Passing a PhD viva

The biggest concern for every PhD student is passing the viva. The thing about the viva is that every experience is unique and each student have a different experience. I was told once, that the viva is like a child birth you never know how long it is going to be and what is going to happen during it. For myself I found it useful to read other people's stories and tips, and learn from different experiences. My story was one of the good ones, so if you are looking for horror and drama you will not find it. However if you are looking for some useful tips, you may find some here.

The most valuable advice I would give if you really want to pass your viva is to WRITE A GOOD THESIS. This may sound cliché and one would say that this is what every PhD student is trying to do, but it is really what it is all about. When I was writing my research, I was told over and over how important it is to be able to justify my work and to defend every step I take. As a result I have explained every step I have taken and justified every decision I have made during the research. This was extremely helpful during the viva.

I have learned from "Preparing for your Viva" workshop that the examiners are expected to answer three questions to justify awarding a student a PhD degree:

1- Does the student show critical ability?

The critical ability should be shown in the thesis and articulated in the viva. Showing an understanding of different research options (philosophical, theoretical, methodological) and the reason of making choices is the way to show the critical ability in the thesis. During the viva examiners may ask different questions to examine the student's understanding of his/her choices and to make sure that the work was actually done by the student. These questions can include but not limited to; inquiries about the development of literature, the adoption of a certain theory and the choices of the research methods.

2- Does the research contribute to knowledge?

Contribution to the wider knowledge is a very crucial issue and it may be even considered the most important question of all. This is because it is what distinguish a PhD from other pieces of research. In your text it is important to have a clear statement of your research contribution preferably under a separate heading. This will make it easy for you to defend the importance of your thesis during the viva and make it easy for the examiner to find your contribution within the text.

3- Is the research publishable?

Although publishing is not a requirement for passing a viva, having a publishable piece of work is. Therefore if you manage to get to your viva with published work, then you manged to fulfil this requirement. If you did not publish anything before the viva then have a clear publishing plan, be ready to talk about whether you thesis will be published as a book, or a number of papers (it all depends on your field). 

To pass my viva I had to make sure that the examiners can actually answer the three questions. When writing my thesis, I was very explicit about the choices I made during the research and everything was written in details in my chapters. I then just had to make sure that I have the ability to further discuss these choices. I went through many common viva questions and answered them loudly to make sure that I can actually vocalise them. As I did all the work by myself and thought about all my steps carefully, I did not find any problems with answering and elaborating in any of the potential questions. 

In regard to the research contribution it was discussed in two different chapters of my thesis. In the background chapter I have indicated the gap in the literature and what this research will add. After my discussion I wrote about the contribution of the research in a separate section and I clearly stated how my research added to the gap identified in the literature in addition to the theoretical contribution of it. I therefore was confident about the research contribution and was actually looking forward discussing it. 

In regard to having publishable piece of work, I was not one of the people who have published during the research. However, once I submitted my thesis for examination, I focused on writing papers. By the time of the viva I had three papers to talk about one under review by a journal, one ready to submit and I was writing the third and had a plan for it. By writing papers -although not published yet- and having a publishing plan, I felt that I ticked the third box on the examiners' list and I knew I am prepared for the viva. 

Two weeks before the viva I had a mock viva with my supervisors which was a good preparation. It helped me to answer all the questions in details get a constructive feedback and it increased my self-confidence. 

While I felt ready to discuss my work, there was part of me that was still worried. My main worry was not about the things I wrote, instead it was about things that I have not written about. There was this fear of being asked about theories that I have not read, or getting into deep discussions about things that I had mentioned briefly. Of course no one can cover all topics in one PhD and it is understandable that your research focused on a certain area. What is important is to explain why you chose to focus on that area and that you understand where your work fit within the wider literature. Keeping that in mind, I looked at my examiners' research interests and some of their papers that are related to my work. I did that not necessarily to adopt their views, but to understand them and be able to defend my work if it does not fit with theirs. This brought me some ease but at the end of the day it was a viva and I was allowed to be a bit worried. 

Answering the common questions was not enough, as I had a number of questions in mind that I was worried of being asked. The questions were mainly about the examiners' work and why I have not adopted their views. Two days before the viva I thought that it was time to face my fears, so I wrote the questions down and wrote how I would answer them, by doing that I realised that they are not as scary as I thought and that I had answers for them.  

Being ready with my thesis and answers, I was not very tense on the day of the viva. I actually felt it would be a good chance to discuss my work and ideas with experts who took time to read it. The viva itself took an hour and a half and to me it felt like a discussion more than an examination. I was asked some of the expected questions such as how my ideas developed over time. I was also asked some questions that I did not expect or prepare for, however as long as it was my work which I knew inside out, it was not an issue, I took few seconds every now and then to think but managed to answer the examiners' inquiries. 

Being very explicit and transparent in my methodology chapter was really helpful and I was told that I have left them with no questions to ask as it was a "solid production". 

I have eventually passed my viva and had a great discussion about my research with experts. 

Looking back at that experience I would say you should be thinking about the viva all through your PhD journey, be aware of the decisions you make, know why you made these choices, be ready to justify them and be explicit and transparent in your writing. After the submission, prepare yourself to answer the common viva questions because you will be asked some of them -maybe in other words- and if possible have a mock viva. If you have done the work, relax and enjoy the experience. 

Common viva questions: 

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/eresources/study-guides/viva/prepare/questions

http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/ResearchEssentials/?p=156

http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/graduateschool/PostgraduateResearchFundamentals/LateStage/SurvivingtheLateStage-PGStudentsHaveTheirSay/PreparingfortheViva/