Report on Literature Review Viva
Ok, it was a bit short notice (being arranged at 11 o'clock for 2.30) but today I had the viva for my project's literature review. In the end, I think it went well. I think I explained myself pretty well and answered most of the questions. I think I babbled a bit too much in some areas but that usually happens when I'm trying to think and talk at the same time. I should probably try and keep those seperate in the future but you know how it is. You're asked a question and want to dive straight in answering it only to get stuck half way through the first sentence. It's something to bare in mind for the future anyway. I was a bit annoyed with myself right at the beginning because I couldn't really answer the inevitable question of the greater 'scientific context' of the work. I ended up giving practical applications for the work instead. I did mention the HAPTEX project and that it's a follow on from that (although the HAPTEX project could have done with more defining) which I think covered it but I'm still not happy with my answer. That's something I'll really need to work on for the future.
Once I got beyond the initial questions and started talking about the work I've been doing, I think I held my own quite well. There were a few points I was asked about that I didn't know because I didn't (and still don't) see them as really relevant to what I'm doing but they might be nice to know for future reference. There were no complaints about the review itself (save for some ill-defined terms) which surprised me as I was flying essentially blind while writing it so that pleased me.
As I said, in the end, I think the whole thing (report & viva) went rather well. I'll be checking with the examiners for feedback so I can do better in the future (a little self-improvement never hurts). Now that that's done, next it's the end of year report and second year talks. Oh fun!
Once I got beyond the initial questions and started talking about the work I've been doing, I think I held my own quite well. There were a few points I was asked about that I didn't know because I didn't (and still don't) see them as really relevant to what I'm doing but they might be nice to know for future reference. There were no complaints about the review itself (save for some ill-defined terms) which surprised me as I was flying essentially blind while writing it so that pleased me.
As I said, in the end, I think the whole thing (report & viva) went rather well. I'll be checking with the examiners for feedback so I can do better in the future (a little self-improvement never hurts). Now that that's done, next it's the end of year report and second year talks. Oh fun!