Hiya,
As you can probably tell from a variety of posts I am brickin my viva more than any
normal person. I have a list of concerns, if anyone can help with any of these, it woud
be wonderful.
1. results vs contribution
I am really confused. For some reason I am scared that when they ask me about my
contribution I am going to tell them about my results. Whats the difference? Is there
one? i really need this spelling out. How do i know if is a contribution or not?
1. what if i just don' t know alot?
Just what if I dont know the answers? what do i say? Apparently i am the expert but
I really dont feel it. All i did was questionnaires and interviews... i dont feel like an expert.
1. how do i act to a result i don't like
When i get the result... how do i act if they say i have failed or resubmit How do I act
maturely?
1.post viva drinks
If i do pass, what happens with drinks. I have zero funds to buy people drinks... which is the tradition in my department. I just don't know. My viva is late afternoon so I suspect the majority wud have buggered off home but agrh its all a worry.

Theres lots more I am sure. these things, along with my finances are keeping me up at
night. I just can't cope with the stress. You don,t need to answer these questions,
again its all just me ranting alot.

xx

Firstly I'd say that you really need to try and get some good sleep. Worry grows exponentially when people are exhausted and making good decisions is very difficult on that basis. Could be worth trying Kalms or Nytol etc, if you haven't already (Kalms daytime are quite good for taking a bit of an edge of the anxiety too).

In terms of your questions I'd say that your contribution is basically the significance of your results (or processes or findings, whichever). It is what your work has brought to the field - have you brought something new / added to a key argument / proved or disproved something. Sometimes your contribution can be quite subtle and it needs to be spelled out. For example, my findings are not really my contribution, my contribution is the dismantling of a concept and proving links between it and a much older concept.

If you don't know the answer to a question then you don't know the answer. Don't try and blag it. Examiners don't expect you to know the answer to every question they ask you.

If you don't get the response that you want your reaction will probably just happen - I ended up sobbing, which was quite embarrassing. If it doesn't go as well as you hoped then try and remain polite, thank them for their time, make sure you understand what it is they're saying in terms of the result- ask them to clarify if you don't.

Try to stop worrying xxx

A few things here.
1. Sleep and concentration - Omega 3 and just resign yourself to the fact that you need to have one day to yourself and actually forget the viva, no matter how late it is. No good just adding to the situation.
2. Drinks - For f!cks sake, its them who should be buying you the pints. It was a tradition here to go on the raz straight afters but not no more. I think cut yourself some slack and leave the organisation of anything in that regards to a few days afterwards. Have a small gathering at the gaff and cook for people you know really helped. People understand and besides, it will be more convenient later.

As for the viva, you are not meant to know everything - you are just meant to show that you found out something particular in what might be a broad field. So what if there are potential flaws - just be prepared that if they are brought up to say if more time and so forth you could have covered these. And don't go volunteering this info, despite the urge to cover your a$$!

Give yourself some credit - you DO know a lot and have worked hard at this PhD. Hate to be negative, but chances of getting thro' without some form of modifications needed are slim, but unless you can find some area where you were either sloppy or fabricated results, you should be ok.

======= Date Modified 30 Jan 2010 19:03:04 =======
Sorry - Double post!
As for the reaction, see Homer's reaction to his successful union negotiations with Monty Burns!!

what do you mean by sloppy? Cos the writing of my thesis is a bit sloppy and my analysis is not fabulous...