Hi everyone,

My viva is two weeks today, and I'm beginning to get The Fear. My supervisor gave birth to a very poorly baby a week ago, and so she's not available to ask advice from (and my second Sup. is useless).

Just wondered whether anyone had any advice on how to prepare? All I've got so far is "read through thesis. Again. ".

Any tips would be very gratefully received!

B.xx

======= Date Modified 06 Sep 2010 16:38:44 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
Hi Bobby,

Have a try searching through previous 'viva' threads on the forum - there's lots of really good advice available that I found very helpful.

But also, try these links:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/dt31/phdviva.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2003/sep/16/highereducation.postgraduate

http://www.abdn.ac.uk:8080/clsm/graduate/documents/vivaadvice.doc

*edited by mods*



Good luck! (up)

Thanks, that are some useful links. I have a couple of more questions:

a) Are there maybe any useful constructs (phrases) that non-native speakers
could use in an attempt to survive the viva and answer the questions.

b) I am doing engineering. Is here wearing a suite with tie overdressed or should that
be alright?

c) My supervisor told me to NOT prepare any slides for the VIVA. I should think about 10 minute
introduction for the motivation of the work and summarize the main contributions. In this way it
looks more as if I am unprepared if I am asked for a summary. Do people think that is good
advice?

Thanks for your inputs.

First of all, best of luck with your viva.
I am answering this from the backside of a successful viva and completed PhD, yes, Dr Olivia, finally! I understand what you mean about "The Fear." Somehow you have to find the means to put it out of your head, as its not going to be any help to you.

I found the read your thesis advice helpful only to a point. The thesis seemed somewhat branded into my brain, so reading it again and again did not seem to be very helpful. I did try to skim chapters, keeping in mind key arguments or points. I tried to skim through any new literature that had come out since I had submitted just in case.

People will point you to the likely questions...and you can certainly have practiced answers for those. In the case of my viva, I did not get any of the anticipated questions, and certainly plenty of unanticipated ones. That was not a problem for me, though. By the time of the viva, I was happy to be in a room with examiners, and to actually have some conversation about the research. I think that the overall knowledge you have of your work will carry you through any unanticipated questions--whether it feels like it or not the entire thesis is in your brain, still, and no doubt you will have no problems recalling it when the time comes.

Can you practice with some friends--not on the substance of questions, but on your delivery? For instance, make eye contact, practice taking notes as you are asked questions ( if you need this to recall questions), that sort of thing? I do think it makes some difference as to how confidently the examiners percieve you answering--and your nonverbal language is key. Again, eye contact, smile, relax...those sorts of things convey confidence to observers.

I read my thesis, scribbled notes to myself, went for long walks, wanted to crawl under the desk in the fetal position and hope that it would all go away, moaned to friends, etc....and in the end it was fine. I cannot even say the thesis was traumatic--I enjoyed it on a certain level, having a captive audience who actually wanted to hear about the thesis and my research!

I had minor corrections on the thesis, which is the outcome I was hoping for. The viva is a scary time as it feels like everything rides on it. But in a sense, that is not true, as the viva is sort of a situation where its "all over but the shouting"--i.e. the examiners are going to have formed an opinion of your work from the thesis itself, and the viva is not going to be what forms the bulk of their opinion on your outcome. At least I don't think so....

Relax, (ok, useless advise, who can relax before a viva?!) try to spend some time going for walks, or whatever helps relax your mind, as you want it as fresh and agile as it can be for the viva, and hang in there--I am sure you will do just fine!

My viva preparation involved reading a viva preparation book (Tinkler and Jackson) to demystify the process, rereading and summarising my thesis to familiarise myself with it and spot typos (I took a list into the viva on the day and handed it out - all examiners/convenor were very grateful), and thinking about and memorising my answers to 5 key questions: originality of my thesis, contribution to knowledge, methodology, weaknesses/gaps/mistakes, and what would I do differently if starting again. I found that higher-level approach to viva questions more helpful than looking at lists of dozens of potential questions that I would never remember the answers to.

I agree with Olivia that examiners have, by and large, usually made their minds up on the basis of the thesis. There is some room for maneuvre, and if there are doubts the viva can swing things. But the thesis forms the bed-rock. I actually found that incredibly reassuring. I wasn't that confident in my thesis, but knew I'd done the best I could, and - to quote Doris Day - "Que sera sera". So I was very relaxed in between submission and the viva. I only started to get noticably stressed 1 hour before :p

And make sure you take water in or something with you on the day. I found it helpful to drink from that regularly, often as I was listening to questions and formulating replies. And I took notes about the questions as they were asked so I wouldn't forget them, especially the longer questions.

I was actually in my wheelchair on the day, wheeled into the room by the convenor, and recovering from shingles on top of my usual problems. But I sat up confidently and made sure I kept eye contact with the examiners. That made me feel better, as well as making me look more confident.

Thanks eveyone, that's super helpful!xx

Indeed, it really was helpful the comments.

Maybe someone can help me a bit out with my additional concerns:

a) Are there maybe any useful constructs (phrases) that non-native speakers
could use in an attempt to survive the viva and answer the questions.

b) I am doing engineering. Is here wearing a suite with tie overdressed or should that
be alright?

c) My supervisor told me to NOT prepare any slides for the VIVA. I should think about 10 minute
introduction for the motivation of the work and summarize the main contributions. In this way it
looks more as if I am unprepared if I am asked for a summary. Do people think that is good
advice?

Thanks for your inputs.
patrick