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Nathan

7 Questions To Help Make An Edited Bibliography

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I’ve advised candidates for a long time to think about making an edited bibliography as part of their viva preparations. Your research is based on a body of work: the edited bibliography is the skeleton you can identify supporting what you’ve done.

You could write it simply by thinking about what papers are important. If you need help, then try the following questions to start a list:

  1. What references have most informed your background reading?
  2. What references have most shaped your methods?
  3. What references have provided the most useful data or information?
  4. What references have helped you be sure about your conclusions?
  5. For each chapter of your thesis in turn, what references are most crucial to the material you present?
  6. Which papers do you need to remember?
  7. Which papers do you find it hard to remember?

Trim out any duplicates from the list this makes. Make sure you add the details of the authors, the journals, the year of publications. Then answer two questions for each reference: which chapter is it most relevant to? Why?

An edited bibliography can be a useful resource. I wonder if it’s even more useful when you’re creating it? Reflecting on where your research comes from is a valuable task in preparation for the viva.

Nathan

If & Then

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Hypothetical questions are a pain for PhD candidates thinking about their vivas.

If. If this happens, I’ll be stuck. If that happens, I won’t know what to do.

Except it’s not just if. There’s always a then. In worry, a candidate might not see it, but it’s always there. There is always a course of action. It might not be something you prefer. It might be tricky. It might be uncomfortable.

There is always something you can do.

  • If you find a typo, then you can correct it.
  • If you are forgetful, then you can write notes.
  • If you are worried about how to answer questions, then you can have a mock viva.
  • If you are concerned about your examiners, then you can research them.
  • If you aren’t sure about whether or not something is a normal part of the process, then you can check.

There are always hypothetical questions, and they always have actionable answers.

Nathan

Set Chief Needs

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“Set Chief Needs” is the neatest anagram of “Thesis Defence” – and also good viva prep advice!

Ahead of the viva consider what you need to be ready:

  • What do you need to feel confident?
  • How do you need to annotate your thesis?
  • What do you need to consider about your examiners?
  • What do you need from your supervisors?
  • What help do you need?
  • What papers do you need to re-read?
  • And so on!

Set Chief Needs works well…

…far better than Send Fit Cheeses…

Nathan

What If You Have No Community?

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At workshops I often advise people to talk to their colleagues when preparing for the viva:

  • Ask about their viva experiences to get a sense of what vivas are like;
  • Offer to take someone for coffee and use the time to chat about your research;
  • Find out about other research in your field.

Simply: you have to pass the viva by yourself, but you can get a lot of help from others.

At a recent workshop, someone chatted to me afterwards, “That sounds great, but I’m a part-time researcher. I’m not based on campus. I only come in to see my supervisor. I don’t really know anyone in my department. What can I do?”

I had to think for a few minutes. Over the years I’ve tried to clear out my own biases of what a PhD is. I was full-time, funded, had a shared office in a busy department, compulsory development programme – and I learned soon after my PhD that wasn’t always the case.

Still, I felt safe to assume that everyone has colleagues they can talk to. But what if you don’t?

I don’t have definite ideas, but here are some initial suggestions:

  • Email recent graduates, introduce yourself and ask about their viva experiences.
  • Decide to give a seminar about your work, a PhD in sixty minutes with time for questions. Invite people to come.
  • Ask academics in your department about their process when they take on the role of examiner.

I hope these thoughts help. I doubt that the person who chatted to me is unique. I’ll be thinking about this topic more in the coming months. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions too!

Nathan

Pros & Cons

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It can be useful to think through the pros and cons of different things related to your viva:

  • Whether you start preparing for the viva a month or two weeks before the viva…
  • Whether or not you try for an examiner who you’ve cited in your bibliography…
  • Whether or not your supervisor will be present on the day…
  • Whether or not you have a mock viva…

Some you can weigh up and get a clear idea of what to do. Some aren’t so clear. Is it better or worse to have an expert in your field examine your thesis? Should you create summaries of every chapter?

There are pros and cons for everything. Sometimes they lead you to a clear answer, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut feeling.

At some point you have to take action. Whatever the pros and cons, however clear the issue, you still get to choose the course you take.

Nathan

The Longcut

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I like this term. The longcut is the anti-shortcut. The longcut doesn’t cut corners or take chances with success. It’s slow, patient and persistent.

You didn’t take shortcuts with your research. You didn’t take shortcuts with writing your thesis. When you come to get ready for the viva, you don’t want to take shortcuts, you want longcuts. You want to do good work that will help you be certain of being ready.

Don’t skim your thesis the day before. Don’t rely on the bare minimum. Don’t just think about what might happen.

If you’re busy, still make time. Think about what will make a difference, make a plan and do work to get yourself ready for success.

Take the longcut.

Nathan

Good Luck Charms

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If it helps, why wouldn’t you have something lucky with you in the viva?

My good day socks were a story I told myself for years – “wear these socks and it will be a good day” – my viva, difficult meetings, the first time I ran workshops. There were so many situations where it made me feel better. I know people who wore a particular outfit to the viva because it was like armour to them, or a superhero costume. It added that extra something that helps them to feel better.

If you tell yourself the story that these clothes, this teddy, this piece of jewellery or whatever will help then you make sure to have them.

But it’s only a story – and there’s another one nearly reaching a conclusion.

You showed up. And kept showing up. You did the work and you did it well. You’ve written a thesis, and know your stuff. It’s not make-believe.

A few years ago I stopped telling myself the story of my good day socks, because I didn’t need it any more. If you do, that’s fine: good luck charms can help and help is good.

But don’t forget the other story: you did the work and you did it well. You can do well in the viva too.

Nathan

Enthusiasm

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You can be enthusiastic for the viva and also feel nervous about it too. They’re not mutually exclusive states. Rather than think of ways to combat nervousness, could you think of ways to boost your enthusiasm?

To my mind, there’s lots of reasons to be enthusiastic about the viva.

It’s the final test! You’ve written a thesis! You are talented to be there!

Of course, I have a different perspective on the viva. The reasons I can think of to be enthusiastic might or might not help you.

So what would?

Nathan

A Lack Of Silver Bullets

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I was halfway through a short workshop on project planning. I was sharing a process researchers could use to outline their projects. At the coffee break a young researcher came to me and politely explained he was going to leave before we started the second half. “This is all very interesting,” he said, “But I just want a silver bullet. I don’t want a process, I want something that solves it all for me.”

I thanked him for coming, told him of course he should go if he felt that way – but also shared that in my experience there was no such thing as a silver bullet for project planning, no magic thing that just sorted it out.

Convenience is nice, but there aren’t a lot of silver bullets lying around. Sometimes you can lean on advice or experience, but more often than not you just have to follow a process.

There’s a real lack of silver bullets when it comes to the viva.

There’s no silver bullet for prep. Nothing you can load up that answers every question. No silver bullet for confidence as you walk in.

But then there were no silver bullets to get you from the start of your PhD to submission and you did that. You don’t need them anyway. You needed time and effort and ideas and talent to get your thesis done and you did. You have all of those things when you prepare for the viva, and in the viva too.

You don’t need a silver bullet now.

You just need you.

Nathan

Ten More Top Fives

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Earlier this year I shared a list post, Top Ten Top Fives, that had ideas on how to get started with thinking about the viva and viva prep. A simple setup, prompts to get ideas flowing and start making notes.

Today seemed like a good chance to add some more prompts:

  1. Top Five Academics Who Would Be A Good External!
  2. Top Five Tips You’ve Heard For Viva Prep!
  3. Top Five Expectations For Viva Day!
  4. Top Five Questions You Think You’ll Be Asked!
  5. Top Five Help Requests You Can Make!
  6. Top Five Questions For Your Supervisor In Preparation!
  7. Top Five Challenges You Overcame In Your PhD!
  8. Top Five Annotations You’re Going To Make In Your Thesis!
  9. Top Five Unanswered Questions From Your Research!
  10. Top Five Things You’ll Do To Celebrate Passing Your Viva!

There’s inertia to overcome with thinking about different aspects of the viva. A little nudge, a good prompt, can get things moving.

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