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Tag: viva experiences

Nathan

The R Expectations

Daily Post

Information about viva experiences can be presented in different ways.

I did a survey some years ago that showed that approximately half of vivas were less than two hours. How do we turn that information into a useful expectation?

  • There’s a fifty-fifty chance your viva will be over in two hours!
  • You just can’t know what’s going to happen.
  • Hope you’ll be done in two hours – but you might not be!

None of these are helpful!

There are three words to keep in mind when framing expectations:

  • Is the framing relevant? Does it practically help?
  • Is the framing reasonable? Does it match common sense ways of thinking – so as to be accepted as useful?
  • Is the framing realistic? Does it agree with the information?

Approximately 50% of viva are less than two hours. How can we share an expectation to help someone?

How about: Expect your viva to be at least two hours: it might be shorter, but you can prepare for the potential effort.

This is a big expectation for the viva, based on a lot of data and experiences. It helps to try to express things clearly and concisely. I keep the three Rs in mind when sharing general viva expectations, but they help when sharing your experience too.

When trying to share your story or viva experience, consider whether what you’re saying is relevant, reasonable and realistic.

Nathan

Assemble With Care

Daily Post

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

Starting

Daily Post

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

Now I Forget

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I remember checking in with my supervisor half an hour before my viva and asking him about a key definition. I don’t remember seeing him at all later that day, but he must have been there. Right?

I shared an office with four other people at the time, but don’t recall any of them being there on my viva day. Isn’t that strange? A Monday in early June and no-one was around. Did that happen? Or do I just not remember?

I started my viva with a presentation. I remember my examiners asking me questions almost immediately, as I was sharing a summary. I remember difficult questions about my explanation for some results. However, I don’t remember any questions at all about the key result of my thesis. Isn’t that strange?

I remember passing but have a hole in my memory until that evening, a celebratory dinner in a restaurant with my family. I don’t know if my examiners gave me a list of corrections after my viva. I don’t know if I saw any friends around the department. I don’t know if I called or texted anyone to let them know I was done.

 

I’m starting to forget my viva. I remember a story, a fragment of what happened, but not the day.

Maybe it means my viva really wasn’t that big a deal compared to everything else in my PhD. Maybe it means I’ve finally finished thinking about that day – unlikely as that may seem!

Why am I sharing this? To offer a little perspective, for those who have their viva in the future. It matters. Your viva is important. But it won’t be the most important thing you ever do.

The viva is one day on your journey to getting your PhD.

And maybe one day you’ll realise you’ve forgotten all about it.

Nathan

Agreeing

Daily Post

The viva is a discussion. Questions are asked to prompt and probe; responses are given to move the conversation along. Your examiners ask questions and make comments to explore your research and your capability.

If your examiners disagree with you in the viva: ask them questions if needed, then listen and figure out what – if anything – you have to say in response.

And if your examiners agree with you in the viva, then the process is the same: ask them questions if needed, then listen and figure out what – if anything – you have to say in response.

It’s understandable why any candidate might worry about examiners disagreeing with them. It’s helpful to remember that disagreement does not mean failure. It’s helpful to remember that you can engage with critical questions and comments; that’s what you’re supposed to do as part of the viva.

It’s also helpful to remember that the vast majority of vivas are successful.

Nathan

The Expectations That Matter

Daily Post

It’s not length of the viva or asking for breaks.

It’s not the opening questions or depth of discussion.

It’s not the number of corrections or when you know the result.

Knowing about all of these things help, but the expectations that really matter are knowing that you are good enough. Knowing that your examiners have prepared. Knowing that you have prepared. Knowing that you’re overwhelmingly likely to succeed.

There are lots of expectations for the viva. There are ranges for many of them and having a sense of what to expect from that variety can give you a sense of what to expect. While you wonder about viva lengths and questions though, pay attention to expectations for you, your examiners, your preparations and your success.

Focus on the expectations that matter.

Nathan

Map, Compass, Landmarks

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A map can show you all of an area, but to use it well you need either a compass or to have sight of some landmarks. The map won’t show every detail, but can show things that you can’t otherwise see. A compass helps to give you a direction to follow. Landmarks are useful to highlight your position.

This situation is, in some ways, similar to how someone can get a feel for what the viva is like.

The regulations for your university show a lot, but to really get a sense of what they mean in practice you need to find out about the general experiences of PhD candidates – or find out more specifically about vivas in your department. Regulations describe the big picture. Viva stories can help you to understand what to expect – and knowing about vivas in your department can help you see the hyperlocal practice where you are.

Regulations help you to map out the way things are supposed to be. Viva stories give you a direction to follow. Stories from your department give you the landmarks to know exactly where you are.

Nathan

Midsummer

Daily Post

Today is the longest day of the year in the UK.

More hours of daylight. The shortest night. A special date in the calendar.

And just one more day.

Your viva could be the longest exam you’ve had. More concentration than any occasion in recent memory. An important date in your diary.

And like midsummer it’s just one more day.

Important – and then tomorrow rolls around.

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