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Tag: the PhD journey

Nathan

Important Past Dates

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A companion post to these thoughts from November 2024!

The first day of your PhD: it was a long time ago and you’ve come a long way since then.

Your first supervisory meeting: whatever your relationship over the course of your PhD, you’ve grown as a result of your supervisor.

The first new thing that clicked: do you remember the moment when you made a significant connection?

Your biggest setback: what happened and what did you do as a result?

When you finished your first draft of your first chapter: how did it feel to get it done?

The final problem: why was it a problem? How did you solve it?

Looking back over all of these, whether you remember exact dates or not, the important thing is that you have grown. You were good at the start of your PhD and you have become more.

Viva prep involves relatively simple work like reading and making notes. The more difficult work is to reflect on your journey, what happened, what it means and why it makes you exactly right for the challenge you’ll face at your viva.

Nathan

Mistakes Were Made

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Mistakes are a natural part of the PhD process.

They might happen by accident or through ignorance. You might make a mistake and learn from it. You might make a mistake and be confounded by it. You might have a mistake and not realise it. It could be inconsequential like a spelling miskate mistake or require a fundamental change to your thesis conclusions.

(thankfully, the latter is very rare!)

Mistakes are a regular part of the PhD and so talking about them in some form at the viva is almost guaranteed. There’s no set formula for responding to mistakes, but perhaps the closest thing might be to consider:

  • Why the mistake is a mistake;
  • How it might be resolved;
  • What you will do as a result.

Anyone can make a miskate mistake. It’s what you do as a result, depending on the situation, that matters.

Nathan

Up At The Top

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I like a good analogy, but have never been fully convinced of comparing the end of the PhD to reaching the top of a mountain. Yes, it might be an uphill struggle at times, but hopefully it won’t leave you exhausted, struggling for air and wearing many layers of extreme weather clothing!

The one element I like in the idea though is the view.

The view from the top of a mountain must be pretty special. The view from the end of the PhD is pretty impressive. Looking back and looking down you could see the route you’ve taken; you might remember challenges you’ve passed, the paths you navigated well and maybe even the places you had to take advice from others.

The viva is not quite the end of the PhD, not really, but like the top of a mountain it’s a good place to pause and check out the view.

How far you’ve come, how you got there – and possibly where you might go next.

Nathan

Differences Matter

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I couldn’t decide what to title this post. I was thinking about Differences Don’t Matter, then Differences Do Matter and then Do/Don’t! Maybe you can decide at the end which word seems best. Hopefully you’ll appreciate why this needed a little thought – and I’m still thinking 🙂

 

Some differences don’t matter when it comes to the viva and viva prep. Your thesis might be bigger than your friend’s, but you still just need to get ready. That difference doesn’t make a difference to the work involved.

You might have an examiner who is an expert whereas your friend had someone more general. They had their supervisor present but you feel that that’s not the right approach for you. These are differences, but do they alter the viva’s purpose or process? I don’t think so.

Of course, two big and important caveats:

  • differences like those above might matter to you because they do change things for you. A larger thesis or a different format might change how you need to approach your prep. Examiner A or Examiner B might change the situation for you.
  • some differences might necessarily have an impact to time, resources and the approach you take; if you have particular requirements that need to be met for your viva or viva prep – for any reason – then that could change the situation for you compared to someone else.

Maybe it’s as simple as this: differences don’t change the what or the why of the viva and viva prep. You still need to get ready. The purpose and general process of the viva remain unchanged. Some aspects just are.

Differences could likely change the how of the viva or viva prep: a specific approach might be particular to you or any other individual. Your needs might alter a very practical element of your prep or the viva day. Sometimes a difference could be as simple as how you feel – and what you might then need to do as a result.

Nathan

Your Best Is Enough

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If you can honestly say that you tried hard, learned lots and did the work for your PhD then that’s enough. If you can say that despite challenges and obstacles, setbacks and worse, that you did your best throughout your PhD then that’s enough.

Your determination, knowledge and capability helped you to keep going. That will help you to get ready for your viva.

Ultimately, it’s what will lead you to succeed in your viva.

Your best is enough.

Nathan

Some Examiners

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Some examiners say harsh things…

Some examiners don’t prepare well…

Some examiners treat the viva as box-ticking…

Some examiners use the viva as an opportunity to be cruel…

I can’t dispute the possibility of these kinds of statements. I’ve heard them before and I’ve heard fragments of enough stories to know that these statements are true.

…for some examiners.

Not all. Not most. In fact, only for a tiny percentage.

The vast majority of academics who take on an examiner responsibility try to do it well. The vast majority prepare and plan and get ready. They’re careful and thorough. Being asked questions might not always be comfortable – but the atmosphere in the viva is not totally dictated by examiners.

Some examiners could be described as not doing the job well.

Most examiners will do what’s appropriate.

Don’t let the rare exception skew your expectations.

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2024: Reflections

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Day two of my best of posts for 2024. I am very fortunate to have time to think about and write about the viva.

I like to try and consider the viva from as many angles as possible, which leads to posts like today’s that reflect on the overall viva experience.

How have you been thinking about your viva over the last year? And how do you think you might need to change your thinking?

Nathan

And Then What?

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It’s not unusual to feel that the viva is a bit of an anticlimax.

It takes a lot to submit a thesis. It takes work to prepare for a viva. There’s a lot of anticipation and a lot of feelings-

-and then it’s over.

Two, three or four hours. They could be tough. They could be a nice chat. The viva could feel long or short. The questions could be a natural part of a conversation or feel like a challenging exercise.

But your viva will be over before you know it. You’ll most likely succeed.

Then what?

 

It’s one day. A few hours of one day. One challenge after years of challenges.

Get the viva in the right perspective. Find out what other people experience so you know what you can reasonably expect. Plan to do something to celebrate so that even if the viva makes you say, “…was that it?!” you still have something to look forward to.

Nathan

A Good Time

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What would make your viva a good experience?

  • Do you need your examiners to praise you?
  • Do you want the viva to be short?
  • Do you need to be able to talk about certain parts of your research?
  • Do you want to be asked about only certain topics?

None of the above are irrational. Many of them might be beyond your control though.

Your viva can be a good experience. Focus on being prepared, not on the aspects that you can’t know or can’t control.

Nathan

Bumbling Along

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There was a time when I would have described my PhD journey as incredibly lucky. Somehow, I made it through.

I had months where it seemed like nothing worked. Weeks where I couldn’t figure out how to get something simple done.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I arrived at viva time and felt a lack of confidence in myself. How could I feel good about my chances of success when I had somehow bumbled my way to submission?

I had a little confidence that my thesis had some good results – but what about me? Was I any good?

 

Sixteen years later, a little hindsight and a lot of self-reflection and I feel differently.

I wasn’t perfect but I worked hard. It wasn’t luck that got me through but I had my share of good fortune. I had funding, I had a good supervisor and I found topics to explore that lead to interesting results. I developed myself and my research.

But I didn’t see it that way at the time. I just kept thinking, because of all the challenges in my projects, that somehow I was “luckily” making it through.

If you’re looking for confidence for your viva start by reflecting on the journey. Recognise the work you’ve done. Appreciate the good fortune you’ve encountered. Highlight the success that you have made.

There’s no way you can get to submission by simply bumbling along.

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