Daily viva help for PhDs
What were the best references that supported your research?
Who were the most helpful people who have supported you?
What practices have you used for getting things done?
Whatever your best sources of support – whether they’re papers, people or practices – it’s a good idea to think about them as you get ready. In some cases, it might be a good idea to consult or use them one more time.
You did the work but everyone needs support.
Make a list of five papers you could read as part of your viva prep.
Make a list of five pages you’d like to be able to find easily in your thesis.
Make a list of five people you could talk to about your research.
Make a list of five days you could take a small break (even an hour) in the coming weeks.
Make a list of five questions you could write about before your viva.
Five lists with five points on each. They won’t take long to think or record.
Twenty-five helpful actions or activities you could do as part of your viva preparations, ready to go.
PS: Looking for more practical viva prep ideas? Explore June’s issue of Viva Survivors Select, my monthly viva help zine where I curate posts from the Viva Survivors archive!
Creating a summary of part of your thesis or research is a big win for viva prep.
A summary is an opportunity to gather your thoughts. You can take a little time to focus on something that matters.
A summary is a small project to make a helpful resource. You benefit from the mental effort to get it done and again by having something to refer to afterwards.
Take time to create a few summaries during your viva prep period. Think about what really matters in your work and what you might need to focus on in your viva to get started.
Your viva might be uncomfortable at times. Engaging with the discussion. Taking your time. Thinking and responding to questions you hadn’t considered. Simply the act of being there, being examined on something that you have invested years of work in.
Remember though:
You can be uncomfortable, but you’ll be OK. Learn what to expect, prepare and build your confidence.
From research I’ve done in the past I estimate that 75% of vivas are finished by the three-hour mark. The vast majority of candidates pass and around 90% of candidates are asked to complete some form of correction, with most of those being minor corrections.
Knowing the stats helps but preparing helps even more. It’s good to know that you’re likely to succeed but far better to know that you’re ready. Learn about what vivas are like and then invest your time in preparation.
Percentages help a little, preparation helps a lot.
PS: If you want to know more about the viva and what to do to get ready then follow my Eventbrite page to get notified of future independent webinars like Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva. Dates coming soon!
Who does your significant original contribution matter the most to? Does your explanation of your research change depending on your audience?
Reflect on who your work is for and what it might mean to different groups of people. This could help a lot when it comes to unpacking and explaining your research to your examiners.
PS: Need more ideas for reflecting on your research? Check out the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select, my curated viva help zine that digs into the Viva Survivors archive!
Words matter.
If you think part of your research has a weakness then how do you describe it to others?
Can you think of it as a limitation? Was it necessary given the circumstances?
Was the “weakness” a decision that you had to make? Was it a measured choice between alternatives?
If you had to make a change or adaptation due to circumstances does that make a difference to how you talk about it?
It’s OK to talk about things that could be better. It’s better, especially ahead of the viva, to think about how best to express it.
Words matter – both for how they’re heard by others and for how they have an impact on the speaker.
There’s a relatively small chance that a question at the viva could make you feel like you’re in an emergency.
If your first thought is “I don’t know” or “Aaaaaargh!” it can be hard to figure out how to respond.
Here’s the best advice I can give for those moments: do exactly what you’ve been doing for the non-emergency and non-stressful questions.
Whatever the question or comment from your examiners: pause, think it through and then respond. Your response could be an answer, an opinion, sharing an idea or asking a question.
If the question is really simple: pause, think and respond.
If the question is complex: pause, think and respond.
If the question makes you think “Aaaargh!”: pause, think and respond.
You don’t need an answer for everything. You do need to engage with every question.
Having one process that you can follow for simple questions and stressful questions makes it easier for you to follow and engage with the discussion in the viva.
Questions can be complicated. Your process for responding to them doesn’t need to be.
It’s reasonable to be concerned about unexpected questions, but those aren’t the most difficult topics or questions. You probably already know the most difficult topics that would come up at your viva.
What don’t you want to talk about? What do you struggle to remember? What might be controversial in your research?
Difficult topics are the kinds of things to take your time with in preparation and in the viva. There’s time. There’s no need to rush but if a difficult topic comes up at the viva there is a need to talk about it.
If you know a difficult topic ahead of your viva then prepare. Ask for help, ask your supervisor, rehearse by discussing the area and taking questions. Don’t try to ignore it. Don’t simply hope that it won’t come up.
The viva is a big deal. Consequently viva prep can feel like a big deal too.
Viva prep isn’t trivial but the emotions and pressures of the viva and the end of the PhD – not to mention a busy daily life – could make viva prep time feel stressful.
One of the simplest ways to remove stress from viva prep is to plan it out. Sketch a plan when you submit. How would you space the work out? You can know what you need to do – there is a lot of information about it on this blog! – so by sketching a plan you can get a feel for how you can do the work given your situation and preferences.
Planning ahead isn’t the only way to approach viva prep. It is probably the path to getting the work done with the least stress.
PS: Looking for more viva prep help? Dig deeper into the topic with the third issue of Viva Survivors Select, my viva help zine of curated posts from the Viva Survivors archive!