A viva is a university oral examination in which students are asked to respond orally to questions that often pertain to a certain course of study or project. It is common practice for Viva questions to be asked towards the end of a school year or semester.

Questions asked in a viva may cover a wide range of topics, but these four are particularly common: 

"What is the project about?"

 "What were the key findings or observations?"

 "What was the process?" 

 "Why do the observations matter?" 

These questions, however, may be more varied in certain circumstances. This blog is required reading for anybody who wants to know how to answer PhD viva questions effectively.
 

Important Questions and Answers for the Viva
 

Viva examinations are challenging for everyone, whether you're a high school senior or a doctoral candidate. But don't fret; we have an answer to allay your fears! Five frequently asked questions are answered here.
 

1. In three minutes, briefly describe your project, thesis, or study.
To provide a proper response, you should know all there is to know about the project. In response, you may begin by discussing the rationale behind your project's or thesis's focus before wrapping up with a suggested course of action.
 

2. What do you see as the study's strengths and weaknesses?
Consider both the merits and drawbacks of your research carefully; when responding, be honest about the limitations of your study.
 

3.In what ways is your thesis unique?
One requirement for a PhD is to make original contributions to knowledge, so keep that in mind while you respond.
 

4. Discuss in detail the relevance of your research to previous works in the same subject.
Describe the relevance of your results to the project's literature review and the overall area of study. Does it add to what has already been written? Is there anything novel that it reveals? Does it make a contribution to what's already been written? To proceed, please respond to the following essential questions.
 

5. Introduce yourself to me.
Introduce yourself and your interests to the group. Pay close attention to the things you feel very strongly about. Share your accomplishments and the path that led you to this opportunity. Don't act like a fool.

6. restate your results in a nutshell
Focus on the data you collected, how it supports your hypothesis, and the overall conclusions you get from your study to answer this popular viva question.
 

7 Point out the good and bad points of your investigation.
Prioritize highlighting the study's strengths and explaining how they relate to its main results. Then, you may highlight the areas that need improvement and the variables that might have been leveraged to become strengths.
 

8. What were the primary reasons for doing this study?
Pay attention to the reasons why you chose to conduct this study, and refer to specific examples that led you to settle on both the subject and the area.
 

9. Explain the assessment procedure
Describe in detail the methodology you used to analyze the most important results in your study, including the reasons that played a role, any challenges you encountered, suggestions for improvement, and your motivation for selecting that specific evaluation method.
 

10. Where does this study's emphasis lie?
When responding, keep a brief summary of your study in mind before discussing the topic that has most interested you. To prove the worthiness of your study, you must specify some of the fundamental issues it seeks to resolve.
 

Usual Viva Inquiries
Questions in a viva for a PhD thesis are focused on the research conducted for the paper, with the overarching goal of elucidating the reasoning that went into its creation. It's done to evaluate the researcher's familiarity with the field, as well as their ability to think creatively and independently.

Questions to be Asked in the PhD Viva 
A PhD viva is a final oral examination in which a candidate defends his or her research and knowledge in front of a panel of academic experts. This is a common method for determining whether a candidate has shown sufficient mastery of a subject area to write creatively about it.
Questions asked during a PhD viva often pertain to the candidate's research proposal and any other materials submitted in advance. Check out the top 20 viva questions for a PhD program:
 

Which part of yourself do you feel needs the most scrutiny?
Why do you think a PhD is warranted, exactly?
 

• Restate your results in a nutshell.
In what ways is this work novel?
Which other areas do you cover also?
Where do you see the limitations of existing technology where your input might be most useful?
Asking, "Who are your main rivals?"
In only two sentences, please describe your proposal.
What implications does this study have for future researchers in this field?
Which of your discoveries do you like the most, and why?
Is there a personal experience that sparked your investigation?
To what end did you decide to use this methodology for your study?
Why did you decide to investigate this topic?
What was the most difficult obstacle you had to overcome?
How did the other options compare to this one?
How would you rate your own performance?
How did you manage if you ran low on funds while doing this study?
Please tell me about the most compelling finding from your study.
Asking, "Where does your investigation fall short?"
To what extent did you consider the moral consequences of your work?