It took a lot of effort to clean up the files in my office this week. There was so much paper!! I now have all of my literature organized by thesis chapter and have identified core papers that I need to review more deeply as part of my VIVA preparation.
As I reviewed, and culled, the mounds of paper I was amazed by how much effort has been undertaken on this thesis journey. There were so many dimensions to learning key skills. For example, as I cleaned up my files I was struck by how many advisors, formal learning, and self-study was involved to develop my quantitative skill-set. At UofT and Henley there were five professors at different junctures (Doug, Walid, Oleysa, Harry, and Phil). I also had three different tutors at different stages (a quant whiz who was completing his MBA, a PhD student, and a PhD who is a quant expert). Finally, in addition to the Henley workshops, I completed 4 SPSS workshops and purchased 5 books, watched numerous on-line tutorials, and leveraged numerous quant sites to answer questions and reinforce my understanding. Wow!!
My other take-away from this week is that the VIVA is a big undertaking. Based on my review of the types of questions that may be asked, my sense is it is about two overlapping things at the core. First, explaining/defending the research that you have presented in your thesis. Second, showing your academic expertise by responding to questions not directly covered in your thesis. For example, who has most influenced your thinking as a researcher? The preparation is actually taking the learning and research to another level as you think and prepare which is simultaneously interesting and daunting.
The good thing about VIVA preparation is that, based on my project plan, there is at least another six weeks of very solid preparation required but the pace is reasonable. For example, today I will likely spend about 6hours at the library instead of the 10-12hour days that I was logging in recent months. I just need to stay focused though and continue to squeeze in an additional three nights of work during the week as well. Typically one to two hours. Back to work now!