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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

It Depends

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There are many questions asked about the viva to which a response has to begin with, “It depends…”

  • Is it best to have an expert in my research area for an examiner? – It depends on what you think about the situation, what your supervisor advises and whether someone is available.
  • When should I start preparing for my viva? – It depends on how busy you are, how big your thesis is and how you want to approach things. There’s general advice but you have to tailor things to your situation.
  • Should I have a mock viva? – It depends on your relationship with your supervisor, your schedule and how you want to prepare.
  • Will I have an independent chair at my viva? – It depends on the regulations for your institution, and perhaps on who your examiners are.

And the list goes on.

There is lots of advice and good practice related to the viva. There are many general expectations. But so much depends on the candidate, their research, their thesis and their life.

When you ask for viva advice or look for help, think about how things change when it connects to your situation.

Nathan

When You Don’t Know

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What would you do if you went blank or froze or could only think “I don’t know”?

It’s a situation you wouldn’t want; it could even be stressful. It’s reasonable to think about it before the viva but unhelpful to worry about it – particularly because there’s a lot you could do in that situation.

You could pause, take a moment to think and then respond. Your first response might be “I don’t know” but perhaps another moment of thinking will help you find more to say.

You could briefly reflect on why you don’t know something. Different reasons prompt different actions. Perhaps you can check your thesis. Perhaps you can ask a question. Perhaps, after reflection, you can just say “I don’t know”.

You could take a moment to think: even if you don’t know, you can share something with your examiners that will demonstrate your knowledge or skills in an appropriate way.

It’s good to reflect on this possible situation before the viva. It could be stressful, but there’s a lot you could do – if it happens at all.

Nathan

Plan For The Unexpected

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Plan your viva prep. Take a sheet of paper when you submit and spend ten minutes thinking about how you would space out the work that you need to do.

When will you start? Will a month investing an hour most days be enough to manage what you need to complete? Or is it better for you – your life, your preferences, your needs – to focus and invest more over a shorter period of time, say two weeks?

There’s no right or wrong time period to take for viva prep.

Whatever you decide, give yourself some wiggle room in your plans. Give yourself a margin of error, because something will go wrong. An unexpected emergency. Something you forgot in your diary. Or a thing you didn’t notice in your thesis that needs a little more thought.

Plan your viva prep – but expect the unexpected!

Nathan

Time And The Viva

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“How long is the viva?”

It’s the number one question I have been asked in over twelve years of doing work related to the viva.

The most appropriate response I feel that I can give is to say that two to three hours is quite common; consequently it helps a candidate to be ready to talk and focus for that length of time.

The quickest response is to say that I don’t know and the person won’t know until their viva!

Perhaps the truest response would be that it doesn’t matter in the big picture: a viva takes as long as is needed.

And one more response: it may take hours but it might not feel like that. You could be so engaged and deep in conversation that the question of how long it is taking just slips away.

Nathan

The Wild West Viva

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Stereotypes of 1800s western towns are often invoked when it seems like “anything could happen” but that’s really not the case for your viva.

  • Regulations have to be kept to, and can be known well in advance by everyone involved.
  • General expectations for the viva are created by past experiences and the stories people share.
  • You can’t know questions in advance but you can anticipate what might be discussed.
  • You don’t know the outcome until it’s over, but you can have a reasonable belief in success.

Examiners can’t do what they want. Vivas aren’t random or subject to the whims of fate. Read the regulations for your university and ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences. All of this is far more helpful than focussing on the unknown aspects of your viva – or worrying that your examiners might strike you down at high noon!

Nathan

Up Your Sleeve

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You don’t need to be magical to do well in your viva. You don’t need a hidden card with notes up your sleeve or to be able to divine your examiners’ questions before they ask them. You don’t need to be able to perform feats of wonder to astonish all onlookers.

You only need exactly what every good magician has: the right skillset, knowledge and practice.

You can develop all of these over the course of a PhD journey.

No magic words. No hidden talents. Nothing up your sleeve.

You are more than capable of producing what you need at your viva.

Nathan

The Chair

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It’s not good or bad to have an independent chair at your viva.

Independent chairs are not examiners. They’re often a senior member of staff from your institution who is mostly acting as an observer. In your experience of the viva, it will be like having a teeny-tiny audience making notes. They won’t ask you any questions about your work.

They might ask examiners to move on from a topic if they think enough time has been spent. They might ask if anyone wants to take a break. But really their job is to observe and ensure that your viva is a fair process.

Not every viva has an independent chair. They’re sometimes used if an examiner has less experience. They’re sometimes used as a kind of quality control, checking that vivas are held in a fair way. Some departments or universities always use independent chairs because that’s what their regulations say. An internal examiner can take on some of these responsibilities, which is why independent chairs are not a universal part of the viva experience in the UK.

The best thing any candidate can do is find out in advance what the situation might be for their viva. It’s not good or bad for you: it’s just something to be aware of and something to consider as you prepare for your viva.

Nathan

It Doesn’t Matter

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Lots of things matter about the viva and how you succeed at it, but lots of thing really don’t.

It doesn’t matter if you have typos in your thesis, not really. Do your best to proofread and eliminate them, but be prepared to complete corrections after the viva.

It doesn’t matter if you missed a “key” reference from your field. You might have to think about it. You might have to talk about it. But how many more things have you read?

It doesn’t matter if your examiners are experts or not – and it doesn’t matter if you have cited them or not. Whoever your examiners are, they will be professional, they will be prepared and they will be ready to examine you.

It doesn’t matter if your viva is two hours or three hours or longer, except in terms of how tired you feel and whether you need to do something to prepare for that investment of time and energy. Long vivas don’t lead to more corrections.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re nervous. It might not feel comfortable and it could be distracting, but recognising that your viva matters, i.e., being nervous, won’t stop you from succeeding. Work to build your confidence and you’ll see that nervousness is just one more detail of your viva experience.

Nathan

Comments & Corrections

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A comment from one of your examiners does not automatically become a correction that you have to make to your thesis. A correction you receive is not always something that needs to be commented on in the viva.

A comment doesn’t mean that something is “wrong” – it could be something interesting to talk about. A correction doesn’t mean that something is “wrong” either – it could be a typo or it could be needed to create a clearer piece of writing.

Comments and corrections have to be expected as part of the viva process. Your research and your thesis are not perfect and that’s OK.

You can expect to receive comments and corrections and also expect your examiners to think that your work is good.

Nathan

If You Forget

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Forgetting something in the viva could happen to any candidate. It’s a reasonable thing to worry about, even if there realistically wouldn’t be a great consequence to a minor lapse in memory.

It’s reasonable to worry about forgetting; if you do then you have to take action to help yourself get past the worry. There’s a lot you could do:

  • Mark out the start of chapters to make your thesis easier to navigate.
  • Mark key sections so you can find important details.
  • Highlight or underline parts of your thesis that you might want to quote.
  • Create summaries of important information.
  • Practise responding to questions to gain comfort for the viva.

There really is a lot you could do if you worry about forgetting something in the viva – and all of this work is part of regular viva preparation!

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