I'm just about to start my PhD. I'm thinking, should you have an 'external' in mind from the start so you can reference them in your research and have a good knowledge of their work and stance on the subject (I think I have read you and your supervisor can choose an external?) or are externals recruited more haphazardly i.e whoever is about at the time you need to submit? Or are they recruited in response to theorists you used in your thesis? I am just wondering if I need to know this from the start as I don't want to end up with someone whose work I either haven't utilised widely or would have an opposit or negative stance towards the thesis (just thinking of some of the more problematic viva stories i've read on here!!) Just so I can tailor my writing from the start. Thanks ;-p

In my field (Humanities) supervisors typically advise on suitable externals, though it remains the candidate's prerogative to select their own. It's also a decision that emerges from the way the research project has developed, rather than informing its direction from the outset. That may not be true of all fields or specialisms though.

hi wowzers
this is a great question--I never even thought of this when I started my phd!!!

---while it is a good idea to have some idea of your external at the beginning of the phd, it is also worthwhile remembering that your research will probably go through some development and EVOLVE (you might achieve a breakthrough--and make some one-of-a-kind-state-of-the-art discovery!!!) and then your thought-of-external-at-the-start may not be relevant at that point :-)

I did not pick my examiners, I left it to my supervisor. While the viva is important, I also trust that she will not pick someone who will fail me :-p :-)

love satchi