viva questions for qualitative research

Types of PhD Viva Questions

Examiners typically prepare a set of questions for candidates to address during the PhD viva voce exam. These questions primarily center around the candidate’s thesis.

However, the questions asked in PhD viva exams can generally be categorized into four main areas:

General Questions
Research Context and Methods
Analysis and Findings
Discussions and Conclusion/Implications

Therefore, as you prepare for your PhD viva and defend your thesis, it’s crucial to consider the types of questions you might encounter.

This preparation allows you to practice your responses beforehand, ensuring you are not caught off guard during the viva.

Preparing and practicing your responses to questions from these four fundamental categories will significantly help in your preparation efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions for PhD Vivas and How to Answer to Them

While focusing on addressing frequently asked questions may seem straightforward, it’s crucial to prepare for potential follow-up questions. Nervousness can sometimes cause digressions, leading to unexpected inquiries from examiners in areas that may not have been anticipated.

The expectation isn’t for you to simply repeat your thesis. Examiners want to assess your understanding of the research, including its methods, analysis, findings, conclusions, implications, and other relevant aspects.

You should be ready to answer these common questions logically, despite the differences in each PhD viva.

Here are some popular PhD viva questions to prepare for:

1. Tell me about yourself

Introduce yourself by discussing your research interests, emphasizing the areas that you feel strongly positive about. Mention your past accomplishments briefly and professionally, avoiding any tone of boasting or overwhelming the examiners.

I’m someone who’s deeply passionate about research, particularly in areas where I can make a meaningful impact. My main areas of interest revolve around [specific fields or topics], where I believe there’s immense potential for innovation and discovery. I approach research with a positive mindset, always looking for new insights and solutions to complex problems.

Throughout my academic journey, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to various research projects that have broadened my perspectives and honed my skills. These experiences have taught me the value of collaboration, critical thinking, and perseverance in the research process.

I’m particularly proud of [mention specific achievement or accomplishment], as it demonstrates my ability to navigate challenges and deliver results in a methodical and efficient manner. However, I also recognize that there’s always room for growth and learning in research, and I’m excited about the opportunities ahead to further contribute to the field.

Overall, I approach research with professionalism, enthusiasm, and a commitment to excellence, and I’m eager to continue exploring new avenues of inquiry and making meaningful contributions to the academic community.

2. Why did you choose this research question?

Examiners are interested in hearing specific details about why you are interested in a research topic, including the most captivating aspect, why you chose this research question over others in the same or related field, and any instances that influenced your selection of the research topic and field. It’s essential to plan your answer with these details in mind to provide a comprehensive response.

I chose this research question because it’s really important and can make a big difference in dealing with [specific issue or gap] in [field or discipline]. After looking at different research options, I found this question to be very interesting because it could add a lot to what we already know and help solve real problems. Also, it fits well with what I’ve studied before and what I’m interested in, so I can use my skills and knowledge to explore and solve problems in this area.

3. How did you come up with the idea for this research?

In explaining how you developed your research idea, demonstrate to the viva panel that you thoroughly evaluated all potential research options before choosing the one that optimized your time and resources. Provide specifics about your decision-making process, including why certain ideas were rejected in favor of others and the insights gained from exploring each possibility. This showcases your ability to narrow down options based on factors like feasibility.

I came up with the idea for this research through [specific process or inspiration, such as literature review, personal experience, academic discussions, etc.]. This process involved evaluating various research areas and identifying gaps or opportunities that led to the formulation of the research’s idea.

4. What is your research’s main area of focus?

Keep in mind that your response should not summarize your research but instead discuss the primary focus area of your research. Crucially, to showcase the viability of your research, it’s important to highlight some of the key questions it tackles.

The primary focus area of my research revolves around [specific topic or field], addressing key questions related to [core concepts or issues] within this domain.

5. What methods will you use to evaluate the effectiveness of your research?

To showcase to the viva panel that you have effectively evaluated your research’s effectiveness, contemplate utilizing both qualitative and quantitative measures. Qualitative measures encompass surveys and various data collection techniques that enable you to delve into the fundamental causes of issues, making them suitable for understanding people’s perceptions and sentiments regarding a subject. Quantitative measures involve numerical comparisons across different time frames or locations, such as sales data, providing a comprehensive perspective on performance trends over time. Utilizing these approaches demonstrates to the panel your thorough assessment of the research’s impact.

I will use [specific methods, such as surveys, experiments, interviews, data analysis, etc.] to evaluate the effectiveness of my research. These methods are chosen based on their ability to gather relevant data, analyze findings, and draw meaningful conclusions that address the research objectives and hypotheses.

6. Did the research process proceed as planned, or did you encounter any unexpected circumstances?

The purpose of the question about project execution in a PhD viva is to assess readiness with backup plans for unforeseen situations and to evaluate if the project adhered to the structured plan. It’s important to mention if assistance was received and be prepared for follow-up questions from examiners.

My research mostly went as planned, following the timeline and methods outlined in the proposal. Yet, there were times when unexpected things happened. I had to adjust and use backup plans to deal with these situations quickly, so they didn’t disrupt my research much.

7. What is the future of your research?

When addressing the future of your research area in your viva, it’s crucial to go beyond the current state and consider upcoming developments. Simply focusing on the present might suggest a limited understanding. Instead, provide a comprehensive response by discussing your vision for the research area’s future, its connection to the present, and its significance.

The future of my research involves exploring emerging trends and advancements in [specific area or field], leveraging new technologies and methodologies to address complex challenges. I plan to collaborate with experts in related disciplines, conduct further experiments or surveys, and analyze additional datasets to deepen our understanding of [research topic]. Ultimately, I aim to contribute novel insights and practical solutions that can benefit [target audience or community] and advance the overall knowledge in this field.

8. What are some limitations of your thesis?

If you’re asked about the limitations of your thesis during your PhD viva, ensure your response is clear and concise. To prepare, consider aspects that might be perceived as limitations and address these questions:

Why is this considered a limitation?
How could it be improved or made more effective?
What changes could be made to the research design or data collection methods to address this?
Are there potential solutions or enhancements that could mitigate this issue?

Some limitations of my thesis include [specific limitations, such as sample size constraints, data availability, potential biases, etc.]. These limitations are considered because [explain why each limitation is relevant]. To improve these limitations, potential strategies could include [suggestions for improvement, such as expanding the sample size, using additional data sources, addressing biases through robust methodologies, etc.]. These enhancements aim to strengthen the overall validity and reliability of the research findings.

9. Is this work original, or have others done something similar before?

When addressing whether your work is original or if others have conducted similar research before, it’s important to distinguish between your original contributions and existing research. You can then elaborate on how you’ve built upon previous work to develop your own ideas. If there are no entirely original aspects, consider discussing aspects of your research that are not yet published but have potential for further development. This approach can provide the panel with insights into the new ideas emerging from your research.

This work is original in [specific aspects or contributions], as it builds upon existing literature and presents novel findings or approaches. While others may have explored related topics or methodologies, the unique combination of [key elements or innovations] distinguishes this research from previous efforts.

10. What benefit does this research provide to society?

When discussing the benefit of your research to society, emphasize your clear and defined goal. Articulate how your research can impact society at large and how it can be utilized or adapted by other researchers working on similar issues.

When discussing the benefit of my research to society, I emphasize a clear and defined goal. My research aims to [specific goal or objective, such as improving healthcare outcomes, addressing environmental challenges, enhancing technological advancements, etc.]. This benefit is significant as it can [describe how the research can positively impact society at large, such as improving quality of life, advancing knowledge, solving practical problems, etc.]. Additionally, my research findings can be utilized or adapted by other researchers working on similar issues, further amplifying its societal impact and relevance.

11. What are the limitations of your research design?

When discussing limitations in your research design during your viva, acknowledge that every design has its constraints. Be transparent about these limitations and explain how you mitigated or addressed them in your study. If your design was particularly good, highlight how it contributed to your results. Conversely, if aspects of your study didn’t go as planned, use this as evidence to analyze potential flaws in your hypothesis.

Some limitations of my research design include [specific limitations, such as sample size constraints, data collection methods, potential biases, etc.]. While these limitations are inherent in any research design, I took several steps to mitigate their impact. For example, I [explain strategies used to address limitations, such as ensuring diverse sample representation, using validated measurement tools, implementing data analysis techniques, etc.]. These efforts aimed to enhance the validity and reliability of my study findings despite the identified limitations.

12. How might your research have been impacted if there were more data available on your topic?

To answer this question, start off by conveying to the panel any limitations found within your research. This is because it allows you to discuss whether additional research would have either prevented or minimised this outcome. For example, you might decide to tell the panel that additional data relevant to the research topic may have been beneficial because then you could test the hypothesis again by running the same tests in other communities. Then you could see if the result was the same with a different audience. Though, this may have resulted in a changed hypothesis.

If more data were available on my research topic, it would have significantly impacted the depth of my study. Firstly, a larger dataset would have allowed for more comprehensive analyses, such as subgroup analyses and advanced statistical modeling techniques. This could have led to more robust findings and a better understanding of the nuances within the data.

Additionally, with more data points, I could have explored additional variables or factors that may influence the outcomes studied in my research. This could have provided a more holistic view of the topic and allowed for a more nuanced interpretation of the results.

Furthermore, more data availability would have increased the statistical power of my study, potentially leading to more reliable and conclusive results. It would have also allowed for a more extensive validation of findings through cross-validation exercises and sensitivity analyses.

Overall, the availability of more data would have enhanced the quality, reliability, and generalizability of my research outcomes, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

13. Has your research challenged or changed how we think about the topic?

To address this question effectively, begin by outlining any constraints identified within your research. This approach enables a discussion on whether further research could have mitigated or avoided these limitations.

For instance, you could mention that having more relevant data on the research topic could have been advantageous. This additional data might have allowed you to retest the hypothesis across diverse communities, potentially leading to variations in results. However, it’s important to note that this could have also led to modifications in the hypothesis itself.

My research has challenged existing perceptions by uncovering previously unexplored facets of the topic. Specifically, I focused on [mention specific concept or theory] and conducted [briefly describe your study]. The results revealed [key findings or insights], which have prompted a reevaluation of [mention the paradigm or conventional understanding]. This shift in perspective has significant implications for [explain the broader impact on the field or applications of the research]. Overall, my research has contributed to a nuanced understanding of the topic and has initiated discussions on revising established frameworks in the academic discourse.

14. Do you think other researchers could replicate the results of your study?

The viva panel considers if other researchers can duplicate your findings to determine the credibility of your research within the field. To address this, consider the distinctiveness of your study compared to previous ones. If you identify unique aspects, explain how they facilitate easier replication by other researchers.

Yes, I believe other researchers would be able to replicate my results. The methodology used in my study is well-documented and follows established protocols, ensuring clarity and consistency in data collection and analysis. Additionally, the unique aspects of my research are clearly outlined, making it easier for others to understand and replicate key elements. Sharing relevant data and resources further enhances the feasibility of replication and promotes transparency in the research process.

15. Could there be other explanations for the results of your research?

This question is a method for the viva examiners to assess your ability to critically evaluate your own research. Begin by conducting a thorough review of the existing literature to identify any alternative explanations for your research findings. If such alternative explanations exist, explain them in detail. On the other hand, if there are no alternative explanations or they are not relevant to your findings, clarify why this is the case. It’s crucial to demonstrate consideration for these alternative perspectives as they contribute to the overall understanding of why your findings are significant.

In my research, I thoroughly examined the existing literature to explore potential alternative explanations for the findings. While there were some theories suggesting alternative interpretations, such as [mention specific theories], further analysis and empirical evidence indicated that these explanations were not as substantiated or relevant to my study’s context.

For instance, [provide an example or detail about why alternative explanations were not applicable]. This analysis supports the robustness and specificity of my findings, as they align with established theories and empirical evidence within the field.

Overall, my research process involved a critical evaluation of potential alternative explanations, ensuring that the conclusions drawn are well-supported and contribute meaningfully to the existing body of knowledge on the topic.

16. Given your research findings, what would be an appropriate course of action for another researcher to pursue in this field?

Consider the type of research you’re conducting as you address this question. Review your completed research and its conclusions to assess their alignment with the hypothesis. Identify any gaps in your research, explain their presence and significance, and discuss what they indicate. Utilize these gaps as a basis for further investigation, outlining your next steps as a student exploring these areas of study.

Based on the findings of my research, a suitable next step for other researchers in this area would be to conduct further investigations into [specific aspect or aspect]. This could involve [suggest a research direction or methodology], which would help to [describe the potential contribution or impact]. Additionally, exploring [related topic or factor] could provide valuable insights into [describe potential outcomes or implications]. Overall, building upon this research could lead to a deeper understanding of [topic or field], benefiting both academia and practical applications.

17. Summarize your thesis.

Familiarize yourself with the entire project, beginning with the rationale behind selecting your thesis topic and concluding with an optimal solution to the problem. Prepare for three types of responses: a 1-minute, 3-5 minutes, and 10-minute summary. Tailor your answer based on the audience’s expectations at the viva.

For the 1-minute summary:

“I chose the topic of my thesis because it addresses a critical gap in the literature and has significant relevance in [specific field]. The problem at hand is [briefly describe the problem]. Through extensive research, I identified key areas for investigation, including [mention key areas]. The optimum solution to this problem involves [briefly outline the solution or approach].”

For the 3-5 minutes summary:

“My thesis topic was carefully selected due to its relevance in [specific field]. The problem I aimed to address is [provide a brief overview of the problem]. This topic intrigued me because [explain why it interested you]. Through thorough research and analysis, I identified several key areas that required exploration, including [list key areas]. The optimal solution to this problem involves [describe the solution or approach in more detail, including any methodologies used].”

For the 10-minute summary:

“The topic of my thesis was chosen based on its critical importance in [specific field]. The problem I sought to tackle is [provide a comprehensive overview of the problem, including its significance]. I was drawn to this topic because [explain your personal interest or motivation]. To address this problem effectively, I conducted extensive literature reviews, data collection, and analysis, focusing on key areas such as [list key areas]. The optimal solution I propose involves [describe the solution or approach in detail, including any innovative methodologies or findings]. This solution not only addresses the immediate problem but also has broader implications for [mention broader implications or potential applications].”

18. What are the research’s strengths and weaknesses?

When discussing your research during a viva examination, it’s important to highlight both its strengths and weaknesses. Begin by emphasizing the strengths and how they connect with key findings, showcasing the robustness of your research. Then, address the limitations and discuss potential strategies to transform them into strengths in future research endeavors. This approach demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of your research and your ability to critically evaluate and improve upon its weaknesses.

The strength of my research lies in its comprehensive analysis of [specific aspect], which has led to significant insights into [key findings or contributions]. This strength is further bolstered by [mention additional strengths, such as methodology, data collection, etc.].

On the other hand, a potential weakness of my research is [identify a weakness, such as sample size limitations, data availability, etc.]. However, this limitation has provided opportunities for future research to explore [potential areas of improvement or expansion].

Overall, the strength of my research lies in its [highlight key strengths], while the weakness serves as a stepping stone for further advancements in the field.

Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense

13 Key Questions To Expect In The Viva Voce

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & David Phair (PhD) . Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2021

Preparing for your dissertation or thesis defense (also called a “viva voce”) is a formidable task . All your hard work over the years leads you to this one point, and you’ll need to defend yourself against some of the most experienced researchers you’ve encountered so far.

It’s natural to feel a little nervous.

In this post, we’ll cover some of the most important questions you should be able to answer in your viva voce, whether it’s for a Masters or PhD degree. Naturally, they might not arise in exactly the same form (some may not come up at all), but if you can answer these questions well, it means you’re in a good position to tackle your oral defense.

Viva Voce Prep: 13 Essential Questions

What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?
How did your research questions evolve during the research process?
How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?
How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?
How generalisable and valid are the findings?
What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?
How did your findings relate to the existing literature?
What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?
Were there any findings that surprised you?
What biases may exist in your research?
How can your findings be put into practice?
How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?
If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

#1: What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?

This question, a classic party starter, is pretty straightforward.

What the dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to clearly articulate your research aims, objectives and research questions in a concise manner. Concise is the keyword here – you need to clearly explain your research topic without rambling on for a half-hour. Don’t feel the need to go into the weeds here – you’ll have many opportunities to unpack the details later on.

In the second half of the question, they’re looking for a brief explanation of the justification of your research. In other words, why was this particular set of research aims, objectives and questions worth addressing? To address this question well in your oral defense, you need to make it clear what gap existed within the research and why that gap was worth filling.

#2: How did your research questions evolve during the research process?

Good research generally follows a long and winding path . It’s seldom a straight line (unless you got really lucky). What they’re assessing here is your ability to follow that path and let the research process unfold.

Specifically, they’ll want to hear about the impact that the literature review process had on you in terms of shaping the research aims, objectives and research questions . For example, you may have started with a certain set of aims, but then as you immersed yourself in the literature, you may have changed direction. Similarly, your initial fieldwork findings may have turned out some unexpected data that drove you to adjust or expand on your initial research questions.

Long story short – a good defense involves clearly describing your research journey , including all the twists and turns. Adjusting your direction based on findings in the literature or the fieldwork shows that you’re responsive , which is essential for high-quality research.

You will need to explain the impact of your literature review in the defense

#3: How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?

A comprehensive literature review is the foundation of any high-quality piece of research. With this question, your dissertation or thesis committee are trying to assess which quality criteria and approach you used to select the sources for your literature review.

Typically, good research draws on both the seminal work in the respective field and more recent sources . In other words, a combination of the older landmark studies and pivotal work, along with up-to-date sources that build on to those older studies. This combination ensures that the study has a rock-solid foundation but is not out of date.

So, make sure that your study draws on a mix of both the “classics” and new kids on the block, and take note of any major evolutions in the literature that you can use as an example when asked this question in your viva voce.

#4: How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?

This is a classic methodological question that you can almost certainly expect in some or other shape.

What they’re looking for here is a clear articulation of the research design and methodology, as well as a strong justification of each choice . So, you need to be able to walk through each methodological choice and clearly explain both what you did and why you did it. The why is particularly important – you need to be able to justify each choice you made by clearly linking your design back to your research aims, objectives and research questions, while also taking into account practical constraints.

To ensure you cover every base, check out our research methodology vlog post , as well as our post covering the Research Onion .

You have to justify every choice in your dissertation defence

#5: How generalizable and valid are the findings?

This question is aimed at specifically digging into your understanding of the sample and how that relates to the population, as well as potential validity issues in your methodology.

To answer question this well, you’ll need to critically assess your sample and findings and consider if they truly apply to the entire population, as well as whether they assessed what they set out to. Note that there are two components here – generalizability and validity . Generalizability is about how well the sample represents the population. Validity is about how accurately you’ve measured what you intended to measure .

To ace this part of your dissertation defense, make sure that you’re very familiar with the concepts of generalizability , validity and reliability , and how these apply to your research. Remember, you don’t need to achieve perfection – you just need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your research (and how the weaknesses could be improved upon).

Need a helping hand?

#6: What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?

This question picks up where the last one left off.

As I mentioned, it’s perfectly natural that your research will have shortcomings and limitations as a result of your chosen design and methodology. No piece of research is flawless. Therefore, a good dissertation defense is not about arguing that your work is perfect, but rather it’s about clearly articulating the strengths and weaknesses of your approach.

To address this question well, you need to think critically about all of the potential weaknesses your design may have, as well as potential responses to these (which could be adopted in future research) to ensure you’re well prepared for this question. For a list of common methodological limitations, check out our video about research limitations here .

#7: How did your findings relate to the existing literature?

This common dissertation defense question links directly to your discussion chapter , where you would have presented and discussed the findings in relation to your literature review.

What your dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to compare your study’s findings to the findings of existing research . Specifically, you need to discuss which findings aligned with existing research and which findings did not. For those findings that contrasted against existing research, you should also explain what you believe to be the reasons for this.

As with many questions in a viva voce, it’s both the what and the why that matter here. So, you need to think deeply about what the underlying reasons may be for both the similarities and differences between your findings and those of similar studies.

Your dissertation defense needs to compare findings

#8: What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?

This question is similar to the last one in that it too focuses on your research findings. However, here the focus is specifically on the findings that directly relate to your research questions (as opposed to findings in general).

So, a good way to prepare for this question is to step back and revisit your research questions . Ask yourself the following:

What exactly were you asking in those questions, and what did your research uncover concerning them?
Which questions were well answered by your study and which ones were lacking?
Why were they lacking and what more could be done to address this in future research?

Conquering this part dissertation defense requires that you focus squarely on the research questions. Your study will have provided many findings (hopefully!), and not all of these will link directly to the research questions. Therefore, you need to clear your mind of all of the fascinating side paths your study may have lead you down and regain a clear focus on the research questions .

#9: Were there any findings that surprised you?

This question is two-pronged.

First, you should discuss the surprising findings that were directly related to the original research questions . Going into your research, you likely had some expectations in terms of what you would find, so this is your opportunity to discuss the outcomes that emerged as contrary to what you initially expected. You’ll also want to think about what the reasons for these contrasts may be.

Second, you should discuss the findings that weren’t directly related to the research questions, but that emerged from the data set . You may have a few or you may have none – although generally there are a handful of interesting musings that you can glean from the data set. Again, make sure you can articulate why you find these interesting and what it means for future research in the area.

What the committee is looking for in this type of question is your ability to interpret the findings holistically and comprehensively , and to respond to unexpected data. So, take the time to zoom out and reflect on your findings thoroughly.

#10: What biases may exist in your research?

Biases… we all have them.

For this question, you’ll need to think about potential biases in your research , in the data itself but also in your interpretation of the data. With this question, your committee is assessing whether you have considered your own potential biases and the biases inherent in your analysis approach (i.e. your methodology). So, think carefully about these research biases and be ready to explain how these may exist in your study.

In an oral defense, this question is often followed up with a question on how the biases were mitigated or could be mitigated in future research. So, give some thought not just to what biases may exist, but also the mitigation measures (in your own study and for future research).

#11: How can your findings be put into practice?

Another classic question in the typical viva voce.

With this question, your committee is assessing your ability to bring your findings back down to earth and demonstrate their practical value and application. Importantly, this question is not about the contribution to academia or the overall field of research (we’ll get to that next) – it is specifically asking about how this newly created knowledge can be used in the real world.

Naturally, the actionability of your findings will vary depending on the nature of your research topic. Some studies will produce many action points and some won’t. If you’re researching marketing strategies within an industry, for example, you should be able to make some very specific recommendations for marketing practitioners in that industry.

To help you flesh out points for this question, look back at your original justification for the research (i.e. in your introduction and literature review chapters). What were the driving forces that led you to research your specific topic? That justification should help you identify ways in which your findings can be put into practice.

#12: How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?

While the previous question was aimed at practical contribution, this question is aimed at theoretical contribution . In other words, what is the significance of your study within the current body of research? How does it fit into the existing research and what does it add to it?

This question is often asked by a field specialist and is used to assess whether you’re able to place your findings into the research field to critically convey what your research contributed. This argument needs to be well justified – in other words, you can’t just discuss what your research contributed, you need to also back each proposition up with a strong why .

To answer this question well, you need to humbly consider the quality and impact of your work and to be realistic in your response. You don’t want to come across as arrogant (“my work is groundbreaking”), nor do you want to undersell the impact of your work. So, it’s important to strike the right balance between realistic and pessimistic .

This question also opens the door to questions about potential future research . So, think about what future research opportunities your study has created and which of these you feel are of the highest priority.

Discuss your contribution in your thesis defence

#13: If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

This question is often used to wrap up a viva voce as it brings the discussion full circle.

Here, your committee is again assessing your ability to clearly identify and articulate the limitations and shortcomings of your research, both in terms of research design and topic focus . Perhaps, in hindsight, it would have been better to use a different analysis method or data set. Perhaps the research questions should have leaned in a slightly different direction. And so on.

This question intends to assess whether you’re able to look at your work critically , assess where the weaknesses are and make recommendations for the future . This question often sets apart those who did the research purely because it was required, from those that genuinely engaged with their research. So, don’t hold back here – reflect on your entire research journey ask yourself how you’d do things differently if you were starting with a blank canvas today.

Recap: The 13 Key Dissertation Defense Questions

To recap, here are the 13 questions you need to be ready for to ace your dissertation or thesis oral defense:

As I mentioned, this list of dissertation defense questions is certainly not exhaustive – don’t assume that we’ve covered every possible question here. However, these questions are quite likely to come up in some shape or form in a typical dissertation or thesis defense, whether it’s for a Master’s degree, PhD or any other research degree. So, you should take the time to make sure you can answer them well.

If you need assistance preparing for your dissertation defense or viva voce, get in touch with us to discuss 1-on-1 coaching. We can critically review your research and identify potential issues and responses, as well as undertake a mock oral defense to prepare you for the pressures and stresses on the day.

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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12 Comments

Very interesting

Interesting. I appreciate!

Really appreciating

My field is International Trade

Interesting

This is a full course on defence. I was fabulously enlightened and I gained enough confidence for my upcoming Masters Defence.

There are many lessons to learn and the simplicity in presentationmakes thee reader say “YesI can”

This is so helping… it has Enlightened me on how to answer specific questions. I pray to make it through for my upcoming defense

Lovely to hear that 🙂

Really educative and beneficial

Interesting. On-point and elaborate. And comforting too! Thanks.

Thank you very much for the enlightening me, be blessed

Thankyou so much. I am planning to defend my thesis soon and I found this very useful

Very interesting and useful to all masters and PhD students

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Amplifying The Voices Of PhD Students

Viva Question Repository

This is a repository of questions that were asked at Vivas of students, just like you.

Look up what questions you can expect in your Viva! Don’t get caught off-guard.

(Pro tip: Want to sort by more than one heading? Hold shift and click the headings you want to sort by.)

Did you have your Viva already?

Be a lamb, use the form below to add some of the questions you had and help other Ph.D. students out! 🙂

Add your questions even if they’re already in the list above because the more often a question pops up in the list above, the more PhD students will know which questions are more likely to be asked and which are not!

How To Us The Repository:

Use it to prepare for your Viva/Defense.

There are a bunch of various categories that you can search through.

You can use the search bar, or simply click on one of the category’s headers to order the rows A-Z or Z-A. You can sort by more than one column by holding shift while clicking the desired headers.

There are bound to be duplicate questions in the Repository, which tells you a little about how likely that type of question is to come up.

All the best!

Common PhD Viva Questions

It can be pretty difficult knowing how to prepare for your PhD viva. Having successfully defended my own STEM PhD remotely in the last year, I want to help you to prepare! What follows are some common PhD viva questions which your examiners may ask you. Plus some additional advice based off my own PhD viva experience.

For an intro to the PhD viva including the typical structure and potential outcomes please see my introductory post:

How to Defend a Thesis: An Introduction to the PhD Viva

How Much Do You Need to Prepare For A PhD Viva?

There is no hard and fast rule for how much you need to prepare. And unlike a written exam, there are of course no past-papers to practice on!

It may help ease your mind to think about what the purpose of a PhD viva is. Namely the purpose of the PhD viva (or defence) is to check that:

You did the work;
You understand the work;
The research is up to the standard for a PhD.

For more detail see my separate post here including Imperial’s PhD viva mark scheme.

In hindsight I probably didn’t spend as much time preparing for my viva as is normal. Though I did unexpectedly move house less than a week before !

Besides reading through my thesis once in the few days leading up to it, I didn’t spend much time thinking up answers to questions or “revising” certain topics which could come up. The viva went fine, but it wouldn’t have done me any harm to have been a little better prepared.

It certainly helped that I’d managed to schedule a viva which took place less than six weeks after I submitted the thesis so it was all very fresh in my mind. If you submitted your thesis months before your viva I’d suggest spending slightly more time refreshing your memory in preparation for questions you may get asked.

In summary, I think it’s useful for all PhD students to get an idea of some potential lines of questioning for their oral exam!

Update: Keen to get prepared for your viva? I’ve put together a set of viva preparation worksheets which are available in the resource library. Click the image below for free access!

Listed below are common PhD viva questions which I’ve roughly grouped together. We’ll start with some higher-level questions about your PhD which should be quite easy and friendly, then progress through to some more technical (and potentially unfriendly!) questions.

It is worth noting that many examiners will ask for a short presentation at the start of the viva and this could eliminate some potential questions. In this list I’ve left in the main questions I’d expect for this presentation to address, such as what future work you’d recommend.

Very few of the questions are ones you’re guaranteed to get asked, but I can assure you that you’ll get asked at least some of them!

General PhD Viva Questions – usually friendly!

These ones are simply inquisitive and you don’t really have to worry about getting caught out. The examiners are simply interested in the work and want an insight from someone who has spent the last few years working on it.

What is the most important finding from your PhD work?
What was the motivation behind this research?
Who is your research relevant to?
Which aspects of your work are you publishing? Follow on: and where?
What future work would you recommend?
What are the limitations of your research?
Which aspect of your work surprised you the most?
What are the potential applications of your PhD research?

Method-Specific Questions – mostly friendly!

These questions dive a little deeper but even so shouldn’t be too much of a cause for concern. They come down to your own judgement and as long as you justify your decicisions you’ll be fine in answering them.

Why did you do [things] a certain way?
What were the alternatives to [this certain method]?
Why did you test [that specific number] of samples?
What effect did you think changing [something in your method] would have?
What do you think you could have gained by using [another approach]?
Why did you not use [another technique]?
How did you deal with the ethical implications of your work?

Results & Analysis-Specific Questions – mostly friendly!

In a similar manner to the previous section about your methodology, you’ll often get some questions targeting your analysis and presentation of results.

What is this graphical figure illustrating?
Why was [this analytical technique] appropriate? Follow on: why did you use [this other technique]?
Which of your results do you find the most interesting?
How do you know that your findings are correct?

Literature Questions – may be less friendly!

This is where things may get tough if your examiners want to try and test your limits. Even so, they’ll still likely cut you some slack. If you have 100+ references it’s very possible that under the nerves of your exam you can’t remember specifics for each and every reference. Just don’t make things up. They’d rather you were honest than trying to deceive them.

Please explain the key findings of reference number [X]
Which papers would you say had the biggest impact on your work?
What do you think are the biggest differences between [these two previous studies]?
What have been the biggest advancements in the field over the last 10 years?
Why did you not reference [this other study]?
How does your work compliment the existing literature?
What do you think the next big advancements will be in the field?

Highly Technical Questions – potentially very unfriendly!

These are the ones I was a bit scared of getting, but it is a PhD viva after all. Of course it should be expected that you have a solid understanding of the principles that underpin your project. Even so it can be unnerving thinking of how large the range of potential questions like this can be!

Unlike at a conference or in other settings where you may be able to brush over things you’re not 100% comfortable with, there is no hiding when your examiners need to test your knowledge. Particularly when they have hours of time at their disposal to do so!

Explain how [a technique] works. This could be anything from sample preparation, equipment and analysis through to statistics. I’ve known people to get asked to explain things like a statistical t-test from first principles, with follow-on questions being asked with every answer to drill deeper.
Explain [some fundamental concept, phenomenon or principle]. Just like the last question but applied to basic-sciences. I’ve known students to get asked questions such as: explain energy (to a mechanical engineer) and explain toughness (to a materials scientist). I’m sure we can all explain these concepts to a certain level but my concern was whether or not I could explain them at a deep enough level to satisfy the examiner.

With both of these types of questions there ultimately comes a point where you (or the internal examiner ) can push back and say that answering that question was not the focus of your PhD!

What Questions I Got Asked at My Own PhD Viva

I was really surprised at my own viva how few questions I actually got in general.

The viva lasted a whopping five hours (excluding a quick break) and yet almost all of the time was spent discussing improvements to my viva to help with publishing papers.

Even so, I could have done with putting a bit more time into preparing for potential questions: which was my motivation to help you by putting together this post!

The few questions I had included:

If you were to do the project again would you do anything differently?
Clarification of what I meant by certain sentences in my thesis .

You may be wondering if I avoided getting asked deeper questions by the examiners because I already had a relationship with them so they were satisfied with my knowledge and capabilities. But I didn’t really know the examiners! I’d met my external examiner at a conference and he had seen me present but I’d never actually met my internal examiner before.

Instead, what I think did go a long way to helping was having already had something published in a respected journal.

Nevertheless, in a way I actually walked away a little unsatisfied by the lack of questioning at my PhD viva.

It was great to get so much feedback on my thesis which has already helped to get two more papers published since the viva, but I felt like it would have been nice to feel a bit more taxed and known that I could hold my own in the exam if it came down to it.

Now looking back on the viva 10 months later, I’m just happy to have the PhD done!

My Tips for Answering Common PhD Viva Questions

Keep calm and take your time before answering . There is no rush to answer questions. Having a sip of a drink may help provide a pause for thinking up an answer.
Tell the truth. If you don’t know something, just say so! It’s likely the examiners will quickly be able to tell that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Plus, there is the risk that they’ll ask deeper follow-on questions which could unravel any lies.
Try to enjoy the experience. Think of it as a discussion, rather than a police investigation. Your examiners are interested in the work and want to hear more about it!

If you’d like personalised help with preparing for your PhD viva I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

I hope these common PhD viva questions can help you to prepare for your own viva.

If there are other aspects of the examination you want covered, just let me know.

I have many more upcoming PhD (and beyond!) posts . I f you want to get notified about them you can subscribe here:

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Practice Questions

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An opportunity to consider possible questions that will arise in the viva, with example answers to think about and explanations as to what the examiners are looking for. Questions cover general project questions, methods, study specific points and future directions amongst other areas. Includes over 40 common viva questions.

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Common PhD Viva Questions (To Help You Prepare For Yours)

May 27, 2022

Capable of striking fear into the heart of even the most confident PhD student, the Viva looms large over the entire PhD journey. No matter whether the PhD is going well or causing problems, there’s always the viva to worry about.

Long story short, everyone is scared of the viva.

One thing that can help is knowing what to expect during the viva itself. That’s why we got in touch with Professor Peter Smith, who recently published The PhD Viva: How to Prepare for Your Oral Examination with Palgrave, and who has successfully supervised 60+ PhD and professional doctorate students and examined a further 50+ PhD students all over the world. We asked him what the most common questions are that students face during their vivas. Read his answer below.

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Each week we send a short, thought-provoking email that will make you think differently about what it means to be a PhD student. It is designed to be read in thirty seconds and thought about all day.

1. An Opening Question

The examiners will quite often start a viva with an opening question; perhaps something like this: “Spend five or ten minutes telling us about your work, what you have done, and what the contribution is” or “Summarise your work for us, in a single sentence.” A question like this gives you an opportunity to explain your work up front, breaks the ice, settles you in and gets you talking. Making a contribution is the most important element of the PhD thesis. It is very likely that you will be questioned about this.

2. The aims, objectives, research questions, and hypotheses

In your thesis you will have set out the purpose of your work. Depending on the discipline that you working in, you may have called this an aim (with accompanying objectives), a question (or a series of questions) or an hypothesis (or a series of hypotheses). It doesn’t matter what you have called this in your thesis; you need to be prepared to explain and justify it to the examiners. Typical questions might be “explain your research question and how you derived it.”

3. Coverage of the literature

The examiners will want to be sure that you understand the literature which underpins your work. An important criterion for the award of PhD in that the candidate demonstrates knowledge of the relevant work of other researchers in your field. So it is likely that they will ask some questions which test your knowledge of the academic literature within your subject. You may, for example be asked: “Which are the three most important papers which relate to your thesis?”, “Whose work has most influenced yours, and why?”, or “Whose work is the closest to yours?” and “How is your work different to theirs?”

Your PhD Thesis. On one page.

4. methodological questions.

The methodology, and the approach you have taken, is another area that the examiners are likely to want to discuss. This could come in the form of a question asking you to justify your approach: “Why did you choose to use a qualitative approach?” and “What alternative approaches might you have chosen?” or more detailed questions about the methods used: “Why did you use focus groups rather than interviews?” or “How did you select the group of people to interview?”

Most PhD’s have some ethical issues which they need to be considered. This may take the form of a specific question such as: “Explain the ethical protocols and approval procedures which you followed” or “Did you obtain informed consent?”, or a more general question, such as: “What are the ethical implications of your work?”.

6. Decisions you made

Along the way, you will have had to take several decisions as to the next step to take. The examiners may ask you to discuss and justify these. This could take the form of a very general question: “What was the most important decision that you had to make during the course of your PhD?”; “Which decisions would you change if you were to do the work again?” or something much more specific: “Why did you choose to test your system on this group of people?”

7. Evaluation

It is always important to show that you have evaluated the work that you have done. Typical questions could be: “How did you set about evaluating the work you did?”, “How does your work compare to that of others?”, “What is the strongest point of your work?”, “Which part of your thesis are you most proud of, and why?”, and “Which is the weakest part of your work?”.

8. Future Work

Examiners will almost always ask about possible areas for future work. Questions could be: “If you had another year, what would you do?” or “How would you continue with the work? What are the next steps?”

Wrapping up

With the right preparation and mindset, the viva is nothing to be scared of. Work through model answers to the questions above, have a good read of your thesis, and have faith that you know your research better than anyone else. Then, on the day, try to have fun.

If you want to be as prepared as possible for your viva, book yourself onto a one-on-one mock viva with Professor Smith. Boost your confidence with a full practice run before the big day. Click here to find out more.

Prepare for your viva. One question at a time.

Prepare answers to the most common PhD viva questions with this interactive template. It’s free to download and it’s yours to keep forever.

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Top 10 Ph.D. Viva Questions and How to Answer Them

Every doctoral candidate will complete the Ph.D. viva to defend a thesis and seek that coveted doctorate degree. You've worked hard throughout your academic career, and now you face this intimidating meeting! Before your viva, you might feel nervous, picturing yourself tap dancing as fast as you can in front of a firing squad. But your viva should feel more like a confident performance of your crowning research for an audience of adoring fans. Take a breath—you've done good work, and soon the committee will see that, too.

What is a Ph.D. viva? In this case, viva is short for viva voce, Latin for "living voice." The term refers to contexts in which responses to something are given out loud for people to hear, for example a real-time vote (all in favor, say "aye"!). In the academic context, the Ph.D. viva is a discussion between you (the Ph.D. candidate) and a panel of academic experts, during which you present your Ph.D. thesis. The panel of experts can include an internal and/or external examiner, your Ph.D. supervisor, and other people you can request to be in attendance, like your family members.

The examiner's main purpose is to determine that you've written your own thesis and ask you some probing questions about the work you've done. It's intended to be an open, frank conversation about your research, not an interrogation. Don't be afraid to challenge points your examiner makes if they don't align with what you've found in your study. Your expertise and passion about your work will demonstrate that you know your stuff and care deeply about it.

Of course, in order to think clearly and objectively about the subject you've been immersed in for months, you will need a healthy dose of confidence. To help you gain that confidence to make your viva a positive experience, preparation is key. Here are some prompts and questions you might be asked and how you can prepare beforehand to answer them.

1. Tell us about your study

Usually the first question is an opener and is asked with the goal of breaking the ice and getting you talking about your thesis. The items the panel presents to you will start broad and get more specific and involved as your viva progresses. Since you're here to talk about your project, give a good overview of who you are, your history in the field, and the process you followed in your study. You will have a lot of potential detail to provide, but since you won't know how much your panel is looking for, prepare synopses of different lengths: 1-minute, 3-minute, and 5-minute summaries.

2. What are your main research questions and why did you select them?

You'll very likely be prompted to talk about your research questions in detail, so be prepared to list the questions you set out to answer and the motivation behind selecting each one. Also, be prepared to discuss your aims, objectives, and hypotheses, just in case they ask about those as well.

3. What original contribution has your thesis made to this field of study?

Before you began your study, you probably looked at the gaps in the existing literature and decided on a research direction to fill those gaps. Now that you've finished your research, tell your panel what the world knows now as a result of your work. When future researchers delve into your subject matter, what will they cite you on?

4. Whose work has most influenced yours?

Because you went through the process of determining what your field of study still needs in terms of research and the kind of analysis that will contribute to it, you possess a pretty clear understanding of what has already been done. A lot of that knowledge comes from your academic journey leading up to the awarding of your doctorate, during which you've read a lot of papers and delved into the work that has been done before yours. Talk about the most influential works you've encountered. This can be a work that inspired you or papers that you felt were done poorly and motivated you to get it right. Bonus: The chair of the viva will be someone who knows a lot about your field, so take some time to get familiar with his or her work. Don't be a stalker, but be prepared to mention that you know what he or she has done. Not only will that demonstrate that you've prepared yourself for your presentation, but it will also show an interest in his or her life's work, which can't hurt. Don't spend too long on this, though—you're here primarily to talk about your work, not theirs.

5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your thesis?

You certainly want to brag about your thesis and offer reasons why you and your work are great, so don't hold back about what went right. Start with the strengths; outline your main findings and give reasons why your study enabled you to uncover them. Then, while it might feel counterintuitive to point out the ways that your thesis isn't the greatest ever, a report about the weaknesses of your research shows a sense of self-awareness and humility that benefits your study in that it paves the way for future researchers and shows that you aren't blind to your own potential for growth. If you prepare your response to this question before your viva, you can craft your response to show that you have already thought about the ways you can address the weaknesses of your thesis.

6. What ethical considerations did you apply?

Most Ph.D. candidates encounter ethical issues during the course of their research, and the committee might want to know whether you took measures to ensure an ethical project. Did you follow any ethical protocols in gathering data? Did you provide informed consent to participants in your study? What are the ethical implications of your work?

7. Did your study go as expected? If you had to start the thesis again, what would you do differently?

Every researcher has at least some idea of what he or she might find upon performing a study. Many form research questions and perform the study to provide support for that expected outcome, but sometimes the research leads to a different result. Consider what your own expectations were before you began and the path your research process took, either in alignment with that expectation or not. Knowing what you know now, would you change anything about your research? Would you approach the process differently? Maybe you would forego a step or two knowing that it wasn't as consequential or helpful as you originally thought.

8. Now that you've completed your study, what did you enjoy about the process?

Ph.D. thesis examiners are looking for a candidate who is passionate about the work. Remember that they know exactly how stressful the process is, so avoid delving into the hardships you encountered. Instead, give a summary of the high points and the reasons you were excited to keep going. While you should keep the tone professional and avoid gushing, feel free to talk about your personal motivation for pursuing this study.

9. If funding was no object, how would you follow up on this project?

Every researcher faces limits regarding the scope of a study that prevent them from gathering as much data as they'd like. Time limits, budget caps, and lack of interest or willingness among study participants can all put a damper on the dreams a researcher has for an analysis. Money can solve most obstacles within an examination, so dream big—what could you make happen with an infinite budget? This is another question that reveals your passion for the subject.

10.What are your plans for the future?

Questions might not be limited to your thesis, so give some thought to where you will go from here. Describe your plans for your future research or professional pursuits; this gives the panel a sense of your passion for the work and sets you apart from a doctoral candidate who is just trying to check the boxes and get a diploma in hand.

The questions your panel asks you on the day of your viva will probably not be exactly the ones listed in this article, but these topics will almost certainly be covered during the discussion with your examiner. If you prepare responses to these questions and make sure you know your thesis inside and out, you will be much more ready to answer whatever the experts ask you. Equally important, planning out your responses will also help calm your nerves before this very important event, so give yourself the gift of preparation as you anticipate your Ph.D. viva. Good luck—you'll do great!

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100 Questions (and Answers) About Qualitative Research

Lisa M. Given - Swinburne University, Australia, Charles Sturt University, Australia, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

“This is a great companion book for a course on qualitative methods and it is also a great resource as a ‘ready-reference,’ which should be a required companion for all graduate students who will be taking qualitative research methods.”

“It provides an overview of the subject on the nuances of qualitative research.”

“ Very precise in helping students determine if their study is appropriate for this type of research design.”

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“A book like this can provide a useful supplement to major texts and be used as a reference.”

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Most Asked PhD Viva-Voce Questions and Answers

Check this Mosted Asked 50 PhD Viva-Voce Questions with Answers

Defending a doctoral thesis and facing viva questions is a very critical part of every research scholar. After the submission of your thesis, you will be asked to defend your research work in the “ final viva voce “.

Defending your master’s thesis in front of domain experts, co-scholars, and students is quite an interesting experience. The difficult part of the viva for every researcher is facing unexpected questions.

In this article, ilovephd provides 50 possible PhD viva questions frequently asked during the thesis Viva voce.

Mosed Asked PhD Thesis Defense Viva-Voce Questions and Answers

These are all the 50 Common Dissertation PhD Viva Questions and Sample Answers you can prepare to answer during the defense.

Thesis Title: “Understanding the Impact of Social Media Engagement on Consumer Behavior: A Mixed-Methods Approach”

1. Main Contribution:

What is the main contribution of your work.

My work offers a novel framework for analyzing social media data, enhancing understanding of online user behavior. For instance, by integrating machine learning algorithms with network analysis, we identified influential users in online communities.

2. Key Research Questions:

What are the key research questions you addressed in your dissertation.

In my dissertation , I addressed several key research questions, including how online interactions influence consumer purchasing decisions and whether social media campaigns effectively engage target audiences.

3. Study Design:

How did you design your study.

The study was designed employing a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys to gather qualitative insights with the analysis of social media data using advanced statistical techniques.

4. Data and Methods:

What data and methods did you use.

I utilized Twitter data collected through the Twitter API and analyzed public sentiment toward specific brands or products.

5. Main Findings:

What were your main findings and how do they relate to your hypothesis.

Our analysis revealed a strong correlation between user engagement with social media content and subsequent purchase behavior, supporting our hypothesis that social media plays a significant role in shaping consumer decisions.

6. Implications:

What implications does your work have for other researchers or practitioners in the field.

These findings have practical implications for marketers, suggesting the need for targeted social media strategies to effectively reach and engage potential customers.

7. Suggestions for Further Research:

What suggestions do you have for further research.

Sample Answer: Future research could explore the effectiveness of different types of social media content in driving consumer engagement and purchasing behavior.

8. Motivation:

Why did you choose this particular topic.

I chose this topic due to its relevance in today’s digital age and its potential to inform marketing strategies in a rapidly evolving online landscape.

9. Overcoming Challenges:

What motivated you during the project.

My motivation stemmed from the opportunity to contribute to an area with significant real-world implications and to advance understanding in the field of marketing research.

10. New Insights:

How did you overcome any challenges that emerged throughout the project.

Challenges were overcome through perseverance, collaboration with peers and mentors, and leveraging available resources effectively.

11. Adding Value:

What new knowledge, insights, or understanding has your research provided.

My research has provided new insights into the nuanced relationship between online engagement and consumer behavior, offering actionable insights for marketers.

12. Limitations:

How do you think your work adds value to the field.

By bridging the gap between social media data analysis and consumer psychology, my work adds significant value to the marketing field.

Also Read: How to Identify Research Gap ?

13. Fit with Existing Research:

What are the limitations of your work.

Limitations include the generalizability of findings due to sample biases inherent in social media data.

14. Utilization of Resources:

How do your results fit into the current body of research on the subject.

My results contribute to the current body of research by corroborating existing evidence and offering new perspectives.

15. Method Selection:

If you had more resources, what would you have done differently.

With more resources, I would have expanded the scope of data collection and employed more sophisticated analysis techniques to enhance the depth of insights generated.

Learn how to select a Research Method and how to Frame a Research Design: Check the following video.

16. Accuracy and Validity:

Why did you choose the particular methods you used.

The chosen methods were selected based on their appropriateness for capturing and analyzing large-scale social media data sets efficiently.

17. Applicability in Other Contexts:

How did you ensure accuracy and validity in your research.

Accuracy and validity were ensured through rigorous validation procedures, including cross-validation techniques and expert validation of sentiment analysis results.

18. Starting the Project Again:

Could your research be applied in other contexts.

Yes, my research could be applied in various contexts beyond the retail sector, such as hospitality, healthcare, or political campaigns, with potential implications for understanding online user behavior in different domains.

19. Ethical Considerations:

What would you do differently if you had to start the project again.

If starting the project again, I would prioritize establishing clearer ethical guidelines and procedures for data collection and analysis to ensure the responsible conduct of research.

20. Dissemination:

What ethical considerations did you take into account when designing your study.

Ethical considerations included ensuring user privacy, obtaining informed consent for data usage, and protecting participant confidentiality throughout the research process.

21. Unexpected Results:

How have your results been disseminated.

Results have been disseminated through academic conferences, peer-reviewed journals, and industry reports to reach diverse audiences.

22. Extension of Research:

Are there any unexpected results from your analysis, and why do you think they occurred.

Surprisingly, we found that user engagement on social media positively correlates with both online and offline purchase behavior, which may be attributed to the increasing integration of digital and traditional marketing channels in consumer decision-making processes.

23. Data Analysis Techniques:

Do you have any plans to extend or replicate your research.

Yes, plans include replicating the study across different demographic groups and geographical regions to validate the robustness and generalizability of the findings.

24. Reliability and Validity:

What techniques did you use to analyze your data.

Data analysis techniques included regression analysis, social network analysis, and sentiment analysis, chosen for their appropriateness to the nature of the data and research questions.

25. Lessons Learned:

How did you ensure the reliability and validity of your findings.

Reliability and validity were ensured through rigorous data validation procedures, including reliability checks, sensitivity analyses, and triangulation of multiple data sources.

26. Addressing Methodological Weaknesses:

What lessons can be drawn from your research.

Lessons drawn from my research include the importance of integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches to capture the complexity of online consumer behavior accurately.

27. Possibility of Contradiction:

How did you address any methodological weaknesses in your study.

Methodological weaknesses were addressed by iteratively refining the research design, improving data collection procedures, and conducting sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the findings.

28. Transferability of Findings:

Is there a possibility that future research may contradict your findings.

While possible, future research may challenge the findings, particularly if different data sources or analytical approaches are employed.

29. Implications for Policymakers:

How transferable are your findings.

Findings are transferable to similar contexts but should be interpreted with caution in different cultural or market settings due to potential variations in consumer behavior and social media usage patterns.

30. Recommendations:

What implications do your results have for policymakers.

Results have implications for policymakers in terms of informing regulations regarding online advertising practices, consumer protection measures, and data privacy laws.

31. Rigor and Integrity:

What recommendations would you make based on your research.

Based on my research, I recommend that policymakers consider implementing guidelines for transparent disclosure of sponsored content on social media platforms to enhance consumer trust and confidence in online advertising practices.

32. Unexplored Areas:

How did you maintain the rigor and integrity of your project.

Rigor and integrity were maintained through adherence to ethical guidelines, transparency in data collection and analysis procedures, and regular peer review of research findings.

33. Need for Further Research:

What areas remain unexplored in your field.

Unexplored areas in the field include the long-term effects of social media engagement on brand loyalty, customer retention, and the role of emotional content in driving user engagement and purchase behavior.

34. Validity of Results:

Do you think further research is needed in your area of study.

Yes, further research is needed to validate the findings across diverse populations, cultural contexts, and industry sectors to ensure the robustness and generalizability of the conclusions.

35. Time Constraints:

How valid do you think your results are.

I believe the results are valid, supported by rigorous data analysis procedures, triangulation of multiple data sources, and alignment with existing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence.

36. Accurate Data Representation:

Would you have done anything differently if you had more time.

With more time, I might have conducted additional validation studies to strengthen the reliability and validity of the findings further, as well as explored alternative analytical approaches to corroborate the results.

37. Answering Research Questions:

How did you make sure you accurately represented the data collected.

Accurate data representation was ensured through careful data cleaning, validation procedures, and transparency in reporting the research findings to minimize biases and errors.

38. Applicability in Other Contexts:

How did you ensure the research question was answered.

The research question was answered through systematic data collection, rigorous analysis, and interpretation of the findings about the research objectives and hypotheses.

39. Possibility of Unendorsed Implications:

Are there any possible implications of your research that you don’t endorse.

While unlikely, possible implications that I don’t endorse include deterministic interpretations of causality between social media engagement and consumer behavior, as other factors may also influence purchase decisions.

40. Strengths and Weaknesses:

What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your research.

The strengths of my research include innovative methodology, robust data analysis techniques, and practical implications for marketers. Weaknesses include potential sample biases inherent in social media data and limitations in generalizability to offline consumer behavior.

41. Wider Community Implications:

What implications do your findings have for the wider community.

Findings offer valuable insights for marketers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to understand and leverage online consumer behavior effectively in various industries and societal contexts.

42. Useful Learnings:

What have you learned from your research that could be useful for others.

From my research, others can learn the importance of integrating user-generated content analysis into marketing strategies to enhance consumer engagement and inform decision-making processes.

43. Alignment with Literature:

How well do your findings match with the literature in the field.

My findings align well with existing literature on the influence of social media on consumer behavior, extending previous research by providing empirical evidence and theoretical insights into the mechanisms underlying online user engagement and purchase behavior.

44. Undiscussed Implications:

Are there any implications of your research that you haven’t discussed.

While extensively discussed, some implications, such as the role of emotional content in driving engagement and the potential impact of social media on brand loyalty, warrant further exploration in future studies.

45. Unresolved Issues:

Are there any unresolved issues that require further research.

Yes, unresolved issues include the long-term effects of social media engagement on brand loyalty, customer retention, and the effectiveness of different types of social media content in driving consumer engagement and purchase behavior.

46. Conclusions:

What can you conclude based on your research.

In conclusion, my research demonstrates the significant impact of social media engagement on consumer purchasing decisions, highlighting the need for targeted marketing strategies in the digital age to effectively engage and influence online audiences.

47. Contradictory Evidence:

Is there any evidence that contradicts your findings.

While limited, contradictory evidence may arise from studies employing different methodologies or focusing on distinct population groups, underscoring the need for further research to validate and contextualize the findings.

48. Resource Utilization:

What would you have done differently if you had more resources.

With more resources, I would have invested in longitudinal studies to track changes in consumer behavior over time and conducted experiments to test the effectiveness of different social media strategies in influencing user engagement and purchase behavior.

49. Applicability in Other Contexts:

How applicable are your findings to other contexts.

Findings are applicable beyond the retail sector, with potential implications for industries such as hospitality, healthcare, or political campaigns, where online user engagement and consumer behavior are also critical factors influencing decision-making processes.

50. Responsible Conduct:

How did you ensure that the research was conducted responsibly.

The research was conducted responsibly through adherence to ethical guidelines, transparency in data collection and analysis procedures, and regular peer review of research findings to ensure rigor and integrity in the research process.

I hope this article will help you to know the various PhD Viva-Voce Questions and sample Answers that are mostly asked during the final defense. All the best for your Thesis Defence. Happy Researching!

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Qualitative Research Questions: Gain Powerful Insights + 25 Examples

We review the basics of qualitative research questions, including their key components, how to craft them effectively, & 25 example questions.

Einstein was many things—a physicist, a philosopher, and, undoubtedly, a mastermind. He also had an incredible way with words. His quote, "Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted," is particularly poignant when it comes to research.

Some inquiries call for a quantitative approach, for counting and measuring data in order to arrive at general conclusions. Other investigations, like qualitative research, rely on deep exploration and understanding of individual cases in order to develop a greater understanding of the whole. That’s what we’re going to focus on today.

Qualitative research questions focus on the "how" and "why" of things, rather than the "what". They ask about people's experiences and perceptions , and can be used to explore a wide range of topics.

The following article will discuss the basics of qualitative research questions, including their key components, and how to craft them effectively. You'll also find 25 examples of effective qualitative research questions you can use as inspiration for your own studies.

Let’s get started!

What are qualitative research questions, and when are they used?

When researchers set out to conduct a study on a certain topic, their research is chiefly directed by an overarching question . This question provides focus for the study and helps determine what kind of data will be collected.

By starting with a question, we gain parameters and objectives for our line of research. What are we studying? For what purpose? How will we know when we’ve achieved our goals?

Of course, some of these questions can be described as quantitative in nature. When a research question is quantitative, it usually seeks to measure or calculate something in a systematic way.

For example:

How many people in our town use the library?
What is the average income of families in our city?
How much does the average person weigh?

Other research questions, however—and the ones we will be focusing on in this article—are qualitative in nature. Qualitative research questions are open-ended and seek to explore a given topic in-depth.

According to the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry , “Qualitative research aims to address questions concerned with developing an understanding of the meaning and experience dimensions of humans’ lives and social worlds.”

This type of research can be used to gain a better understanding of people’s thoughts, feelings and experiences by “addressing questions beyond ‘what works’, towards ‘what works for whom when, how and why, and focusing on intervention improvement rather than accreditation,” states one paper in Neurological Research and Practice .

Qualitative questions often produce rich data that can help researchers develop hypotheses for further quantitative study.

What are people’s thoughts on the new library?
How does it feel to be a first-generation student at our school?
How do people feel about the changes taking place in our town?

As stated by a paper in Human Reproduction , “...‘qualitative’ methods are used to answer questions about experience, meaning, and perspective, most often from the standpoint of the participant. These data are usually not amenable to counting or measuring.”

Both quantitative and qualitative questions have their uses; in fact, they often complement each other. A well-designed research study will include a mix of both types of questions in order to gain a fuller understanding of the topic at hand.

If you would like to recruit unlimited participants for qualitative research for free and only pay for the interview you conduct, try using Respondent today.

Crafting qualitative research questions for powerful insights

Now that we have a basic understanding of what qualitative research questions are and when they are used, let’s take a look at how you can begin crafting your own.

According to a study in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, there is a certain process researchers should follow when crafting their questions, which we’ll explore in more depth.

1. Beginning the process

Start with a point of interest or curiosity, and pose a draft question or ‘self-question’. What do you want to know about the topic at hand? What is your specific curiosity? You may find it helpful to begin by writing several questions.

For example, if you’re interested in understanding how your customer base feels about a recent change to your product, you might ask:

What made you decide to try the new product?
How do you feel about the change?
What do you think of the new design/functionality?
What benefits do you see in the change?

2. Create one overarching, guiding question

At this point, narrow down the draft questions into one specific question. “Sometimes, these broader research questions are not stated as questions, but rather as goals for the study.”

As an example of this, you might narrow down these three questions:

into the following question:

What are our customers’ thoughts on the recent change to our product?

3. Theoretical framing

As you read the relevant literature and apply theory to your research, the question should be altered to achieve better outcomes. Experts agree that pursuing a qualitative line of inquiry should open up the possibility for questioning your original theories and altering the conceptual framework with which the research began.

If we continue with the current example, it’s possible you may uncover new data that informs your research and changes your question. For instance, you may discover that customers’ feelings about the change are not just a reaction to the change itself, but also to how it was implemented. In this case, your question would need to reflect this new information:

How did customers react to the process of the change, as well as the change itself?

4. Ethical considerations

A study in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education stresses that ethics are “a central issue when a researcher proposes to study the lives of others, especially marginalized populations.” Consider how your question or inquiry will affect the people it relates to—their lives and their safety. Shape your question to avoid physical, emotional, or mental upset for the focus group.

In analyzing your question from this perspective, if you feel that it may cause harm, you should consider changing the question or ending your research project. Perhaps you’ve discovered that your question encourages harmful or invasive questioning, in which case you should reformulate it.

5. Writing the question

The actual process of writing the question comes only after considering the above points. The purpose of crafting your research questions is to delve into what your study is specifically about” Remember that qualitative research questions are not trying to find the cause of an effect, but rather to explore the effect itself.

Your questions should be clear, concise, and understandable to those outside of your field. In addition, they should generate rich data. The questions you choose will also depend on the type of research you are conducting:

If you’re doing a phenomenological study, your questions might be open-ended, in order to allow participants to share their experiences in their own words.
If you’re doing a grounded-theory study, your questions might be focused on generating a list of categories or themes.
If you’re doing ethnography, your questions might be about understanding the culture you’re studying.

Whenyou have well-written questions, it is much easier to develop your research design and collect data that accurately reflects your inquiry.

In writing your questions, it may help you to refer to this simple flowchart process for constructing questions:

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25 examples of expertly crafted qualitative research questions

It's easy enough to cover the theory of writing a qualitative research question, but sometimes it's best if you can see the process in practice. In this section, we'll list 25 examples of B2B and B2C-related qualitative questions.

Let's begin with five questions. We'll show you the question, explain why it's considered qualitative, and then give you an example of how it can be used in research.

1. What is the customer's perception of our company's brand?

Qualitative research questions are often open-ended and invite respondents to share their thoughts and feelings on a subject. This question is qualitative because it seeks customer feedback on the company's brand.

This question can be used in research to understand how customers feel about the company's branding, what they like and don't like about it, and whether they would recommend it to others.

2. Why do customers buy our product?

This question is also qualitative because it seeks to understand the customer's motivations for purchasing a product. It can be used in research to identify the reasons customers buy a certain product, what needs or desires the product fulfills for them, and how they feel about the purchase after using the product.

3. How do our customers interact with our products?

Again, this question is qualitative because it seeks to understand customer behavior. In this case, it can be used in research to see how customers use the product, how they interact with it, and what emotions or thoughts the product evokes in them.

4. What are our customers' biggest frustrations with our products?

By seeking to understand customer frustrations, this question is qualitative and can provide valuable insights. It can be used in research to help identify areas in which the company needs to make improvements with its products.

5. How do our customers feel about our customer service?

Rather than asking why customers like or dislike something, this question asks how they feel. This qualitative question can provide insights into customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a company.

This type of question can be used in research to understand what customers think of the company's customer service and whether they feel it meets their needs.

20 more examples to refer to when writing your question

Now that you’re aware of what makes certain questions qualitative, let's move into 20 more examples of qualitative research questions:

How do your customers react when updates are made to your app interface?
How do customers feel when they complete their purchase through your ecommerce site?
What are your customers' main frustrations with your service?
How do people feel about the quality of your products compared to those of your competitors?
What motivates customers to refer their friends and family members to your product or service?
What are the main benefits your customers receive from using your product or service?
How do people feel when they finish a purchase on your website?
What are the main motivations behind customer loyalty to your brand?
How does your app make people feel emotionally?
For younger generations using your app, how does it make them feel about themselves?
What reputation do people associate with your brand?
How inclusive do people find your app?
In what ways are your customers' experiences unique to them?
What are the main areas of improvement your customers would like to see in your product or service?
How do people feel about their interactions with your tech team?
What are the top five reasons people use your online marketplace?
How does using your app make people feel in terms of connectedness?
What emotions do people experience when they're using your product or service?
Aside from the features of your product, what else about it attracts customers?
How does your company culture make people feel?

As you can see, these kinds of questions are completely open-ended. In a way, they allow the research and discoveries made along the way to direct the research. The questions are merely a starting point from which to explore.

This video offers tips on how to write good qualitative research questions, produced by Qualitative Research Expert, Kimberly Baker.

Wrap-up: crafting your own qualitative research questions.

Over the course of this article, we've explored what qualitative research questions are, why they matter, and how they should be written. Hopefully you now have a clear understanding of how to craft your own.

Remember, qualitative research questions should always be designed to explore a certain experience or phenomena in-depth, in order to generate powerful insights. As you write your questions, be sure to keep the following in mind:

Are you being inclusive of all relevant perspectives?
Are your questions specific enough to generate clear answers?
Will your questions allow for an in-depth exploration of the topic at hand?
Do the questions reflect your research goals and objectives?

If you can answer "yes" to all of the questions above, and you've followed the tips for writing qualitative research questions we shared in this article, then you're well on your way to crafting powerful queries that will yield valuable insights.

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Asking the right questions in the right way is the key to research success. That’s true for not just the discussion guide but for every step of a research project. Following are 100+ questions that will take you from defining your research objective through screening and participant discussions.

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Viva Questions

Updated on
Jan 18, 2024

What are viva questions? A viva simply means a university examination during which students answer questions in speech and these questions are commonly based on a particular project or discipline. Viva questions are an important part of an academic program and often take place at the conclusion of a semester/year. Although viva questions can vary, they commonly focus on four aspects: “What the project is about?”, “What were the key findings or observations?”, “What was the process?” and “Why do the observations matter?”. However, in some cases, these questions can be more diverse. If you want to know how to tackle these PhD viva questions properly, then this blog is a must-read for you!

This Blog Includes:

1. summarize your project/thesis/research in 3 minutes, 2. what is the strength and weakness of your research, 3. what makes your thesis work original, 4. elaborate on how your findings relate to literature in your field, 5. tell me about yourself, 6. summarise your key findings, 7. highlight the strong and weak areas of your research, 8. what were the major motivations behind this research, 9. elucidate the process of evaluation, 10. what is the key focus of this research, 50 common viva questions, 25 phd viva questions , viva questions on research methodologies, analysis and research findings: viva questions, viva questions for physics, viva questions for chemistry, viva questions for biology, viva questions for higher education, tips and tricks to ace the viva, 10 most important viva questions with answers.

Whether you are a PhD or a school student, viva exams are equally tough for everyone. But don’t worry, we have a solution to calm you down! Here are 5 commonly asked questions with answers:

To answer this question correctly, you need to be well-versed in the entire project. Start with an answer by explaining why did you select the topic of your project/thesis/research and close your explanation by providing an optimum solution to the problem.

Carefully analyze the strength and weaknesses of your research and while answering, make sure you talk about your weaknesses also and not only your strengths.

While answering, keep in mind what was known before and what you have added as part of being awarded your PhD is to contribute novel knowledge.

Explain how your findings connect with the literature review of your project and what its contributions are in terms of the field of your research. Does it further expand the literature? Does it highlight some new observations? Does it add to the literature in this field? Answer these main questions.

Talk about yourself and your areas of interest. Focus on the areas you are extremely positive about. Talk about your past achievements and what brings you to this position. Keep it professional.

Must Read: How to Ace “Tell Me About Yourself” in College Interview?

For this common viva question, focus on what you observed and found through your research project, how it connects with your hypothesis as well as what concluded through this research.

Mention the strengths first and elaborate on how they connect with the key findings. Then, you can underline the weak areas and the factors that could have been transformed into strengths.

Focus on what inspired you to carry out this research, and cite certain instances which helped you select this topic as well as the field for your project.

Elaborate on how you evaluated the key findings in your research, the key factors involved, whether the evaluation process faced some obstacles, how it could have been better and what was the reason you choose a particular process of evaluation.

While answering this, keep a summarised version of your research in your mind and then talk about the area of the primary focus of research. In order to demonstrate that your research is viable, it is essential to identify some of the key questions that it addresses.

Mostly research-based viva questions are asked in the case of a doctoral thesis wherein the key aspect of the process is to identify the thought behind the development of the specific paper. It is done to determine the knowledge and originality of the researcher and to assess their further interest in the field.

Below are some of the most common viva questions.

Tell me about yourself .
Summarise your research/thesis in 3 minutes.
Tell us how your research contributes to knowledge discourse.
What are the practical applications of your research?
What is the strength and weakness of your research?
How does your research help solve the underlying problems?
Can you explain your thesis in a sentence?
How did you come up with the subject of your research/thesis?
What was the source of inspiration behind this thesis/research?
What is the key idea that is unexpendable to your thesis?
What contributions are you looking forward to making in this area of study?
What is the key focus of this research?
Where can we locate the originality in your paper?
What are the core areas of debate in this paper?
What research methodology have you applied to address this issue?
What were the alternative methods you could have used to address the subject matter of concern?
Why did you feel it necessary to spend your resources in this area of study?
What aids did you use to support your research?
Which pertinent research papers did you use in your research?
Can you name 3 remarkable research papers in this stream?
Explain the recent developments in this field.
How did you come up with these questions you have discussed in your paper?
Describe the necessary decisions taken in your process.
Elucidate the process of evaluation.
Ponder over the strong and weak aspects of your research.
What is the relevance of your research in the current scenario?
Where do you think your research can be practically applied?
Which aspects of your research are you looking forward to being published?
Give us some insights into the references in your thesis.
What have you achieved in the process of this PhD?
Elaborate on how your findings relate to literature in your field.
Highlight the strong and weak areas of your research.
What were the major motivations behind this research?
How would you propose future research as a follow-up to this project?
Who will be more interested in this research project?
How is your research project relevant to your fellow researchers?
What was the process behind the research questions you selected?
Name some alternatives to your chosen research methodology.
Which of your research observations are you most interested in/curious about?
Name some prominent achievements of your research.

A PhD viva is a final examination in which a candidate answers questions from an academic panel on their work and understanding of their chosen subject area. This is often used to determine whether the candidate has effectively proved that they have learned enough about their specialised study topic to produce original work.

During a PhD viva, the questions are frequently based on the original study proposal and any other written material that has already been provided. Read the top 25 PhD viva questions below:

What is the area in which you wish to be examined?
What have you done that merits a PhD?
Summarise your key findings.
What’s original about your work?
Which topics overlap with your area?
Where do current technologies fail such that you (could) make a contribution?
Who are your closest competitors?
Can you summarise your project in 2 lines?
How can this research help other students working in the same field?
Which of your findings is your personal favourite?
Is your research inspired by some incident in your life?
Why did you choose this method to conduct this research?
What motivated you to conduct this research?
What was the biggest challenge that came your way?
What were the alternatives to this methodology?
How would you evaluate your work?
Were you short of any resources while conducting this research?
Can you tell me about the strongest point of your research?
What is the weakest point of your research?
. How did you deal with the ethical implications of your work?
What original contribution has your thesis made to this field of study?
Whose work has most influenced yours?
What ethical considerations did you apply?
Did your study go as expected? If you had to start the thesis again, what would you do differently?
Now that you’ve completed your study, what did you enjoy about the process?

Preparing for an interview for the Statistician or Survey Specialist role? Then worry not! Here are the most important viva questions on research methodologies:

Under which circumstances are quantitative as well as qualitative research methods fruitful?
Could you distinguish between case-based and observational-based research methods in a few words?
What is a scientific study and what are its essential features?
You must have faced some ethical issues while conducting research. How did you handle it?
What method did you use to collect data?
Was there any other way in which you could have assimilated the data? If yes, then how?
What are the main achievements of your research?
What advice would you give to a research student entering this area?
What is the relevance of your work to other researchers?
How did your research questions emerge?

Subjective Questions for School

Be it for Chemistry or Biology practicals , from 10th standard onwards, students have to appear for vivas. The concerned viva questions pertain to the subject that the students have studied in the course of the entire year. The viva that one appears for at the senior secondary level is based on the experiments that the students perform to test their understanding of the research. Apart from those experiments, the students are also asked several questions to estimate their practical understanding of the key areas of study.

Viva questions for Physics are mainly based on concepts and topics from Physics textbooks. Here are the most common viva questions for Physics Class 11 and Class 12:

Viva Questions for Class 12 Physics

What is Ohm’s Law?
What do you mean by ‘interference’?
Define tangent law.
Name the type of motion shown by the Torsional pendulum.
What happens with resonance in the LCR circuit?
What do you understand by the order of the spectrum?
How is Wedge Film Experiment useful?
Define parallax and how it is removed.
How does the emission of light is carried out by LED?

Also Read: Physics Project for Class 12: Top 50 Ideas & Experiments

Viva Questions for Class 11 Physics

Name the units of the vernier scale.
What do you understand by Zero Error (Z.E)?
What are the two parts of the Screw Gauge?
Name one mechanical advantage of a Screw Gauge.
What is Focal Length?
What are the factors that impact surface tension?
Define the time period of a bar.
What is Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)?

Viva questions for Chemistry are mainly based on concepts and topics from Chemistry textbooks. Here are the most common viva questions for Chemistry Class 11 and Class 12:

Viva Questions for Class 12 Chemistry

What is Valency?
What is the value of Avogadro’s number?
What is the monomer of Polyethylene?
What are polymers?
What is the IUPAC Name?
Differentiate between addition and condensation polymer
What is the oxidation and reduction reaction in the electrolytic process?
What is Titration?

Also Read: Chemistry Project for Class 12: Topics & Sample Projects

Viva Questions for Class 11 Chemistry

Define the term ‘crystallisation’
What is solubility?
Why is crystallization done?
What is Kipp’s waste?
What is a Saturated Solution?

PhD viva questions for Biology are mainly based on concepts and topics from Biology textbooks. Here are the most common viva questions for Biology Class 11 and Class 12:

Viva Questions for Class 12 Biology

What is litter?
What is the shape of a pollen grain
What is tectum?
What are pollutants
What is hummus
Define Mitosis
Why is Mitosis called Somatic Cell Division

Also Read: How to Ace Class 12th Biology Practical?

Viva Questions for Class 11 Biology

How many types of proteins are there
What are enzymes
What is nucleic acid?
Examples of high-protein food
Full form of DNA
Full form of RNA
What are Mendelian Laws
What is placentation?
What are monadelphous and diadelphous stamens?
What is the flower’s importance to the plant?
To which family china rose belongs?

Admission tutors at the postgraduate level conduct viva or interviews to establish whether graduates are committed to and prepared for studying the master’s or PhD level courses. These are less formal than a job interview , but you still need to take them seriously – your aspirations to pursue overseas education could depend on your performance.

Let’s say you come from a Mass Communication background and you’ve made a documentary on “ underprivileged sections of society” . Then you might be asked about the process of the development of the movie, how long did it take to gauge the key aspects of the film or the perspective behind the direction process.

Though the research you do in your PhD is a massive achievement, you need to be prepared for the exhaustive viva session with the experts. The PhD viva questions are a chance for students to discuss their work with professionals. Its formal purpose is to ensure that the student understands and can explain their thesis. It involves lots of stinging questions and conceptually complex debates. How can PhD scholars best prepare themselves? Let us take a look at the different tips for getting through your viva questions:

Calm down and breathe
Believe in yourself
Do something fun
Go in with a good attitude
Look presentable
Read your thesis
Know the rules
Make a list of your own corrections
Make plans to celebrate
Try to enjoy it

Must Read: How to Crack an Interview [20 Scientifically Proven Tips]

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Viving la viva: how to answer viva questions

Preparing for a PhD viva can be stressful, but you can take steps to ensure you answer the examiners’ questions about your thesis well. Jenny Scoles provides tips

Jenny Scoles

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“Just enjoy the viva,” they say. Ha! “Enjoyment” was not what came to mind when thinking about my PhD viva. But I knew it was my only chance to speak to people who had read my thesis and, unlike my long-suffering family and friends, were genuinely curious about why I didn’t use NVivo and why I hadn’t referenced the original citation on page 243. So, when it came to prepping for mine a few years ago (I submitted it in September and my viva wasn’t until January, so I had a decent amount of time to prepare and find spelling mistakes), I made sure I was as ready as I could be.

I found a lot of online viva resources and blog posts that provided helpful lists of possible questions you may be asked to help you prepare your answers. However, what I found most helpful were the tips from my supervisors during my mock viva (tip one: have a mock viva with your supervisors). Specifically, they talked about how I should answer the examiners’ questions, not necessarily what to say.

Signpost your answers

Examiners will undoubtedly ask you, in so many words: “What is your original contribution to knowledge?” As with all replies, keep your answer clear; don’t make things too complicated. Structure the points you want to make so you can signpost the examiner to your main thesis contributions, just as you would have in your written conclusion. For example, I said: “My thesis makes three original contributions to knowledge: firstly, a theoretical contribution, secondly, a methodological contribution, and thirdly, a pedagogical/practical contribution,” and kept to a few sentences for each of the three points.

It’s a game of stamina

At the beginning of the viva, i t ’ s easy to want to just keep talking through nerves or worry that you want to show off everything at once. My viva was only an hour and a half, but I’ve heard of some lasting more than five hours – it just depends on the examiners, and what emerges on the day. Have faith that, when answering the first few questions, you don’t have to reel off your whole thesis there and then. Take your time; it’s an exhausting few hours. I hit the wall after an hour as I’d begun to relax into it and my adrenaline dropped (I did a few over-loud sighs without realising). So, pace yourself. If you are worried that you have not answered their question, you can politely ask if the examiners would like you to expand on what you’ve said further.

Campus resource collection: What I wish I’d known about academia
Early career researchers can say no, too
When am I going to be found out? Tackling academic impostor syndrome

Although it’s a defence of your thesis, don’t come across as defensive

This is a hugely useful distinction that I was made aware of. The examiners are there to critically pick apart your thesis, probing why you did certain things and not others. Yet this thesis is your baby, and no one but you can say your baby isn’t perfect. So your hackles rise and, perhaps without realising it, the tone or manner in which you reply could come across as too defensive and it could make the examiners feel defensive, too. They’re only human, after all. You can still defend your reasons politely but firmly. “That’s a really interesting way of looking at it, but I found, for my study, it was more helpful to look at it this way” is a good response.

Don’t know the answer? Sometimes the examiners may ask you something that you have not even thought about, let alone prepared for. At this point, have a few stock phrases up your sleeve to give yourself time to mull things over. The following are effective:

Well, now that I think about it like that…
I’m only starting to see this now…
That’s a very good point, I’d like to look at this issue in more detail.

Practise speaking your answers aloud to get used to your voice; the best prep I did was with a colleague who had her viva at a similar time to me. We scheduled weekly Skype sessions in the weeks before and practised asking each other unseen questions. This helped me get used to hearing my own voice and let me play with how I could verbalise concepts and ideas that I had only, up until then, put into writing and had lived in my head.

Prepare questions of your own

As in an interview, it looks professional if you have a few questions prepared for the examiners for the “any questions?” part at the end. For example, you could ask their thoughts on where you could publish future journal articles from your PhD. Or how a particular concept you developed fits with their own work (brownie points for having read the examiners’ latest papers).

And, finally, two tips from me after having survived

Simplify the notes you take in with you: I was allowed to take in as many notes, thesis drafts, books and lucky mascots as I wanted. However, if you are relying too much on your answers coming from reading your notes, the flow of conversation will falter, and you may end up getting into a bit of a sweat. As part of the revision process, I made colourful mind maps that summarised the main points I wanted to make for each potential question. I took these into the viva and laid them out in front of me, which meant I could flick my eyes to them if I my mind went blank.

Enjoy it…or just get through it

It’s easy to say: “Just enjoy your viva!” once you’re out the other side. So, if you enjoy it, that’s a bonus! If not, well done for having got to that point in the first place and, whatever happens, reward yourself handsomely at the end.

Jenny Scoles is an academic developer (learning and teaching enhancement) at the University of Edinburgh.

This post was originally published on theofficedog blog and the University of Edinburgh's Teaching Matters blog.

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Promoting, discussing and celebrating teaching at the university of edinburgh, vive-ing la viva: how to answer viva questions.

Dr Jenny Scoles from the Institute of Academic Development provides some helpful tips in how to prepare for your PhD viva by being aware of how you answer the examiners’ questions. This post is part of the Learning and Teaching Enhancement theme: Showcasing the Doctoral College .

Just enjoy the viva, they say…. ha!

‘Enjoyment’ was not at the top of my list of adjectives when thinking about my viva. But I knew it was my only chance at speaking to people who had actually read my thesis and, unlike my long-suffering family and friends, were genuinely curious about why I didn’t use NVivo and why I hadn’t referenced the original citation on page 243. So, when it came to prepping for my PhD viva a few years ago (I submitted in a September and my viva wasn’t until the January so I had a decent amount of time to prepare/find multiple spelling mistakes), I made sure I was as ready as I could be.

I found a lot of online viva resources and blog posts that provided helpful lists of likely and possible questions you may be asked, so you can prepare your answers. However, what I found most helpful were the tips from my supervisors during my mock viva (tip 1: have a mock viva with your supervisors). Specifically, they talked about HOW I should answer the examiners’ questions, not necessarily WHAT to answer. Here are some examples:

Sign post your answers: You will undoubtedly be asked, in so many words, ‘What is your original contribution to knowledge?’. As with all replies, keep your answer clear; don’t make things too complicated. Structure the points you want so you can signpost the examiner to your main thesis contributions, just as you would have in your written conclusion. For example, I said ‘My thesis makes three original contributes to knowledge: firstly, a theoretical contribution… secondly a methodological contribution… and thirdly, a pedagogical/practical contribution….’, and kept it to a few sentences for each of the three points.

It’s a stamina game: It is easy at the beginning of the viva to want to just keep talking, through nerves, or a worry that you want to show off everything at once. My viva was only an hour and a half, but I’ve heard of some lasting over five hours – it just depends on the examiners, and what emerges on the day. Have faith that, when answering the first few questions, you don’t have to reel off your whole thesis there and then. Take your time; it is a tiring and exhaustive few hours. I hit the wall after an hour as I’d begun to relax into it, and my adrenaline dropped (I remember doing a few over-loud sighs without realising). So, pace yourself. If you are worried that you have not answered their question, you can politely ask if they would like you to expand any more.

Although it’s a defence of your thesis, don’t come across as defensive: This is a hugely useful distinction that I was made aware of. The examiners are there to critically pick apart your thesis, probing why you did certain things and not others. Yet this thesis is your baby, and no one but you can say your baby isn’t perfect. So your hackles rise, and perhaps, without realising it, the tone or manner in which you reply could come across as too defensive and it could make the examiners feel defensive too; they’re only human, after all. You can still defend your reasons politely but firmly… ‘That’s a really interesting way of looking at it, but I found, for my study, it was more helpful to look at it this way….’, or similar.

Don’t know the answer? Sometimes they may ask you something that you have not even thought about, let alone prepared for. At this point, have a few stock phrases up your sleeve to give yourself some time to mull it over:

Well, now that I think about it like that… I’m only starting to see this now… That’s a very good point, I’d like to look at this issue in more detail.

Practice speaking your answers aloud to get used to your voice: The best prep I did was with a colleague who had her viva at a similar time to me. We scheduled weekly Skype sessions in the weeks before and practised asking each other unseen questions. This helped me get used to hearing my own voice, and let me play with how I could verbalise concepts and ideas that I had only, up until then, put into writing and lived in my head.

Prepare your own questions: Like an interview scenario, it looks professional if you have a few prepared questions for the examiners for the ‘any questions?’ part, at the end. For example, you could ask their thoughts on where you could publish future journal articles from your PhD. Or, how a particular concept you developed fits with their own work (brownie points for having read the examiners’ latest papers).

And, finally, two tips from me after having survived:

Simplify the notes you take in with you: I was allowed to take in as many notes, thesis drafts, books, lucky mascots as I wanted. However, if you are relying too much on your answers coming from reading your notes, the flow of conversation will falter, and you may end up getting into a bit of a sweat. As part of the revision process, I made colourful mind maps that summarised the main points I wanted to make for each potential question. I took these in to the viva and lay them out in front of me, which meant I could flick my eyes to them if I had a mind-blank:

Enjoy it… or just get through it: It’s easy to say ‘just enjoy your viva!’ once you’re through the other side. So, if you enjoy it, bonus! If not, well-bloody-done for having got to the viva in the first place, and whatever happens, reward yourself big-style at the end:

This post was originally published on theofficedog blog .

Jenny Scoles

Dr Jenny Scoles is the editor of Teaching Matters. She is an Academic Developer (Learning and Teaching Enhancement), and a Senior Fellow HEA, in the Institute for Academic Development, and provides pedagogical support for University course and programme design. Her interests include student engagement, professional learning and sociomaterial methodologies.

9 9. Writing your research question

Chapter outline.

Empirical vs. ethical questions (4 minute read time)
Characteristics of a good research question (4 minute read time)
Quantitative research questions (7 minute read time)
Qualitative research questions (3 minute read time)
Evaluating and updating your research questions (4 minute read time)

Content warning: examples in this chapter include references to sexual violence, sexism, substance use disorders, homelessness, domestic violence, the child welfare system, cissexism and heterosexism, and truancy and school discipline.

9.1 Empirical vs. ethical questions

Learning Objectives

Learners will be able to…

Define empirical questions and provide an example
Define ethical questions and provide an example

Writing a good research question is an art and a science. It is a science because you have to make sure it is clear, concise, and well-developed. It is an art because often your language needs “wordsmithing” to perfect and clarify the meaning. This is an exciting part of the research process; however, it can also be one of the most stressful.

Creating a good research question begins by identifying a topic you are interested in studying. At this point, you already have a working question. You’ve been applying it to the exercises in each chapter, and after reading more about your topic in the scholarly literature, you’ve probably gone back and revised your working question a few times. We’re going to continue that process in more detail in this chapter. Keep in mind that writing research questions is an iterative process, with revisions happening week after week until you are ready to start your project.

Empirical vs. ethical questions

When it comes to research questions, social science is best equipped to answer empirical questions —those that can be answered by real experience in the real world—as opposed to ethical questions —questions about which people have moral opinions and that may not be answerable in reference to the real world. While social workers have explicit ethical obligations (e.g., service, social justice), research projects ask empirical questions to help actualize and support the work of upholding those ethical principles.

In order to help you better understand the difference between ethical and empirical questions, let’s consider a topic about which people have moral opinions. How about SpongeBob SquarePants? [1] In early 2005, members of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family (2005) [2] denounced this seemingly innocuous cartoon character as “morally offensive” because they perceived his character to be one that promotes a “pro-gay agenda.” Focus on the Family supported their claim that SpongeBob is immoral by citing his appearance in a children’s video designed to promote tolerance of all family forms (BBC News, 2005). [3] They also cited SpongeBob’s regular hand-holding with his male sidekick Patrick as further evidence of his immorality.

So, can we now conclude that SpongeBob SquarePants is immoral? Not so fast. While your mother or a newspaper or television reporter may provide an answer, a social science researcher cannot. Questions of morality are ethical, not empirical. Of course, this doesn’t mean that social science researchers cannot study opinions about or social meanings surrounding SpongeBob SquarePants (Carter, 2010). [4] We study humans after all, and as you will discover in the following chapters of this textbook, we are trained to utilize a variety of scientific data-collection techniques to understand patterns of human beliefs and behaviors. Using these techniques, we could find out how many people in the United States find SpongeBob morally reprehensible, but we could never learn, empirically, whether SpongeBob is in fact morally reprehensible.

Let’s consider an example from a recent MSW research class I taught. A student group wanted to research the penalties for sexual assault. Their original research question was: “How can prison sentences for sexual assault be so much lower than the penalty for drug possession?” Outside of the research context, that is a darn good question! It speaks to how the War on Drugs and the patriarchy have distorted the criminal justice system towards policing of drug crimes over gender-based violence.

Unfortunately, it is an ethical question, not an empirical one. To answer that question, you would have to draw on philosophy and morality, answering what it is about human nature and society that allows such unjust outcomes. However, you could not answer that question by gathering data about people in the real world. If I asked people that question, they would likely give me their opinions about drugs, gender-based violence, and the criminal justice system. But I wouldn’t get the real answer about why our society tolerates such an imbalance in punishment.

As the students worked on the project through the semester, they continued to focus on the topic of sexual assault in the criminal justice system. Their research question became more empirical because they read more empirical articles about their topic. One option that they considered was to evaluate intervention programs for perpetrators of sexual assault to see if they reduced the likelihood of committing sexual assault again. Another option they considered was seeing if counties or states with higher than average jail sentences for sexual assault perpetrators had lower rates of re-offense for sexual assault. These projects addressed the ethical question of punishing perpetrators of sexual violence but did so in a way that gathered and analyzed empirical real-world data. Our job as social work researchers is to gather social facts about social work issues, not to judge or determine morality.

Key Takeaways

Empirical questions are distinct from ethical questions.
There are usually a number of ethical questions and a number of empirical questions that could be asked about any single topic.
While social workers may research topics about which people have moral opinions, a researcher’s job is to gather and analyze empirical data.
Take a look at your working question. Make sure you have an empirical question, not an ethical one. To perform this check, describe how you could find an answer to your question by conducting a study, like a survey or focus group, with real people.

9.2 Characteristics of a good research question

Identify and explain the key features of a good research question
Explain why it is important for social workers to be focused and clear with the language they use in their research questions

Now that you’ve made sure your working question is empirical, you need to revise that working question into a formal research question. So, what makes a good research question? First, it is generally written in the form of a question. To say that your research question is “the opioid epidemic” or “animal assisted therapy” or “oppression” would not be correct. You need to frame your topic as a question, not a statement. A good research question is also one that is well-focused. A well-focused question helps you tune out irrelevant information and not try to answer everything about the world all at once. You could be the most eloquent writer in your class, or even in the world, but if the research question about which you are writing is unclear, your work will ultimately lack direction.

In addition to being written in the form of a question and being well-focused, a good research question is one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. For example, if your interest is in gender norms, you could ask, “Does gender affect a person’s performance of household tasks?” but you will have nothing left to say once you discover your yes or no answer. Instead, why not ask, about the relationship between gender and household tasks. Alternatively, maybe we are interested in how or to what extent gender affects a person’s contributions to housework in a marriage? By tweaking your question in this small way, you suddenly have a much more fascinating question and more to say as you attempt to answer it.

A good research question should also have more than one plausible answer. In the example above, the student who studied the relationship between gender and household tasks had a specific interest in the impact of gender, but she also knew that preferences might be impacted by other factors. For example, she knew from her own experience that her more traditional and socially conservative friends were more likely to see household tasks as part of the female domain, and were less likely to expect their male partners to contribute to those tasks. Thinking through the possible relationships between gender, culture, and household tasks led that student to realize that there were many plausible answers to her questions about how gender affects a person’s contribution to household tasks. Because gender doesn’t exist in a vacuum, she wisely felt that she needed to consider other characteristics that work together with gender to shape people’s behaviors, likes, and dislikes. By doing this, the student considered the third feature of a good research question–she thought about relationships between several concepts. While she began with an interest in a single concept—household tasks—by asking herself what other concepts (such as gender or political orientation) might be related to her original interest, she was able to form a question that considered the relationships among those concepts.

This student had one final component to consider. Social work research questions must contain a target population. Her study would be very different if she were to conduct it on older adults or immigrants who just arrived in a new country. The target population is the group of people whose needs your study addresses. Maybe the student noticed issues with household tasks as part of her social work practice with first-generation immigrants, and so she made it her target population. Maybe she wants to address the needs of another community. Whatever the case, the target population should be chosen while keeping in mind social work’s responsibility to work on behalf of marginalized and oppressed groups.

In sum, a good research question generally has the following features:

It is written in the form of a question
It is clearly written
It cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”
It has more than one plausible answer
It considers relationships among multiple variables
It is specific and clear about the concepts it addresses
It includes a target population
A poorly focused research question can lead to the demise of an otherwise well-executed study.
Research questions should be clearly worded, consider relationships between multiple variables, have more than one plausible answer, and address the needs of a target population.
Okay, it’s time to write out your first draft of a research question. Once you’ve done so, take a look at the checklist in this chapter and see if your research question meets the criteria to be a good one.
Describe why your question fits better with quantitative or qualitative methods.
Provide an alternative research question that fits with the other type of research method.

9.3 Quantitative research questions

Describe how research questions for exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory quantitative questions differ and how to phrase them
Identify the differences between and provide examples of strong and weak explanatory research questions

Quantitative descriptive questions

The type of research you are conducting will impact the research question that you ask. Probably the easiest questions to think of are quantitative descriptive questions. For example, “What is the average student debt load of MSW students?” is a descriptive question—and an important one. We aren’t trying to build a causal relationship here. We’re simply trying to describe how much debt MSW students carry. Quantitative descriptive questions like this one are helpful in social work practice as part of community scans, in which human service agencies survey the various needs of the community they serve. If the scan reveals that the community requires more services related to housing, child care, or day treatment for people with disabilities, a nonprofit office can use the community scan to create new programs that meet a defined community need.

Quantitative descriptive questions will often ask for percentage, count the number of instances of a phenomenon, or determine an average. Descriptive questions may only include one variable, such as ours about student debt load, or they may include multiple variables. Because these are descriptive questions, our purpose is not to investigate causal relationships between variables. To do that, we need to use a quantitative explanatory question.

Quantitative explanatory questions

Most studies you read in the academic literature will be quantitative and explanatory. Why is that? If you recall from Chapter 6, explanatory research tries to build nomothetic causal relationships. They are generalizable across space and time, so they are applicable to a wide audience. The editorial board of a journal wants to make sure their content will be useful to as many people as possible, so it’s not surprising that quantitative research dominates the academic literature.

Structurally, quantitative explanatory questions must contain an independent variable and dependent variable. Questions should ask about the relationship between these variables. The standard format I was taught in graduate school for an explanatory quantitative research question is: “What is the relationship between [independent variable] and [dependent variable] for [target population]?” You should play with the wording for your research question, revising that standard format to match what you really want to know about your topic.

Let’s take a look at a few more examples of possible research questions and consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. Table 9.1 does just that. While reading the table, keep in mind that I have only noted what I view to be the most relevant strengths and weaknesses of each question. Certainly each question may have additional strengths and weaknesses not noted in the table. Each of these questions is drawn from student projects in my research methods classes and reflects the work of many students on their research question over many weeks.

Making it more specific

A good research question should also be specific and clear about the concepts it addresses. A student investigating gender and household tasks knows what they mean by “household tasks.” You likely also have an impression of what “household tasks” means. But are your definition and the student’s definition the same? A participant in their study may think that managing finances and performing home maintenance are household tasks, but the researcher may be interested in other tasks like childcare or cleaning. The only way to ensure your study stays focused and clear is to be specific about what you mean by a concept. The student in our example could pick a specific household task that was interesting to them or that the literature indicated was important—for example, childcare. Or, the student could have a broader view of household tasks, one that encompasses childcare, food preparation, financial management, home repair, and care for relatives. Any option is probably okay, as long as the researcher is clear on what they mean by “household tasks.” Clarifying these distinctions is important as we look ahead to specifying how your variables will be measured in Chapter 11.

Table 9.2 contains some “watch words” that indicate you may need to be more specific about the concepts in your research question.

It can be challenging to be this specific in social work research, particularly when you are just starting out your project and still reading the literature. If you’ve only read one or two articles on your topic, it can be hard to know what you are interested in studying. Broad questions like “What are the causes of chronic homelessness, and what can be done to prevent it?” are common at the beginning stages of a research project as working questions. However, moving from working questions to research questions in your research proposal requires that you examine the literature on the topic and refine your question over time to be more specific and clear. Perhaps you want to study the effect of a specific anti-homelessness program that you found in the literature. Maybe there is a particular model to fighting homelessness, like Housing First or transitional housing, that you want to investigate further. You may want to focus on a potential cause of homelessness such as LGBTQ discrimination that you find interesting or relevant to your practice. As you can see, the possibilities for making your question more specific are almost infinite.

Quantitative exploratory questions

In exploratory research, the researcher doesn’t quite know the lay of the land yet. If someone is proposing to conduct an exploratory quantitative project, the watch words highlighted in Table 9.2 are not problematic at all. In fact, questions such as “What factors influence the removal of children in child welfare cases?” are good because they will explore a variety of factors or causes. In this question, the independent variable is less clearly written, but the dependent variable, family preservation outcomes, is quite clearly written. The inverse can also be true. If we were to ask, “What outcomes are associated with family preservation services in child welfare?”, we would have a clear independent variable, family preservation services, but an unclear dependent variable, outcomes. Because we are only conducting exploratory research on a topic, we may not have an idea of what concepts may comprise our “outcomes” or “factors.” Only after interacting with our participants will we be able to understand which concepts are important.

Remember that exploratory research is appropriate only when the researcher does not know much about topic because there is very little scholarly research. In our examples above, there is extensive literature on the outcomes in family reunification programs and risk factors for child removal in child welfare. Make sure you’ve done a thorough literature review to ensure there is little relevant research to guide you towards a more explanatory question.

Descriptive quantitative research questions are helpful for community scans but cannot investigate causal relationships between variables.
Explanatory quantitative research questions must include an independent and dependent variable.
Exploratory quantitative research questions should only be considered when there is very little previous research on your topic.
Identify the type of research you are engaged in (descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory).
Preferably, you should be creating an explanatory research question for quantitative research.

9.4 Qualitative research questions

List the key terms associated with qualitative research questions
Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative research questions

Qualitative research questions differ from quantitative research questions. Because qualitative research questions seek to explore or describe phenomena, not provide a neat nomothetic explanation, they are often more general and openly worded. They may include only one concept, though many include more than one. Instead of asking how one variable causes changes in another, we are instead trying to understand the experiences , understandings , and meanings that people have about the concepts in our research question. These keywords often make an appearance in qualitative research questions.

Let’s work through an example from our last section. In Table 9.1, a student asked, “What is the relationship between sexual orientation or gender identity and homelessness for late adolescents in foster care?” In this question, it is pretty clear that the student believes that adolescents in foster care who identify as LGBTQ may be at greater risk for homelessness. This is a nomothetic causal relationship—LGBTQ status causes changes in homelessness.

However, what if the student were less interested in predicting homelessness based on LGBTQ status and more interested in understanding the stories of foster care youth who identify as LGBTQ and may be at risk for homelessness? In that case, the researcher would be building an idiographic causal explanation . The youths whom the researcher interviews may share stories of how their foster families, caseworkers, and others treated them. They may share stories about how they thought of their own sexuality or gender identity and how it changed over time. They may have different ideas about what it means to transition out of foster care.

Because qualitative questions usually center on idiographic causal relationships, they look different than quantitative questions. Table 9.3 below takes the final research questions from Table 9.1 and adapts them for qualitative research. The guidelines for research questions previously described in this chapter still apply, but there are some new elements to qualitative research questions that are not present in quantitative questions.

Qualitative research questions often ask about lived experience, personal experience, understanding, meaning, and stories.
Qualitative research questions may be more general and less specific.
Qualitative research questions may also contain only one variable, rather than asking about relationships between multiple variables.

Qualitative research questions have one final feature that distinguishes them from quantitative research questions: they can change over the course of a study. Qualitative research is a reflexive process, one in which the researcher adapts their approach based on what participants say and do. The researcher must constantly evaluate whether their question is important and relevant to the participants. As the researcher gains information from participants, it is normal for the focus of the inquiry to shift.

For example, a qualitative researcher may want to study how a new truancy rule impacts youth at risk of expulsion. However, after interviewing some of the youth in their community, a researcher might find that the rule is actually irrelevant to their behavior and thoughts. Instead, their participants will direct the discussion to their frustration with the school administrators or the lack of job opportunities in the area. This is a natural part of qualitative research, and it is normal for research questions and hypothesis to evolve based on information gleaned from participants.

However, this reflexivity and openness unacceptable in quantitative research for good reasons. Researchers using quantitative methods are testing a hypothesis, and if they could revise that hypothesis to match what they found, they could never be wrong! Indeed, an important component of open science and reproducability is the preregistration of a researcher’s hypotheses and data analysis plan in a central repository that can be verified and replicated by reviewers and other researchers. This interactive graphic from 538 shows how an unscrupulous research could come up with a hypothesis and theoretical explanation after collecting data by hunting for a combination of factors that results in a statistically significant relationship. This is an excellent example of how the positivist assumptions behind quantitative research and intepretivist assumptions behind qualitative research result in different approaches to social science.

Qualitative research questions often contain words or phrases like “lived experience,” “personal experience,” “understanding,” “meaning,” and “stories.”
Qualitative research questions can change and evolve over the course of the study.
Using the guidance in this chapter, write a qualitative research question. You may want to use some of the keywords mentioned above.

9.5 Evaluating and updating your research questions

Evaluate the feasibility and importance of your research questions
Begin to match your research questions to specific designs that determine what the participants in your study will do

Feasibility and importance

As you are getting ready to finalize your research question and move into designing your research study, it is important to check whether your research question is feasible for you to answer and what importance your results will have in the community, among your participants, and in the scientific literature

Key questions to consider when evaluating your question’s feasibility include:

Do you have access to the data you need?
Will you be able to get consent from stakeholders, gatekeepers, and others?
Does your project pose risk to individuals through direct harm, dual relationships, or breaches in confidentiality? (see Chapter 6 for more ethical considerations)
Are you competent enough to complete the study?
Do you have the resources and time needed to carry out the project?

Key questions to consider when evaluating the importance of your question include:

Can we answer your research question simply by looking at the literature on your topic?
How does your question add something new to the scholarly literature? (raises a new issue, addresses a controversy, studies a new population, etc.)
How will your target population benefit, once you answer your research question?
How will the community, social work practice, and the broader social world benefit, once you answer your research question?
Using the questions above, check whether you think your project is feasible for you to complete, given the constrains that student projects face.
Realistically, explore the potential impact of your project on the community and in the scientific literature. Make sure your question cannot be answered by simply reading more about your topic.

Matching your research question and study design

This chapter described how to create a good quantitative and qualitative research question. In Parts 3 and 4 of this textbook, we will detail some of the basic designs like surveys and interviews that social scientists use to answer their research questions. But which design should you choose?

As with most things, it all depends on your research question. If your research question involves, for example, testing a new intervention, you will likely want to use an experimental design. On the other hand, if you want to know the lived experience of people in a public housing building, you probably want to use an interview or focus group design.

We will learn more about each one of these designs in the remainder of this textbook. We will also learn about using data that already exists, studying an individual client inside clinical practice, and evaluating programs, which are other examples of designs. Below is a list of designs we will cover in this textbook:

Surveys: online, phone, mail, in-person
Experiments: classic, pre-experiments, quasi-experiments
Interviews: in-person or via phone or videoconference
Focus groups: in-person or via videoconference
Content analysis of existing data
Secondary data analysis of another researcher’s data
Program evaluation

The design of your research study determines what you and your participants will do. In an experiment, for example, the researcher will introduce a stimulus or treatment to participants and measure their responses. In contrast, a content analysis may not have participants at all, and the researcher may simply read the marketing materials for a corporation or look at a politician’s speeches to conduct the data analysis for the study.

I imagine that a content analysis probably seems easier to accomplish than an experiment. However, as a researcher, you have to choose a research design that makes sense for your question and that is feasible to complete with the resources you have. All research projects require some resources to accomplish. Make sure your design is one you can carry out with the resources (time, money, staff, etc.) that you have.

There are so many different designs that exist in the social science literature that it would be impossible to include them all in this textbook. The purpose of the subsequent chapters is to help you understand the basic designs upon which these more advanced designs are built. As you learn more about research design, you will likely find yourself revising your research question to make sure it fits with the design. At the same time, your research question as it exists now should influence the design you end up choosing. There is no set order in which these should happen. Instead, your research project should be guided by whether you can feasibly carry it out and contribute new and important knowledge to the world.

Research questions must be feasible and important.
Research questions must match study design.
You may want to refer back to Section 2.4 which discusses how to get raw data about your topic and the common designs used in student research projects.
Not familiar with SpongeBob SquarePants? You can learn more about him on Nickelodeon’s site dedicated to all things SpongeBob: http://www.nick.com/spongebob-squarepants/ ↵
Focus on the Family. (2005, January 26). Focus on SpongeBob. Christianity Today . Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/januaryweb-only/34.0c.html ↵
BBC News. (2005, January 20). US right attacks SpongeBob video. Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4190699.stm ↵
In fact, an MA thesis examines representations of gender and relationships in the cartoon: Carter, A. C. (2010). Constructing gender and relationships in “SpongeBob SquarePants”: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea . MA thesis, Department of Communication, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL. ↵

the group of people whose needs your study addresses

"Assuming that the null hypothesis is true and the study is repeated an infinite number times by drawing random samples from the same populations(s), less than 5% of these results will be more extreme than the current result" (Cassidy et al., 2019, p. 233).

whether you can practically and ethically complete the research project you propose

Graduate research methods in social work Copyright © 2020 by Matthew DeCarlo, Cory Cummings, Kate Agnelli is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Top 18 PhD Viva Questions
Example: I came up with the idea for this research through [specific process or inspiration, such as literature review, personal experience, academic discussions, etc.]. This process involved evaluating various research areas and identifying gaps or opportunities that led to the formulation of the research's idea. 4.
Top 12 Potential PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them
Examiners are interested in knowing your understanding of the research, its methods, analysis and findings, conclusion and implications, etc. Despite the differences in every PhD viva, you must be prepared to answer these common questions logically. Below are some popular PhD viva questions to prepare: 1. Tell me about yourself.
A guide to answering PhD viva questions (with examples)
The PhD viva is an oral examination conducted by a panel that takes place as part of the PhD defence. The panel asks a PhD student questions about their research project and thesis, which requires the candidate to demonstrate knowledge in the subject area and understanding of how it applies to their project's topic.
PDF A Guide for Viva Preparation
The viva voce, shortened to viva, is an oral examination where you are expected to 'defend' your thesis, and the quality of your research will be assessed. The viva will take place usually within 3 months of submitting your thesis; it is a required examination in order to achieve a postgraduate research degree.
Preparing For A Viva Voce (Dissertation Defence)
If you need assistance preparing for your dissertation defense or viva voce, get in touch with us to discuss 1-on-1 coaching. We can critically review your research and identify potential issues and responses, as well as undertake a mock oral defense to prepare you for the pressures and stresses on the day.
(PDF) The Doctoral Viva: Questions for, with and to ...
The viva voce, known commonly simply as the 'viva' or the. PhD 'defence', is a landmark occasion to evaluate a doctor-. al candidate's written thesis (or dissertation) and their com ...
Viva Question Repository
Get ready for your questions here! This is the Viva Question Respository. A library of questions asked at past Vivas. ... Tell me what the qualitative analysis contributed to your work: Business and Economics: Yes: USA: ... Take us through chapter 2 and explain how this connects with each of your research questions: Education: Higher Education ...
Common PhD Viva Questions
Namely the purpose of the PhD viva (or defence) is to check that: You did the work; You understand the work; The research is up to the standard for a PhD. For more detail see my separate post here including Imperial's PhD viva mark scheme. In hindsight I probably didn't spend as much time preparing for my viva as is normal.
Practice Questions
Giving these exact answers to similar questions in your own viva is unlikely to make any sense. However, you can see from the examples the type of information and level of detail it could be useful to provide. 7.1.1 General Questions. To open your viva your examiners are likely to start off with some general questions about your research.
Top 12 Potential PhD Viva Questions and How to Answer Them
Types of PhD Viva Questions Generally, examiners prepare a series of questions for you to answer at the PhD viva voce examination. These questions are primarily based on your thesis. However, the questions asked in PhD viva examinations can be broadly grouped under four basic headings: 1. General Questions 2. Research Context and Methods ...
Common PhD Viva Questions (To Help You Prepare For Yours)
The examiners will quite often start a viva with an opening question; perhaps something like this: "Spend five or ten minutes telling us about your work, what you have done, and what the contribution is" or "Summarise your work for us, in a single sentence.". A question like this gives you an opportunity to explain your work up front ...
Top 10 Ph.D. Viva Questions and How to Answer Them
Here are some prompts and questions you might be asked and how you can prepare beforehand to answer them. 1. Tell us about your study. Usually the first question is an opener and is asked with the goal of breaking the ice and getting you talking about your thesis.
100 Questions (and Answers) About Qualitative Research
Part 1: The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry. Part 2: Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research. Part 3: Designing Qualitative Research. Part 4: Ensuring Rigor in Qualitative Research Design. Part 5: Methodologies and Methods. Part 6: Mixed Methods Research Involving Qualitative Approaches. Part 7: Collecting Qualitative Data.
Most Asked PhD Viva-Voce Questions and Answers
Mosed Asked PhD Thesis Defense Viva-Voce Questions and Answers. These are all the 50 Common Dissertation PhD Viva Questions and Sample Answers you can prepare to answer during the defense. Thesis Title: "Understanding the Impact of Social Media Engagement on Consumer Behavior: A Mixed-Methods Approach". 1.
Qualitative Research Questions: Gain Powerful Insights + 25 Examples
25 examples of expertly crafted qualitative research questions. It's easy enough to cover the theory of writing a qualitative research question, but sometimes it's best if you can see the process in practice. In this section, we'll list 25 examples of B2B and B2C-related qualitative questions. Let's begin with five questions.
How to Prepare for the Viva Examination
To enhance the support for postgraduate research students (PGRs) across the sector, this project, funded by the QAA (Collaborative Enhancement Project) has developed a series of videos and resources to help students prepare for their viva (oral) examination.Using the network developed as part of the University Alliance coordinated Doctoral Training Alliance (DTA) programme, it uses the ...
140+ Viva Questions & How to Prepare for Viva?
1. Summarize your project/thesis/research in 3 minutes. To answer this question correctly, you need to be well-versed in the entire project. Start with an answer by explaining why did you select the topic of your project/thesis/research and close your explanation by providing an optimum solution to the problem. 2.
Viving la viva: how to answer viva questions
My viva was only an hour and a half, but I've heard of some lasting more than five hours - it just depends on the examiners, and what emerges on the day. Have faith that, when answering the first few questions, you don't have to reel off your whole thesis there and then. Take your time; it's an exhausting few hours.
Vive-ing La Viva: How to answer viva questions
Credit: unsplash, CC0, @brandsandpeople. Dr Jenny Scoles from the Institute of Academic Development provides some helpful tips in how to prepare for your PhD viva by being aware of how you answer the examiners' questions. This post is part of the Learning and Teaching Enhancement theme: Showcasing the Doctoral College.
PDF Practice Viva Questions
Practice Viva Questions From the University of Leicester Doctoral College ... 1. Why did you decide on this particular research question? 2. What have you found the most interesting aspect of your research? 3. How did your thinking about this topic develop as you went through this research process? 4. Now that you have completed the research ...
36 8.4 Qualitative research questions
Qualitative research is a reflexive process, one in which the researcher adapts her approach based on what participants say and do. The researcher must constantly evaluate whether their question is important and relevant to the participants. As the researcher gains information from participants, it is normal for the focus of the inquiry to shift.
9 9. Writing your research question
Writing a good research question is an art and a science. It is a science because you have to make sure it is clear, concise, and well-developed. It is an art because often your language needs "wordsmithing" to perfect and clarify the meaning. This is an exciting part of the research process; however, it can also be one of the most stressful.
PDF Defending!your!PhD!Workshop!Videos!
The VIVA day is, however, your day, and the last assessment in your PhD programme. Be calm, cool and collected throughout. Remain positive throughout. Have a positive mental attitude. And your motto should be - "no one will ruin my day, I will be victorious at the end of the VIVA".
PDF Preparing for the Viva Voce
Possible Detailed Viva Questions - Third Set of Questions • Relates to issues concerning the research questions. • This is significant because if a poor research question was originally chosen, it can adversely affect the rest of the work. 25-Apr-18 24 What was the original problem/research question?

Top 18 PhD Viva Questions | Examples