After a seven-year struggle with a PHD in a language other than my first, a full-time job in a completely different area to my research and almost 4,000 mile between my house and my university, today I had my viva! I passed with very minor corrections!!!!!!
It was supposed to take place at midday, but it was re-arranged to early evening, because my internal had something to do.
I had a mock viva earlier which was very helpful as it helped me relax (a little bit).
The actual viva was nothing near to what I expected. It lasted 1 hour and then the examiners made me and my supervisor wait for 15 minutes and they announced thed result.
I expected to have questions about methodology, further work, research questions, aims. And I got questions about theory (lots of them), about research ethics (I had aa participant who sasid he did something illegal and I was asked whether a researcher should report such things) and about a particular reference, which, luckily, I had re-read this morning!
Then I had some context related questions, as my research involves Greece, a couple of questions about certain quotes in my thesis and a last questyion about my contribution to knowledge, which included 4 sub-questions, that I had to write down in order to remember!
The examiners told me that they enjoyed reading my thesis, commented on how passionate I was about my subject and aftrwards told me that they considered it a very pisditive thing that I was taking my time to think over my answer.
Good luck to all of you out there!!!!
If I made it, so can you!!!!!