The Practice of Social Research Nicholas Gane

 An oral examination that comes after the submission of your doctoral thesis  It does not happen immediately as the examiners have to read your work and prepare a report  Can often take a while to pin down experts in the field – but usually the viva takes place within three month of submission  Depending on the circumstances, it can last anything up to three hours

 Normally one internal and one external (who often play slightly different roles)  In some cases (where you are employed by the University) you will have two externals  You will have an input into the selection of your examiners (there are some restrictions)  This is a crucial choice, and something to talk about in detail with your supervisor  Start thinking about this well in advance of submission

 You will tend to be examined on what is on the page, but if your examiners are unsure the viva is your chance to shine and to talk persuasively about the value of your work  Hence: be prepared  You can practise ahead of the day by doing a mock viva with your supervisor or a friend  Don’t get lost in detail – think also about the thesis as a whole  Remind yourself what is really at stake, what the key research questions are and how you have addressed them: be consistent

 Mark up a copy of your thesis – post-it note or tabs are particularly useful to find your way around this lengthy document under pressure  ‘Go through “generic viva questions” and think up answers’  ‘Make a list of questions that frighten you the most…’  ‘Get a good night’s sleep’ (pp.176-7).

 ‘To satisfy the requirements of the degree of PhD, a thesis must constitute a substantial original contribution to knowledge and is, in principle, worthy of peer-reviewed publication. The thesis shall be clearly and concisely written and well argued and shall show a satisfactory knowledge of both primary and secondary sources. It shall contain a full bibliography and, where appropriate, a description of methods and techniques used in the research’.

 The examiners will have written a report about your thesis in advance of the viva  They will usually meet on the day of the viva to discuss their reports and to co-ordinate different lines of questioning  They will often have a recommendation in mind (sometimes they will tell you this but most likely not)  For the viva your supervisor is not usually present

 There are some standard lines of questioning that tend to open PhD vivas (but this is not guaranteed!)  Could you briefly summarise in lay terms what this work is about? The examiners may refer to the title of the thesis so choose this carefully!  How did you become interested in this area?  What are the main research questions that this thesis tries to address?

 The examiners are likely to have different areas of expertise and they will co-ordinate to ask you about different aspects of your thesis  They will tend to move from broad opening questions to more specific questions about particular things in the thesis that have caught their attention  But they are also likely to ask general questions about structure, running order, method, extent and range of literature covered and so on

 Keep calm!  Speak clearly and slowly  Keep your answers brief-ish and to the point (ie not usually longer than 5 minutes) – this is supposed to be a dialogue  Don’t speak over your examiners – give them the opportunity to ask questions and to follow these up  Don’t be too dogmatic or aggressive in your answers but at the same time show that you have mastery over the material in question

 What to do if you find yourself on the back foot?  Don’t panic!  Bring the conversation back to things that you know well  Take the examiners to points in your thesis that illustrate your position and which you can talk about with confidence (there are often pivotal passages that frame the argument of your PhD that you should be able to talk about in detail)

 Buy yourself some time  Think before you speak! Don’t rush into an answer when you don’t know where it is going  You can ask the examiner to repeat their question and to explain any parts of it that are causing you trouble (a good tip also if you are faced by a difficult question at a conference) – sometimes they will end up answering their own question or giving a clue as to how it might be answered

 Be clear about the choices you have made through the course of your research: remember this is your PhD (for example literature covered, scope of study, methodological techniques, extent of data)  Only talk about things that you have covered in the thesis – the danger otherwise is the question – ‘why isn’t this in your thesis?’  Try to show consistency of argument throughout your work and that you have answered your research questions

 A. That the degree be awarded.  B. That the degree be awarded, subject to minor amendments or corrections.  C. That the degree be not awarded, but that the student be permitted to submit a revised thesis. The examiners must set a deadline for resubmission of the thesis, within a maximum of 12 months from official notification by the University.  D. That a degree of lower status be awarded.  E. That no degree be awarded.

 Don’t be dismayed if you have to do some corrections – this happens in the majority of cases  Try to get these done and dusted so that you can move on: many jobs rest on the award of the PhD  Have some kind of plan for what you want to do post-PhD in advance of submission of your thesis  Often your PhD examiners will write you references for your first job (if things go well)

 If you want to work as an academic in HE after the PhD:  Think about further funding streams  Try to build academic networks by presenting your work at workshops and conferences  Travel to major events (to see speakers and stay in touch with major developments in your field)  Work through your disciplinary associations  Have an awareness of the expectations for publishing research within your respective fields

 Understand the importance of metrics in the contemporary academy  For example, the ‘h-index’ which reflects both the number of publications and the number of citations per publication  Burrows and Kelly : ‘the h-index functions to instantiate academic “value” in the individual researcher or research group’ (p.362)  But the main audit measure in the UK is the Research Excellence Framework (REF)

 The REF has just taken place ( )  It was previously called the Research Assessment Exercise  The REF slightly is scored as follows: Research outputs (65%), impact (20%), environment (15%)  A major factor in the hiring academic staff – something to be aware of

 For a wonderful reflection on the PhD viva and how to prepare for it, listen to the following podcast by Les Back (Goldsmiths College):  duateschool/ThePhDViva.mp3 duateschool/ThePhDViva.mp3