How to prepare for Phd VIVA

8/12/2019 How to prepare for Phd VIVA

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The Viva

HUL 810 Communication Skills

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Viva Voce- Living Voice or Oral Defense

Thoroughfare

Preceding experiences do not matter

Good thesis/ Bad viva

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Examiners Point of View

Rite of passage

Not perfection but good enough

They dont want unpleasant surprises Mastery under scrutiny

They want to discover that you made the right

choices

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Failure at Viva

Ignoring advice from guide

Damaged relationship with guide

Nervousness

Seminars/ presentations/ conferences/

publicationsdid not develop your thesisthrough these and therefore, failed to notice

oversights

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Before the Viva

How is/are your external/s chosen?

Dont be cynical

Did they read it properly? How readable is your thesis if they merely flip

through. (Introductory and concluding pages)

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The Spectrum of Success

Straight Pass

Pass with minor changes

Pass with major changes Recommended for a lower research degree

(eg. M.Phil.)

Fail

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On Viva Day

Pre-Viva meeting/s

The Summon

They know you will be nervous Opening gambits: To put you at ease

List of errors? Its a favour

Preliminary praise: How do you interpret it? Give an overview/ short presentation

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Straight Pass: The easy way

Clear from the start?

Customary questions only

Asked to fix a few typos and thats all

Not grilled?

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Minor Changes

Excavated using pointed questions

Q. Why didnt you consider this particular

perspective/theory/idea?

A. A matter of research trajectory/ scope/

consequences/ ignorance.

Engage in a debate after giving your reason.

- Add this explanation in your thesis.

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Major Changes

Identified a serious case of ignorance/ error/

omission/ discrepancy

Dangerzone: if you accept and agree/ state

how this can be corrected. (fail or allow

revision)

Dangerzone: If you are completely ignorant/

cant understand how it can be corrected. (the

next question is likely to be more difficult)

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The Fail

Thesis is carelessly composed/ submitted

prematurely

You are offensive/ ignorant

Literature Review is insufficient

Methodology is simplistic

Data is flawed/ obviously biased

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The End

Jury Discussion

List of changes (if any) [Ask if thy are vague]

If examiners cant reach consensus, yourpublished work might be considered as

supporting material (rare case)

Congratulations Dr./ Doctorandus/

Doctoranda

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Surviving and Winning the Viva

1 Week before- Read your thesis/ data/ key

texts- Try a mock viva

1 Day before- Check time and venue- mentally

prepare for revisions- look up examiners

publications/newsreports/other info-

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On the day- get ready to keep waiting- dont

lie/ dont try to be funny/ dont panic/ dont

confess- remember the fencing metaphor

(there are no unambiguously correct answer)-take your time to answer- ask for clarification-

ask if youve been understood

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After the Viva- dont vanish while they reach

verdict-no point in arguing over changes-

express gratitude to be allowed revisions-

dont worry about the details of changes-

thank everyone in the room

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Handling Revisions

Write a cover letter detailing changes made

Send to all examiners (minor changes usually

go to the main examiner alone)

Ask for specificities

Ask for a deadline

Expect revulsion Follow up for final approval

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Things to Remember

Your aims are to-

Demonstrate respect for the institution

Demonstrate skilss

Join the larger discourse of academia

Undergo the ritual as a pledge

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Do not-

Take it casually

Say, my guide made me do it

Answer in one word

Display stubbornness/ flippancy/disappointment/ lack of interest/

Persist in the inability to describe your own work/define key terms/ discuss key sources

Be sarcastic or ironical Guess the examiners next move/ question/

motives

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How to Impress Examiners

Know your thesis inside/ out

Listen attentively and make eye contact

Appear involved and enthusiastic

Picture your work in the larger context

Be able to recall your seminal sources with ease

Articulate your contribution and its implications

Be able to reflect on how your work is sound yet

can be improved with other perspectives

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Preparation Strategies

Mark up your thesis

Locate supporting documents

Think of questions that would frighten you themost

Read the annotated bibliography prepared forpersonal use

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When you cant answer

They might simplify a question when

repeating it

Rephrase their question yourself to seek

clarification

Offer options of interpretations instead of I

dont know/ understand

If you catch yourself repeating, ask for a

moments pause to gather your thoughts

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Benign Questions Examiners Ask

Warm ups

Confirmatory and deep confirmatory

Calibration

Scholarship

Salvaging

Pushing

Redemptive

Sparring

Repeating/ Grilling

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How to address weakness

Explain why it seemed a justifiable choice atthe outset

Explain without apology how you understand

that your choice has failed Offer alternative suggestions to fix the

problem

Keep in mind that nobody expects an errorfree thesis

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Generic Viva Questions

How did you come to research this topic in this manner?

What are the main achievements of your research? What has your thesis contributed to our knowledge in thisfield?

What are the major theoretical strands in this area: what arethe crucial ideas and who are the main contributors?

What are the main issues (matters of debate or dispute) in thisarea?

Where is your thesis placed in terms of the existing theoryand debate?

How would the major researchers react to your ideas? Whom do you think will be most interested in this work?

What published research is closest to your work? How is yourwork different?

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Why did you choose the particular research methodologythat you used?

What were the crucial research decisions that you made?

If you were doing this research again, would you considerusing any other research methodology?

What do you see as the next steps in this research?

What was the most interesting finding in your results?

Isnt this all obvious? Were you surprised by any of your results (if so, why, andwhat was surprising)?

What advice would you give a new student entering thisarea?

What is your plan for publication?

What havent I asked you that I should have done, and whatwould your answer have been?

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Bibliography

Rugg, Gordon and Petre, Marian. The

Unwritted Rules of Ph.D. Research. NY: Open

University Press, 2004.

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Documents

How to prepare for Phd VIVA