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Nathan

First & Final

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My work – the sessions I run, the things I write and do – is focussed on the final year viva. The last big milestone of the PhD journey. But earlier in a postgraduate researcher’s story there might be another viva.

It’s sometimes called a first-year viva, a transfer review or some other set of words that means we’re checking in that you’re on track now that you’ve been doing this for a while.

I don’t know a lot about them.

A lot of what motivates the final viva is comparable to the first-year viva. My knowledge is limited though and I can’t offer the same certainties: I don’t know about expectations for lengths or questions. I can make educated guesses; the best people to talk to are the people you know already. Your supervisors and your friends who have been through the process. Local knowledge is going to beat anything that the person on the internet can say.

 

A participant at a webinar last year asked me, “What do I do about my final viva if I had a bad experience at my first-year viva?”

It was a brave and generous question. Brave because even in a webinar it can be hard to share something like that. Generous because they were probably not the only person to have a bad experience during their PhD, at their first-year viva or otherwise, and their question allowed a space to talk about that issue.

I didn’t know a lot about that person. I knew nothing about their first-year viva. I felt confident saying this though:

“You don’t have to be defined by that one experience. That happened. But that doesn’t have to be what you take forward. That doesn’t have to be the thing you keep in mind for your final viva. It was probably hard, but you can move past that. Despite that you kept going. Focus on that instead. Your first-year viva and your final viva are two completely different events, with different people involved. And now you are a different person to who you were then. Focus on everything you’ve achieved over the course of your PhD, and not one day that didn’t go to plan. Keep going.”

Well, I said something like that! I wish I had had this set of particular words arranged just so on that day a few months ago.

I offer them here instead, in case they can help anyone else.

If your first-year viva was tough, or if you had another difficult meeting or conversation during your PhD, remember: that was then and now you’re not the same person.

You’ve done more, know more and can do more. You’ve done enough to prove yourself. Keep going and succeed in the viva.

Nathan

Prepare For The Challenge

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The viva is most likely the final challenge of your PhD. Corrections are work, but in most cases they’re simply editing or amending what you’ve already finished. The viva is the big thing you need to focus on and get ready for.

So prepare. Find out what’s involved. You have a lot of skill and knowledge when you submit: you need to know how to apply that to the challenge. You need to know what the viva is all about. You need to know how you can be your best in that situation.

You’ve risen to so many challenges over the course of your PhD. You can rise to and succeed at this final one.

Take a little time to get ready. That’s all you need.

Nathan

Winning The Viva

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When your viva is all done there’s no gold medal for no corrections. You don’t get a little asterisk on your certificate for minor corrections.

No corrections, minor corrections, major corrections. Different outcomes that mean the same thing: you’ve passed.

Different outcomes mean different amounts of work involved. It’s worth knowing what the different outcomes mean in terms of deadlines for completion or the scale of work involved. It’s worth getting a sense of what your supervisors think about how likely different outcomes are (and for what reasons).

No corrections, minor corrections, major corrections: you’ve passed.

Nathan

Two Pictures

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I wanted to call this post…

The Picture In My Head Is Not The Picture In Your Head

…but even I have my limits!

This phrase came to me recently when my daughter was trying to explain something from school. She was getting frustrated, starting to tire of my questions until just before she got angry I thought to say, “Sweetie, the picture in my head is not the picture in your head. I don’t understand yet what you mean, so I have to ask questions to try and imagine what you’re seeing.”

And she stopped and considered; then we started again and after a few more minutes there was understanding.

Your thesis has tens of thousands of words, and the picture it puts in your examiners’ heads may not match the picture you have in yours. So they have to ask questions.

The picture of a viva in your mind might be muddled or unclear compared to the stories your friends tell you. Asking questions and listening to the responses helps.

Your description of your contribution to research, while clearly matching the picture in your head, may be lacking detail when a reader sees it in their mind.

The picture in my head is not the picture in your head. And the picture in your head is not the same as the picture in your examiners’ heads, your supervisor’s mind and so on.

Patient listening helps. Careful questions help. Practice before the viva helps your performance on the day.

You can’t simply will someone to see the picture you see.

You can learn how to guide someone to a closer understanding of your picture though.

Nathan

Setting Expectations

Daily Post

Happy New Year from Viva Survivors!

 

I’m often asked “What are vivas like?” I can help with that, as can a candidate’s friends and colleagues. No-one can guarantee what a viva will be like beforehand but there are enough stories that we can piece together expectations.

Vivas tend to be a certain length; they tend to start with these sorts of questions; vivas are structured, and so on.

That’s one kind of expectation. Another kind are the expectations you have for yourself at the viva.

You will be prepared. You will pause when you hear a question. You will take your time to respond. You will use every opportunity to share your research.

 

There there are the big picture expectations you set for yourself. What kind of researcher do you want to be? How are you going to get your PhD finished? And what kind of person do you want to be?

There are pros and cons for setting New Year’s Resolutions, but I think it’s a good idea to start a new year by setting expectations for oneself. What do you want to demonstrate and do as you go through the next 365 days? How could you do that? What kind of a difference are you trying to make?

Here’s to a good year, with very best wishes from me and my family to you and yours 🙂

Nathan

Alone For The Viva

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Consider the movie Home Alone and the PhD viva, two very different things:

One of these things is a story about someone preparing to face two determined professionals in advance of a really important day. A particularly talented protagonist uses everything they know to be ready for the challenge ahead. They face uncertainty and mixed feelings about the situation, but very quickly become prepared despite a tight deadline. In the end, the challenge is resolved quickly and positively thanks to the protagonist’s talent and their preparations.

And the other thing is the movie Home Alone.

Nathan

It’s The Thought That Counts

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For Christmas gifts, even if the present is not quite what you wanted, when someone gives you something it really is the thought that counts. Someone took the time to think about you and wanted to do something that’s nice. It’s not quite right but it’s the thought that counts.

The same sentiment isn’t true for viva prep.

There’s lots of thinking involved – reading your thesis, rethinking as you check papers , considering what matters as you write a summary – but thinking alone isn’t enough for the viva. You have to speak. You have to engage with your examiners’ questions and respond.

You have to think to get ready but you also have to talk: mock vivas, conversations with friends and seminars could all be great ways to improve your confidence for engaging in the viva.

Simply thinking for your prep won’t be enough.

Nathan

Selecting Examiners

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I like things to be just right. I’m not fussy, I’m particular.

Which means I’m never satisfied by Christmas selection boxes: a collection of chocolate bars in one festive package. My grandmother would say, “You mustn’t eat them all at once or you’ll spoil your appetite!”

Well, I couldn’t eat them all at once. Because I didn’t like the bars with nuts in. And I wasn’t keen on the chewy one. And that other one has a funny texture…

So many treats aren’t to my taste even though there’s nothing wrong with them. I’ve not found a selection box that is just right for me.

For similar reasons I think many capable examiners would feel unsuitable for any candidate. There’s nothing wrong them, but their selection would feel wrong.

There are no universal criteria for good examiners. There are criteria that academics must satisfy  – a length of time in post or level of experience – but after that everything comes down to personal taste of the candidate.

Have you cited your examiners? That could feel right for some but not for others. Are they an expert in your field? A lot of candidates could find that scary! A friend of your supervisor? Is that really the best thing to focus on?

So much of what would make an examiner feel right to a candidate comes down to what matters to the candidate.

Fundamentally, you can’t choose your examiners but you can talk with your supervisor. You can make a case for what you think would work well. Reflect in advance on what you would ideally like.

  • What are you really looking for?
  • What criteria would make for someone who is close to perfect?
  • How do you find academics who meet your requirements?

Your supervisor will ultimately nominate your examiners but you can put forward ideas for the kinds of people who would be just right for you. Be particular.

Find the best selection for you.

Nathan

Show Your Working

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These three words were drilled into me in my former life as a mathematician. In solving a maths problem it wasn’t enough to find an answer, I had to show how I had got there. I couldn’t claim a result without proof.

“Show your working” is important for PhDs more generally, not just for low-dimensional topologists!

Postgraduate researchers show their working in their thesis, but then also in the viva. They have to explain their thinking, share the knowledge they have and demonstrate their ability.

A viva isn’t only about reciting facts. You have to show your working – but of course, by this stage, you must have a lot of experience doing that. Preparing for the viva is partly reviewing those experiences, and partly practising doing it one more time.

Show how you’ve worked in your viva – and show once again how you can do the work.

Nathan

Facts, Opinions, Hunches

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I know. I think. I feel.

There’s a place for all in the viva, potentially.

Some questions will hit a target made up of facts. Things you know. Things you have discovered.

For some questions you weigh up information against your experience and knowledge. You think and offer what you think is appropriate. Perhaps someone else could think differently.

Then you could be asked a question and you don’t have an answer. You have nothing to weigh up. Instead you could offer what your gut feeling says. A hunch you can’t shake. This could be right or wrong – and there might be no way of anyone knowing.

You can know, think or feel in the viva. In all cases you have to be clear. Be clear with what you’re saying to your examiners. Be clear in your own mind so that you don’t confuse yourself.

Listen to the question, pause and then see: do you know, think or feel your response?

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