The final oral examination

Abstract

This chapter analyzes patterns of the oral examination as part of the Ph.D. final examination process that were revealed in the cases reported in this book where oral exams are part of the examination process. The Australian university will not be part of this analysis as oral examinations are not part of the process of examining. Although in certain contexts the oral defence may be seen as “an ancillary requirement to the thesis” (Schulze & Lemmer, 2019: 192) or as “not the site of decision making” (Tinkler & Jackson, 2004: 30), we support the opinion that the oral defence (or ‘viva voce examination’ as it is called in some universities) can be seen as contributing to the understanding of the concept of doctorateness (Poole, 2015). In the following sections we share themes that evolved from the qualitative analyses of the cases reported in this book.