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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

False Hopes

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Don’t hope for a short viva. Don’t hope for no corrections. Don’t hope that your examiners “go easy on you”.

Don’t hope they tell you the outcome at the start. Don’t hope they have no comments. Don’t hope you won’t be worried or nervous.

Hope is a powerful thing, but you can do so much more than hope when it comes to your viva.

For some of the points above, you have no control at all: so why focus on them when there are things you can do something about? Better to put your efforts where they might do something. You can do a lot more than hope you won’t be nervous: you can act to work on what makes you nervous, and act to boost your confidence and offset anxieties.

Don’t hope for things you can’t control. Do more than hope for things that you can. Put your focus on more than hope.

Nathan

17% Uncomfortable

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That’s my prediction for your viva.

You know your research, you wrote your thesis, you’ve prepared for the day. You’re reasonably confident, not arrogant, slight flutter of nerves because it’s important. There’s a few moments of worry – you don’t know what your examiners think, what they’re going to ask, if you’ll go blank on something or not – but you can probably feel pretty comfortable with the situation.

I would hope that you feel only a little uncomfortable, just a little, because when you think rationally you know why and how you’ve got this far. 17% uncomfortable means that you’re doing well.

And if you’re feeling more uncomfortable than that, what are you going to do about it? Who are you going to ask for help? What actions are you going to take?

Nathan

Intentions & Experiences

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Examiners have intentions for vivas: questions they might want to ask, a tone or atmosphere they want to encourage.

Candidates have experiences in vivas: a mix of the reality of the situation and how they feel about it during and afterwards.

Of course, examiner intentions feed into candidate experiences. Over time they create the culture that future candidates come to expect.

The overall feeling I get from candidates is that vivas are a bit scary, a bit uncertain, probably something to worry about. The overall feeling I get from graduates is that vivas aren’t as scary as they seemed to be, and while they require action and preparation they’re typically not something to be stressed about.

So we need to steer the culture.

Academics need to be asked more about their general approaches to vivas. Graduates need to be asked about their experiences in vivas. The details need to filter out so that a more thorough picture emerges. Candidates need to hear about experiences and intentions – examiners do too – and over time we can steer the expectations so that they match the overall reality of the viva.

But for today, if your viva is coming up, ask your supervisor what they do to get ready for a viva. What questions are in their mind? What approach do they take? Ask PhD graduates from your department what their viva was like. How did they prepare? How were they feeling? And what happened on the day?

Nathan

Viva Advantages

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There are lots of things in your favour when you go to meet your examiners!

  • The conversation is about your research, which you know better than anyone.
  • Your examiners have read your thesis, but you wrote your thesis.
  • You can annotate your thesis to help details stand out in the viva.
  • You can rehearse being in the viva.
  • You can decide in advance how to approach responding to questions.
  • And finally you have extremely relevant talent, knowledge and experience.

Individually, these are helpful for viva day. Combined, they mean you have a lot of advantages to meet any challenges you’ll face in your viva.

Nathan

A Reminder About Viva Nerves

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Nerves don’t mean there’s something wrong. They’re just a symptom of you noticing that the viva is a big day.

Your viva is important, so you probably feel nervous as a consequence. Nothing more.

Prepare for your viva, because it is important. Do what you can to find confidence, because while confidence won’t banish nerves, it will help to keep them in check.

Acknowledge that your viva nerves are there. An anticipation of an important event. Nothing more.

Nathan

The PhD Epilogue

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After the final act, the climactic battle between good and evil, heroes and villains clashing, a white knuckle adventure with thrills and chills…

…there’s corrections.

It’s always worth remembering that for most candidates the PhD process does not end with the viva and a little paperwork. After your viva – which, white-knuckle-or-not, comes after weeks of preparation and years of work – there will probably be a few more weeks of work while you finalise your thesis. You remove any typos, tweak a few paragraphs, add something here and there.

A little epilogue when the battle is done (and won!) but where the hero has to think about what they’ve learned, and leave their adventure behind. Perhaps they find a new adventure, maybe they retire to a different life or return to what they knew before.

Don’t forget about this period. Look forward to it if you can.

A short time to finish things, to calm down, to recover, to find your feet before adventure calls again and you start on a new journey.

Nathan

Typical Amounts Of Time

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PhDs typically take between three and seven years to complete in the UK.

Thesis examinations happen around two or three months after submission.

Vivas are usually 90 minutes to two-and-a-half hours long.

And all of these things are typical, but not representative of your experience at all. They’re common, but not even close to universal: averages and groupings that don’t respect the variety of experiences in postgraduate research.

In all of these different situations, it’s perhaps best not to focus on how long something is taking – How much longer? When will I be done? When will this be finished? – and instead divert yourself to action. Your thesis submission deadline might be a stressful milestone in some cases, but you don’t have to have that pressure waiting for you in the viva.

Stop watching the clock, start doing something. What can you do to help yourself? Don’t worry about how long your viva might be: what can you do in the viva to help yourself, or what can you do to prepare well?

Nathan

Forecasting

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When it’s going to rain, take an umbrella.

If it’s due to be cold, wrap up warm.

If there’s ice on the path, take care!

Sensible advice that many can follow, partly because weather forecasting has got pretty good. More data helps to create more reliable predictions, which helps direct advice for those who need it.

The forecast for vivas, and the advice that follows, can also be viewed similarly, but comes in two parts. First, general advice, because there are general expectations for vivas – the atmosphere, the intentions, the needs, the outcomes, and so on. Vivas happen in certain ways, so it follows there are general preparations to make.

The second part is your unique circumstances. There are things you need to do for the viva, and things you need to do for yourself. Generally, you might need to read your thesis, learn a little about the process and your examiners, and reflect on how you’ve got this far. But specifically, for yourself, you might have to write a particular summary, or have a mock viva, or wear something that helps you to feel confident.

In both cases, there is lots of data to help you forecast: information about vivas and information about yourself. It’s up to you to interpret that data, see where it leads you, and act accordingly.

What’s your viva equivalent of taking an umbrella?

Nathan

You Must Be This Tall To Ride

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Amusement park signs have never bothered me.

I’m tall and I don’t like rollercoasters. Those signs with arrows indicating heights have always been for someone else. My daughter, however, is six, and tall for her age, but short for the signs. “You can’t go on this one, it’s not for you, not yet, not now.” Tears of frustration follow, until another diversion is found.

Frustration and sometimes tears show up around the end of a PhD too. Frustration brought on by fear, worry, anxiety – candidates wondering if they’ve hit the mark. Has their thesis passed the test? Have they done enough? It’s not wrong to wonder, it’s natural given how important everything is at that stage. The thesis, the PhD, the effort that goes into them – your efforts – they’re all important.

It takes time for children to grow so that they pass the arrow on a rollercoaster sign. Academia doesn’t print any signs like that, but they’re there, invisible, and probably behind you now as you head towards the end of your PhD…

You Must Be This Good To Viva.

And to get as far as you have, you must be good enough.

Nathan

Take A Break

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Take breaks while you’re doing your PhD to help you get through. Take breaks while preparing for your viva so that you can keep things in perspective. Take breaks in the viva (it’s OK to ask for them!) for whatever reason you need them.

Breaks don’t solve everything, but they can help. Use them.

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