Product Description
Pitched towards those defending a PhD, they also work for an MPhil or any other situation that requires you to explain your research. They will focus your thinking in four areas: introduction and context; methods, design and analysis; results and discussion; and implications and utilisation. With an elegant and sleek design, VivaCards are a simple and completely portable revision tool.
Feedback suggests that the VivaCards are also useful for those early on in the PhD process for a transfer viva and to help structure writing. Don’t take our word for it though, read the reviews here.
Version 3 now available with updated colours and new packaging to reduce postage costs.
If you are buying the cards as a gift for someone and wish to include a gift message please add it to ‘Order notes’ and we will include it with the cards.
AJ –
A useful resource and a worthwhile investment for anyone revising for a viva or explore their thoughts after writing a chapter or section of their work. The fact that the cards have different focusing themes allows for quite detailed revision/preparation.
Sarah (verified owner) –
I am reviewing the cards as a qualitative nurse educator and doctoral candidate working in hospice care. I do a lot of conference presentations. I specialise in teaching my thesis topic. I am 5 months away from submitting my thesis, so busy writing up. I am a new passionate advocate of Twitter.
What do I think of the cards? Very, very helpful for thesis writing, viva preparation and conference presentations.
Why? I like the small card presentation, easy to put in my bag, pull out and think about. Especially thinking about how my husband can help me in my preparation by randomly picking out cards whilst we are e.g. in the car. An app or electronic version would be helpful as well but I think I will probably stick to the card version because of the above reasons.
What do I think of the content? The questions are relevant and written in a very accessible way. There is a useful structure in terms of the questions you might get about introduction, methods, results, discussion, implications and utilisation. I particularly like the questions about describing your thesis in 2 minutes etc. The questions feel real, from someone who has been through it.
What about use for writing thesis and conference presentations? Actually I did not buy them for that reason…but as soon as I got them saw the applicability as well. I am already thinking have I answered these questions in my thesis. For conferences helpful as well.
Anything I would change? Only thing I would change is the colour coding. It took me a while to realise that there were 3 types of orange and 1 brown type of questions within the set of cards. I would suggest that the 3 orange types become distinct colours as I can imagine being able to e.g. say to my husband ‘ask me a blue question’ (introduction) or green question (methods, design and analysis)
Any other comment? Would be interested to know what my supervisors think and I will share with them at next supervision.
Well done – I am really glad that you have made these and definitely think that they are well designed, useful and helpful
Kerry Hannigan (by email) (verified owner) –
I would like to say thank you very much for your cards. I especially liked the personal touch with your own handwritten message 🙂 They are one of the best purchases I have ever made and I have been showing them and recommending them to everyone. It is an excellent way of preparing for the viva. You can work on your your knowledge and pick up on your weaker areas that may need more work. They allow you to refine your responses and they are a great way of letting family and colleagues support you in your preparation. They also help you organise your own thoughts so that you are clearer in your responses and can access the information in your head quickly (without having to spend too much time thinking on your response). The more you practice the quicker and better you become.
Kind Regards,
Kerry
Sophie Millner-Aldrovandi (verified owner) –
These cards are fantastic! I bought them thinking that they would simply be a good starting point to cover the more general or common viva questions and that I would need to revise with additional questions specific to my PhD topic to be fully prepared. However, they are so well designed that they prompt you to prepare very detailed and specific answers in a well-structured way. Having someone ask me the questions meant that I practiced vocalising my answers before writing them down. This felt very supportive and had a playful feel to it. I rehearsed each question several times and gradually became more aware of my strengths and weaknesses; how to phrase my findings in a nutshell and in at length. As a result, I felt very well prepared for my viva and confident both to present and defend my PhD. I would highly recommend these cards.
One suggestion would be to have the colours brighter and for the category colours to be more distinct from each other.
Rebecca Fish (verified owner) –
I found the Vivacards to be extremely useful for my Viva preparation. I bought them about 5 months beforehand, and my children enjoyed reading the questions out to me when I was doing something menial. It helps that you are only presented with one question at a time to mull over, rather than having a list of questions in front of you. As another reviewer has pointed out, it helps to actually vocalise your answers rather than just thinking about them. Also, the design of the Vivacards is genius. They are packaged in a handy box that does not look unattractive on your desk, stays tidy, and doesn’t get lost in piles of papers like a book or pamphlet would.
Many of the questions I had in my Viva were similar to the ones on the Vivacards, and the questions on them cover the key areas that you will probably get asked to explain. I think they help you to organise your thinking into the right themes.
With the help of VIvacards, I passed my Viva forthwith! I am extremely pleased that I bought them and I only wish I had bought them earlier!
Claudette Bailey-Morrissey (verified owner) –
The viva cards are brilliant! I submitted my thesis at the end of September 2015 and came across the website just before my pre-viva. I had already purchased Dr Ryder’s book Fail Your Viva and so when I came across the viva-survivor website I knew that the tips were going to be great! The viva cards certainly helped me prepare for my viva and listening to the podcasts was an added bonus. They provided such great insights; it was really useful listening to other people’s viva experiences.
I highly recommend the viva cards! They helped me prepare for my viva and contributed to my success on the day.
Lina Baines (verified owner) –
These are an excellent product.I bought these before my PhD upgrade and they were very useful then. I’ve been using them during my viva prep and they’re brilliant. The cards are colour coded so that you can easily see the main themes for the questions. You can ask family and friends to use them so that you can practice your responses. They are easy to carry and provide a useful aide-memoire.
Mark Sherry –
I strongly recommend these cards for anyone doing a thesis, or defending their thesis. Go through every question, and you’ll be so well prepared… you will benefit enormously. Buy them for yourself, or for a friend, or even one of your students. Very highly recommended.
Diane Simpson (verified owner) –
On the basis of a recommendation from a colleague, I purchased a pack of vivacards. I used them to prepare for my viva and although almost none of these questions arose directly, I was able to interweave my ideas from the preparation I had done from these cards into my viva. The cards are well packaged, durable and portable.
I would definitely recommend vivacards to other doctoral students and their supervisors.
Alison Hardy –
I purchased these during my study and used them as prompts whilst writing my thesis as well as for viva prep. I recommend these cards to anyone preparing for their viva and to colleagues who are examiners!
Tere –
My partner gifted me a set of VIVAcards because I am about to defend my PhD thesis. There were some problems with the shipment (due to external factors) but the person behind VIVAcards was really attentive and helpful.
I will strongly recommend Vivacards to other [doctoral] students, supervisors, professors and friends not only for their usability and VIVA preparation but also to support small businesses that promote and care about knowledge.
David Galley –
I bought a pack when they first came out while attending a social work conference. I didn’t involve anyone in asking me the questions, I didn’t feel the need, but they certainly got me thinking about questions or points in my Viva that might come up and I hadn’t got an answer to. Some of the stuff the cards cover would never have occurred to me and prompted me to think of responses. The cards certainly contributed to a successful Viva outcome for me.