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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

“What Does This Mean?”

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Four words that can feel very loaded in the viva.

If your examiners ask does that mean your thesis didn’t say it? Or was there a mistake? Or…?

In truth, “What does this mean?” could be a simple way to start a new topic. It could be a question that seeks clarity. Or a small question to start exploring something more deeply.

With the importance of the viva it’s easy to see how it can be received as a difficult and troubling question. Your examiners could just want to know more.

“What does this mean?” is a simple question, asked for many reasons.

Nathan

Not As Expected

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If things don’t go as planned you have to act.

  • If your research doesn’t go as planned, what do you do instead?
  • If the first choice for your external examiner isn’t available who do you ask?
  • If your mock viva has to be cancelled what do you do now?
  • And if your viva doesn’t follow expectations in some way, what do you do?

You always have to do something. It’s important to remember that you always have agency. The unexpected shows up and you have to do something and you do and then you move on to the next thing.

You might need to ask for help or information. You might even need to check the regulations but, regardless, if something doesn’t follow your plan or expectations you’ll need to do something.

You can do your best, take action and move forward – and remember that while some things don’t go as expected a lot does work out.

Remind yourself of your effort and your impact and be thankful if you can for all the things in your PhD journey that worked out as planned.

 

PS: If you’re looking for more viva help and advice in the coming months then follow my Eventbrite page to get notified of future independent webinars like Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva. Dates coming soon!

Nathan

Varieties Of Questions

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There can be lots of questions at a viva.

Some will be easy but many could be hard.

A question could be asked very simply but have a complicated response – and vice versa.

You can definitely expect certain questions and also know that some will be completely unknown to you.

Some will be quick and others long.

A response could be yes or no, true or false or a small essay of words.

 

There are lots of types of questions that can come up at the viva but all have a few things in common.

They’re fair.

They’re reasonable.

They’re always asked with a purpose in mind.

And they’re all a part of the process of getting you to say more, show more and engage with your examiners.

Nathan

Exceptional

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There are viva regulations for your institution, general experiences from the massive number of vivas that happen every year and the particular practices of your department. Together, these combine to give a picture of what to expect at the viva. You can have a good sense of what a viva is supposed to be like by taking all of these into account.

There are always exceptions.

Most vivas have two examiners – apart from the ones that have three. Most examiners are academics at other universities – apart from the ones that aren’t. Most vivas up to 2020 were in-person – apart from the ones that weren’t, and then apart from all the ones that suddenly weren’t!

Your viva might be exceptional too. You might have done something a little different in your research or created outputs that most PhD candidates would not. Your thesis might be different. Your viva day might start differently. You could have requirements that many candidates never think about.

Exceptions change the viva but don’t change the purpose. Exceptions might shape your viva but they don’t alter the overall process.

Vivas are always unique and the exceptional people who have them are uniquely positioned to succeed whatever the circumstances.

Nathan

Sooner Or Later

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“It’s never too late to find out more, but you might have felt better if you’d found out sooner.”

There are many parts to the viva process: expectations, regulations, culture, ideas for prep and confidence and more. Right up until the moment you enter the viva you have opportunities to do something to help you feel more ready and better about the viva.

You don’t need to do everything and you don’t need to rush to do it all now. You can make a difference a day, an hour or a minute before your viva.

But you might feel better if you did something sooner.

 

PS: One thing that might help you feel better about your viva is to make a summary as part of your viva preparations. Summaries help you to focus, to think ahead about what you’ll need to talk about in the viva and can help you reflect on the best parts of your PhD and research. Summaries are also the topic of this month’s Viva Survivors Select, out now and available via my Payhip store 🙂

Nathan

Describing The Viva

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The viva is an exam.

The viva is a discussion.

The viva is a challenge.

The viva is almost-but-not-quite the end.

The viva is a part of the process.

The viva is regulated.

The viva is a milestone.

The viva is an event that you can prepare for.

The viva is a few hours on one day.

What words are you using to describe your viva? How do you think they’re influencing you?

Nathan

Nasty

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Do you think your examiners would ask a harsh question at the viva? If you think yes, why?

If you think yes, what do you think it would be about?

And if you think yes, how likely do you really think it is?

 

I don’t think it’s common for candidates to worry about particularly nasty questions, but for candidates who do the worry is particularly nasty. If it’s on your mind, don’t wait to find out if your fears will come true at the viva.

Talk to someone. Talk to your supervisor. Review anything and everything related to the topic of the question.

Questions at the viva shouldn’t be nasty but if you’re worried, don’t wait: do something to help yourself.

Nathan

The Time

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If your viva begins at 2pm there might be a limit on how long your viva could be.

If your viva starts at 10am that doesn’t make you more likely to be discussing your work still when the sun sets.

Wondering about viva length is a distraction. It doesn’t correlate to anything useful about the outcome. It is helpful to get a sense of viva length to manage your expectations. If you have concerns about being present for a long time because of health reasons then you can figure out what you need to make the viva fair for you.

Long viva, short viva or somewhere-in-between-viva, the time you’re in the viva is very, very short compared to the rest of your PhD: all the time you’ve invested in becoming good and doing something good.

Nathan

Similar, Not The Same

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If you hear five viva stories from different people you will spot common threads and notice differences.

If you hear five viva stories from people in your department you will notice examination practices and understand why they are different.

Every viva is different.

Every viva is influenced by regulations, expectations and departmental practices.

You viva will be similar to others, but can’t be the same.

Nathan

Point By Point

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Your examiners will have a lot of questions for you at your viva, along with various comments they will make.

You won’t know them in advance. You can get a sense of what to expect by consulting resources, talking with your supervisors and reflecting on your research. Anything you are asked is purely to help drive the discussion forward and create a space where your examiners can explore you and your work.

 

All of this could make someone feel intimidated but here’s the important thing to remember: you only have to respond to one question or comment at a time. Your examiners don’t serve you twenty questions to start the viva and expect you to keep track of them all. You aren’t given a sheet of comments to work through.

One at a time, point by point, you respond to what your examiners need so that they can confidently say you are good enough.

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