Phd dissertation questions|acybgntfiz8mt5y7dbiqfp3fyp0yeuzwtg:***
If you are about to go into the world of graduate school, then one of the very first things you need to do is choose from all the possible dissertation topics that are available to you. This is no small task. As stated in a letter posted by Stanford University , you will spend many years researching, writing, and perfecting your dissertation, which means choosing a dissertation topic should not be taken lightly. How do you choose good topics for thesis writing? There are so many topics for a thesis, the possibilities are almost endless!
Practice Viva Questions
I submitted my thesis way back in March but, somewhere between CREET and the Research School, the documentation was lost or abandoned for a couple of months. Of course, successfully completing a viva affects all sorts of things: employment prospects, roles I can take on at the university, status, pay — and I could have done without lying in intensive care worrying about the event itself. Someone, somewhere at the university has messed things up big time — not that they are apologising for it, or even owning up.
Can you start by summarising your thesis? Now, can you summarise it in one sentence? What is the idea that binds your thesis together? What motivated and inspired you to carry out this research?
What are the main issues and debates in this subject area? Which of these does your research address? Why is the problem you have tackled worth tackling? Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice? Which are the three most important papers that relate to your thesis? What published work is closest to yours? How is your work different?
What do you know about the history of [insert something relevant]? How does your work relate to [insert something relevant]? What are the most recent major developments in your area? How did your research questions emerge? What were the crucial research decisions you made? Why did you use this research methodology? What did you gain from it? What were the alternatives to this methodology?
What would you have gained by using another approach? How did you deal with the ethical implications of your work? How has your view of your research topic changed? How have you evaluated your work? How do you know that your findings are correct? What would have improved your work? To what extent do your contributions generalise?
Who will be most interested in your work? What is the relevance of your work to other researchers? What is the relevance of your work to practitioners? Which aspects of your work do you intend to publish — and where? Summarise your key findings. Which of these findings are the most interesting to you? How do your findings relate to literature in your field? What are the contributions to knowledge of your thesis?
How long-term are these contributions? What are the main achievements of your research? What have you learned from the process of doing your PhD? What advice would you give to a research student entering this area?
You propose future research. How would you start this? What would be the difficulties? And, finally… What have you done that merits a PhD? Addendum: Rebecca successfully defended her thesis on 21st August. I think this is a really useful list, not least for you about to embark upon the viva but for others who are about to take theirs — or even thinking what a PhD entails. Thanks for compiling and sharing. The questions at my viva were extremely specific to the content of my thesis, and therefore some are difficult to predict, but most probably fit into a templates above.
This really shook me, because it was an almost unambiguous assumption of my work. This is really a good thing and personally it can help us in every viva sections……if a single person follow this tips or questions….. I have experienced poor university organisation of viva dates and the work became increasingly distant in my mind.
Thank you very much for this. I am preparing for my viva at the moment and this is helping me to focus properly. First off I want to say wonderful blog! I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head prior to writing. I truly do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips?
Glad you enjoyed the blog. I agree that getting your head into writing can sometimes take time. I discovered this by accident — I was once trying to write and started blogging as a sort of displacement activity. Having written a large blog post, I realised that it contained the essence of the structure of what I was trying to write, and so simply copied it across. Hope this helps. I am very happy to receive reading your proposed viva questions which I realized they are useful for any viva candidates who are preparing to present it, like me, my viva is just in a comer which I wish to have such important suggested general questions of a viva.
However, I would like you if possible to suggest for me some viva questions on my field which you think they may be raised by the committee and which you may think possibly may be. Therefore, I need your advice. I am much thankful to you for the guideline in viva questions. God bless you.
I came across your blog through google search and must mention that it is a very thoughtful and wonderful article. I am preparing for a viva scheduled next week and this list of questions has helped me gain a broader perspective about the possible questions. I extend my sincere appreciation of your efforts. It has been of great help. Hi everybody, I have just submitted my PhD thesis. Any practical suggestions please?
Well done on getting it submitted. Can you get an academic in your field to read your thesis and give you a practice viva? This may pinpoint areas that your examiners might question you on. It is also a good idea to go over and over your thesis, and put in sticky tabs in pages you think you may need to reference. You need to know it like the back of your hand. Get an idea of their theoretical perspectives and be sure you have your literature and arguments firm in your mind in case they challenge you on some small area.
I Have a viva exam for Ph. D Geology on I am about to do my viva on skype. Can you tell me some of the advantages and disadvantages of this method of presentation and how I can better the disadvantages.
I am a long way off finishing my thesis, but I have found these questions really useful and will bookmark them. I think by the end of my work I will be able to answer all of those questions apart from number 40 which would throw me. Especially us MSc students! I have learnt a lot so God bless you. The research thing is so Ughh…. You must be logged in to post a comment.
Research Essentials. Skip to content. Home About Archives. Rebecca Addendum: Rebecca successfully defended her thesis on 21st August. My research interests focus on how people learn together online and in blended environments, and I have studied blogs, online conference and interaction in both Second Life and Teen Second Life.
This entry was posted in Reflections , viva. Bookmark the permalink. July 22, at am. Juliette Culver says:.
When you have finally finished writing a PhD dissertation or thesis, and submitted it to the university for review, you are at the end of a long period of grappling. But all research questions should be focused, specific, appropriately For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down.
Skip to content. Skip to navigation. Every viva examination is different, so it is not possible to know in advance exactly what the examiners will ask you. However, there are some common questions which you may like to practice as part of your own preparations. Generally, the questions that are asked in viva examinations can be grouped under four basic headings:.
You may be wondering what a thesis defense is as you have only heard and known about the thesis.
Date published April 18, by Shona McCombes. Date updated: November 7, The research question is one of the most important parts of your research project, thesis or dissertation.
7 viva questions you should prepare in advance
Date published April 16, by Shona McCombes. Date updated: February 3, A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, project or thesis. It pinpoints exactly what you want to find out and gives your work a clear focus and purpose. All research questions should be:.
List Of 20 Common Thesis Defense Questions You Should Be Prepared For
The nature of the exam at the end of your PhD journey that determines whether you are awarded your doctorate or not can be a daunting and overwhelming thought. So, naturally the need for any PhD student is to be as prepared as possible. But — spoiler alert! All of this and more will influence the questions you get asked and the discussions you will have. But having said all that — there is no such thing as being over prepared for your viva because at the end of the day it is all about confidence. If you feel prepared enough then any question they throw at you, you will take in your stride. But more from me about viva prep and a step by step guide to help you keep your cool is coming very soon. So, I have said that you never know what is going to come up in a viva.
I submitted my thesis way back in March but, somewhere between CREET and the Research School, the documentation was lost or abandoned for a couple of months.
Supervisors will often suggest or straight-up tell you that your dissertation topic is too broad. It's no surprise. Coming up with a broad dissertation topic is such an easy thing to do, especially if you are an undergraduate student i.
Developing strong research questions
There are three reasons why PhD candidates have to have a viva: it is so the examiners can see:. These are the points being examined according to Alex Gray from the University of Cardiff :. It's crucial to get the philosophy of your thesis as set out in your Chapter 1 absolutely correct, and clear in your mind by the time of the viva , because if the examiners find holes, they'll run rings round you. Identify the contentious statements in the thesis, which you anticipate having to defend in the viva. A good supervisor will point out the contentious statements and grill you over them. Start a file of anticipated viva questions. The conclusion chapter is a major one to focus on in anticipating viva questions - especially where you criticise your work! Obviously, it's essential to know your own thesis thoroughly. I think it's a great idea to compile a brief summary of each section before you submit - enough to remind you of what's in each section, paragraph by paragraph or similar my thesis summary is very different to, and shorter than, my thesis plan, where I basically wrote down all the points I could think of, then when I wrote it up, I added and deleted points, and changed the structure. Compiling a thesis summary before you submit has the advantages that you may spot strategic-level flaws in time to fix them, and will enable you to revise for the viva from the thesis summary rather than from the thesis itself. Don't try to get the thesis perfect and free of minor corrections at the expense of delaying submission. It's almost certain that the examiners will find something to correct, anyway. The most important goal in preparing for the viva is to keep the subject alive in your head.
