Poster preparation tips Poster presentations

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9.5 Viva voce examinations

Not only must students often present their projects in oral presentations, they also have to ‘defend’ their project during a viva voce examination vivas. This form of examination is more common at the postgraduate level and is compulsory for PhDs. A viva is an oral ‘interview’ conducted by one or more examiners. Sometimes it is used merely to check that the work of the project is your own and has not been done by someone else. Sometimes it is used to clarify some points you made in your report that are vague or unclear. It is more commonly used to assess your understanding, depth of knowledge, confidence and ability to present your project in an examination situation. You should be prepared to defend your project during the examination; justifying why it is important and timely. You should also be able to explain and discuss the contribu- tion your project is making. You will not be expected to know your reportdissertation word for word for example, what is on page 10, paragraph 2 so you should be able to refer to your report during the examination. In some cases the viva is used only to upgrade your mark; for example, at the under- graduate level, if you are a borderline case, the examiner might be looking for a good reason to increase your final mark. At postgraduate level the viva is used as an additional way of examining your understanding of your project and the subject area and provides further evidence to support your project. The nature of your course will affect the duration and content of any viva you might have to attend. Vivas can last anything from five to ten minutes to several hours or even two or three days in the case of some PhDs. For open-ended vivas, generally speaking, the shorter they are the more confident the examiners are with the quality of your work and the less they feel they need to probe you on your understanding. Who conducts the examination will also be dictated by your course’s requirements. At one extreme it might be little more than a brief chat with your supervisor. For research degrees it is more than likely that external examiners will conduct the viva, with internal examiners and possibly your own supervisor in attendance. Sometimes examining committees are involved and sometimes the examina- tion is held in public this is common in Europe. For undergraduate projects, external examiners are unlikely and your own supervisor or another academic within your department will conduct the interview. Whether your viva is a short interview with your supervisor, or the more formal post- graduate viva, you should still prepare for it thoroughly; n Make sure that you read your report thoroughly beforehand so that it is fresh in your mind. For postgraduate projects there can often be a gap of several months between the time you submit your dissertation and the time you attend your viva. n Try to identify any errors, omissions and perhaps shortfalls with your work, so that you are prepared to defend these points in the examination. If an examiner identifies a shortfall with your work of which you were unaware, it can catch you off-guard and leave you struggling. If, however, you have identified any problems beforehand, you can perhaps be prepared to discuss why you didn’t do something in a particular way or feel that such-and-such a method was inappropriate in your case. You could then move on to emphasise some of the more important findings you made. 9.5 Viva voce examinations 249 n Be aware of the things you left out of your report – references, data, methods and so on. Be prepared to defend your reasons for omitting them. n Be prepared to discuss future developments to your work. Where do you feel your research is heading? What do you think is the future of your subject area? What topics do you feel are suitable for further research and development? If you are unable to do this you might give the impression that your project has been merely a vehicle for obtaining your degree and you have no motivation towards the work or enough interest to care how it is developed in the future. n Cryer 2006: 249 notes that you should be prepared to answer quite general ques- tions about your project; ‘What did you enjoy most about your work?’, ‘What would you do differently if you were starting out all over again?’, and so on. These kinds of questions can often cause more problems than the highly technical questions on specific aspects of your project that you understand in detail and can talk about for hours. They might also be used by examiners to probe ‘how well you can appraise your own work and your personal development as a researcher and scholar’ Cryer, ibid. n Make sure that you understand the broader subject area in which your project resides. This will allow you to emphasise the contribution that your project is making and enable you to discuss its context within wider issues. During the examination: n Make sure you defend your project positively. In other words, don’t criticise the work of others but focus on the contribution your own project is making. Cryer 2006: 252 states that you should show that you do take the work of others seriously even if you disagree with them. n Be prepared to answer open questions and give extended answers; not just simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. Ricketts 1998: 25 presents some typical questions you might encounter in your viva that require extended answers. Typical questions include: n What related research did you locate and draw on? n What do you feel was the most challenging part of your project? n What was the most interesting part of your project? n What is the main contribution your project is making? n What would you do differently next time? n What makes you think your project is the right level in terms of scope, breadth, depth, quality for your course? n What parts of your work could be published? n Why did you not use methods X, Y or Z? Why did you use methods P, Q or R? n Avoid confrontation. Don’t argue with the examiners but try to explain your point of view and why you feel things are the way you see them. The examiners will expect you to argue your case, but not aggressively. Cryer 2006: 251–252 presents some additional guidelines for conducting yourself during your viva: n Take a notepad and pen to the viva if you feel this will help. n Take your own copy of the reportdissertation with you to refer to during the examination. You might also wish to include some annotated notes to provide 250 Chapter 9 n Presentation skills yourself with prompts – for example, why you did things in particular ways, why you chose this method, how you implemented this algorithm and so on. However, Ricketts 1998: 26 points out that you should try to avoid reading directly from your report during the viva. n Remain composed. Be pleasant and polite and sit squarely on the chair. n Listen attentively to the examiners and ask for clarification if you need it. Cryer 2006: 251 also presents some suggestions on how you should dress for an oral examination. She suggests that you should ‘choose clothes that are smart and businesslike, to show that you appreciate the importance of the occasion’. However, you shouldn’t try to upstage your examiners and in certain circumstances casual dress would be quite acceptable but confirm this with your supervisor beforehand. Overall, remember not to panic during your viva. The examiners are not trying to catch you out but merely trying to probe your understanding about your work and clarify some of the ideas and points you have made. Bear this in mind and think of your viva as an opportunity to put forward your own views on the subject and support the work you have accomplished. •

9.6 Summary

n Oral presentations are quite common within most computing degree courses. You must prepare for such presentations thoroughly. Begin by deciding on the objectives of your presentation and make sure you know who the audience will be and how much time you have available. Make sure that your presentation has a logical structure with a beginning, a middle and an end. Make sure all your visual aids are clear and that you rehearse your presentation well. A number of tips were presented on preparing slides, delivering your presentation and fielding questions. n When preparing posters you need to consider the audience, content, layout, font and colour scheme. Make sure that the poster is structured into columns, it has figures as well as text and there is sufficient white space. Use light-coloured backgrounds and contrasting dark colours for text. n Prepare software demonstrations in the same way that you would prepare an oral presentation. Decide on the demonstration’s purpose then plan, prepare and rehearse it thoroughly. Be aware of your audience, the time you have available and what you want to focus on. n It is not uncommon for computing students to sit viva voce examinations. Make sure that you are well prepared for such an examination – read through your report beforehand and try to think of, and prepare for, any questions that may be asked. Know about the strengths and weaknesses of your report and understand how it fits into its wider context. During the examination you should avoid confrontation and be prepared to defend your work. You should also be able to discuss how you feel your work could be developed further in the future. 9.8 Action points 251 •

9.7 Further reading

Etherington, B. 2006 Presentation skills for quivering wrecks, Cyan Books, London. Hall, R. 2007 Brilliant presentations: What the best presenters know, say and do, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, USA. Nicol, A.A.M. and Pexman, P.M. 2003 Displaying your findings: A practical guide to creating figures, posters and presentations, American Psychological Association, Washington, USA. Reynolds, G. 2008 Presentation Zen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery, New Riders, Indianapolis, USA. •

9.8 Action points

n Prepare a presentation of around 20 minutes based on the lessons you have learnt within this chapter. Try to identify slides that could be skipped or added if you are overrunning or underrunning. n Prepare a poster based on your project and try to get some feedback on it from your colleagues. n Prepare a software demonstration. Rehearse it thoroughly and try it out on some of your colleagues first. n Prepare for a viva voce examination. Try to think of some questions that might be asked and prepare your response to those questions.