"So, you have submitted your thesis, what happens next?"

This was the question that kept going around in my head. I knew I needed to prepare for my viva, but how did I do that? I knew I needed to take a break from my thesis, but I also needed to ensure that I was prepared for my viva.

I was very lucky in that I submitted my thesis on a Thursday afternoon and by the Sunday evening I knew the data of my viva so I knew how long I had to prepare. This needed a plan (you may have noticed that I like plans even if I don't stick to them!). Working backwards from my viva date, I followed the advice of Dr Nathan Ryder (http://viva-survivors.com) and set out my plan so that rather than trying to cram all my preparations into the last couple of weeks, I did a little bit or viva prep everyday for a longer period of time. In this way I was also able to plan a four week break without worrying that I wouldn't be able to prepare as well as I wanted to.

Week 1 - Take a break
Week 2 - Take a break
Week 3 - Take a break
Week 4 - Take a break
Week 5 - Conference & Viva Prep cards
Week 6 - Review chapter 1 & 2 and make summary notes & Viva Prep cards
Week 7 - Review chapter 3 & 4 and make summary notes & Viva Prep cards
Week 8 - Review chapter 5 & 6 and make summary notes & Viva Prep cards
Week 9 - Condense chapter summary notes – identify key points & Viva Prep cards
Week 10 - Condense chapter summary notes – identify key points & Viva Prep cards
Week 11 - Revisit key references & Viva Prep cards
Week 12 - Read through thesis & Viva Prep cards
Week 13 - Relax - VIVA

I came across a reference to Viva Cards early on in my PhD and stored the link away for the day that I may want to order some cards. I would say that the cards aren't cheap (£25) but I found them to be a brilliant tool. Each day I would pick one or two cards and answer them, sometimes verbally and sometimes in writing.

Between doing the regular viva card questions, and following my plan, I felt that I had some control over the situation and that I was getting to know my thesis better. During this process I also identified minor spelling and grammar corrections as well as an entire page in my appendix that had the wrong names on it! I made a note of all of these so that I could fix them post viva.

About two weeks before my viva I had a mock-viva with my supervisors. I was so nervous before hand, but I was able to answer every question that they asked me which really helped my confidence. At the end of the mock-viva, my supervisors talked to me about how I had done and said that they would send me all of the questions that they asked so that I could use them within my viva prep.

All I had to do now was wait for the day.

My viva took place in the early afternoon.

I knew my external examiners had arrived and that they were meeting with my internal examiner to discuss the plan for the viva. So I sat with my supervisors waiting for the call that they were ready.

About 5 minutes after we were due to start, my internal examiner appeared to let me know that they were ready, but that they had temporarily lost the chair, but when they found him they would let us know! It turns out he had popped outside for some fresh air before they started.

Both of my supervisors came into the viva with me, with my main supervisor planning to take notes of the questions asked and my answers and my second supervisor just being there for support. They sat behind me in lines with the University policy so that I could not see them, but it was reassuring to know that they were there.

The chair introduced what was going to happen and then the examiners introduced themselves. As I was working at the University, I had three examiners - one internal examiner from my school and two external examiners. Once they had introduced themselves the viva started and the first question they asked was "why did you choose this topic?" and I froze! My thought process went along the lines of: "is this a trick question?", "but that's set out on the first two pages of my introduction!", but I looked down at my notebook where I had made one note for myself - BREATHE. I took a deep breath and answered - my supervisor told me later that she was trying to work out whether she could give me a gentle nudge with her foot but decided she couldn't reach!

From that point on my confidence grew with each answer I was able to provide. I held onto my thesis (in its lovely purple folder) as a comfort blanket and did refer to it a few times, but mostly I was able to respond with no prompts. Before I knew it the examiners asked one last question "is there a question that you thought we would ask but didn't, or is there anything that you would like to tell us about your research that we haven't asked?" After telling them about the impact of Covid-19 on my research process and standing firm in my position that whilst the children's knowledge of gender may be impacted by Covid-19 lockdowns, that the findings represented the children's lived experiences and therefore were valid.

We then left the room and returned to my supervisors office where I tried to calm down and we waited. It is a weird feeling, it is the longest wait ever whilst it also goes by so fast, and then we were called back.

The examiners congratulated me and let me know that I had passed. The internal examiner explained that because of University guidelines I was being given 6 months to make my corrections and revisions, as a 3 month timeline can only be given if the corrections are spelling, grammar and punctuation. They also confirmed that I would receive their report with the details of what they wanted me to revise within the week.

After leaving the Viva, I went back to by main supervisors office with her to talk through the outcome, and all of the examiners popped in to say hello and to congratulate me again.

Whilst I was waiting for the  formal report to come through, I went through the list of spelling and grammar corrections that I had identified during my preparation period, and corrected the appendix page. 

And then I got Covid-19!

The report came through whilst I was ill, so it got put to one side to focus on later, and because I had six months, I left it for longer than I had planned to actually make a start on the requested changes.

Finally, in January, I returned to my thesis and started to make the changes. Since I was now working fulltime, and had taken on a new role at work, this felt hard at times, but I kept going, working on it during the weekends. I had four changes to make, the first one was easy to complete, the next two meant adding a section to my literature chapter and to my conclusion chapter which were both harder, and the last change was to decide whether to strengthen or delete a section within my discussion. This last change was the hardest! I stood by position and the importance of keeping this section in my thesis, but didn't have any more data that I could use to strengthen it, eventually, I cut it.

After my supervisor had reviewed all my changes and I had responded to her comments, I sent my revised thesis, along with a document where I had set out the examiners requests, my response and the page number to my internal examiner - and it was back to the waiting game!

About two weeks later, I received an email from my internal examiner to let me know that she had approved all of my revisions and I should be hearing from the Doctoral College after they had approved the recommendation that I be awarded my PhD.