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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Assemble With Care

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It occurred to me recently that the viva is a little like flat pack furniture: a wardrobe or chest of drawers that you have to assemble from eighteen pieces of wood with three kinds of screw and two very similar looking types of dowel.

There are clear instructions for the viva, like flat pack furniture, but that doesn’t guarantee that it will be easy. It’s a challenge to get it done, takes a few hours usually and benefits from having others present to help – examiners in the case of the viva!

Like all good analogies, it breaks down when you stretch it too far. The viva is far more like a piece of bespoke furniture, one of a kind even if it follows a type or form. The viva is always brought together by very skilled people.

To bring it back to flat pack furniture, the viva is better when it’s assembled with care. Take time to know what you need to do and how you can do it well.

Nathan

Things The Viva Isn’t

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It’s not a quiz.

You need to know a lot, of course, but you’re not expected to have rapid recall or a photographic memory of your research and your thesis.

It’s not an interview.

You might choose to dress smart, but you’ve not applied for a position. The focus and purpose of the viva are radically different.

It’s not a game.

The people involved have roles but aren’t players. There are rules to be followed but there aren’t moves to make or best strategies to employ.

It’s not a question and answer session.

There are going to be lots of questions but the structure and flow is not simply question and answer, question and answer.

 

The viva is an exam.

The viva is a discussion.

The viva is a challenge, but one you can prepare for.

The viva is one more day to demonstrate your capability as a researcher.

Nathan

Taking Your Time

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There’s a time frame for completing your PhD, for preparing for the viva and for engaging with it on the day. Each is measured differently of course! Years for a PhD, weeks for preparation, hours for the viva. You might feel busy or pressured, but with all of these stages of the journey you can take your time.

In the viva particularly you can take your time. It’s not a quick fire quiz. It’s not scoring points. The questions are not random and the questioners are not unknown. The process is clear, even if every question is not known ahead of time. Pause, think, respond. Engage with your examiners’ questions.

Take your time. Nobody really wants a four hour viva – I know from personal experience! – but however long your viva is will be right for you. It will be what was needed, driven by the number of questions your examiners have and how you approach them.

Take your time. You do not need to rush to finish, now that everything is nearly done.

Nathan

Starting

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Starting the viva could make you feel a minute or two of nervousness. Your examiners will know this might be the case, so will respond accordingly. Simple questions to get things started. Perhaps a presentation, requested in advance, to give you a good way to begin.

Starting the viva is not the first thing you will do on viva day. Consider how you could plan ahead to begin your day well. Decide in advance how you will get to your viva. Decide in advance what you will wear to remove a decision from that day.

Starting the viva is a challenge, but not one that is wholly unknown to you. It is not something for which you have no experience to prepare you. Reflect on what you know about the viva and what you have done that can help you.

Starting the viva is almost the end of your PhD. Remind yourself that you could not have got this far by being lucky or by being unskilled. You must be good by this stage of the journey.

Nathan

What You Wish For

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Be careful what you wish for your viva, because you have no direct control of what will happen. Wishing for this question or that direction of conversation, for a certain length or a particular comment is a distraction.

Be careful what you wish for, because you can draw your attention away from the work you’ve done, the preparations you’ve made and the confidence you’re building.

Learn about general viva expectations. Check the regulations. Ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences. Then get back to getting ready.

Nathan

The Room Was Hot

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For all the prep I did, it never occurred to me to think about where my viva was going to be.

It was early June, but a warm week. The seminar room, which I was very familiar with, was on the side of the maths building that got the sun first thing in the morning.

When we started at 10am it was already warm. Two hours later and it was hot.

It was another two hours before we finished.

By then it was almost unbearable!

 

The location for your viva might be a small thing to consider next to your thesis contribution and all the preparation you might do, but it is still something to think about. You will know where it is in advance and can then think about what you need to do in order to be at your best in that room.

What could you do? What could you take? How might you dress? What do you need to do to help that space be a good one for you to work in?

Once you know the location, think about what – if anything – you need to do in response. It’s a small thing, but thinking about it can really help with your viva.

Nathan

Beneath The Surface

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Beneath the surface of the viva is a conversation. For all the importance it has, it’s a discussion and one you can prepare for.

Beneath the surface of your thesis is a contribution. Across thousands of words you tell the story of what you did, what it means and why it matters.

Beneath the surface of you, the candidate, is a real human being. Not perfect, but certainly capable, knowledgeable and experienced.

Beneath the surface of your nervousness, assuming you feel it, is a highly capable researcher who can share their contribution through a conversation. We wrap layers of importance and association around what a viva is, what a thesis must have and what being a good candidate means.

Beneath the surface of all of this are simple thoughts that help.

Nathan

Examiner Selection

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You don’t get to choose your examiners. You might be asked for your opinion but ultimately, your supervisors will decide. They have the responsibility of nominating the two people who will examiner your thesis and convene your viva.

You don’t get to choose – but you might be able to steer the selection. You can put names forward, and it’s worth doing so. If your supervisors already have a good idea then ask them to share that with you. Ask them to explain why these choices are good ones for you; not to dissuade them but to build your confidence that they are the best choices for your viva.

You don’t get to choose. When your examiners are selected you can always find out more about them. You can be certain they are good candidates – in the same way that you are a good candidate. You can learn about them to get a sense of their perspective.

You don’t get to choose but that doesn’t have a big impact on how ready you will be to talk with them on viva day.

Nathan

Reading Your Thesis

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When you read your thesis before submission you’re trying to make it better. Each draft moves your research towards a better state of presentation. Each revision helps you tell the story of your work in a more polished way. You want to find typos, unclear writing and places that need a little help.

When you read your thesis after submission you’re trying to prepare for the viva. Each time you read moves you closer to a state of being ready. Every minute of careful reading helps you build yourself up for discussing your research with your examiners. You don’t want to find typos, unclear writing or places that need a little help!

So don’t look for them. If you find them, make a note, but focus on what matters. Focus on the flow of words and ideas. Focus on what you set out as important.

To help the transition between the periods before and after submission take a break. Leave your thesis alone for a few weeks, if you can. Come back to it with a refreshed mind. Take your time and read it carefully.

Nathan

How Many References?

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How many references do you need in a thesis bibliography?

A recent webinar participant was concerned because others were disclosing that their bibliographies contained hundreds and hundreds of references. The participant’s bibliography had far fewer. Their question, from a place of worry and concern, was quite natural to ask.

The most simple response to this concern, how many references do I need?, is to say: you need enough. The actual number varies according to someone’s discipline, the nature of their research, their supervisor’s guidance and many other factors.

 

In some regards, bibliography size doesn’t matter. You need what you need to support your research, both doing the work and writing it up in your thesis. If it takes a lot, it takes a lot. If you need five hundred references then that’s what was needed.

Bibliography size does matter for viva prep because you still have to consider that information to get ready. 500 papers is a lot to mull over, but then so is 200 – or even one hundred!

To prepare well you have to consider which references help your research the most. Which ones do you need to be mindful of for your viva? What do you need to consider to narrow your focus from hundreds of papers to, say, the top ten that have supported your research?

Bibliography size matters – and it doesn’t matter at all. Make sure you know what you need to for your viva. Make sure you steer your focus where it helps you.

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