Dear MumPhDstudent,
wow, two huge events coming up: viva and giving birth to your second! congrats on both counts.

The question you are preparing for is meant to be an icebreaker and to put you at your ease. It is very likely to come up (or a similar question to which you can probably 'bend' your prepared answer). Prepare it, rehearse it and you'll feel far more confident.

In my viva I felt the external asked quite a lot of questions that I felt were more related to their research than to mine so I was sooo pleased I'd swotted up on all their papers.

I know a few people who have done their vivas while pregnant and they reckon they may have had an easier time because of it, if that helps. Just wear a flowery dress or something (obviously don't know if that's your style ;-)). I think the bump makes it harder to judge the formality of your clothes in any case. I had a fellowship interview at 8 months pregnant with no time to buy a suit because of family circumstances, so just wore a jacket that had no hope of fitting over my belly over a vest top that did with my normal maternity trousers. I got the fellowship at the time! (hope that helps)

Sounds like your life is a complete rollercoaster so I reckon you'll take this viva into your stride no problem.
All the best of luck! let us know how it went
Tennie

Hello,

Thanks for the advices it helps so much you cannot imagine how much I feel less alone in my stress
I am still up reading my thesis, I cannot sleep because of the heartburn ... perhaps baby is trying to help by keeping me awake like this I have to read :-)
I am starting my presentation for the VIVA, they asked for it to be short (not sure of what they mean: e.g. 20 minutes?)
I am trying to do the plan but I know that I always struggle with presentations as I always want to put too much in...
I am starting with basic presentation slide: Title of thesis, my name and supervisors names (one slide done Hooray...)
Then perhaps:
2. Problem statemements
3. Hypothesis
4. Contributions
5....I am dead tired I should try to sleep my brain might collapse...

Good night all of you!!!

Hi MumPhDstudent,
Being asked to do a presentation is again likely to be a way to put you at ease! It means you can rehearse the start of the viva and it gives you an opportunity to set the tone. I think it is vital that you ask for clarification of what is expected- length etc.... I'd expect it to be shorter than 20 minutes to be honest. Could you make it a more informal as they will have read your thesis anyway?: particular highlights? or a 'you have read my thesis but this is what I have discovered in the last few months since' ?(if there is anything). This is your chance to show your enthusiasm!

Try to get enough sleep....
Good luck!

Thanks Tennie,

I think you are right I should ask them about the length. I thought the same thing, since they read the thesis they don't need me to repeat the whole thing, so what do they expect exactly is the question to ask...
I am preparing the presentation at the moment and will ask my supervisor to correct it if he has time.

I am so happy to go through the possible questions now because I would have been in big trouble if I didn't...it takes me hours to think of answers...so how I would have managed at the viva? I would have struggled so much...

I am trying to sleep but find it very hard. I will have to survive until the VIVA's date I suppose.

Had a scan today and the baby is doing fine so it makes me fell better as I don't want the baby to live my stress
:$

I still haven't finished preparing the questions I hoped to prepare, but at the same time I followed the advice of trying to relax and sleep well, and BINGO I slept 7  hours in a row, it changes a life to sleep, I feel fresh and less stressed. Even if the feeling is only probably temporary, it is nice to feel good.

My philosophy at the moment: "the research is done, the thesis written and submitted, so stressing at that stage won't add anything ":$
The outcome has probably been decided already, "I think"...

I am meeting one of my supervisor today to discuss the viva, I hope it will help.

Good luck to all of you who are writing or preparing their viva, be strong ... never give up!

I received two books today: "How to survive the viva" and "The doctoral examination process"
Will go through them and give you my opinion on what seems the most helpful.

I am still so so so stressed, I can feel it in my throat and tummy! Oh God 7 days to GO....

How did your meeting with your supervisor go? Did you find out how long the presentation has to be and what they're expecting?

Don't stress- still all of 7 days to go! ANd in 8 days time it will be over!

======= Date Modified 28 May 2010 13:58:44 =======
I found these the other day; hope they give you some good tips:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/dt31/download/phdviva.pdf

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:y7Bc6aQgd3IJ:www.psychology.heacademy.ac.uk/docs/ppt/p20080603_Viva_experience.ppt+surviving+your+viva+/+uk&cd=20&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LVegYCJcGJMJ:www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/facilities/support/phd-support/survivingtheviva.ppt+surviving+your+viva+/+uk&cd=21&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

Hello,


Thanks UnderVerse for the links, got some useful info from them.
I met my supervisor and the advice was to RELAX as it has already been submitted and I will be asked about something I have been doing for so long....mmmmhhhhh STILL I AM STRESSED! And i am so afraid to go blank!

I want to cry, to hide, to run away, to sleep!!!!

But I have to go through it so will try to be courageous :$

I cannot sleep because I am too stressed, it is crazy I am so afraid to make a full of myself!
I am so bad at public presentations...I prefer writing. I love doing research in my small lab, I like writing about it and sharing my ideas this way...but I hate talking about it, I never find the write words to explain things...my communication skills are rubbish...guess will have to improve one day...

Enjoy your bank holiday, Good luck to the students in my case VIVA - 4 days....oh my god!!!!

======= Date Modified 30 May 2010 11:15:54 =======
For the ones who already had their VIVA, what was you answer to "What would you do differently if you had the chance?"

======= Date Modified 30 May 2010 17:39:36 =======

I had a couple of answers prepared for that (though I wasn't asked it on the day):

1/ I'd have adopted a methodological classification system earlier on in my PhD - it was quite a late addition in my thesis, although it was easy to work in alongside the existing lower-level classifications.

2/ In an ideal world I would also have looked at more archival holdings (I'm a history student), but was restricted by neurological illness, so focused on the most important records, and increasingly bringing copies of them to me to work on at home

So those were my answers. Best to think about this before they ask you, so you hopefully have an answer ready. What do you wish you could have done a bit differently for example?

Thanks BilboBaggins,

I really find this question tricky...I don't know why.
More suggestions while I am thinking would be good :$

My viva is tomorrow, so I'm finding your thread useful for some of the prep work. I'm trying to have a chilled day today, but have found myself trying to plug gaps in my technical knowledge in the run up to tomorrow. Most of which I may not even be asked.
I hope your viva goes well on Friday. I'll check back in later in the day to see if anyone has any last minute tips for either of us.
Please let me have some finger nails left to chew by tomorrow.

======= Date Modified 31 May 2010 19:23:54 =======
Good luck yellowtreble!!!

Please come back on the forum tomorrow to tell us about your experience! Which field are you in?

Some reading I have done on VIVA preparation:
When answering the questions:
- Pause to think
- Provide structured answers
- be specific
- be explicit
- Elaborate when needed
- speak in the past tense
- say "I"
- Define and then defend
- Accept criticism
- BREATH....

LOL I am dead afraid of this VIVA experience! I feel like I know nothing and that I forgot everything about
my thesis even if I spent ages writing it!

BREATH, BREATH, BREATH.....:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

VIVA minus 3 days!!!!!

How are the others having the viva this week doing?

Hope it goes well! Please let us know!