Daily viva help for PhDs
If you’re unsure about some aspect of the viva – the process, expectations or even something as subjective as the tone – then the answer is simple:
Figure out what questions you need answers for, then find people who can answer them.
If you need to know something then you need to do something.
What will they ask?
What will they think?
What will they say?
How long will it take?
What corrections will I get?
What if I freeze?
What if I don’t know?
What if they don’t like it?
You can’t answer any of these questions before the viva. For some of them, there might not be an answer at all as circumstances don’t go that way. You can definitely spend your time thinking, maybe worrying about these problems, trying to anticipate different outcomes. That’s one approach.
Another approach would be to disregard these problems entirely. Instead, spend your time preparing for the viva and reminding yourself how you got this far.
Don’t make assumptions about why a question is being asked in the viva.
Don’t answer a question without listening and understanding it first.
Don’t bluff, evade or lie.
Don’t hope for a particular finish time.
Don’t expect the viva will be impossible.
Don’t expect it will be easy either.
Don’t go without being prepared.
Don’t discount all of the work you’ve done and the talent you must have.
Don’t forget to celebrate when you’re done.
What did you not put in your thesis?
As my submission got closer there were several ideas I worked on which didn’t make it into my thesis. One little project was just too big in the end, and I couldn’t find a way to explain it concisely. One I chose not to pursue because it was just a restatement of ideas in a different way. And one section was a nice idea that just wouldn’t add much to the overall value of my thesis.
Reflecting with years of hindsight: the reasons why I didn’t include something stand in stark contrast with the things that I did include in my thesis. My thesis made contributions to my field. I judged, with support from my supervisor, that the things I left out did not make a meaningful contribution compared to the things I kept in.
If you’re finishing your PhD, what are you leaving unwritten? Why is it staying out? How does it compare with the work that makes up your thesis?
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:
There’s inertia to overcome with thinking about different aspects of the viva. A little nudge, a good prompt, can get things moving.
I like Pat Thomson‘s recent post about looping. In it she describes a useful writing method to quickly expand on a topic, then reflect to distil down, before expanding again. It seems like a nicely structured approach to get yourself started on a topic, or begin exploring new ideas.
It strikes me that it would also be really neat for reflecting on your research as the viva gets closer:
I like Pat’s idea of reading through and thinking about everything that’s been written at the end too. An hour or so of writing and reflecting in this way could do a lot to get you exploring your thesis in a new way at the end of your PhD. A neat method for shaking off the cobwebs and seeing what else is in your work.
Pat’s a very generous academic, and shares brilliant ideas every week on her blog. I’d recommend you take a look at her past posts because I’m sure you’ll find something useful!
Most commonly it’s “the viva” but I’ve also heard people refer to it – the event, the exam – as thesis examination, thesis defence, defending your thesis and of course the full viva voce.
I’ve also heard people call the viva, for various reasons: the interrogation, the End, the final hurdle and “I can’t even say it, I’m just dreading it!”
All of these people are talking about the same thing, but all from different personal perspectives. Whatever label they attach, whatever word they use, influences and reinforces how they think about it.
If you label your viva as “my interrogation” then I can imagine you won’t be looking forward to it. “Thesis examination” is quite neutral, neither hot nor cold. If it’s “the End” it’s possible you’re not being negative about it, but maybe you are. The label – the name – you give to your viva, influences how you think about it…
…but you can change the name. It’s a choice. So if you feel negative about it now, perhaps finding out more about the viva can change that feeling. Getting better expectations – both of the event and how you could be prepared – can help you to find a better name for it.
It’s OK if you just name it “the viva.” It’s fine if you call it something else. But the name always means something.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is: pick the most helpful name that you can.
Heard of the feedback sandwich?
It’s when you tell someone something good about their presentation/book/paper/whatever, then offer something constructive or negative, followed by something good. Good-“bad”-good.
A feedback sandwich – it has another name, but this is a polite sort of blog…
This good-“bad”-good construct got me thinking about viva prep, and I wonder if there’s a useful sequence we could follow when getting ready for the viva. As a series of activities, maybe something like the following would be useful.
A viva prep sandwich, of sorts.
And perhaps tastier than the feedback sandwich, because you get to decide what it is made of?
There’s a simple, foolproof, two-step process for getting lots of potential viva questions:
Not every question you find from these results will be relevant. Some you can discard, some you can refine, some you will see connections that you could make more specific for your research.
Ask your supervisors, ask your friends and colleagues to see what they think. What questions are likely? What might they say? What do they want to ask you and how are they prepared to help you?
The goal is not to prepare an answer for every possible question: that’s an impossible task. Instead get a sense of what can come up. Through exploration you can become certain you are capable of answering questions in the viva.
I don’t have a magic wand or secret spell to help you get ready for the viva. It’s fun in something like Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons when the name of the spell almost literally describe what is going to happen. Expecto patronum, and whoosh, there’s a Patronus. Magic missile and, well, a magic missile!
Alas, viva preparation isn’t as simple as saying Read thesis with a wand flourish.
The magic of viva preparation is more like the witches in Macbeth. They take their time stirring ingredients together… Some thesis reading, a few hours of question practice, five chapters of annotation and let it simmer…
The magic of viva preparation is slow, patient, organised.
Still, if it worked… Preparo viva!