Defending Your Dissertation

After a student submits a dissertation, there is a challenge process in which the student is required to defend his or her position and knowledge on the dissertation materials. During this event, the student is required to present the information contained within the dissertation orally and to engage in a question and answer session with the review committee. This process frequently triggers intense anxiety and stress, causing the student to brood over issues of self-doubt and nervousness that their dissertation is in some way insufficient. This behavior pattern makes it difficult for them to focus on preparation and can cause psychosomatic illness and self-isolation or depression. In this scenario, the student ends up entering the dissertation event nervous and ill-prepared.

Personal Preparation

Students often find the only way to deal with this effectively is to completely reframe the event in their mind, converting the defense into a presentation, a concept they should be well familiar with by this stage in the education process. To complete this conversion, the student must redefine other aspects as well.

For example, instead of viewing revision requests as a negative event, the student should view them as positive requests for additional information, meaning they are on the right track, but simply need to examine certain areas more thoroughly. In this view, the review board wants to be shown more information on one or more facets of the dissertation’s topic. The request might also be one for greater clarification, meaning some portion of the dissertation may have been unclear in its message and can easily be fixed by additional information to establish a better understanding or a rewording of the existing portion for its intent or content to be better explained. This process of conversion shifts the environment from an adversarial confrontation event (the dissertation defense) to an event of confidence and opportunity for self-improvement (the dissertation presentation).

Additionally, the student should never overlook personal care, both physical and mental. He or she should focus on making sure they are as physically and mentally relaxed as possible prior to the dissertation presentation. During the time between dissertation submission and the presentation (typically about a month), the student should prepare any visual aids they may need during the dissertation presentation, but be sure to allot adequate exercise and socialization time as well. Preparation for the dissertation, in all forms, should never be left to the last minute.

During the seven to ten days before the presentation, the student might consider soliciting pre-presentation feedback from the review committee to gain a perspective of potential questions they may have on the research. Assumedly they have not left reading your dissertation until the last minute, though some instructors procrastinate worse than the students they teach. It may also be helpful to poll colleagues who have interacted with the review committee members and familiarize yourself with their experiences.

Be aware that almost every committee has a “devil’s advocate.” Try to find out who this person is and learn everything you can about them. Consult with your advisor on how to best defuse this confrontational potential, perhaps formulating a means to turn this committee member into your “best friend” during the presentation.

Be aware that the committee members will prepare for this presentation. They will be at least as familiar with your dissertation and its topic as you are, having read your dissertation and at least reviewed every source you have cited in your document. They are thorough because the reputation of the program and institution are vested in your knowledge and future success. Just remember, you are the expert on your dissertation. It is your job to show this and to be ready to rebut any challenges and to answer any questions about it.

Preparing for the Presentation

There are no hard and fast rules that can be given for the preparation of your presentation. Each program establishes its own environment for the dissertation process. Your best bet is to discuss with your dissertation advisor and dissertation candidates that may be working on revisions to their dissertations on their own experiences with the dissertation review committee. Members of the review committee are also colleagues of your advisor, so you advisor may be able to give you insights into what each of them expect and what they might do during the dissertation presentation.

In preparing for the presentation, create a 10 to 15 minute PowerPoint presentation that focuses on your research and the discussions in your dissertation. Present existing literature only if it is directly relevant to your research or the results thereof. Students often hear that professors will interrupt their presentation with questions and cross discussions. This is actually true. Be prepared to discuss any portion of your dissertation during this presentation process and pay attention to any ensuing discussion or debates between the reviewing committee members. Careful notes should be made on the issues of these discussions and debates (perhaps by an assistant during the presentation) and should be incorporated into any revisions the committee might request.

Note well that though your presentation, if given without interruptions, may only be 10 to 15 minutes long, the committee discussions and debates can easily cause the presentation to take a couple hours to complete. After the presentation and the addressing of any additional committee questions, you may be asked to step out of the room for 10 minutes to a half-hour while the committee discusses the merits of your work. In the best case scenario, when they ask you to rejoin them, you may be greeted as “Doctor.” At worst, the committee may inform you what areas they would like clarification or further research on, at which time you will have to return to the dissertation preparation process, but usually with far less work than you started with and a clear understanding of what is needed to finish the job.

The Realities of Dissertation Presentations

During the dissertation process, your mind will play many games with you. Doubts about your ability to take on such a task or to face the review committee effectively are no different than those that have haunted doctoral candidates throughout history, including the very committee members who will be judging your work. Keep in mind three things during the dissertation presentation.

First, you are the expert on the dissertation. You are the one who has completed the research and prepared the dissertation.

Second, the committee members are not your enemies; they are your peers now. The presentation event is their opportunity to judge whether your work justifies full recognition of that fact by bestowing upon you the coveted title of “Doctor.” If they ask a question you do not know the answer to, remember this … all science and academic disciplines begin with the statement “I don’t know” and end with the statement “but I’ll find out.” Never try to bluff your way through this process. Accept that there are areas in which you simply do not know the answer to, but also accept that you still have the ability to learn.

Lastly, bear in mind that, with rare exceptions, there will be revisions. Do not take revision requests as personal attacks; they are simply a part of the education process. Accept them as the committee’s effort to help you create the best dissertation possible. Keep in mind that at this point, they are no longer simply instructors and professors; they are now your colleagues whose personal reputations depend upon your success.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, reframing the dissertation event into a presentation rather than a defense can radically alter the entire environment. The committee members become your peers, offering constructive criticism rather than judges condemning some inadequacy in your knowledge or work. It all depends on your frame of mind, which you, alone, control.