Reflections on the status of a doctoral defence

Abstract

There is a dearth of published material exploring the PhD 'viva voce' examination as a particular social encounter where a critical relationship obtains between doctoral student and examiners, and among examiners themselves; such indeed occurs in a context of imprecise criteria and role ambiguity. The paper examines the problems of viva dynamics, arguing for a better understanding. of how and why a viva is a 'lottery' .