N . M A U Z A R D

A P R I L 2 0 1 4

Northern Caribbean University Department of Graduate Education &

Leadership

Preparing for the thesis/dissertation defence

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“A prudent person takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” proverbs 27:12

Central points

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Definition

Before the defence

On the day of the defence

After the defence

Definition

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The final defence is an oral examination open to the public, during which the author of a thesis or dissertation demonstrates to his or her committee satisfactory command of all aspects of the work presented and other related subjects, if applicable (University of Hawaii).

The defence is almost an academic formality. Almost.

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Prepare & practice

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Prepare yourself mentally and physically

Prepare your slides. Do not underestimate how long it takes to prepare your slides/talk .

Prepare & practice

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1. Talk about the most important authors/researchers in the study as if they were your friends/mentors.

2. Do the above often, very often.

3. Test your memory (take your eyes off the paper)

4. If you do, 1 & 2 you will be able to pronounce major authors’ names effortlessly.

OUTCH !!!

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Etaugh and Ptasnik (1982) Zhen Wang , Inslicht, Metzler, Henn-Haase, McCasli , Tong and Neyla (2008) Well, practice helps a lot.

Prepare & practice

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Work on the organization and flow of your talk.

Ensure that you give multiple practice talks using your slides/presentation talk to yourself (tape and play back) and to others (groups, pets, siblings, teddy bear).

Always time yourself.

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- Topic

- Synopsis of background

- Problem, purpose, and questions/hypotheses

- Major literature references (models, frameworks, empirical information)

- Data collection and analysis

- Findings and recommendations

Most important points to include on power point

• S c h o l a r s h i p i s e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t i n y o u r p r e s e n t a t i on . Y o u s h o u l d b e s o f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h t h a t y o u w i l l n o t b e c a u g h t u n a w a r e b y a n y t h e o r e t ic a l q u e s t i o n .

• S c h o l a r s h i p m e a n s t h a t y o u e x p e r t l y d r a w o n t h e

l i t e r a t u r e t o s u p p o r t y o u r p o i n t s .

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Scholarship

Scholarship cont’d

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Always ground your comments in the literature, you will sound more credible to your audience.

Remember that your scholarship is even more evident when you inform your audience of the year of publication.

A good structure

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Your slides and talk have to MATCH up. In other words, you can’t have really good slides and a mediocre talk (or vice versa).

Observe others

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Attend other defences often, specially those that are close to your topic.

What made it good or bad?

Were they enthusiastic and sincere about their work?

Did they keep the energy throughout the presentation?

Were there some rough areas of the presentation?

Make note of the questions asked

Materials

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Print and have important items ready for your support

For you:

Models

Important tables

Artefacts (pictures, etc..)

Diagrams

For your committee:

Models

Important tables

Artefacts (pictures, etc..)

Diagrams

Friends/study groups

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Have your friends, classmates, and study group members drill you with questions.

Do not get upset about their grilling; they have your best interest at heart.

Note: their questions are usually harder than the real deal.

Wellness

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• Never underestimate the power of prayer and meditation.

• Get plenty of sleep, keep your diet in check, and take care of yourself.

• Keep your cool, relax.

.

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Work on your confidence

Your advisor/committee chair would not allow you to proceed to the public defence if he/she wasn’t 99% sure you were going to pass.

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Visualize yourself giving your defense each day and think about how good it will feel when it’s over.

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My nerves, my nerves !!

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When nerves are running high, the presentation may not go as expected. You can battle this nervousness by showing up way before time and well-prepared. If you are, the defense truly becomes just a formality.

Don’t let distractions get to you

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• Pending job interviews

• Family matters (upcoming wedding, baby on the way)

• Unfortunate hairdo

• Your last phone call

• Ect… , the list can be long

See to it that you test all electronic equipment way before the starting time.

Prioritize and focus only on your defense

Conduct

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A confident and professional attitude is recommended at your defense.

Do not talk too fast or too slowly.

Speak clearly and audibly throughout.

You may naturally gesture but don’t fidget .

Be respectful of your colleagues and the academic environment .

Avoid arrogance, defensiveness, and dismissiveness.

Formality

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Be formal in how you word things (i.e. say “the data shows that”… vs. “you see here that”…).

Thank the person who has asked you a question, then answer.

Those questions, Hmmm!!

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Keep in mind, this is all just a part of the defense’s hazing process, and in a sense is just to humble you.

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Everyone’s defense is unique and unpredictable. You cannot foretell all the questions that may be asked, but you can answer intelligently when you know your study.

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You wrote a 200 or more page thesis/dissertation, your committee can pick apart an error bar on a graph on page 133.

Stay calm

Acknowledge the error

Indicate that you will make the correction

They can ask you what you meant by a word in a random sentence in any given paragraph.

Give them the meaning

Questions

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Listen carefully to the questions asked.

Academics often formulate questions as they speak, such questions often are not well worded.

1. Repeat the question back to them to make sure that you understand what the person is asking. OR

2. Say “are you asking ….” OR

3. Ask them to rephrase the question

Questions

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If a question has a number of layers of parts, take time to answer the first layer/part first.

You may say “You just raised several issues, let me begin with the first one”

Then go through the others.

Stay calm, it is ok to think before you answer.

Keep a conversational attitude when answering questions. “that is an important issue that you… let me think about that for a moment”

My nerves, my nerves !!

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If a difficult question arises, stay centered, take a moment to gather your thoughts, take a deep breath, and begin to answer.

Appearance/dress for Women

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Conservative (business suits), non-garish colour (mild/earth).

No gym shoes, no very high heel shoes (comfortable and business like).

Appearance/dress for men

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Standard formal attire (Jacket, dress shirt, tie, conservative slacks)

Dress shoes.

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“Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular programme.” Spencer, W. Kimball.

Prepare like you might fail, but present your study with the assurance that you will pass.

FOCUS

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Don’t focus on the after-party until you have actually reached the after-party

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AFTER THE DEFENCE

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BREATHE, IT’S OVER. Celebrate !!!

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