DPhil interview- so very nervous!

[bimbiba]

I'm so nervous and so so anxious. I've been trying to think of possible technical questions and cram information into my brain but it's getting hard to keep track. Why this not this? Why this theory not this???? Why this method etc etc

Held online. Its a five minute presentation followed by 20 minutes of questions from a panel of I think five people.

any tips, advice, anything???

Publication plan and what you want to do after are key questions.

TBH technical elements and methods can be learned during the PhD. Motivation and evidence of ability are the key things. And of those 2 motivation is the most important...

Thank you. Do you mean specifically what papers id want to write? their scope?

Target journals. That would be good to know anyway, because you may be asked the key journals in your field.

A lot of academia these days is about impact so it's part of thinking about who your target audience is, what difference you hope to make - clearly some fields are more directly applied than others, but have an idea what you want to do with your PhD.

I would not expect a PhD student to have ideas about target journals. I expect

• strong knowledge of how to do research. A student should have led a project ( often Bsc or MSc project) and be able to describe and defend what they did

• clear plans and motivation. An important question and a good idea for how to do experiment 1 is important but they can't be expected to plan every detail of the PhD.

• some understanding of the challenges. What might be hard in the plan and what are the risks?

Maybe an awareness of ethics procedures if relevant to your discipline, or archives etc that you have researched as a starting point for the research.

We cover:
[Introduction to the PhD programme, how it operates and our expectations of PhD students]

Questions
1: Why do you want to do a PhD? Why do you want to do a PhD here?
2: What research experience do you have? What research training have you done?

[in cases where the applicant has written their own proposal]
3: Why have you chosen this topic? How will your PhD add to existing academic knowledge?
4: Why are the methods you have chosen appropriate for what you intend to study? (why are other methods not appropriate?)
5: Practical considerations, such as access to necessary data, participants, etc. - Has the applicant considered the actual viability of what they propose to do?
6: Other focussed questions on the proposal itself. This might include questions about theory, context, literature and so on, depending on the proposal.
7: What do you think the biggest risks or challenges will be in conducting this research, and how would you try to mitigate against them or make adjustments should they arise?
8: Any questions for us.

[in cases where the applicant has not written their own proposal but are applying to do something designed by us]
3: Why are you interested in this research? (If there is a research team: What particular skills or experience would you bring to the research team? What experience do you have of working as part of a team?)
4: Why do you think we are suggesting conducting the research in the way we have outlined? Would you do anything differently - we are open to suggestions?

Then questions 6, 7 and 8 as above.

• What's the intellectual/research problem you are interested in and want to answer?

• How are you proposing to do it? (Methods)

• What research questions will you ask to help you solve the research problem?

• What body of primary sources do you propose to investigate/analyse to resolve the research problem?

• What have you done so far (undergrad, Masters) that will equip you to do this work?

You're not expected to have all the answers (or any f them), but you're expected to have thought a bit about the questions above.

I have post interview whiplash.

It was a panel of seven academics. I answered all questions (well, I think). A couple questioned my choose methodology which I was able to defend.

My supervisor was present so I asked him for feedback after. He says i answered well and it's understandable that some academics would question the methodology if it doesn't align with their perspective. I wish his response was more reassuring though😭Not sure if this comment was due to the panel discussion after I had left.

It's a month now of waiting. I gave it my all and tried my utmost best so I'm going try to push it out of my mind!

Thanks everyone for the feedback!