Thesis examinations

A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.
One of the requirements for certain advanced degrees is often an oral examination. This examination normally occurs after the dissertation is finished but before it is submitted to the university, and may comprise a presentation by the student and questions posed by an examining committee or jury. In North America, an initial oral examination in the field of specialization may take place just before the student settles down to work on the dissertation. An additional oral exam may take place after the dissertation is completed and is known as a thesis or dissertation "defense," which at some universities may be a mere formality and at others may result in the student's being required to make significant revisions. In the UK and certain other English-speaking countries, an oral examination is called a viva voce.
There are three reasons why PhD candidates have to have a viva: it is so the examiners can see:
• whether it is your own work;
• whether you understand what you did;
• whether it is worth a PhD (i.e. is a contribution to knowledge).
These are the points being examined:
• Understanding: that you're ready to become an independent researcher.
• Relationship to other work: that you have a command of your subject-area. Similarity to the work of others doesn't detract from novelty!
• Novelty - is your work publishable? If you have already published a couple of papers, that should be proof of sufficient originality. Don't panic about recent publications that are very similar to your work - the important thing is to be aware of them, and to know the differences between your work and theirs.
• What you have achieved, and that you are aware of its implications. What will it make a difference to?
• Demonstration of hypothesis (what you set out to achieve). How have you evaluated/tested your hypothesis? Always be prepared to reconsider your hypothesis if you end up demonstrating something else - it's vitally important that your results match your hypothesis, and that you have a convincing argument for this.
• Why did you do it the way you did? Not just your practical work, but everything. For example, your literature review should be focused towards your hypothesis.
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Examiner cannot be a supervisor