You Are Here

Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Average, Normal, Typical

Daily Post

We can’t really talk about the average viva. We could calculate mean lengths, modal questions asked and so on, but it wouldn’t amount to much.

There’s far too much variety in research for us to make claims about a normal viva either. There are norms within disciplines and departments that arise from specific practices, but they have to be explored by candidates in their communities.

The typical viva is knowable though.

It’s typical to have two examiners, one internal and one external. It’s typical for a viva to be between two and three hours in length. It’s typical to expect everyone present to be prepared. The most common outcome for the viva is minor corrections.

Average makes the viva sound predictable (and dull). Normal implies there is a “right” process for all vivas. Typical reminds us that there are common expectations. Neither normal or average, they just are.

Nathan

Both

Daily Post

The viva is a challenge. The majority of candidates pass.

Candidates are talented because of the time and work spent on their PhDs. Candidates need to take time after submission to prepare for the viva.

Most candidates are nervous. Most candidates feel confident.

 

Challenging but passing. Talented but taking the time to get ready. Nervous and confident.

We have to accept these strange dualities; often, with these seemingly contradictory states and feelings about the viva, it’s the case that both are true.

Nathan

Reframe

Daily Post

As you prepare for your viva, consider your thesis as the record of your research.

You followed a method or were guided by a particular reference. Why? What did that give you? What if you had followed another method? What if you used a difference reference?

Reframing could help you to see other possibilities – not better, but maybe not worse. Something different.

Reframing could help you add more evidence for your thinking: now you are even more certain you made the right choice.

This kind of reframing can open your mind to questions from your examiners. They might ask you to consider other perspectives. They will probably ask questions to gain a better  understanding of your perspective. The more practice you have before the viva, the more comfortable this could be when you meet your examiners.

Nathan

Just OK

Daily Post

Be aware that there’s a chance your viva won’t be amazing.

It’s likely it won’t be terrible or exhausting. It’s highly improbable for your examiners to be unprofessional or unfair. And it’s certainly true that the viva can be an enjoyable experience.

But it could be just OK.

Fine.

So-so.

Meh.

I’m glad that lots of candidates enjoy their viva. I’m sad that some people, like me, feel their viva is an anticlimax. I don’t know what can be done to set expectations for the emotional experience that candidates might have.

At the very least consider it as a possibility.

There’s a good chance you will enjoy your viva! It’s unlikely you will hate it. But it could end up just OK.

Still, you’ll have passed. Then you can move on to the next step of your journey.

Nathan

Candidate or Thesis

Daily Post

A fairly common question about the viva, asked by someone who has to pass one in their near future, is whether or not it’s an exam of the candidate or their thesis.

“Is it me or my book?” – and the answer is both.

  • The candidate is being examined to see if they are a capable researcher; have they done enough? Do they know enough?
  • The thesis is being examined to see if it has what it needs; does it meet expectations? Does it have everything that a thesis in that field is supposed to have?

The candidate wrote the thesis, but on the day both have to be good.

Both typically are.

Nathan

In Your Way

Daily Post

Time or work pressure.

Not knowing what to expect.

Being unsure of how to prepare.

Hearing stories that create doubt.

There can be lots of obstacles in your way of getting ready for the way. They’re real, they are barriers. You can still be ready, but only you can take the steps to get these things out of your way.

You have to make a small piece of time for yourself. You have to find out what to expect. You can learn what to do to prepare. You can ask for more viva stories that help.

You can and you must deal with anything in your way of getting ready for the viva.

Nathan

The Numbers Game

Daily Post

95% of vivas are finished by the four-hour mark.

I estimate that less than one-in-ten candidates will be asked to prepare a presentation.

Around 85% of candidates are asked to complete minor corrections to their thesis as the formal outcome of the viva.

Approximately 10% could be told the outcome of the viva as they start the exam.

And as useful as these statistics can be sometimes for shaping expectations, they’re also really hard to give someone a game plan for the viva. Lots of overlapping ideas – and while they create a feeling to hope for or engage with, you can’t know what is going to happen until you’re there.

The statistics help but you can’t play that game. You have to focus much more simply.

Use the stats and the stories of friends to create a picture of the viva that honestly seems fine. Then do your best. Create the best thesis you can. Prepare as best you can. Boost your confidence as best you can. Start the viva well. Keep going.

It’s important to have good expectations for the viva but the numbers can be a distraction. Create good expectations for yourself too.

Nathan

What’s Your Worry?

Daily Post

Don’t keep your viva worry bottled up in your brain where you can merely be anxious about it.

Write it down. Tell a friend. Talk to your supervisor.

Your worry could be unfounded. Talking to someone who has had their viva or knows about the process could put your concerns in perspective. They could help you see what you can do to help yourself.

Your worry could be easily resolved. Being clear with yourself and knowing what’s wrong and could allow you to move forwards.

Your worry could be a tough situation – in which case exploring what you could do and what you will do, possibly with support from others, will allow you to work past that worry.

It’s natural, given the importance of your viva, that you might have worries. If you do then you can also do something about them.

Nathan

Clumsy Paragraphs

Daily Post

Everyone writes them. Too-long sentences or a missing conclusion. Half-finished thoughts or poorly-punctuated points.

Despite your best efforts, you might not find clumsy paragraphs in your thesis until after submission. Don’t stress too much, there’s a chance to get it right – two chances actually!

First in the viva, there’s the chance to set the record right with your examiners. Explain what you really meant and make it clear. They’ll listen. They might have questions or need things in more detail but you have the opportunity to get it right.

Your second chance is in your corrections. Most candidates have corrections to complete after the viva. This is a great opportunity to get your thesis as good as possible. Never perfect! But better.

In your preparations you have to do two things. Read your thesis carefully to see if something isn’t quite right – that’s the easy step. Step two, if you find something, is to hold on and accept that it’s going to be OK; the clumsy paragraph or section can be fixed but you have to wait for the viva to start that process.

It will be OK. Everyone makes mistakes. In the viva process everyone gets the chance to correct them.

Nathan

A Few Thoughts on Survive

Daily Post

After many years of working in this area I still think survive is the best verb to associate with the viva.

Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.

Survive doesn’t mean it’s going to be a struggle, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be hard.

Difficult is different for everyone. Manage might be harder or easier. Survive doesn’t come automatically.

The difficulty of the viva might be found in different things for different people.

Survive doesn’t mean you might not thrive in the viva. Survive doesn’t mean you will be scarred by the experience. Survive has a positive aspect for you: whatever the difficulty, whatever you did, you kept going.

Surviving doesn’t automatically mean the circumstances were bad. They were difficult. They were a challenge.

Not so great that you could not keep going.

1 … 51 52 53 54 55 … 104