Theorising the academic viva in higher education
The argument for a qualitative approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19379656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephen Dobson (0000-0002-0387-8826, Lillehammer University College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 277-288 |
| Publication date | 2008-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0260-2938 • E-ISSN: 1469-297X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02602930701293272 |
| OpenAlex | W2152573763 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 14 |
The argument made in this essay is that it is necessary to theorize a form of assessment-the academic viva in higher education. It is threatened with extinction because of its high cost compared with written exams, multiple choice and other forms of assessment. However, little empirical research, both in Norway and internationally, has been undertaken to reveal what is actually going on in the viva. This has partly been because it has been difficult to gain access to systematically observe the viva examination as it takes place. In the qualitative research presented by the author, on the higher education viva in Norway, permission was obtained to film a number of master's in education vivas where candidates defended 50,000-word dissertations. Three research questions were asked: how was the viva talked into being, what kinds of judgements were made by examiners, and, lastly, what would a validity argument look like for the viva? Answering these research questions moves some way to proposing a theory of the viva and hence providing a foundation for determining whether its continued existence is legitimate, at least from a theoretical and qualitatively researched point of view. © 2008 Taylor & Francis
Aesthetics · Epistemology · Higher education · Pedagogy · Political science · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Student Assessment and Feedback
The focus and substance of formative comment provided by PhD examiners
Cracking the teacher’s code’ – an ethnographic study of students preparing for oral exams
More than a checkpoint
Ensuring accuracy and quality for oral examinations in translation
And then he threatened to kill himself
External examining
Doing Conversation Analysis
Narratives in Social Science Research
Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems
Knowledge and control
Back to Basics
For Public Sociology
High Stakes Testing and the Structure of the Mind
Public Disputation, Power, and Social Order in Late Antiquity
Construct validity in psychological tests
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2024 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |