A dissertation defense is arguably one of the most important milestones in every student’s career. While it signals that your tenure as a student is soon about to close, it validates all your efforts towards your thesis. Being cautious about including all the necessary details is very important to successfully complete your dissertation proposal defense This common dissertation defence 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 Let’s dispel another spelling mystery. It’s defense against defence, and if you think it’s one of the British English vs. American English things—you might be onto something. Defence and defense are both correct ways to spell the same word. The difference between them, the fact that one’s spelled with a “c” and the other with an “s”, comes down to the part of the world in which they are blogger.comg: dissertation
Top 20 Questions Frequently Asked During Thesis Defense
Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach June Preparing for your dissertation or thesis defence is a formidable task, dissertation defence or defense. What the dissertation 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. In other words, why was this particular set of research aims, objectives and questions worth addressing?
To address this question well in your oral dissertation defence or defense, you need to make it clear what gap existed within the research and why that gap was worth filling.
Good research generally follows a long and winding path. For example, you may have started with a certain set of aims, dissertation defence or defense, 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 defence involves clearly describing your research journeyincluding all the twists and turns. 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, dissertation defence or defense, 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, dissertation defence or defense, along with up-to-date sources that build on to those older studies, dissertation defence or defense. This combination ensures that the study has a rock-solid foundation but is not out of date. This is dissertation defence or defense classic methodological question that you can dissertation defence or defense certainly expect in some or other shape.
So, dissertation defence or defense, you need to be able to walk through each design 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, dissertation defence or defense.
To ensure you cover every base, check out our research methodology vlog postas well as our post covering the Research Onion. 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. Note that there are two components here — generalisability and validity. Generalisability is about how well the sample represents the population. See how Grad Coach can help you Book A Free Consultation 6: What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?
This question picks up where the last one left off. No piece of research is flawless. This common dissertation defence question links directly to your discussion chapterwhere you would have presented and discussed the findings in relation to your literature review.
Specifically, you need to discuss which findings aligned with existing dissertation defence or defense 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. So, you need to think deeply about what the underlying reasons may be for both the similarities and differences between your dissertation defence or defense and those of similar studies.
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:. Conquering this part dissertation defence requires that you focus squarely on the research questions. Dissertation defence or defense study will have provided many findings hopefully! 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. 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 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 dissertation defence 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. With this question, dissertation defence or defense, your committee is assessing whether you have considered your own potential biases and the biases inherent in your analysis approach i.
your methodology. So, think carefully about these research biases and be ready to explain how these may exist in your study. In an oral defence, 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. With this question, your committee is assessing your ability to bring your findings back down to earth and demonstrate their practical value and application. Naturally, the actionability of your findings will vary depending on the nature of your research topic, dissertation defence or defense. To help you flesh out points for this question, look back at your original justification for the research i.
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.
While the previous question was aimed at practical contribution, this question is aimed at dissertation defence or defense 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?
To answer this question well, you need to humbly consider the quality and impact of your work and to be realistic in your response. This question also opens the door to questions about potential future research, dissertation defence or defense.
So, think about what future research opportunities your study has created and which of these you feel are of the highest priority.
This question is often used to wrap up a thesis or dissertation defence 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 often sets apart those who did the research purely because it was required, from those that genuinely engaged with their research. To recap, here are the 13 questions you need to be ready for to ace your dissertation or thesis oral defence:. So, dissertation defence or defense, you should take the time to make sure you can answer them well, dissertation defence or defense.
If you need assistance preparing for your dissertation defence, 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 defence to prepare you for the pressures and stresses on the day.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Preparing For Your Dissertation Defence: 13 Key Questions You Need To Be Ready For. Overview: 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 dissertation defence or defense 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? This question, a classic party starter, is pretty straightforward. Need a helping hand? Book A Free Consultation. 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 dissertation defence or defense were lacking? Why were they lacking and what more could be done to address this in future research? This question is two-pronged. Biases… we all have them. Another classic question in the typical dissertation or thesis defence. Recap: The 13 Key Dissertation Defence Questions To recap, here are the 13 questions dissertation defence or defense need to be ready for to ace your dissertation or thesis oral defence: What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?
Check out the free course. You Might Also Like: Dissertation Structure How To Structure Your Dissertation Or Thesis 8 Essential Apps To Help You Write Your Dissertation Or Thesis How To Write Your Introduction Chapter 7 Simple Steps.
Jalla Dullacha on October 17, at am.
Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense (Viva Voce): 9 Questions You MUST Be Ready For (+ Examples)
, time: 48:42Preparing For Your Dissertation Defence: 13 Key Questions - Grad Coach
The dissertation defense is typically a two hour meeting held after the student has completed a final draft of the dissertation. The purpose of the defense is to evaluate the quality and originality of the dissertation as a contribution to scholarship in the relevant field of study. When the student and advisor are satisfied that a draft of the dissertation is in finished form, the defense can be set Let’s dispel another spelling mystery. It’s defense against defence, and if you think it’s one of the British English vs. American English things—you might be onto something. Defence and defense are both correct ways to spell the same word. The difference between them, the fact that one’s spelled with a “c” and the other with an “s”, comes down to the part of the world in which they are blogger.comg: dissertation A dissertation defense is arguably one of the most important milestones in every student’s career. While it signals that your tenure as a student is soon about to close, it validates all your efforts towards your thesis. Being cautious about including all the necessary details is very important to successfully complete your dissertation proposal defense
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