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Last week I reached thirty two. Thirty two doctoral researchers who successfully defended their research. Thirty two Doctors let loose on the world.<\/p>\n
And two things are now on my mind. Not thirty two. Just two.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0first<\/strong>\u00a0thing I\u2019m thinking about is how heavily the viva weighs on me as a supervisor \u2013 not nearly as much as it does the doctoral candidate for sure, but viva-time is still a pretty anxious period. This is not because professional doctorate and PhD \u2018successes\u2019 are now counted and audited in the university, although I dare say I could get worried about that if I chose to. No, the worry and anxiety comes from the long-term nature of the pedagogical relationship. I care about whether the doctoral candidate gets what they need and want from their investment of trust in me, as well as the time and money that they\u2019ve spent. And just before the viva, I always experience nagging doubts about whether I could have done more, done something different, should have done this instead of that\u2026 so having two vivas on two consecutive days, as happened last week, meant a couple of pretty nervous nights for me, as well as the candidates. I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only supervisor who feels this kind of worry.<\/p>\n The\u00a0second<\/strong>\u00a0thing I\u2019m thinking about is that, as a supervisor, I usually don\u2019t have a clue what the examiners are going to ask. All of those generic questions that supposedly prepare for vivas \u2013 they really aren\u2019t asked. Ever. Well, that\u2019s my experience anyway, as the supervisor who sits in the room and listens.\u00a0The examiners always come up with angles and issues that I just haven\u2019t anticipated.<\/p>\n I think that this may be in part because at the end of the three to four-year engagement with a doctoral researcher and their work, it\u2019s pretty tricky for me as supervisor to feel separate from the thesis, just as it is the doctoral researcher themselves. But it\u2019s mainly because it\u2019s well, you know, it\u2019s peer review. And peers have their own takes on things \u2013 and unlike blind peer review, you\u2019ve asked these examiners precisely for that reason. Examiners are interesting and generous scholars who will read the thesis through their eyes \u2013 not mine.<\/p>\n So, apart from knowing that there\u2019s likely to be some questions about method and maybe analysis and ethics, and something about theory and something about contribution, I\u2019ve largely given up trying to predict exactly what will be asked in a viva. \u201cJust know your stuff, what you did and why\u201d is now the best advice I can give to people before their viva. Expect the unexpected. Know what you\u2019re good at. It\u2019s a conversation.<\/p>\n