6 PhD Viva PreparatnDr Jamaludin

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VIVA PREPARATION

Jamalludin Harun

Department of Educational Sciences, Mathematic and Creative Multimedia

Faculty of Education, UTM

innovative.entrepreneurial.global

LETS FIGURE OUT WHOSE IN THE ROOM..

Raise your hand if

You have passed your viva minor corrections.

You have had your viva major corrections.

You have already submitted your final full draftthesis to:

your supervisor, or

the university

which will set up a final defense or viva.

You have already filled your GSMS : Notification tosubmit a thesis and nomination of examiners ?

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LETS FIGURE OUT WHOSE IN THE ROOM..

Raise your hand if

You:

feel you have a good understanding of the viva.

are confused a bit about the viva

Have heard all sorts of stories and are concerned aboutviva.

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CONTENTS

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Purpose and Format of the VivaVoce Examination1

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How to Prepare for Your Viva

Voce Examination3

How Are Thesis Evaluated

4 Top/Potential Viva Questions??

PURPOSE AND FORMAT OF THE EXAM


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ORAL EXAMINATION / VIVA VOCE

Viva voce : Latin phase by word o f mout h

An oral (verbal) examination, especially in referenceto a thesis defense in academia.

Your thesis is your skill at presenting your researchwork in writing.

Viva examination your ability in academicdiscussion with research colleagues.

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PURPOSE OF VIVA EXAMINATION

The purpose of the viva examination is to:

demonstrate that the thesis is your own work.

confirm that you understand what you have writtenand can defend it verbally.

investigate your awareness of where your originalwork sits in relation to the wider research field.

establish whether the thesis is of sufficiently highstandard to merit the award of the degree for whichit is submitted.

allow you to clarify and develop the written thesis inresponse to the examiners' questions.

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WHEN WILL MY VIVA TAKE PLACE?

The viva is normally scheduled to take place between8 and10 weeks after submission of your thesis.

However, vivas are occasionally held sooner and notinfrequently later.

Delays can often happen because of difficulties infinding a date that both examiners can meet withsufficient time for them to read your work in depth.

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WHO WILL BE PRESENT DURING MY VIVA?

For most candidates, an internal and an externalexaminer will be present.

For staff candidates, two internal examiners willbe present as well as an external examiner.

Chairperson (and assistant) ensure that theexamination is conducted in line with Universityregulations

Supervisor(s) moral support (no right toparticipate)

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WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING MY VIVA?

Discussion among examiners and chairperson (10-15 minutes)

Thesis presentation (20-30 minutes)

Discussion & Thesis Defense (2 4 hours)

Results (10 minutes)

A long vi va does not necessar i l y mean t hat you ar e

st r uggl i ng t o demonst r a t e t he qual i t y of y our r esear ch

i t could j ust mean t hat your exami ner s ar e t hor oughly

i nt er est ed i n what y ou hav e t o say !

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HOW ARE THESIS EVALUATED ?


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HOW ARE THESIS EVALUATED

A - The cand idat e be awar ded t he degree of

Doct or of Phi l osophy (No corr ect ions - 1 mont h)

B1- The cand idat e be awarded t he degree of

Doct or of Phi l osophy subj ect t o minor

correct ions (1 mont h)

B2- The cand idat e be awarded t he degree of

Doct or of Phi l osophy subj ect t o t he amendment s

and corr ect ions as l i st ed elsewhere in t his r eportbeing made in t he t hesis to t he sat isf act ion of

t he Int ernal / Ext ernal Exami ner(s) (6 mont hs)

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HOW ARE THESIS EVALUATED

C - The candidat e not be awarded t he degree of

Doct or of Phi losophy but be permi t t ed t o

resubmi t t he t hesis for f ur t her examinat i on in a

rev ised f orm af t er a f ur t her per i od of st udy and

research (1 year)D-The candidat e not be awarded t he degr ee of

Doct or of Phi l osophy but a lower);

E- The candidat e not be awarded t he degree of

Doct or of Phi l osophy

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WHAT MAKES FOR OUTSTANDING?

Original and significant, ambitious, brilliant,clear, clever, coherent, compelling, concise,

creative, elegant, engaging, exciting,

interesting, insightful, persuasive,sophisticated, surprising, and thoughtful

Very well written and organized

Synthetic and interdisciplinary

Connects components in a seamless way

Exhibits mature, independent thinking

Has a point of view and a strong, confident,

independent, and authoritative voice

Asks new questions or addresses an important

question or problem

Clearly states the problem and why it is

important Displays a deep understanding of a massive

amount of complicated literature

Exhibits command and authority over the

material

Argument is focused, logical, rigorous, and

sustained

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Is theoretically sophisticated and shows adeep understanding of theory

Has a brilliant research design

Uses or develops new tools, methods,

approaches, or types of analyses

Is thoroughly researched

Has rich data from multiple sources

Analysis is comprehensive, complete,

sophisticated, and convincing

Results are significant

Conclusion ties the whole thing together

Is publishable in top-tier journals

Is of interest to a larger community and

changes the way people think

Pushes the discipline's boundaries and opens

new areas for research


WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE?

Demonstrates technical competence

Shows the ability to do research

Is not very original or significant

Is not interesting, exciting, or surprising

Displays little creativity, imagination, or

insight

Writing is pedestrian and plodding

Has a weak structure and organization

Is narrow in scope Has a question or problem that is not

exciting--is often highly derivative or anextension of the adviser's work

Displays a narrow understanding of the field

Reviews the literature adequately--knows the

literature but is not critical of it or does notdiscuss what is important

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Can sustain an argument, but the argument is

not imaginative complex, or convincing

Demonstrates understanding of theory at asimple level, and theory is minimally to

competently applied to the problem

Uses standard methods

Has an unsophisticated analysis--does notexplore all possibilities and misses

connections

Has predictable results that are not exciting

Makes a small contribution


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WHAT IS UNACCEPTABLE?

Is poorly written

Has spelling and grammatical errors

Has a sloppy presentation

Contains errors or mistakes

Plagiarizes or deliberately misreads or

misuses sources

Does not understand basic concepts,

processes, or conventions of the discipline

Lacks careful thought

Looks at a question or problem that is trivialweak, unoriginal, or already solved

Does not understand or misses relevantliterature

Has a weak, inconsistent, self-contradictory,

unconvincing, or invalid argument

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Does not handle theory well, or theory ismissing or wrong

Relies on inappropriate or incorrect methods

Has data that are flawed, wrong, false,

fudged, or misinterpreted

Not enough data (triangulation)

Has wrong, inappropriate, incoherent, or

confused analysis

Includes results that are obvious alreadyknown, unexplained, or misinterpreted

Has unsupported or exaggeratedinterpretation

Does not make a contribution

HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR VIVAVOCE EXAMINATION


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PREPARATION

The submission of a PhD is like climbing to the top ofa mountain. Preparing, Planning, Undertakesustained effort to reach the summit (and its not theend of the journey).

Sohow you can prepare yourself?

1st..have a seat and pat yourself on the back : NOTeveryone submits.

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PREPARATION

Preparation falls into two domains:

technical and inter / intra personal.

Technical

Assessed primarily on the product submittedBe familiar with your work

Understand the purpose and procedures related tothe viva

Understand the roles of those present

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PREPARATION

Intra-personal Matters

Manage your anxiety

Deep breathing

Relaxation strategies

Positive self talk

Aim to have a conversation - never an argument

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PREPARATION

Inter-personal Matters

Examiners may never have met before

They may be anxious that the other has identified

something they had missedThey are performing and may feel under scrutiny

Anxiety can be contagious

They are individuals subject to the same pressures asyou and I

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..THE EXAMINERS..


WHAT ARE EXAMINERS LOOKING FOR ?

To establish that your thesis is of sufficiently highstandard to merit the award of the degree

An original contribution to knowledge and containwork which is deemed worthy of publication

Thesis is concisely and clearly written, and well-argued

Methodological sound

Full references

Whether the thesis complies with Universitysguidelines, i.e. the length, presentation, relevance,and style

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EXAMINERS BEHAVIORS

Different examiners have different personalities,styles & levels of experience

Ask you to justify your arguments not only those inthe thesis but also those not in the thesis

Discuss strengths & weaknesses of your workcritical appraisal

Expect you to discuss any developments that mayderive from your work in the future.

Ask about wider implications of your work youneed to think broadly about your research aboutfuture research.

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EXAMINERS BEHAVIORS

Examiners can be polite, encouraging to strict orhostile feeling.

Therere also examiners :

like to provoke (student and/or other

examiner/supervisor).

argue certain points with you

Mr(s) Im always right

Think about your examiners work how is theirwork link to yours

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..THE VIVA..


WHAT CAN I DO TO PREPARE FOR MY VIVA?

The most important thing to remember is to keep thesubject of your thesis alive:

Know your thesis inside out.

Familiarise yourself with the literature that you havereferred to in your thesis.

You may find it helpful to read something that yourexaminers have published as this can help tofamiliarise you with their academic stance

Produce a summary of what your thesis is about.

Mock-up viva

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WHAT CAN I DO TO PREPARE FOR MY VIVA?

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BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR THESIS

Know your thesis very well

Re-read your thesis carefully

If you find any mistakes dont panic, but make anote of it

Make a short summary of each of your chaptersPractice telling the story of your research in 2-3

minutes

Practice telling the story of each chapter - givingyourself 2-3 minutes in each case

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BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR THESIS

Identify the originality of your work

Identify the weaknesses and make a note of it(them).

Identify the contribution to knowledge in your fieldof study

Identify theoretical, research and practicalimplications of your findings.

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ATTENDING THE VIVA EXAMINATION

When & where will it be held make sure you gotthe right date, day, time and place

How long will the examination take

What should I wear

What should I bring THESIS

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DELIVERING PRESENTATION

Think about your panel or examiners

Decide what is important in the thesis

Explain the significance of your work

Organise your presentation clearly and simplythink logically

Use body language effectively

Speak slowly and clearly

Maintain eye contactMake effective conclusion

Summarize & close

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What to Present..

Background of the problem (2 min)

Goal/Objective of research (1 min)

Theoretical Framework (2 min)Methodology (3 min)

Findings (10 min)

Recommendations/Contributions (2 min)

It s no a publ ic lect ure. Exami ner s al r eady read your

thesis

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Highlighting Strengths of Study

Value

Impact

Benefits

Strengths

Effectiveness

Contributions:

Don't be modest

be clear on your contributions!

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PRACTICE YOUR VIVA QUESTIONS

Generally, the questions that are asked in vivaexaminations can be grouped under four basicheadings:

What is it about?

What did you do?

What did you find?

Why does that matter?

Practicing how you would answer these four basicquestions will take you a long way in yourpreparations.

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HOW TO RESPOND TO RESEARCH WEAKNESS

Do not give a general, resigned declaration that "thishappens in every study"

Do not blame your data

Do not blame your supervisor

Do not saythat was beyond the scope of your study

Dismiss the question and answer a different thing

Murray (2003)

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THINK BEFORE YOU ANSWER

Take time to reflect on the question and then answer

Dont panic take a breath, then answer

Speak slowly and clearly

Do not take criticism personally

Do not take offence & dont get angrySeize the opportunity to talk about your research

Remain confident and do not get confused.

Do not deviate from the scope of yourpresentation/research.

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PAY ATTENTION

Dress formally

Reach the office before the given time

Keep the number of slides within the allocated time

Dont read the slides during presentation

Use simple words to express yourself

Accept criticism and be open

Avoid long discussions or debate

Be honest if you do not know the answer

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HOW TO FAIL YOUR VIVA

Being defensive (or dismissive)

Being paranoia

Think that examiners are out to get you

Throw questions back at examiners

Slow reluctance to engage in the discussion of yourwork

Arrogant

Criticize the system

Give one-word answer

Show disrespect for the examination itself

Get so tired that any one of the above will happen

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TOP/POTENTIAL VIVA QUESTIONS


A PERSONAL STOCKTAKE

1st Dont try to think of the exact questions theexaminers will ask you.

It is better to prepare yourself for anything. Hencesummaries your thesis into smaller blocks. Consider:

What have you done?

Why have you done it?

How did you do it?

What have you found?

What are the implications of these?

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For each question, prepare between 3-5 bullet points in acondensed form do not use lots of sub-clauses.

This exercise is good for summarising your work andreflecting back on it; ie did I really find that out??

Task : In 3 minutes, summarise your thesis. Drawing uponthe bullet points that you have already made.

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2nd The all important methodology. Key points are howgeneralizable are your findings, and how valid

3rd What do you plan next? How do you plan todisseminate your work.

4th What is (are) your major contribution(s) ?

Above allremember : a this moment in time, you areprobably the worlds leading expert on the specific topicof your thesis. Stay calm, relaxed and demonstrate thedepth and breadth of your knowledge

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TYPE OF QUESTIONS

Probing Questions

Thesis defense committee members would like you tobroaden its most controversial aspects

Curious

Thesis defense committee will like you give an overallview of the field under study and your contribution to it

Hostile

Thesis defense committee will expose an area ofinsufficiency

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

Some questions you might want to entertain and might beasked

In one sentence, what is your thesis?

What have you done that merits a PhD?

Summarise your key findings?

Whats original about your work?

What are the contributions (to knowledge) of your thesis?

Why is the problem you have tackled worth tackling?

What are the strongest / weakest parts of your work?

What are you most proud of, and why?

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

Why did you decide on this particular researchquestion?

What have you found the most interesting aspect ofyour research?

How did your thinking about this topic develop as youwent through this research process?

Now that you have completed the research, whichpart of the process would you say you enjoyed mostand why?

Were there any surprises along the way?

How did doing this research change you as aresearcher?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Value-added and originality

What are the most original (or value-added) parts ofyour thesis?

Which propositions or findings would you say aredistinctively your own?

How do you think your work takes forward ordevelops the literature in this field?

What are the bottom line conclusions of yourresearch? How innovative or valuable are they? Whatdoes your work tell us that we did not know before?

Origins and the scope of the research

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Value-added and originality

Can you explain how you came to choose this topicfor your doctorate What was it that first interestedyou about it? How did the research focus change overtime?

Why have you defined the final topic in the way youdid? What were some of the difficulties youencountered and how did they influence how thetopic was framed? What main problems or issues didyou have in deciding what was in-scope and out-of-scope?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Research Methods

What are the core methods used in this thesis? Why didyou choose this approach? In an ideal world, are theredifferent techniques or other forms of data and evidence

that youd have liked to use?

What are the main sources or kinds of evidence? Are theystrong enough in terms of their quantity and quality tosustain the conclusions that you draw?

Do the data or information you consider appropriatelymeasure or relate to the theoretical concepts, orunderlying social or physical phenomena, that you areinterested in?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Research Methods

How well did the study design work in practice?

Did you have any problems with the data collectionprocess?

You used an existing research method and developed itfurther - can you tell us why this further developmentwas needed?

What were the main ethical issues of conducting thisresearch?

How did you establish the limits around the scope of yourdata collection?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Analysis & Findings

Can you talk us through your methods of analysis?

Did you encounter any problems with applying thismethod of analysis?

Do you think the data you collected were the mostappropriate to answer your research question or arethere any other data you would have liked to havecollected?

Can you describe your main findings in a few sentences?

What do your results mean?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Analysis & Findings

How do your findings fit with or contradict the rest of theliterature in this field?

How do you explain the differences of findings, orestimation, or interpretation between your work and thatof other authors? What next?

What are the main implications or lessons of your

research for the future development of work in thisspecific sub-field?

Are there any wider implications for other parts of thediscipline? Do you have next step or follow-on researchprojects in mind?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Discussion

If you were starting your research again now, are thereany changes in the way you would plan it?

You interpret these findings as ... but do you think therecould be an argument for interpreting them as ... instead?

You said in your thesis that ... - can you expand on thatpoint?

In what way do you consider your thesis to be original?

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RANGE OF QUESTIONS

Conclusion

What are the empirical, practice, and theoreticalimplications of your findings?

How would you hope that this research could be followedup and taken further?

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SUMMARY

The viva voce or oral examination provides theopportunity for you to meet the examiners, toexplain and defend your thesis, and to spend an houror two discussing the topic on which you are anexpert.

This is a unique opportunity for you to engage withtwo independent academics who are independentfrom your work and have read and considered itcarefully.

Do enjoy your viva. No GUTS no GLORY.

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REFERENCES

Burnham P. (1994). Surviving the viva: Unraveling the mysteryof the PhD oral. Journal of Graduate Education, 1: 30-4.

Murray R. (2003). How to survive your Viva. New York: OpenUniversity Press.

Hartley J. and Jory S. (2000). The viva experience. Highereducation review. 35(1): 24-30

Green D.H. (1998). The postgraduate viva: A closer look.Leeds: Leeds Metropolitan University.

Graduate School, University of Leicester (2013). Preparing for

Your Viva Examination. Twigg D. (2003). Preparing for the PhD Viva Voce A Personal

Reflection. Paper presented at the Warwick Business School,Doctoral Programme, University of Warwick.

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[email protected]

Thank You

6 PhD Viva PreparatnDr Jamaludin

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