Hey Everyone, I have my viva at the end of next week. How likely is it that the examiners will have made their decision before I go into the viva? I'm quite disappointed with my thesis but I know that I know the subject well, I dont feel my thesis reflects this, too short full of typos and mistakes.

apparently they do and in some cases they congratulate you before starting the viva. I've never been to one but read that in UK PhD books. Good luck, and let us know how it goes (up)

THey will have probably made 80% of their mind up and overwhelmingly it's good news! So don't worry. Hell, I read my pre-viva reports after my viva (they only gave them after the viva at my uni) and my internal basically said he would have failed me but the external (who has the final say) said it was pretty good. We all think it's going to go badly but it's usually pretty rare for it to go dismally! Enjoy :)

Thanks guys, it's the nerves starting to kick in :$

I was told that the examiners largely make up their mind before the viva, but if they have uncertainties about the result (for example the amount of corrections required etc.) they can make the final decision in the viva. Also in a borderline case the viva can obviously help to swing things.

I was told the result at the start of my viva which was great. So was another student in my department a few weeks earlier. I'd been told by another member of staff that this would never happen, but my supervisor says in his experience (at least in my subject) it happens quite often.

Thanks guys, but why have a viva if they have already made up their mind? Waiting for the viva is torture and stressful:-s

Hi Lil,

What I have heard and read in various books of advice is that these things are not standardized enough! Universities have different systems, individual externals have different approaches, etc. That's not the most helpful thing to hear, I know! However, if you are really stressed out it might be helpful to (re)familiarize yourself with what your uni has put in writing about its policy on the phd examination process. I searched my uni website and found the handbook for examiners and code of good practice. Also blank copies of the report forms they fill out. At my place one form is filled out before the viva and the examiner (should) use it to structure the discussion. This form focuses on:

- contribution to knowledge
- originality
- relating your work to existing work
- satisfactory presentation (footnotes,etc.)

In the second form filled in after the viva they cover:

- are you satisfied this is the candidate's own work?
- how well did the candidate respond to questions on the above areas?

It seems to me therefore that the viva is designed to (a) make sure that you really wrote the thesis (b) provide you with a chance to respond to the examiners' views of your work in those four areas. That suggests that basically they have made up their mind before they meet you - they've already filled out the big chunky report - but that the viva does give you a right of reply.

Any help?!

PS - try not to worry. Doing a PhD is incredibly hard and I'm sure you did your best. If there are problems with your thesis (and you might be surprised by finding the examiners don't even spot some the things you think are horrendous errors!) it doesn't mean you should think badly of yourself or expend energy feeling guilty. Be nice to yourself and trust yourself - you've worked hard and you will be able to cope with whatever comes your way at the viva. We believe in you! ;-)

Hiya,

If you're worried about typos and mistakes in your thesis then you can go through and locate them, make a list of these corrections and give a copy to the examiners at the beginning of the viva. From what I've heard, this is usually well received and shows that you're keen to improve you thesis.

As far as length goes, it's not about word count but content. I know someone who struggled to pass with over 90,000 words, but another breezed through the process with ~50k because it was succinct, to the point and well written.

If you know your subject really well, then the viva is your chance to let this shine through and become obvious to the examiners. They may have an idea of the outcome beforehand, but if you can answer questions well and show how well you know your subject then that's the way to sway their decision!

Lots of luck
Amy :-)

Thanks Dr BB :-) At the moment I'm going through my thesis looking at things I think I will get asked about because they aren't totally clear. Is it wise to give a long answer or a short, say 30 second answer?

Either length of answer would be fine. With a shorter one the examiners can develop the line of questioning further if they want to. With a longer one you have more chance to show your confidence about that particular issue. Even that can still lead to further follow-on questions.

What you don't want to do is give a very abrupt yes/no type answer! But equally it's perfectly ok to dodge a question, as I said in an earlier post to you, if you're not happy answering something.

Good luck next week! I tried to predict what my examiners would ask, and worried about some potential lines of questioning. In the end they asked me totally different things, but things I was still able to answer, either citing specific examples from my research/thesis, or going on my gut instinct based on my research journey/findings.

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I posted this twice, how did that happen?:$

Mmm...I think short answers (not plain yes/no answers) would be best for me, I had a tendency to dig myself into holes at conferences. At the moment I'm trying to write a summary of my thesis and revise it so I will be able to talk about it when I go in there, giving them less time to ask questions, and trying not to make it sound to much like the abstract. ;-)

It is the references I'm finding hard to memorise, I have about 60 references, I can't remember them all, what could they possibly ask? Is it a good idea just to bring all the references into the exam with me and if they ask me something from a paper, I could just look at it? This is more work than the write up :$

Apologises for the constant rambling about my thesis and questions about this viva, I'm very grateful to you guys, thank you all! 8-)

I didn't memorise my references, or even try. I have significant memory problems due to brain damage from a progressive neurological illness. I can barely remember my thesis. But that's what I focused on, and that's what they asked me about. I wouldn't recommend taking in references with you (well apart from the list in your thesis which you should be taking anyway).