Preparing for the Oral Examination Dr Hilary Burgess Reader in Education School of Education University of Leicester

At the top of the mountain!

The Journey Down from the Mountain Congratulate yourself! Relax and enjoy the view Consider how to get home Only then can you say you have conquered the PhD mountain

Strengths and limitations of your thesis No-one knows your work as well as you. Consider and reflect upon: What have you done? Why have you done it? How did you do it? What have you found? What are the implications of your findings?

Prepare yourself Go through the questions on the previous slide and condense your responses into 3-5 bullet points Mark sections of your thesis that you might want to refer to Have a practice viva Make a list of what to take: your thesis, a summary, bottle of water Think about what to wear

An original contribution to knowledge? addresses research questions which either have not been addressed previously or have been addressed in different ways clearly demonstrates how the research findings contribute to and advance knowledge of the research area under investigation, in relation to existing methodology, research findings, theory and educational practice/policy identifies further research questions/issues

What are examiners looking for? A whole variety of things. Substance again I think is important. I do think it needs to be a fairly meaty document……… So topic is important. The conduct of the thesis — an understanding of literature, of method and its limitations and strengths, an application of general research methods...

What are examiners looking for? Clear specification of objectives of research, careful design of research, good literature review — well structured, not rambling — fair amount of precision in thought, good strong use of theory, picking out appropriate propositions which are being tested... Good ability to manage data handling. Good writing style and good conclusions.

What are examiners looking for? I guess there’s a minimum level. At a minimum level I’m looking for a good understanding of the state of the literature. I’m looking for total confidence in the application of research methodology. And I’m looking for anything that allows me to say ‘This is a contribution to knowledge.’ I guess if I’m going beyond that I’m looking for the kind of doctorate that one hopes produces papers or a book. I’d like to see something that looks original — a true contribution to knowledge.

Viva Questions Tell me in a few sentences what your thesis is about What do you consider to be the most original element? On p.24 you say “….” can you elaborate what you mean by this statement? How did you conduct your literature search? What do you think about the work of/compared to?

Viva Questions Throughout your thesis you often return to Lortie’s work to illustrate of develop an argument. Why was this work of such significance for you? Tell us about your methodology Which of your research methods proved most valuable and why? Explain your data analysis

Closing questions Will you continue to develop this line of research? Where do you hope to publish? What do you intend to do next? (Hopefully celebrate!)

Practice Very briefly jot down a response to the questions below in relation to your thesis. What have you done? Why have you done it? How did you do it? What have you found?

Practice 1. Working in three’s, take it in turn to summarise your thesis Critique each other’s summaries 2. Explain your methodology with an example from your research How could the explanation be improved?

Outcomes There are a variety of outcomes: Award of degree Award of degree with minor amendments Award of degree with amendments Revision of the thesis and requirement to resubmit

Calming Strategies! Leave a few days to have a break before your viva Remember you are the expert Check out where you are going and where the room is the day before and how long it takes to get there Plan something to do after it is over!