Dedicated to all friends yg sdg berjuang...insyallah..insy
Salam to all future scholars: I really would like to spark with you the viva questions, we want to to share and highlight the strategies of answering viva questions?, We need feedback from those who already doing their viva and how they overcome?
Here I can put some of these questions:
...
Salam to all future scholars: I really would like to spark with you the viva questions, we want to to share and highlight the strategies of answering viva questions?, We need feedback from those who already doing their viva and how they overcome?
Here I can put some of these questions:
...
In one sentence, what is your thesis?
What have you done that merits a PhD?
What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?
What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?
Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?
How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?
What have you learnt from your research experience?
ANSWER:
I had my viva in Oct 2005. Long time ago. I think, all those listed questions were asked, either directly or indirectly, during my viva. Let me share my personal take/suggestion on those:
→ In one sentence, what is your thesis?
My thesis is about ____________ (ISSUE); attempting to investigate ____________ (RESEARCH QUESTION) by employing _______________ (METHOD).
→ What have you done that merits a PhD?
I think the novel output/s of my research is/are mainly in terms of ________________ (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING) where __________________ (provide an ‘over-view’ description of your METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).
→ What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?
The previous studies on ________________ (ISSUE) are mainly limited to ________________ (describe the main corpus of existing literature) in terms of (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING). My research has explored/found new dimensions, which are __________________ (describe yours, in relations to METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).
→ What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?
Under the circumstances where my project had been operating the last _____ years, I believe I have done everything that is necessary based on the pre-determined scope of my research and the limitations that come with it. However, some recent studies (cite the most current literature on your ISSUE) have explored _________________________ (describe the latest METHOD/DATA/THEORY). Under these new circumstances, I would probably have ___________________ (describe what you want to do differently) instead of _______________ (describe what you did) during the ________________________ (specify the stage: framework building, data collection, analysis, interpretation, etc).
* My supervisor reminded me several times - that if I ever get asked this question - I must stay FIRM with what I had done. Sometimes the examiner may use this question to trick you into revealing the weakness of your research. But it might be also asked to test how broad your perspective is. So find a way to answer it based on a very specific context.
→ Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?
There is no clear consensus in literature of who is the most influential, but personally I think __________________ (state your choice) could take such credit for his/
OR
Based on the cumulative literatures, it is obvious that ____________________ (state the most notable scholar/s) has/have had the strongest influence in this subject area. However, for this specific sub-niche which has been the focus of my research, I think _________________ (state your choice) is the most influential because his/her work on ________________________ (describe his/her most related studies to your thesis) has established ______________________ (the most impressive element of the work).
* This kind of question normally has no WRONG or RIGHT answer. The examiners simply want to know how you position your own scholarly outlook, as a potential PhD graduate. So it is always good to be a little bit assertive – and not afraid to make a stance.
→ How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?
The main contribution of my thesis is related to method/framework/theory which has addressed _____________ (describe the specific issues/problems). It will remain relevant until new _________________ (describe how your contribution functions) is established, which may take _____________ (give your estimate: e.g. 5-10) years.
* This question is not so common for social sciences/humanities candidate. I guess, this is mostly for applied sciences/economics and education.
→ What have you learnt from your research experience?
I learn that PhD is a very interesting journey. There are many different options to achieve the same objective; and each one of these methods has its own scientific merit, which is neither more nor less valid than the others.
* This was actually my answer (not the exact quote – but implied this meaning) for the same question. Because throughout my viva, the two examiners were quite obsessive in suggesting many new different methods (which they thought were better than what I did).
To other friends, pls share...
What have you done that merits a PhD?
What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?
What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?
Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?
How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?
What have you learnt from your research experience?
ANSWER:
I had my viva in Oct 2005. Long time ago. I think, all those listed questions were asked, either directly or indirectly, during my viva. Let me share my personal take/suggestion on those:
→ In one sentence, what is your thesis?
My thesis is about ____________ (ISSUE); attempting to investigate ____________ (RESEARCH QUESTION) by employing _______________ (METHOD).
→ What have you done that merits a PhD?
I think the novel output/s of my research is/are mainly in terms of ________________ (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING) where __________________ (provide an ‘over-view’ description of your METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).
→ What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?
The previous studies on ________________ (ISSUE) are mainly limited to ________________ (describe the main corpus of existing literature) in terms of (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING). My research has explored/found new dimensions, which are __________________ (describe yours, in relations to METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).
→ What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?
Under the circumstances where my project had been operating the last _____ years, I believe I have done everything that is necessary based on the pre-determined scope of my research and the limitations that come with it. However, some recent studies (cite the most current literature on your ISSUE) have explored _________________________ (describe the latest METHOD/DATA/THEORY). Under these new circumstances, I would probably have ___________________ (describe what you want to do differently) instead of _______________ (describe what you did) during the ________________________ (specify the stage: framework building, data collection, analysis, interpretation, etc).
* My supervisor reminded me several times - that if I ever get asked this question - I must stay FIRM with what I had done. Sometimes the examiner may use this question to trick you into revealing the weakness of your research. But it might be also asked to test how broad your perspective is. So find a way to answer it based on a very specific context.
→ Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?
There is no clear consensus in literature of who is the most influential, but personally I think __________________ (state your choice) could take such credit for his/
OR
Based on the cumulative literatures, it is obvious that ____________________ (state the most notable scholar/s) has/have had the strongest influence in this subject area. However, for this specific sub-niche which has been the focus of my research, I think _________________ (state your choice) is the most influential because his/her work on ________________________ (describe his/her most related studies to your thesis) has established ______________________ (the most impressive element of the work).
* This kind of question normally has no WRONG or RIGHT answer. The examiners simply want to know how you position your own scholarly outlook, as a potential PhD graduate. So it is always good to be a little bit assertive – and not afraid to make a stance.
→ How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?
The main contribution of my thesis is related to method/framework/theory which has addressed _____________ (describe the specific issues/problems). It will remain relevant until new _________________ (describe how your contribution functions) is established, which may take _____________ (give your estimate: e.g. 5-10) years.
* This question is not so common for social sciences/humanities candidate. I guess, this is mostly for applied sciences/economics and education.
→ What have you learnt from your research experience?
I learn that PhD is a very interesting journey. There are many different options to achieve the same objective; and each one of these methods has its own scientific merit, which is neither more nor less valid than the others.
* This was actually my answer (not the exact quote – but implied this meaning) for the same question. Because throughout my viva, the two examiners were quite obsessive in suggesting many new different methods (which they thought were better than what I did).
To other friends, pls share...
No comments:
Post a Comment