How to survive your viva: defending a thesis in an oral examination

193 Pages·2015·1.509 MB·English

by  Murray, Rowena

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How to Survive Your Viva 3e is a concise, practical introduction that equips students ou Defending a thesis in an oral examination .158.1
with the skills they need to defend their thesis or dissertation. r 17
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preparation workshops run by the author over many years. y
Thoroughly updated but retaining its well-loved style, this third edition provides: e d i t i o n right ©
Planning tools for you to employ, plus summaries at the start of each chapter to M
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help you prepare ra
• Checklists of how to do well in your oral examination, with action points to clarify w-H
Ewxhaamt ypoleu qsuheosutlido ndso wniethxt samples of strong and weak answers, plus narratives of ill G
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students’ real viva experiences ba
More on research into viva questions and different types of questions you may be l E
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asked, including specialist ones in your discipline uc
• Advice on condensing your rationale, framework, methods and findings into a short Ro ation
verbal statement w H
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• Nane wa smseartteivriea la onnd mcaalimnt aviivnaing positive body language, posture and eye contact for ena Defines viva requirements ldings, L
The third edition is the essential handbook for all students and researchers anticipating M • L
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afonr usnudpeerrgvirsaodrusa, tteu,t oMrsa satnedrs e oxra mdoincteorrsa.l examination. It is also an invaluable reference urra • Explains typical questions . Not to
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Rowena Murray is Professor of Education, Director of Research at the University of • re
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for Academic Journals, both published by Open University Press. Suggests ways to practice te
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Cover design by Naomi Mitchell issio
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Defending a thesis in an oral examination g
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Rowena Murray 58
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Open University Press ac
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McGraw-Hill Education lty
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and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA .15
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First published 2003 ] a
Second edition published 2009 t [0
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First published in this third edition 2015 /18
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Copyright © Rowena Murray, 2015 ]. C
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes h
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A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ca
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ISBN-13: 978-0-335-26388-2 o
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ISBN-10: 0-335-26388-7 in
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Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may y
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Praise Page lty
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☆☆☆☆☆ Amazon reviews for the 2nd edition: ian
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“Again, Rowena Murray nails it! A perfectly balanced guide outlin- i Un
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ing truly useful tips to getting through your viva from someone who e
knows.” rsity
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“This is an excellent book. It is hard to work out exactly what you 5
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need to work on for your viva as preparation could be endless due .11
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to the range of things you could be asked. I found the book helpful ] a
in giving me a good understanding of what to expect, how to start t [07
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with focusing on the specific areas suggested and how to develop 8/1
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my own style in marking up my thesis. Once I had prepared the ]. C
range of set questions that could be asked for my work I felt better op
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going into the viva and having covered all the areas in the book I rig
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felt able to utilise information from the set areas that I had pre- t ©
pared. It certainly reduced my nerves going in knowing I had areas M
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suggested fully prepared. A must have for anyone doing a viva! ra
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I had bought this book as it had been recommended to me. I -H
bought it less than two weeks before my viva and I really would ill G
have missed out if I hadn’t got it – so still helpful in the final stages lob
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but would be most helpful at the start of your research journey.” l E
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“Helped me pass my Viva . . . loads of tips and tricks for succeeding.” tion
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“A Doctorate viva is probably the scariest undertaking an aca- in
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demic ever has to do. I have passed this on to a good friend for s, L
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when she has to defend hers, as the preparation for that really has C
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to begin long before you are in the realm of an imminent viva.” o
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“I remember reading this book a number of years ago prior to re
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to calm those pre-viva nerves. Highly recommended.” d o
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“This book was brilliant. I read bits and pieces – there’s no need to ifie
read it front to back, which makes it easy to pick up and put away d in
as and when. Highly recommended for preparation and eases the an
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stress of viva preparation. Good luck all of you writing a PhD.” w
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Dedication lty
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This book is dedicated to ian
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The village people (Lochwinnoch and Brig o’ Turk) a
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Contents lty
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Preface xiii ian
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Acknowledgements xv a
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1 WHAT IS A VIVA? 1 ive
What is a viva? – an oral examination 2 rsity 5
Definitions 4 .62
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The role of the oral examination in the doctoral process 5 58
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Mystique 8 1
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VThaeri actoionnc eapntd o vfa ‘rsiatabnilditayr d practice’ 109 ] at [07
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Code of practice or quality code 11 8/1
Viva by videoconference or Skype 12 6]. C
Individual or idiosyncratic? 14 o
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Patterns in practice 15 rig
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Socratic dialogue 16 t ©
Criteria 16 M
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Originality 18 G
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Ambiguity 19 w-H
Disciplinary differences 21 ill G
Types of doctorate – types of examination 21 lo
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Personal preferences 24 al E
‘Private graduation’ 25 du
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Not the end of the process 25 atio
Checklist 26 n H
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2 ORIENTATION 27 g
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Research orientation 28 L
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Practice orientation 28 . N
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Rhetorical orientation 29 t to
Research on the doctoral examination 32 be
What can go wrong 36 red
Warning! 37 istrib
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Checklist 38 te
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3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 39 o
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Rhetorical design: audience and purpose 39 ified
Candidates 40 in a
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Examiners 43 y
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The panel 46 ay
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The independent chair 47 ith
Roles 48 ou
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