======= Date Modified 26 Nov 2009 18:14:09 =======
======= Date Modified 26 Nov 2009 18:12:51 =======
Well Olivia,



if you think you don't need any reminders... etc, then do not make one, may be you know your work very well and do not need reminders? am thinking that during the viva people might get stressed and these notes will remind them during the viva (if someone is panicking easily, like me ;))



Recently, I have only been advised to reread the thesis and read new papers published in the field, which is enough to keep me busy for a long time :(







By the way, based on your mock viva, what do you think is the most important thing to do?



were you surprised by a question for example? I mean a question that you did not expect?



and how do you respond really?



I read in a book that you have to be articulate (how I can be articulate when I don't have the experience?)





Good luck in your viva, wish you the best and thanks for the replies.







(up)

======= Date Modified 26 Nov 2009 18:43:56 =======
Hello Cleverclogs, H and TT,



By the way I have voted for all of you as helpful users.



Cleverclogs thank you very much for the reply. My university provide elink for the famous viva survival books, so I don't have problem in that.



H also thanks for the nice advice and support. it keeps me going. By the way would you be able to post sample viva questions please? and how did you respond? I would appreciate your help ;)





Thanks for the reply TT, but am not quite sure how can you make a one line summary of each page? how is that doable? 



Any questions or advices will be much appreciated, this forum is the only thing that keep my mind sane, please keep it going. I'm all alone so you support is much needed

:$:-x

Is there any one doing Biomedical Sciences in this forum?

I just read each page and wrote the key points, must admit I agree if someone offered my a viva right now I would take it. Mine is at 1200 so I need to make sure my tummy is not too loud.

Hmmm...thoughts on the mock viva...well to be honest, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The questions were not difficult ( although my mock examiners were trying to be difficult its not that they went easy) in that--I was able to understand and have ready answers. A few times I was asked to expand on a point I had made, sometimes what I thought were fairly minor points within the thesis. One time I had to take a few seconds to read what was on the page and jog my brain about the thing, it was so minor I felt like HUH? What are you talking about?!

Yes, articulation matters I would say. I was told to make better eye contact...and to not talk so much. LOL. But I was almost delirious with happiness to talk to people about the thesis, really! I was like OOOH you want to hear about it. I could have gone on for hours! Seriously! I had thought ahead of time how to answer the things like what is your original contribution and etc...some of the stock questions. I think if you are not as motor mouthed as me, one thing to do would be to write down the question you are being asked ( I was told to do that to slow down) and then think for a few seconds before you reply. That might have the opposite effect for you ( ie it wont slow you down, but it will help you focus and articulate).

I am not bothered talking in groups. In fact I love it, and I am pretty OK talking off the top of my head. But while this might seem like a viva strength, as I said, in my case, I was told not to say SO much. So...it was not a strength in all of the viva. Oh well. ( am laughing as I write this because.......I dont know why...who talks too much in a viva...who ever heard of that LOL...it would be me...)

I think knowing where things are in the thesis is important, whatever it takes to know that--ie, notes, your table of contents, or whatever...having things tabbed was a nightmare for me, I kept gerbiling in the tabs, and finally gave up and just used my table of contents to get to things. The tabs were worse than useless for trying to locate things. I know in my head the basic important contents of each chapter...but from my life before the PhD, I am used to having to shove large chunks of info into memory and recalling it under pressure, so if you are not used to that, I would suggest having maybe a one para summary of the chapters, or even a half page of bullet points, if your table of contents cannot guide you specifically enough.

The other thing--I wasn't nervous for the mock viva. Because it had no consequence. That will be different of course for the real one. Which I am just ready to be done with. Am sick and tired of the stress, of having things hanging over my head. Cannot even get my head in the game to be stressed..so am just trying to relax and do what I can to prepare but again, its hard to know what...I have 2 articles to read this weekend, and a bit of one chapter to read, and then I will have read the thesis again, and found the major works. I will probably refresh my reading of the thesis in the week upcoming to the viva. But other than that...I just want to be done!!!

I hope that is of help. Sorry if its rambling...

My mock viva was also enjoyable. After nearly two hours it finished and I wanted to keep going as there was someone who wanted to talk about my thesis and work in depth. I was asked about the rationale behind my work, my philosophical stance, the data and the impact of my work. One qu which I did not expect was about the relevance of the work. I started the PhD in 2002 went to March 2006, submitted, and then my viva was pulled because my external examiners thought it was not worth having the viva. It took me three years to go through the compaints proceedure and I started again in March 2009. So my data is all from 2002-2004.

I've not had a mock viva, which is a little worrisome!

Misspacey, can you prod your supervisor to get one organised? They may not have thought of it, or might have thought of it and it slipped their mind. I would recommend having one, if for no other reason than you get the idea of what its like to face people asking you about your thesis. It might reduce the "fear factor" or simply the fear of the unknown, what that is like.

Meh. I am not a fan of this way of testing, anyway, but oh well its not in my power to change it all. It just seems that its as much a test of your ( ohh better not use the expression I almost did, it could be taken wrong LOL) ability to articulate, as it is on the strength and value of your thesis, etc...for myself, not worried on the articulation part...but a part of me feels like--ok after all this work and effort and study and writing and researching and editing, what it seems to come down to for the final final, is how well I talk? It seems to rob something from the value of the hard slog of writing the thesis. I am not saying this well--but what has my ability to answer questions well under fire and pressure got to do with the worth of my research? ( Disgruntled, and kicks another sacred cow of academia meh...)

I will have a mock viva on Tuesday, and am really starting to panic now. The fear and doubts are starting to crystallise, I was a bit controlled before but, now am a mess.
OK I let it out, thanks for reading  :-(:$

Good luck with your mock viva, Miss Spacey and let us know how it goes, what you thought of it, etc. Remember that the mock has no consequence, so don't get nervous ( easier said than done!)but really--its just a practice. Find the things that you can do to relax, you will perform better if relaxed, is what I tell myself--you owe it to yourself to be kind and good to yourself. You will do better--and besides--this insanity of PhD stress just takes its toll. So say no to it, and be happy and calm. :) and Good luck!

Has anyone tried this? Taken from the book 'Authoring a PhD'

"Your supervisor can be an important help to you in preparing
an effective defence in depth. Nowadays it is worth asking
them to phone or e-mail the examiners informally a few days
before the oral exam, in order to sound them out on any major
issues which they have. If your supervisor calls too early the
chances are the examiners may not have read the thesis yet. But
equally, ringing the night before the exam is not much help,
because then you have too little time to think through or
research a response. Some very traditional examiners still
believe that a doctoral candidate should enter their oral exam
completely ‘cold’, and should then have to respond to whatever
issues get thrown at them, ‘thinking on your feet’. However,
most modern examiners can see the value of alerting doctoral
candidates to any main problems or points of concern they
have, so that you can anticipate a rough agenda for the oral
exam and think through some considered responses to the key
issues. Some very conscientious examiners may even release to
your supervisor (never to you directly) a copy of their preliminary
report on the thesis, to give you time to prepare a fullyfledged
‘defence’ case. But this is still a very rare occurrence.
Once your supervisor has some intelligence about the examiners’
reactions, you should meet with her to discuss what the
possible problems are and how they can best be handled. Again
this is most useful a day or so before the oral exam rather than
on the morning itself."

I don't think my supervisors are the type to pass on intelligence from the examiners, because the viva still has the status of a kind of "exam", it would be very nice indeed if one could be apprised of potential problems a few days before so one can prepare!

I reckon many academics would consider gleaming 'intelligence' as tantamount to cheating - afterall, the viva is really about ensuring the candidate wrote their own thesis. Any gleaming of information about the examiners' views would remove the objectivity of that process. But that said, I'm sure candidates often get information prior to the exam, and I would like to think if there is some major problem with my thesis, that my supervisor would let me know before the viva.

Of course, the key is really about chosing the right type of examiners (ie., those who are fair, have been used before, and have a good relationship with one's supervisor). Things seems to go wrong when the examiners have never been used before, and/or the supervisor doesn't really know them.

'I will have a mock viva on Tuesday, and am really starting to panic now. The fear and doubts are starting to crystallise, I was a bit controlled before but, now am a mess.'

How did the mock viva go? I have five days to the real thing, on Friday. I had a long 'phone call with my supervisor last week who was very clear that I, as most people, will have revisions. Must admit just want to have it over and done with.