8/13/2019 Viva PHD or Master (soalan yang biasa ditanyakan)

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Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera,I would like to share some good general questions for PhD viva.

Useful for PhD candidates and also for examiners___________________________________________________________

Waiting for a PhD or MSc viva is a nerve wracking experience even for the coolest people. What is the best wayto prepare?What kind questions will the examiners ask. I have conducted dozens of PhD and MSc oral

examinations over the years as an external an internal examiner and as observer/supervisor. For me thewitnessing my own students is the biggest frustration. Watching a student struggle on questions I know they cananswer has prompted me to devise some typical viva questions in order to aid preparation. If you areapproaching a viva, think through the following questions. Write down the answers. Bullet points may be better sothat answers appear spontaneous during the viva.

The exact nature of the questions is obviously highly dependent on the specific project. I have tried to generalisethe questions. I hope by doing this they have not lost their essence.

1.What is original or novel about your work/thesis?

2.What are the main issues / debates in your subject area? What is the current state of the art in yourfield?

3.What were the crucial research decisions that you made? How did they impact what you did?4.How have you analysed/evaluated your work?

5.Why have you tackled the problem in this way? What alternatives did you consider?6.What do your results mean? Are there longer term implications for industry?7.How could you improve your work/thesis?8.What had not been done on this topic/field before?

9.What theories or models or analytical techniques did you use?10. Are the techniques you have used appropriate for this topic?11. What are the theoretical basis/underpinnings to your work?12. How long do you expect your work to remain innovative? How do you expect the field to develop in

the next 5-10 years?13. What sets your work apart from others? Who are the leading researchers in your field?14. What issues arose during this work? How did you resolve any issues which arose in the course of

your research?15. What have you learned from the process of doing a PhD? How will you apply what you have

learnt in your future career?

16. How did you deal with the practical/fieldwork aspect of your study?17. Do you think that your recommendations are appropriate or widely applicable?18. Is there scope for further study on this topic? What would you recommend the next student on this

topic to do?19. Do your contributions have a limited timescale? When do you think your work will be obsolete?20. What have you done that merits the award of a PhD?

Prepare well, dress your best, be confident and just do it.

Make yourself, your parents, supervisors and the University proud.