PhD Viva Simulator
Practise defending contribution, methodology, limitations and alternative interpretations.
What this assessment covers
| Criterion | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Contribution clarity | Explains the original contribution clearly. |
| Methodology defence | Justifies the chosen methodology. |
| Limitations awareness | Recognises limitations and implications. |
| Oral defence quality | Gives a direct, structured and defensible answer. |
Questions and model answers
Original questions written for Assessments Aced, each with an answer plan and model answer.
01What is the original contribution?Spoken defence · 5 minOpen question and model answer
The examiner asks you to distinguish your work from the closest existing literature.
Your jobGive a direct 60–90 second answer.
- State contribution
- Contrast literature
- Explain significance
The original contribution is a framework showing how resource constraints change the sequence in which small firms adopt AI-enabled workflow tools. Existing studies mainly describe adoption factors, whereas my research explains how those factors interact over time during implementation. This matters because it gives researchers a process model and gives practitioners a way to identify the next constraint that must be resolved.
02Why was this methodology appropriate?Spoken defence · 5 minOpen question and model answer
The examiner challenges whether a larger quantitative study would have been more reliable.
Your jobDefend the chosen methodology and acknowledge the trade-off.
- Link method to question
- Compare alternative
- Acknowledge trade-off
- Limit claim
A larger survey would have measured prevalence, but my question concerned how managers interpreted risk and made adoption decisions. Semi-structured interviews were therefore appropriate because they captured sequence, reasoning and context that fixed-response data would miss. The trade-off is limited statistical generalisability, which I address by making analytical rather than population claims and by proposing later quantitative testing of the framework.
03What is the most important limitation?Spoken defence · 5 minOpen question and model answer
The examiner asks which limitation most threatens the thesis conclusions.
Your jobIdentify one material limitation and explain its effect.
- Name limitation
- Explain effect
- Limit claim
- Propose follow-up
The most important limitation is that participants were recruited through professional networks, which may over-represent firms already interested in digital change. This means the study may understate resistance among less engaged firms. I therefore avoid claiming that the sample reflects all small businesses and treat the findings as a theory-building account that requires testing in a broader, independently sampled population.