My defense is forthcoming (a week from today–gah) and I’d love any advice at all on how to best prepare for it. I’ve been browsing through my core research material and reviewing my dissertation so I know it backwards and forwards, as well as trying to anticipate questions my committee may ask of me and crafting potential responses. Any other strategies, suggestions, or general comments are appreciated more than you know.
The best thing anyone told me before mine was: “Remember, you’re the expert in that room. You’re the one who’s been thinking about this stuff non-stop for the last XXX years. Sneak a peek at your watch when you really realize this is true.”
It was less than five minutes.
There’s always somebody who’s going to ask: “Why was your research important”, or something similar.
My experience is with oral boards, not with academic dissertation defense, so I may be a bit off base. The big thing is that you shouldn’t let the format of the examination bother you. Let me ask you this: If you were being told you’d be given a written exam based on your thesis, would you be stressing so much?
I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t worry about your defense, but remember, it’s about a topic you already have researched well, and should be an expert in. Go into the board confident of yourself and your knowledge.
Take the time to think before opening your mouth to answer any question.
The other trick I’ve seen at many of the oral boards that I’ve given or have to pass is that the examiners will often continue to ask questions until they’ve reached the limits of the examinee’s knowledge. Do not be afraid to admit your knowledge may have limits. Especially with modern theses, the topics are often so narrow that it is not unreasonable to be knowledgable about your own area, but uncertain about something closely related, but not quite germane to your own thesis. My father tells of one comment his thesis advisor would use constantly: “But you’ve neglected the Serbo-Croatian sources.” Accept that eventually they can, if they so wish, find a question that is expected to stump you.
During Engineering grad work, one of the PhDs in my lab played “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (2001 opening theme music) during his setup time and while handing out discussion materials. I like to think it caused the committee to view him more favourably…YMMV.
Another would-be-Doc in the same group would respond to questions by repeating the question word for word with a hint of incredulity:
“Mr. Candidate, what are the implications of this particular model?”
“What are the implications of this particular model?”
"Mr. Candidate, how did you assess the accuracy of these predictions?"
*"How did I assess the accuracy of these predictions?"*
He was still answering the q., you understand, but prefaced with this little repetitive dance. Not arrogant, more like, slightly incomprehending. Made him sound like a dunce. The committee gonged him and sent him back to the lab for 4 months.
So, don't do that.First off, make sure you’ve got quality snacks. Your committee members will have a more cheerful outlook with a full mouth (I’m not kidding here. Much.)
Second off, if you haven’t done so already, ask your committee members what they want to see in your presentation. The best way to anticipate their questions is to ask what those questions will be.
Third, let me echo this:
If I were on your committee (although I haven’t been on many), I’d select a few topics and try to ask harder and harder questions until you were stumped, because I want to know that you know the limits of your knowledge. So don’t be afraid to hedge a little (“I think, based on my research, that…”) or flat out admit you don’t know. You should, however, have no problem describing how you might find out the answer, if asked. And please don’t bullshit.
Fourth, what Pantellerite said. Be prepared for “Why is this important?”/“Who’s going to use it?”/“How does this add to the current body of knowledge?” and more importantly, “What’s next, if you want to extend this research?” etc. etc.
Fifth, be prepared for “why” questions: why did you run your test this way and not that way? Why did you use this assumption and not that one? Why did you choose this date? or whatever.
Last, if it helps, your committee members are most likely expecting you to pass. If that were not so, you’d probably have a sense of that already. Just assume you’ll prove them right.
-zut (Ph.D., ME)
My advice is basically a rehash of what others have already said (which means it’s good!), namely–
Remember that you’re the expert on this topic, so lots of the questions will be geared toward giving you the opportunity to teach the examiners a little about what you’ve studied. I’d spend a little time this week practicing the art of boiling down your dissertation into a few sentences. Make yourself write a one page condensed version, then write a one paragraph summary of that, and you’ll have a good way to start off, providing a frame for your responses.
Beyond wanting to give you the opportunity to show what your specific contribution to the field is, the examiners will ask questions designed to make you think about the larger contexts of your subject. They may want you to explain how your research fits into the larger picture. Or they will want to know how others might use it. Or they will ask you what the next step would be, for someone who wants to advance the subject further.
And what otaku loki said is absolutely correct: some examiners make it their personal mission to keep asking questions until they’ve reached your limit. Remember that being an expert on a subject doesn’t mean you know everything, so it’s important to say “I don’t know” or “I haven’t thought about that aspect”, rather than to provide answers you’re not sure about or to otherwise try skating on thin ice.
Remind yourself that the oral defense is (almost always) just another hoop that you have to jump through, and you’re not expected to be a different person from the one that has already successfully jumped through the many previous hoops en route to this one. They want you to succeed and, though there are rare exceptions, they will pass you no matter how big an idiot you may appear to be.
Try to convince yourself to enjoy it. And if you want to add a little flair and ‘presentation’ to your defense, all the better: the examining board will appreciate anything you do to succeed in making it a more fun experience for them, too. They’re just human beings like the rest of us.
My advice is basically a rehash of what others have already said, namely–
Remember that you’re the expert on this topic, so lots of the questions will be geared toward giving you the opportunity to teach the examiners a little about what you’ve studied. I’d spend a little time this week practicing the art of boiling down your dissertation into a few sentences. Make yourself write a one page condensed version, then write a one paragraph summary of that, and you’ll have a good way to start off, providing a frame for your responses.
Beyond wanting to give you the opportunity to show what your specific contribution to the field is, the examiners will ask questions designed to make you think about the larger contexts of your subject. They may want you to explain how your research fits into the larger picture. Or they will want to know how others might use it. Or they will ask you what the next step would be, for someone who wants to advance the subject further.
And what otaku loki said is absolutely correct: some examiners make it their personal mission to keep asking questions until they’ve reached your limit. Remember that being an expert on a subject doesn’t mean you know everything, so it’s important to say “I don’t know” or “I haven’t thought about that aspect”, rather than to provide answers you’re not sure about or to otherwise try skating on thin ice.
Remind yourself that the oral defense is (almost always) just another hoop that you have to jump through, and you’re not expected to be a different person from the one that has already successfully jumped through the many previous hoops en route to this one. They want you to succeed and, though there are rare exceptions, they will pass you no matter how big an idiot you may appear to be.
Try to convince yourself to enjoy it. And if you want to add a little flair and ‘presentation’ to your defense, all the better: the examining board will appreciate anything you do to succeed in making it a more fun experience for them, too. They’re just human beings like the rest of us.
Whoo ha! Double post! That’s hamsters 1, Pablito 0.
The main thing - do you get along well with the members of your committee? Are your advisor and some other member of the department at each others’t throats? if not, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Remember, someone’s student failing an oral is bad for your advisor. If someone on your committee had real questions, they’d be honor bound to ask you before your defense. If your advisor is senior, it helps also.
Mine was a piece of cake, and I bet yours will be too. You’ve done the hard work already.
My two cents, discounted to .5 cents since I’ve been “out of office” for a few years:
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The advisor is all when it comes to passing. 'Nough said. (Although I did see a dept. chair’s student get booted during thesis proposal once. Literally went away and never came back.)
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Here is my favorite “how to tank a defense” story: The student’s thesis was the usual BS- run the same experiment 20 different ways and draw some graphs. But one of the graphs was different from the rest. Very much so. A lot of hands went up. “Why is that one different?” The student mumbled about some low level conditions that didn’t sound right. Not good. The non-faculty leave. We (non-comm. members) point out this Big Problem. (It was crappy “research” anyway, so we were looking for an excuse.) The comm. confers. It’s a do over. Turned out to be just a measurement error. Again, this was considered a major blunder by the advisor to have let this happen.
Jeez, 20 slides, only one of them is different and you don’t know why? Give us a break.
Moral: Know everything about what you’re talking about. Everything. Under no circumstances try to BS your way thru. We’ll know.
At this point, there’s not much you can do except relax and try to enjoy it. You can’t exactly cram for a defense, other than reminding yourself that you are the expert.
About the only specific advice I can share is to call your committee members the day before your defense to make sure they all remember to show up. You don’t need the hassle of dressing up and getting all psyched, only to have it put off for a day because Professor Dingaling forgot he was supposed to be at the defense. It happened to me - he was at a conference across town. We reached him on his cell phone about half an hour after the scheduled start. Bastard didn’t even apologize. That’s where tenure gets you.
During my thesis defense (the topic was an empirical evaluation of an analysis procedure), one member asked if we had employed spectral analysis during our research.
I could have gone on at some length about how my thesis advisor and I had discussed this and determined it to not be a promising area of research, etc., but it all would have been bullshit and it would have sounded like bullshit.
The fact is that the topic had never come up. In fact, I had never studied spectral analysis and wasn’t even sure at that time what it was.
But, as it happened, I gave the exact right answer:
“No, sir, we did not.”
and moved on to the next question.
Moral: Keep it simple, stupid.
Thanks to everyone for responding, especially for offering advice and suggestions. My advisor has done a great job of critiquing my work over the last few years; calling me on errors, suggesting other sources, etc. I’ve answered a lot of the “where can this research go” and “why is this important” questions in my conclusion, and I think if I go over those I’ll be better equipped to answer them in oral form. My plan as of now is to be prepared, be myself, and don’t bullshit.
Glad to help.
Let us know how it comes out!