ready or that you’ll enjoy it.

Often, worry tummy occurs when there is almost no chance of avoiding the situation at all, making it doubly difficult to deal with.

 

I imagine that worry tummy is more common in the very young than people working towards a PhD! If there was one educational event that could cause worry tummy in people past their teens it’s the viva.

The last exam of the final degree. Talked about in hushed tones and rumours. The viva isn’t clear most of the time so how could you know if you are up to the challenge?

By finding out more. By reflecting on your journey. By realising just how good you must be to get this far.

 

It’s not wrong to experience worry tummy at any age – or to feel nervous about your viva.

Whatever you call it, whatever you feel, there’s a reason for that feeling.

And if you don’t like it, you can do something about it.

Nathan

Black Cats, Ladders and Spilled Salt

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The date and other omens of “bad luck” don’t need to weigh too heavily on you ahead of your viva. Success is not due to luck. You don’t need to ward off bad luck by crossing the road to avoid a dark feline or throw salt over your left shoulder if you’re clumsy in the kitchen.

You don’t need a talisman or something lucky in the viva either. You need to have worked hard for years. You need to have learned about what to expect. You need to have prepared.

Typically, those are not too much to expect in advance of a viva.

You don’t need good luck for your viva, but you might need a good story. You might need to think again about how you got this far. You might need to remember what you did and recognise it for the confidence it can inspire.

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