10 Most Important Questions in Thesis Defence – Answers Included

Once you have submitted your thesis, you will be invited to defend it at an oral examination. The thesis defence is a formal event where the researchers present their dissertations to a committee of academic professionals and respond to the questions they ask.

According to the book titled How to Prepare Yourself for Thesis Defence Examination, students must be prepared to answer the most expected questions in thesis defence in a structured manner. While this defence may sound like a cross-examination in a law court, there is nothing to fear as long as you are well-prepared.

Let’s explore the list of 10 common thesis defence queries asked by the researchers.

What Is the Common Question in Thesis Defence?

The possible questions in the thesis defence will be related to the topic of your research. According to BEMO, the most common questions are usually the following:

• What was your motivation behind picking this research topic?
• What is your research work all about?

The committee will ask detailed questions about various aspects of your thesis, including the literature review, research methodology, thesis results, study variables, areas for further research, and recommendations. If you need assistance in preparing thorough and convincing responses to these thesis defence questions, you can seek help from experienced thesis writers.

10 Most Important Questions in Thesis Defence and Their Answers

As we have discussed already, a thesis defence gives you a chance to demonstrate your expertise in your research area. During this 1–2-hour long session, students have to respond to the most expected and possible questions in the thesis defence. Basically, these questions are asked to test your preparedness and knowledge level.

Let’s move towards the top 10 questions in thesis defence that can make or break this event:

1. What Is Your Research All About?

Explanation

In the answer, you have to summarise the research in a precise way. The question is very simple, but a better explanation of the given concepts requires technical expertise. For example, if you have researched the presence of dark matter in the universe, your answer will primarily discuss the same elements.

Expected Answer:

In this research, I have evaluated the different perspectives of dark matter and the detective tools used for it. The PAMELA detector has explained and detected the construction models of dead and decaying dark matter. I constructed a supersymmetric leptophilic model that could explain the presence of gamma rays in the galactic space.

2. Why Have You Chosen This Research Topic?

Explanation

This question needs to tell the committee about your motivation to pick this topic. Your answers can be about the areas that interest you. You have to tell them in detail why you pursued this research topic.

Expected Answer:

I have always been enticed by the history of the First World War (1914-1918) and interested in understanding the states of different societies at that time. Since I wanted to analyse the formation of different cultural apparatuses during wartime, I picked this topic for my research work.

3. Define the Scope of Your Research Work.

Explanation

In response to this question, talk about the boundaries covered by your thesis project and discuss exactly what you are referring to. Of course, there can be many factors of your study, but you will tell the most obvious ones.

Expected Answer:

My research is based on the sufficiency of the financial liabilities and stocks in the UK market. For my studies, I picked 120 companies and organisations enlisted on NASDAQ. The names of the companies are mentioned on page 04 of my dissertation.

4. Which Parties Can Be Most Interested in Your Research?

Explanation

Here, you can talk about who can be most impacted and influenced by your interdisciplinary research work. It can involve a discussion of the potential parties that can benefit from your work. You can study a sample answer below.

Expected Answer:

My sociology dissertation on the effect of social media applications on young minds may be really interesting to social media workers, sociology academics, parents of young children and education experts in general.

5. What Did You Try to Grasp with Your Research?

Explanation

Here, you are expected to share the focus concept of your research work with the dissertation committee. You can also talk about the methods you applied to get the results of your papers and highlight their importance.

Expected Answer:

In my study, The Effect of Motivation for the Volunteering Process, we looked forward to studying behavioural theories. We attempted to understand the normative and behavioural beliefs that impact the subjective behaviours and attitudes of different audiences.

6. Have Your Research Questions Evolved During the Process? If Yes, How?

Explanation

Usually, the qualitative research objectives evolve greatly over time concerning the responses you get from the target groups. You can either just change your questions as you go on with your lab research. These changes can be addressed to the members of the evaluating committee.

Expected Answer:

We started our research to analyse the effect of new public policy changes on the recycling process of vinyl wastage. However, after reviewing the participants in the research community, we found out that these changes are currently irrelevant, so we changed the research questions to judge the impact of costs incurred by these changes.

7. Does Your Research Bridge Any Gaps in the Available Literature?

Explanation

Keep in mind that your research work is expected to eliminate the gaps present in your area of study. You can talk about the freshly gained insights offered by the research you do and how they influence the society around you.

Expected Answer:

We studied the relationship between the effect of the size of kidney stones found in the human body and hard water. There was not enough study present on the topic of mineral constituents of the hard water. Our research determines the effect of hard water on the kidney stones.

8. Did Your Research Results Surprise You?

Explanation

When you conduct research for your thesis, you may come across some unexpected results. If you encounter such incidents, you can discuss the details with the members of the committee. It can make your thesis defence session quite interesting for all.

Expected Answer:

I was expecting to see that the management of businesses through online media platforms would not be a great idea. However, in a developing country, it’s one of the greatest methods for marketing a business. That was quite surprising for me.

9. What Are the Results of Your Research Work?

Explanation

This is a pretty simple question. You will simply be expected to describe your research findings in a few sentences. You can choose to discuss them in detail or not; that is up to you.

Expected Answer:

In my research on the effect of artificial fluorine on the functions of the human body, it was found that high quantities of this element in water can result in unwanted results. For instance, it can cause intense discolouration and bone problems in humans.

10. Why Have You Chosen This Research Methodology?

Explanation

Here, you are expected to highlight the importance of the research methodology and tell how it helped to get your desired results. You should also elaborate on whether your methods were superior to other possible methodologies that you could have chosen.

Expected Answer:

To study the differential expressions of different protein samples, and their distribution at several levels, we used this chosen method. The best thing to do was to pick the method of immunostaining in our research.

Thesis Defence Checklist

Each university provides students with a mandatory checklist for their thesis and dissertations. Students should find it obligatory to match the thesis content with such lists before the submission. Here is a list of several points that can make students well-prepared to defend their thesis. Vitae has formulated this checklist, and reliable online thesis writing companies can assist you in fulfilling these conditions.

• I have read my thesis thoroughly.
• I have crafted a one-page summary of each chapter of the thesis.
• To my knowledge, the thesis areas that are likely to be challenged are as follows:
• I can explain how my thesis fits into the bigger picture.
• I have investigated the background of my research work.
• The research implications for both the theory and practice of my thesis are known to me.

Conclusion

That was all. We have discussed in detail the 10 common questions in the thesis defence and their answers. Remember that your thesis defence session does not have to be daunting; all that you have to do is be well-prepared for it.

Do your best to appear comfortable and relaxed when answering the thesis defence questions. An individual’s confidence and demeanour matter a lot and can add to a good impression in the eyes of the thesis evaluation committee. All in all, a thesis defence can easily be an overwhelming event yet an incredible achievement in student life. Earning a degree is no small thing, and you should definitely feel proud of yourself once you are done with it.