Fatimah,

An effective viva interview should ask a series of balanced questions weighted relatively equally per chapter. They will be mainly related to rationality and justification i.e. choice of and was your methodology the most appropriate. They tend to be more lead-in questions. The most discursive questions will relate to any agreed inconsistencies or gaps in your thesis. The previous examiner feedback should give you an idea of what those are likely to be. The best thing that you can do is to work on your 'counter' to them.

Thank you Dr. Whitehead and Prof. Low. I might need to strengthen my theoretical framework and supporting references. Will work on it. Thanks again.

@Fatimah, wish You the best. Good luck! What type of defence proposal You are talking about? If it is Ph.D , please take a look in pages 14 and 15 of attached paper! Regards!

http://fkp.umk.edu.my/bm/images/downloads/guidelines.pdf

Appreciate the links and the wishes Dr. Ljubomir Jacić and Dr. Abdalla. Very useful and relevant. Thank you.

Fatima

I am assuming it is a Ph D defense and in Science and Engineering. I agree with most of the answers given above.

Normally in my experience the questions from the committee will be structured more on your contribution. So it will start with your research methodology.

If it consists of mathematical modelling and analysis, then concentrate on the assumptions in your formulation, justifying your assumptions with hard facts or previous literature, solution methodologies used whether it is exact or approximate. If it is exact and straightforward solution, then there should be less of a problem. But if you use an approximate solution, again deal with the assumptions and results obtained. How your results compare with either experimental results or past published results, and how you justify any deviation present.

If you have used experimental results, then the use of specific instrumentation, their limitations, accuracies, resolution, etc. can form part of question. How you have used statistics to compare the experimental results obtained, in terms of validity, confidence intervals, analysis, etc. Discussion about your experimental results, if they follow expected pattern, if not how you explain the deviation, can form part of questions.

Finally about your conclusions, how and why you specify some of the conclusions, how they compare with the past and how they lead to your suggestions for future research.

Wishing you the best with your defense.

Wow. Thank you for sharing your experience. Really appreciate.

Dear Fatimah

To defend a Monograph , Master's Dissertation or Thesis you should tell a story . Tell why and how you came to your results , beginning , middle and end . It is worth saying that prospects are always welcome too . Moreover , future perspective means . After all, what scientific question was fully answered?

It is normal nervousness and shyness when the student begins his presentation . But try not to show insecurity.Do not be arrogant

 Be calm and confident . Remember, you studied for years your theme .

At the end of his presentation, the examiners will be organized to the complaint .

It is possible that the bank makes you a question you do not know the answer

If this happens , do not panic, do not make any one answer, do not be aggressive and to be honest saying you don 't know.

The complaint can take hours . But it is normal that you get the impression last year . Many years . But an hour gone. And when you finish it will feel unique.

And then you can go home with their deserved title !

And do something you did not long ago . Sleep.

Good luck

Dear Fatimah, first of all I wish al best in your defense.

A most convenient strategy consists in trying to think against yourself, against your own thesis, against your discoveries and passion. Even the silliest, the most stupid of the arguments from an opposite side should be considered. You've worked for years on your own arguments. Nonetheless, for your defense try to place yourself on somebody else's' s shoes, moreover, on the antipode of your own thesis.

If those anti-argments never come, so much the better for yourself...

PJ Dunleavy just posted this "Top Ten Questions for the PhD Viva" https://medium.com/advice-and-help-in-authoring-a-phd-or-non-fiction/c3687cc75962 which you might find useful. His field is Pol Sci, which may be different than yours of course.

Thank you again all...

Fatimah,

I can recommend you the following book:

Murray, R. (2009). How to survive your viva defending a thesis in an oral examination. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press.

One effective way for preparation is transferring the questions mentioned in the book into a flash card system (e.g. anki). Then add your answers, and to train them on a daily basis.

Good strategy Chris - and will work well for some. On the other hand, 'over-preparation' can lend its own problems. Student's might over-think issues and try to event answers to every nuance of their thesis which might confuse them on the day - or make them more nervous. Certainly, students should prepare well but, I believe, also have confidence in their study; know their strengths and weaknesses and make it as 'natural' an event as possible.

Top 38 Possible PhD Viva Questions

https://www.ilovephd.com/top-38-possible-phd-viva-questions/

I will be defending my proposal very soon, the above information has really given me a huge insight. Thank you all

Prepare yourself : Prepare several bullet points on each

• Know your thesis inside out
• What have you done?
• Why have you done it?
• What have you found?
• What are the implications?
• What is your contribution to knowledge? To industry?

And the most important is to draw a logical sequence in your mind and make it a story.KNOW YOUR STORY

Good Luck

Attached table of The VIVA Do and Do Not

Thank you so much

Many thanks for the elaborate explanation and the links to the revision site. This is very helpful 🙂

Dear Mahmoud Mawed , you MUST bring the original link of the source which you were copied from. This is the way to avoid possible plagiarism.

This is the link.

https://aqaphuworkae.tk/

What are some of the MOST FREQUENT QUESTIONS asked in a PhD VIVA?

•    No dissertation is perfect, and there will be some aspects of your research that your examiners will be specifically critical about. Thus, it will be important for them to ask you some of the questions regarding these 'critical' aspects of your work to see if you can justify them. These questions will probably be decisive in determining the outcome of your viva. •    Besides focusing on some  'critical' aspects of your work, the examiners may ask you to give some more elaborate explanations of specific sections of your thesis or specific techniques used in your research. This will help them determine whether you really understand your own work and can think critically about your research. •    Last but not least, your examiners will be interested in how well you understand the place of your work within your field of research, and they will ask you to explain the overall contribution of your research to your discipline. As an aspiring student, you will always need to see the big picture and understand how your ideas can shape your academic field...

https://www.postgrad.com/advice/exams/vivas/

Thank you so much, I got all I want for my defense here... all the beautiful answers mentioned with references and helpful links...

Academic

Dear Ismiya Begum .M.S , one word answer is not the answer at all!