Viva!

What should

I do???

By Sr. Dr. Siti Uzairiah

Mohd Tobi

Senior Lecturer

UTM Razak School of Engineering

& Advanced Technology

Uiversiti Teknologi Malaysia,

Kuala Lumpur.

Overview

a) Before Viva

b) The Viva itself

c) Typical Viva questions

d) After Viva (result)

PhD Thesis

Originality and creativity

Contribution to Knowledge (CTK)

Review of relevant literature (Displays knowledge of

the field & Displays critical judgement)

Statement of the research problem

Methods adopted (data collection & analysis)

Discussion and outcomes

Before Viva

Start a file of anticipated viva questions

It is essential to know your thesis thoroughly

It is a great idea to compile a brief summary of

each section/chapter before you submit (It will

enable you to revise for the viva from the thesis summary rather

than from the thesis itself )

Before Viva

The main preparation for the viva is reading.

Some of the things to prioritise:

Know your thesis inside-out

Be familiar with references cited in your thesis

(Make sure you are familiar with the literature, not

everything you have read during the PhD but the

most important ones)

The examiners could also ask you about the

literature not in the thesis, to test whether you are

widely-read in your area (Look for recent reviews of

related areas, recent publications in the field )

The viva itself

It is a testing event

It is your defence of what you have mentioned

in the thesis

It checks that you know your material

The viva itself

You will therefore be pressed to explain, elaborate and

to justify

The PhD viva is an open book exam – you can bring any

materials you want

Rules

Rule 1 - Keep calm

Rule 2 – It is ok to admit to gaps. No one can do

everything in 3 years!

The viva itself

Handling difficult questions:

If you don’t understand the question, ask for clarification

Treat vague questions as invitations to tell the examiners that you know your area and how it fits into related areas

If they have a misconception about your work, try to explain it

If you really can’t answer a question, be honest; if you have no idea at all, say it

Typical questions

The conclusion chapter is a major one to focus

on in anticipating viva questions – especially

where you criticise your work!

You should relate each question to sections of

your thesis, and have a framework for

answering it worked out before the viva

* Source for typical questions – Nasty PhD viva questions - Andrew Broad, Manchester University

Typical questions

In one sentence, what is your thesis?

Summarise your key findings

What is original about your work?

What are the contributions of knowledge of you thesis?

Typical questions

Who are the main players in A ? (you should cluster together papers written by the same people)

What are the recent major developments in A?

How do you expect A to progress over the next 5 years?

How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in A?

Typical questions

What are the strongest/weakest parts in your study?

Why have you done it in this way? (you need to justify your approach – don’t assume the examiners share your views)

Why didn’t you do it the way everyone else does it? (this requires having done extensive reading)

Looking back, what might have you done differently? (this requires a careful answer, defending what you have already done!) Tricky question!!!

After Viva – The result…

Just because they ask a lot of questions does not mean you are going to fail

They don’t give away the result before or during viva, but you may be asked to wait around for the result at the end so that they can explain the result to you

Result:

- No correction (submit as it is)

- Minor

- Major

- Re’viva’

Congratulation!

You are now a ‘Dr.’ -

PhD Dr. CT Research Clinic

Contact Information

E-mail: sitiuzairiah@yahoo.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pa

ges/PhD-DR-CT-Research-

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