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Tag: viva experiences

Nathan

Absence of Expectations

Daily Post

I don’t know what to expect.

An absence of viva expectations still gives someone something to expect: they expect the unknown, the scary, the negative. If you don’t know what to expect for your viva you’ll probably feel that it’s going to be bad.

I’m always happy to respond to questions in webinars or over email and help people build up a picture of the viva…

…but I’m always slightly sad that they’ve not asked someone sooner. I’m sad that they’ve let themselves get stressed so much. They’ve not realised that there are many others around them they could probably ask for help.

If you don’t know what to expect then that’s your cue to find out more. Don’t continue to sit with the scary feeling that something bad is probably going to happen at your viva.

Nathan

What To Expect

Daily Post

Viva expectations are hard to pin down sometimes.

Every viva experience is different, but there are patterns in the stories. Viva regulations vary between institutions but there is consistency around key practices.

More than anything you can build up a general impression of the tone of vivas; you can get an idea of what areas are discussed and what topics examiners focus on. You can get a better sense of all this if you get a feel of what vivas are like in your department or your research area.

It’s important to remember that expectations aren’t guarantees. Past experiences don’t automatically drive future events.

Expectations are a feeling: you feel that your viva will likely go a certain way. Ask enough questions, read enough regulations, see enough stories and you can get a good sense of what your viva will be like. Eventually you know what to expect.

Nathan

Take Time To Speak

Daily Post

The viva is not a quiz, an interview, a game show or a Q&A.

It’s a discussion: your examiners have prepared and you’ve prepared. They will facilitate a conversation about your research, your thesis, your contribution, your capability and anything that they think is relevant.

They have questions but aren’t limited to them. They have key points but might want to talk about a lot more. It depends on what you say, what strikes them in the moment and what needs to be talked about.

Take your time in the viva. There’s no rush. There’s no time limit for each question. There’s no perfect answer required for every question. No scripts to read from.

Take your time to think and take your time to speak. If your examiners have heard enough they’ll let you know. If they need more they’ll ask for more.

Take your time to do your best and make the most of your viva opportunity.

Nathan

Different To Expectations

Daily Post

Regulations, general experiences of PhD candidates and the more particular stories from people in your department create your viva expectations.

Every viva is unique, but yours won’t be a total unknown because it will follow – to some extent – the patterns of other vivas. Whatever you learn and whatever you come to believe, yours will not be a photocopy of the idea you have or a twin to a story someone else told you.

Find a balance for yourself in all this by getting ready.

A little knowledge (expectations) has to result in action (viva prep).

Having a mock viva isn’t a direct rehearsal for your actual viva: it’s not the dress rehearsal where everyone knows their lines – you’re getting a feel for the room, a feel for what it sounds like to be talking about your work and to be in discussion.

Your viva will necessarily be different to expectations – and in a way that you can’t expect!

All you can do is find out what you can, prepare as best you can and then keep going and being the determined, capable researcher that you are. That’s how you succeed.

Nathan

Healthy Expectations

Daily Post

Listening to horror stories, half-truths or suggestions by people with no direct understanding of vivas can skew your expectations drastically and negatively.

Only hearing about the viva from happy people who say you have nothing to worry about can mean you don’t have a full picture of the variety of viva experiences.

Healthy viva expectations give you knowledge, understanding and general awareness of the processes involved.

Healthy viva expectations are like the components of a healthy diet: they probably involve variety, they definitely require some tailoring to circumstances – and it’s always helpful to consider the source!

Nathan

The Expectations That Matter

Daily Post, Sabbatical

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.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 16th 2022.

Nathan

“What Can I Get You?”

Daily Post, Sabbatical

There’s no viva menu. You can’t sit down at your table and order it exactly as you like…

I’ll have a two-hour viva, plenty of praise, skip the bad stuff and go easy on the methodology questions. I don’t need a side-order of corrections, thanks!

Your examiners are not there to serve you what you want, but what the situation needs. Some of that might be unclear until the viva starts. Remember that you know what the raw ingredients are for the viva: you, your thesis, your talent, who your examiners are. You know what the process is trying to achieve, even if it’s not an à la carte experience.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on December 17th 2020.

Nathan

Once Upon A Time

Daily Post, Sabbatical

There’s a fairytale aspect to the viva.

Generally there’s a rhythm and sense of how one will unfold. More often than not, a clear sense of beginning, middle and end, patterns by which the story comes together.

Only a few important people in the story, a clear protagonist, a series of challenges – though thankfully no goblins, ogres, giants or trolls.

And like fairytales, when you ask around you discover that nearly every viva has a happy ending.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on February 20th 2021.

Nathan

Types of Response

Daily Post, Sabbatical

You might not have an answer for every question in your viva.

But in response you could offer an opinion or share a thought. You could ask a question for clarity or reveal how you feel about a topic. You could have a hunch or hypothesis, or you could have nothing, and say simply, “I don’t know.”

Responding to questions or comments is a fundamental part of the viva – but remember that you don’t need an answer for everything.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on January 11th 2021.

Nathan

Show Your Working

Daily Post, Sabbatical

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.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on December 12th 2021.

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