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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

An Invitation

Daily Post

Your examiners are invited to be at your viva. Like most invitations they can decline if they need to or want to.

A viva is a much bigger commitment than the hours on the day for an examiner. If they accept and attend it’s because, more than anything, they find the invitation to be compelling. There is something about your work as it’s been presented that makes them think it will be a good use of their time.

Reflect on what your examiners might be seeing in your work. Focus on that as part of your preparations. How can you share your research with them? What do you need to do to be prepared? And how can you make sure that the invitation they’ve said yes to results in a good experience for them?

When you have ideas for that question you’ll also have ideas for what will help the viva to be a good experience for you too.

Nathan

Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy

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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!

Nathan

Preparing For A Video Viva

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Since 2020 video vivas have become much more common, first as a necessity and then later as an accepted part of practice. If you have one soon or are wondering whether it might be a good option for you, consider the following as a list of things you might do in preparation:

  • Read the regulations. Check which software you are expected to use and whether there are special requests to make in order to have a video viva.
  • Talk to friends. Find people from your department who have recently had a video viva and ask them what the experience was like. Find out if they have any particular advice.
  • Practise! Take time to get a feel for the software if your Zoom or Teams knowledge is a little rusty. Use the software to remind yourself of the rhythms of video chats.
  • Make a good space for yourself. If you will be at home then consider how you could make your environment a helpful one. Make sure you have enough space to work well. Consider your needs and how you can meet them.

Finally, remind yourself that a video viva is not a secondary or lesser option for the viva. It’s a proven process and just a little different from talking in person.

There can be difficulties with signal delays or adjusting to the constraints of a video chat, but also many opportunities that might make it the best option for you.

Nathan

Together

Daily Post

That’s how a viva happens: you need to have your examiners there. You can’t do it alone.

Before your viva:

  • Be sure you know who your examiners are and what they have done. Checking their recent papers will be enough.
  • Rehearse for being in the viva with some kind of practice like a mock viva.
  • Check your institution’s regulations and learn about viva expectations to get a sense of the roles of your examiners, their responsibilities and your responsibilities.

You need your examiners in order to have a viva, for the discussion to take place and for your success to be confirmed.

 

PS: One more thing that will help is the Viva Help Bundle – three great resources including a book of the best of Viva Survivors, a guide to 101 actions you can take to have a great viva and a reflective writing game about the PhD journey. The Viva Help Bundle is available at a special price of £6 until November 30th 2023. Please do take a look!

Nathan

Your Questions

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The viva is a discussion but as your work and capability is being assessed most of the questions will flow from your examiners. Their questions will prompt response and the discussion that follows.

You have the opportunity to ask questions though: if there are things you want to discuss, opinions you want to check or ideas you want to explore then take the time to ask.

In preparation for the viva take some time to think about what you might ask. What opinions would you really value? What aspects of your work do you want to talk about? And as this is a limited opportunity, which questions would you prioritise asking?

Nathan

Verbs In The Viva

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At your viva will you face your examiners?

Will they confront you with questions?

And will you challenge their comments or criticisms?

In that small group will you talk or debate or discuss?

Do you have to answer every question? Or will you feel more comfortable as you respond to the questions and the conversation?

 

Words matter. Verbs mean different things. The words you use to describe your viva, your examiners and what you’ll do when you meet them can make a great difference to how you prepare, how you feel and how you behave on the day.

Find the right verbs for the situation.

Nathan

Generalisations

Daily Post

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

Exploring Objections

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It’s reasonable to expect that examiners might object to something in a thesis.

In all the many words you’ve written – the ideas, results and conclusions, and the chapters, methods and formatting – in all of this there’s a chance there’s something they might object to.

Does an objection mean there is something “wrong”? Does it mean you need to make changes? Does it mean you need to apologise?

No, not necessarily; it would be rare for something to need an apology!

An objection needs to be understood first. You might need to ask questions if the comment or point isn’t clear. You might need to think. You might need to read or check something in your thesis. And it’s possible that you can’t simply give a short, quick response to an objection.

You need to understand what the objection is, then respond to it.

And that could be it. That could be all you need to do. It could be that you need to add a sentence to your thesis. It could be that you just need to explain your thoughts because they weren’t clear on the page.

Objections: understand, then respond.

Nathan

Cracking The Code

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Information about the viva sometimes seems hidden but that doesn’t mean you can’t figure out what it all means.

  • Read the regulations for how vivas are conducted. What do you need to do?
  • Look for stories of viva success to see common expectations. What’s helpful to know?
  • Ask your friends about their recent experiences to explore common practices in your department. What can you prepare for?

There’s no secret code or process to the viva. It’s not hidden, the information is out there, but if you don’t explore and ask then you might find yourself wondering how to decode the rumours you hear.

Nathan

Responding To A Problem

Daily Post

As you prepare for your viva you might come across a problem in your thesis.

I don’t mean a typo or a simple bit of editing that you’ve missed: typos and clunky sentences can still be understood, even if they’re undesirable. You could underline them and correct them later after your viva.

A problem is different.

Maybe it’s not immediately obvious what’s wrong, but you can just tell that something isn’t right. Maybe you understand what’s wrong but it will be tricky to correct. And on top of that, maybe you’re concerned because this is a problem in something that you’ve submitted and you’re going to have a conversation about this very soon!

Deep breath.

And another.

OK. Now move forward.

If you find a problem, first of all pause, reflect and review.

What’s the situation? What do you understand or not? Can you do something about this?

If you can understand it all, then make a plan. Do you need to do something practically or just make notes? Is this going to be a big piece of work or something small? And how could you approach this in the viva? Can you wait to see if your examiners bring it up, or do you need to raise the topic?

Do the work, whatever it is, depending on the situation.

A problem found during your viva prep is not the end. It’s the start of a series of actions to resolve the situation. And though a problem might stand out there’s a lot more of your thesis that is absolutely what it should be and a lot you can do to resolve anything that needs your attention now.

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