If you’ve been hellbent on finishing your thesis, you probably haven’t given much thought to the viva. Usually, there’s a sudden realisation that submission isn’t the end. The thesis isn’t the PhD, it’s part of it; and the PhD is an examination. Although the PhD is different from other types of degree, there are still regulations and an examination process that must be followed. Your viva is the spoken element of this examination. So, your PhD examination isn’t complete until you’ve passed your viva. And your thesis almost certainly isn’t complete, either, as around 90% of candidates are asked to make changes or corrections.

Although this stage gives you the unwelcome extra work of viva preparation, it’s also an opportunity to explain how you wish you’d written your thesis. You’re accounting for the difference between your original research plan and the document that’s sitting in your sweaty lap. You can think of the viva as “live peer review”. If you submitted an article to a journal, it would be miraculous to receive an email that said, “Yep, this is great! You’ll see it in the next issue.” The editorial board would give you feedback on what needs to be done to conform to their standards. Sometimes this just involves fixing a few typos, but it can also mean extensive revision. Unlike with journal peer review, in the viva you have the chance to discuss those changes. Depending on the discussion, you might even be able to talk your way out of making them.

In this post, I’ll outline the seven main stages of your viva preparation and suggest some activities to help you.

Step 1 – Have a rest!

If you’ve just submitted your thesis, you need to give yourself a break before embarking on viva preparation. Try to take a research holiday for at least a couple of weeks. Everyone’s different, but it’s probably not worth starting your preparation more than two months in advance of your viva. Start too soon and you might lose momentum before the day itself. For most people, 6-8 weeks is a reasonable timeframe. The length of each step depends on your commitments and how much work you need to do.

Step 2 – Reread your thesis

Read through your thesis from start to finish – this is how your examiners will approach it. Don’t jump around and focus on your favourite bits. Yes, this is excruciating. You might need to bribe yourself with chocolate biscuits and get some velcro pants to keep yourself in the chair. Examiners often complain that the candidate is unfamiliar with their own work.

Step 3 – Revisit any problem areas

As you reread your thesis, you’ll almost certainly spot errors, clunky paragraphs, and horrifying gaps. This is completely normal. Your thesis is part of an examination, not a published book. Schedule some time to work through those areas and consider how you could strengthen them. For example, by identifying some supporting literature, or devising a better explanation. The problem areas are where your examiners will want to focus!

Step 4 – Review the key literature

The main criterion on which you’re judged during the viva is whether you’ve made an “original and significant” contribution to knowledge. The only way to make that claim is by situating yourself within the existing literature. Don’t try to reread everything that you cited, because that will take you months. Instead, identify the most important sources and authors that inform your arguments. Re-read anything that’s central to your argument and review any notes from other sources. You can take notes and bibliographies with you to the viva to jog your memory.

Step 5 – Check the latest literature

Annoyingly, people will keep publishing papers, even after you’ve submitted your thesis. Your literature review never ends: you can think of it as an ongoing debate with other scholars in your field. While it would be unreasonable for examiners to complain that you haven’t cited a paper that’s only just been published, it is reasonable for them to expect you to discuss how that paper might impact upon your findings. Furthermore, awareness of the latest literature demonstrates your commitment to this research topic.

Step 6 – Familiarise yourself with your examiners’ research

You also need to understand how your research relates to your examiners’ research. This means allocating time to explore their work. I’ve deliberately used the term explore, rather than read. You definitely don’t have time to read everything your examiners have ever written, especially if they’re a professor. The aim here is to become familiar with their general interests and approach, as this is likely to inform the types of question they ask you. Broadly, you want to understand their:

  • Interests
  • Methodology
  • Theoretical frameworks

Look out for any areas on which you converge — this can be reassuring and might provide safe territory to which you can guide the discussion. But pay particular attention to points on which you diverge. If your examiners use a completely different methodology, or have been critical of your chosen methodology in the past, that’s likely to come up in the viva. This doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but you’ll be expected to justify your choice.

Step 7 – Anticipate questions & practice answers

It’s impossible to know exactly what questions your examiners will ask. However, if you’ve prepared for 80% of the questions, you’ll have a lot more confidence and headspace for dealing with that remaining 20%. The previous five steps should help you predict some of the questions. And, the more thoroughly you understand your thesis and the literature, the better placed you’ll be to take different paths through your research.

Although it’s fine to warm up by practicing some easy questions, it’s much more effective to establish your “nightmare questions”, those questions you’re really hoping the examiners won’t ask. That’s where you should focus your preparation efforts.

You can find some sample questions here.

When you’re practising, it’s best to do so with someone else. This gets you used to thinking on the spot and speaking aloud.  In a thesis, you present your research in a linear way; in the viva, the examiners want you to approach your project from 360 degrees.

At Research Coach, we can help you:

  • Devise a realistic viva preparation plan.
  • Anticipate likely discussion points.
  • Identify your nightmare questions.
  • Practice talking about weaknesses.
  • Develop strategies for dealing with a challenging viva
  • Build your confidence.

If you’d like to find out more, please contact enquiries@researchcoach.co.uk.

Remember, good preparation can make the different between a pass and a fail. So, get yourself some biscuits and start following that 7-step plan. Wishing you all the best with your viva, and beyond.

Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash