Getting Ready For Successful Viva.

1. Getting Ready For Successful Viva.
By:
Dr. Mohamed A. Alrshah,
Ph.D. in Computer Science,
Dept. of Communication Technology and Networks.
Mohamed.asnd@gmail.com

2. Before we start, you must know that:
Once you submitted your thesis, you are
eligible to pass the viva successfully.
However, you must prepare yourself.

3. Short Introduction
 “Submitting your Ph.D. thesis is a massive achievement, but it’s not the end of the journey for
Ph.D. students”. (The guardian, www.theguardian.com)
 Once you have submitted your thesis, you have to be ready for the next obstacle “VIVA”.
 Time of preparing for viva is the time between the submission and the viva.
 It may vary from 1 or 2 weeks to few months.
 This topic offers some ideas to help you
perform calmly and confidently in your viva.

4. What is the viva voce?
 Its pronunciation:
 in Britain is: /vaɪvə vəʊtʃi/ (MacmillanDictionary.com)
 In America is: /vahy-vuh voh-see/ (Dictionary.com)
 It is derived from the Latin. (Ask Oxford 2006)
 It can be shortened as “viva”.
 A viva is:
 an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification. (Ask Oxford 2006)
 an oral examination at a university level. (Macmillan Dictionary)
 A student must answer questions in an interview with the examiners.
 It is a chance for students to discuss their work with experts.
 It is a gateway to join the academic community as an independent teacher or researcher.

5. The formal purpose and philosophy of viva.
 To ensure that:
 The thesis is the candidate’s own work (originality).
 There is no plagiarism involved (based on the submitted thesis).
 The candidate understands and can explain his/her thesis.
 The candidate can do independent research.
 To examine the presentation skills of the candidate and his/her ability on justifying things.
 To examine your patience with other opinions, whenever they conflict with yours.
 To investigate your awareness of where your original work sits in relation to the wider research field.
 To provide a developmental opportunity for considering future publication and research options.
 To give comments on the thesis to the candidate after finishing discussion.

6. Remember:
You can’t accompany your thesis
when it is given to the examiners.
Judgment will not be built on your
comprehension only but also based
on what you have written.
Mohamed Alrshah.

7. Pre-preparation for successful viva
The candidate should submit a thesis with acceptable characteristics.
1. It must be well written in terms of grammatical and expressive standpoints.
2. It must be well organized in terms of structure, naming and so on.
3. It must follow the academic style and ethics of writing and citation.
4. It must follow the institution’s policies, practices and format.
5. It must have a valid problem statement(s).
6. It must have a good scope, which must reflect a size of Ph.D. work.
7. It must extensively cover the literature.
8. It must sound technical and professional (use enough illustration tools, diagrams and graphs).
9. It mustn’t have any hidden parts or details.
10. It must give a good contribution(s).
11. It must have limitation(s) and future direction(s) or work(s).
12. It must use up-to-date references.
13. Preferably, if some contributions are already accepted or published in good journals.

8. Try to know:
 The date, time and venue of your viva, if possible.
 How much time will be given for the presentation.
 How many examiners have been appointed, if possible.
Sometimes 2 internal and 1 external,
but sometimes more, especially if your area is interdisciplinary.
 Who are the appointed examiners, if possible.
You must know:
 Your supervisor is usually not allowed to participate in the viva, unless requested to do so by
the examiner(s) or the chairman.

9. Before the viva
1. Re-read your thesis and write short summaries for important things.
2. Highlight your mistakes and typos if any.
3. Keep up-to-date with research in your area.
4. Draw up a list of possible questions – especially ones you dread.
5. Think about what you will or won’t defend (Memorize your scope).
6. Prepare the justifications for why the setting, configurations and assumptions were used.
7. Understand your results carefully, especially the intersections and strange behaviours.
8. Viva is not like sitting at a laptop where you can edit a sentence as you go along.
9. Print a copy of the thesis which is exactly the same as that of your examiners.
10. Prepare your presentation slides, which must be clear, comprehensive and proper for the given time.
11. Perform a mock viva with your supervisory committee.

10. Before the viva
1. Re-read your thesis and write short summaries for important things.
 Don’t underestimate the amount of time the examiners will have spent
reading and thinking about your thesis
 Remember that you are still likely to be the “expert in the room” on this
particular topic.
 As you read, make summary notes on the main points on relevant page.
 Identify areas of weakness and make notes on each.
 Identify the elements of originality in your thesis.
 Identify your contribution to knowledge.
 Identify the theoretical, research, and practical implications of your
findings.
 Memorize the names of the key players in your area.

11. Before the viva
2. Highlight your mistakes and typos if any.
However, don’t forget:
 Write short comments.
 Don’t change it in your copy.

12. Before the viva
3. Keep up-to-date with research in your area.
 What links examiners’ works with your research? How the examiners work and discuss
research? (Read their published work)
 What is new in your field since you did your research?
 Is a further literature review necessary?
 How does your research fit into this updated context?
Important:
 List the new works in a table, as in the next slide.
 Include the names of authors and the year.
 Include the objectives and contributions.
 Include the advantages and disadvantages.
 How it is different from your work.

14. Before the viva
4. Draw up a list of possible questions – especially ones you dread.
 Which philosophical or theoretical assumptions have you been using?
Why?
& How?
 If you start now, how would you like to follow up your work?
 What would you do differently if you were starting again?
 What are the limitations and/or drawbacks of your work?

15. Before the viva
5. Think about what you will or won’t defend (Memorize your scope).
 Consider carefully what you will defend in the viva, and what you are prepared to concede.
 It’s important to defend your claims about the originality of the thesis and its contribution to
knowledge.
 However, no research is perfect, and showing that you have considered what could have been
done differently, or even better, is not a bad thing.
 Re-remind your examiners, when possible, of your contributions.

16. Before the viva
6. Prepare the justifications for why the settings, configurations and assumptions were used.

17. Before the viva
7. Understand your results carefully, especially intersections and strange behaviours.

18. Before the viva
8. It’s not like sitting at a laptop where you can edit a sentence as you go along.
 By the time you finish your PhD you must know your thesis inside out.
 Practice talking about your work.
 Practice vocalising answers.
 It’s not a case of needing to learn to answers verbatim.
 Think about how you will articulate certain things.

19. Before the viva
9. Print a copy of the thesis which is exactly the same as that of your examiners.
 You are not expected to memorise your thesis.
 It is acceptable to refer to it to remind yourself of specific details.
 However, it will not impress the examiners if you flick forwards and backwards trying to find
what you are looking for.
 Put paper tags or marks on the important parts.
 Write on the tags.
 Tags help you access things quickly.

20. Before the viva
10. Prepare your presentation slides, which must be clear, comprehensive and proper for the given
time.
 Don’t put a large number of slides.
 Avoid motion and sounds in your slides.
 Focus on the important things.
 Use visual tools rather than text, when possible.
 Write very short notes in the bottom corner of the slides to remind you in case you went blank.
 Use your creativity to present your work, try not to copy the way of other’s slides.

21. Before the viva
11. Perform a mock viva with your supervisory committee.
 You need to practise answering viva questions.
 A list of typical questions is provided towards the end of this guide, and you can add more.
 Make sure you include the difficult questions to practise how you might answer them.
 Mock viva may be conducted formally or informally, publicly or privately, depending on what
you would find most useful.
 The important thing is to answer out loud not just in your thoughts.
 In speaking aloud you force yourself to put your responses, clarifications, and deliberations
into words.
 Initially this can feel embarrassing, stressful, and difficult, but it is invaluable preparation for
arguing your case coherently on the day.
 Consider the comments given by your supervisors during the mock viva.
 If you feel that the first mock viva was unsatisfactory, arrange for another mock viva, even
with your colleagues.

22. The last few days before the viva
 How will you get to the viva in good time?
 When/what will you eat and drink, both before and after?
 What will you wear? Ideally something that allows you to feel both smart and comfortable.
 What will you take into the room with you?
 Sort out some calming activities to dispel nervousness, see Stress Management for Presentations and Interviews
Think positively:
 Expect a potentially interesting discussion.
 Be ready to engage in debate.
 Be confident in your preparation.
 Be eager to get on with it.
 Get relieved at being there at last.
 Be excited at the challenge ahead.
 Look forward to completing the process.

23. During the viva
1. Wear formal and elegant clothes.
2. Silence your mobile phone.
3. Be serious polite and talk respectfully, the examiners are not your friends.
4. Get off to a good start and prepare for the icebreaking.
5. Think carefully before you answer.
6. Silence and conflict don’t mean bad news.
7. Don’t point out your own weaknesses.
8. Don’t talk like a politician.
9. Stick to things you’re an expert in when driving the questions.
10. You may need to move from friendly questions to complex debates.
11. If things get on top of you, use the excuse of having a look at the thesis.
12. Focus on your contribution and always remember your scope.
13. Expect your viva to last between one and three hours.
14. Enjoy it.

24. During the viva: How will your examiners behave?
1. Examiners will seek to find and discuss weaknesses in all theses.
 It is considered positive, indeed essential, that you can discuss both strengths and weaknesses.
 You could take these weaknesses as an opportunity to demonstrate your skill at critical evaluation.
 You should not interpret criticism as an indication that you will not get a positive verdict.
2. Examiners have different personalities, styles, and levels of experience.
 Sometimes a candidate may feel that a challenge has been made in a confrontational way.
 Experienced and effective examiners will not be inappropriately confrontational, but some personalities are
more prone to such approaches.
 It is important that you do not take offense.
 A relaxed, thoughtful, and non-confrontational response from you will help re-balance the discussion.

25. During the viva: What things you MUST NOT do?
 Don’t give a general declaration like ‘this thing happens in every study’.
 Don’t blame your supervisor for the weakness.
 Don’t blame your data.
 Don’t say ‘that is beyond the scope of my study’, without giving a convincing argument.
 Don’t say ‘because I found it in a reference(s)’, you must justify first.
 Don’t say ‘because my supervisor asked me to do this’.
 Don’t dismiss identified weakness(s) as unimportant.
 Do not make fun of the questions
 Don’t take criticism personally.
 Don’t take offense.
 Don’t get angry.

26. The outcome of the viva (The Verdict)
 Most people who reach the stage of the PhD viva will gain their PhD.
 However, it is very rare that a thesis will be passed without any changes being required.
 Almost everybody is asked to make minor or major amendments.
 When reaching this far, do not give up: the end is in sight.
 You may obtain a mix of positive and negative feelings.
 You may feel positive because you have passed the viva.
 But you may also feel negative because there is further work to be done on the thesis.
 Don’t be surprised if you felt disappointed or frustrated, almost all candidates will have further
work to do.
 You can be assured that getting through the viva is, in itself, something to celebrate.
 The possible recommendations at most universities are as shown in the next slide.

27. The outcome of the viva (The Verdict)
Recommendation How likely is this? What do you need to do?
Award of the degree without any changes. Although this is possible, it is very rare No further work needed
Award of the degree with MINOR
corrections.
This is a common result. Amendments to be made and submitted
to the internal examiner within one
month
Award of the degree with MAJOR
corrections.
This is a very common result. Amendments to be made within six
months to the satisfaction of the internal
and external examiner
REVIVA It is a slightly frequent result. Prepare for the viva again
Revision of the thesis (RESUBMISSION). You may feel disappointed with this
result but it is not uncommon and the
vast majority of students go on to
resubmit successfully
You may be required to rewrite
substantial parts of the thesis and the
revisions needed are not minor
Revision of the thesis (RESUBMISSION for a
lower degree).
This happens rarely Amendments need to be made as
required for submission for lower degree
Award of a lower degree with or without
minor or major corrections.
This happens rarely Amendments need to be made as
required for submission for lower degree
FAIL with no right of resubmission. Very rare but possible Nothing to do with it.

28. Appendix A: A list of typical questions frequently asked in viva.
The questions that crop up in vivas can be grouped under four basic headings.
 What’s it about?
 What did you do?
 How did you do it?
 What did you find?
 Why does that matter?
TheAppendices

29. Appendix A: A list of typical questions frequently asked in viva.
General questions:
 Why did you choose this particular research question?
 What have you found the most interesting aspect of your research?
 How did your thinking about this topic develop as you went through this research process?
 Now that you have finished the research, which part of the process would you say you enjoyed the most,
and why?
 Were there any surprises along the way?
 How did doing this research change you as a researcher?
Context:
 You refer to [?] as a key influence on your research. Can you summarise the particular relevance of their
work?
 What developments have there been in this field since you began your PhD? How has this changed the
research context in which you are working?
 You make only passing reference to the field of . . ., why do you think that field is less relevant than the
others you give more space to?
 You don’t say much about the . . . theory in your thesis. Can you explain why you have not focussed more
on that?
TheAppendices

30. Appendix A: A list of typical questions frequently asked in viva.
Methods:
 How well did your research design in practice?
 Did you have any problems with the data collection process?
 You used an existing research method and developed it further. Can you tell us why this further
development was needed?
 What were the main ethical issues of conducting this research?
 How did you establish the limits around the scope of your data collection?
Analysis and findings:
 Talk us through your method of analysis.
 Did you encounter any problems with applying this method of analysis?
 Do you think the data you collected were the most appropriate to answer your research question, or
are there any other data you would have liked to have collected?
 Can you describe your main findings in a few sentences?
TheAppendices

31. Appendix A: A list of typical questions frequently asked in viva.
Discussion:
 If you were starting your research again now, are there any changes in the way you would plan it?
 You interpret these findings as . . . Do you think there could be an argument for interpreting them as
. . . instead?
 You said in your thesis that . . . , Can you expand on that point?
 In what way do you consider your thesis to be original?
Conclusion/implications:
 What are the research, practice, theoretical implications of your findings?
 How would you hope that this research could be followed up and taken further?
TheAppendices

32. Appendix B: Useful reading.
 Murray, R. 2003: How to survive your viva. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
 Rugg, G. & Petre, M. 2004: The unwritten rules of PhD research. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
 Tinkler, P. & Jackson, C. 2004: The doctoral examination process: a handbook for students, examiners
and supervisors. The Society for Research into Higher Education and Maidenhead: Open University
Press.
 Wellington, J., Bathmaker, A., Hunt, C., McCulloch, G. & Sikes, P. 2005: Succeeding with your
doctorate. London: Sage.
 http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/presentations/viva
 https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/jan/08/how-to-survive-a-phd-viva-
17-top-tips
 https://sophiecoulombeau.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/surviving-the-viva-tips-and-reflections/
TheAppendices

33. See the sample of viva slides