Sample Thesis Defense Questions and Answers

1.    What is your research study all about?

In your answer, you should summarize your research in a few sentences. The question is
simple but requires technical expertise for a better explanation of concepts. For instance, if
you completed a thesis in an attempt to explain the constituents of dark matter in the universe
and particle accelerators, you could frame your answer like this:

In this research, the different aspects of dark matter and its detection models have been
investigated. The cosmic ray positron excess observed by the PAMELA detector has been
discussed and explained through the construction of models of decaying dark matter. The
cosmic-ray electron and positron spectra were studied assuming a general Dirac structure
for the four fermion contact interactions of interest. A supersymmetric leptophilic Higgs
model was constructed to explain the possible excess of gamma rays in the galactic center.
Finally, by the use of Razor analysis, an improvement on the dark matter collider searches is
considered.  

2.    Why did you choose this study?

This question requires you to answer what motivated you to pursue the study in the first
place. Your answers could touch on your interests in the area of the study. For example, if
you conducted a study called “Media Combat: The Great War and the Transformation of
American Culture” then you can shape your answer like this:

The First World War (1914-1918) has always been a topic of fascination for me, and my
prime interest lies in exploring the state of society at that time. I wanted to analyze the
formation of a nationalized, wartime cultural apparatus during the United States'
involvement in the war and how theatre and music transformed the relationship between the
government and American citizens. 

3.    Why did you choose this particular title for your research?
The title of your thesis captures the main point of your research, which is why it is so
important to use an appropriate title. Your committee will want to know how you came to the
final decision of naming your work. For example,

I chose the title “Dark matter in the heavens and at colliders: Models and constraints” for
my research thesis because my research attempts to explain the constituency of dark matter
as it occurs in the universe. “The heavens” is another word for the universe. Dark matter
can also be created in particle accelerators such as the CERN collider. I have attempted to
provide an explanation for both of the cases through the use of models, along with
describing the constraints which exist in the current times due to certain scientific
limitations.
4.    What is the scope of your study?
In your answer, you have to define the boundaries of your project and define exactly what
you are studying. There can be several elements involved but you have to define the
parameters that you have chosen to study. For example,

My study is on the efficacy of equity stocks in the US market. For my study, I have chosen 50
companies listed on the NASDAQ. You can review the names of these companies on page 5
of my thesis.

5.    What phenomenon were you trying to understand with this

research?
Describe the focus concept of your thesis in the answer. For example,

In our study “Motivation to volunteer”, we were looking to study the Theory of Planned
Behavior by analyzing the behavioral and normative beliefs that influence attitudes and
subjective norms.

6.    Who will be most interested in your research?

You can talk about who may be affected by your research and the parties who can potentially
benefit from the research. Take a look at this example:

My sociology thesis on “Impact of social media on youngsters” can be of interest to

sociology academics, social media companies, education experts, and parents of youngsters
in general.

7.    Did your research questions evolve during the process? If

so, how?
Often, qualitative research questions change over time with respect to the responses that you
might get from your focus group. Or you might just change your question as you do lab
research or general text research. You can describe the change to the evaluating committee.
For example,

We started our study to understand the impact of the new public policy change on recycling
of vinyl waste through installation of garbage bins specifically for vinyl products. However,
after interviewing some of the respondents in the target community, we found that the rule is
actually irrelevant to their behavior and thoughts because the percentage of vinyl waste in
that specific locality was very low and it didn’t need the installation of dedicated bins for the
purpose. Going by their frustrations with the current economic insecurity, our study evolved
into the impact of costs incurred by public policy changes.          
8.    What gaps did you intend to bridge with your research?
Your research thesis must eliminate the present gaps in the concepts related to your subject
topic.

The relationship between hard water and its effect on the size of the kidney stone is not clear
yet, so we analyzed the mineral composition of hard water to determine its impact on the size
of the kidney stone.

9.    Why is your research significant?

The answer to this research question should outline the impact of your research on your field
of study. You may talk about the new insights contributed by your research and its impact on
society.

Through my study on “The effect of chamomile in reducing stress and promoting better
sleep,” patients with insomnia and anxiety will be able to find alternative treatments without
the use of medicinal drugs. The medical abilities of chamomile will promote the usage of
ingredients in nature and will encourage the community to plant more herbs and trees.

10. What did you find in your research?

You may describe your research in a few sentences in this answer. For instance,

In our study on “Impact of artificial fluoride in water on the human body,” we found that
excessive exposure to high quantities of Fluoride can result in tooth discoloration and bone
issues in humans since it has neurotoxic qualities. 

11. What research findings surprised you?

When you conduct research, you come across findings that you were not expecting earlier. If
you had such an experience, you might describe the same to the evaluation committee when
you answer this question. For example,

I was expecting that business promotion through social media would not be a good idea for
rural enterprises in developing countries in my comparative analysis of the usage of
traditional and contemporary marketing methods. But I was surprised to learn that 68% of
rural textile businesses in Nigeria promote their products on Instagram.

12. What is the validity of your findings?

You have to talk about the conditions in which your research findings would be valid.
In my research, I have considered test anxiety to be involving both nervous system activation
and negative thoughts. Thus, my measure of test anxiety has included the elements of both
nervous feelings and negative thoughts, the conditions in which my findings are valid.

13. Why did you choose this research methodology?

For example,

For studying the differential protein expression, its localization, and distribution at different
levels, we used the method of immunostaining in our research.

14. What sources did you use for data collection?

You would have used several sources to search for data for your topic. You may elaborate on
those sources. You might have referred to databases, content on the web, or even conducted
primary research by interviewing prospects. Thus, you can talk about these sources. Refer to
the following answer:

To understand the impact of the current tax regime on skilled workers, we interviewed 150
subjects in 5 months. Additionally, we referred to databases and scholarly works available
by authors who had previously conducted such studies for previous tax laws and rates. 

15. How can your research be put into practice?

This question talks about the practical implications of your research. You should talk about
how your research is beneficial for society and how it can help in eliminating current issues.

In our research titled “Effectiveness of Meditation on Reducing the Anxiety Levels of College
Students in the US,” we discovered that students who practiced meditation at least thrice a
week were two times more likely to score better in their exams, owing to the positive impact
of meditation. So, this research finding can help in the reduction of mental health issues
among students. A suitable course of action would be to hold meditating sessions a couple of
times a week. 

16. How will your findings contribute to the related area of

knowledge?
For example,

Our study on medicinal analysis of herbs conveys information about various medicinal
benefits of chamomile in treating depression and contributes to the area of medicinal botany.

17. Did you experience any limitations in your research?

For example,

Our research on “Impact of smoking on β-cell function and risk for type 2 diabetes in US
citizens” finds that smoking increases the risk of diabetes among smokers. However, smokers
might be affected by some genetic conditions which can protect them from diabetes. 

18. What sampling techniques did you use?

When conducting research, it is practically not possible to study the entire number of
elements. So, you would be using a method to select a sample population.

In our study “Impact of consumption of soda on the health of teenagers in Corpus Christi”,
we used area sampling to divide the city into several areas and then selected some clusters
for our sample group.

19. What are the dependent and independent variables in your

research?
In research, several variable factors impact your study. You can describe these variables.
Independent variables have values which are not affected by other variables in your study.
On the other hand, the dependent variables have values that change with changes in the
independent variable. For example,

In our study on “Impact of online tutoring on test scores”, the independent variable is the
nature of the classes i.e., online and the participants' test score is the dependent variable.

20. What areas do you suggest for further research?

As a researcher, you should be able to describe what further areas are open for research with
the addition of your research to the field. This can act as a starting point for future
researchers. For example,

In my research on “Effectiveness of Acetaminophen in treating sports induced injuries”, I

discovered that administering Acetaminophen is not very effective for treating joint pains
such as the knee. This further suggests measures for the regulation of Acetaminophen in the
production of painkillers for body pain and the search for alternative compounds.

 How did you deal with the ethical implications of your work?

 What is the strongest point in your research?

 Why do you think your research is reliable?

 What are the statistical tools used by you?

  What is the relevance of your work to other researchers?

 What are the major issues in your subject areas?

 Do you think your research is correct?

In few sentences, can you tell us what your study is all about?

The question is simple right? Many professors will tell you that most students get choked
on a question like this. Anyways the question is simple, but a bit technical. To answer this
question, you need to know every detail of your research project from chapters one to the
end. The question needs an answer in form of a summary of the entire study, therefore, to
ace this particular question you need to know every detail in your abstract. If you wrote a
good abstract, this question will be a cross over for you.

What is your motivation for this study?

Now you must be careful here. This question can be very tricky and it goes a long way in
convincing your panel members that your study is worth their time. Another way this
question could be twisted is WHAT IS THE RESEARCH PROBLEM?
To answer this question, you may decide to elaborate on the problem investigated in the
study. Your zeal to solve this problem becomes your motivation. Do not state financial
reasons or the need to graduate as a motivation as you may easily go off point.

Did you bridge any gap from your study?

Every research study must have a problem. Your ability to solve this problem and explore
into areas not yet researched on gives you the full marks allocated for answering this
question. You must be able to convince the committee members that your approach is
unique and it has covered areas where much have not been done by other researchers.

What is the significance of the study?

Just like stating how your study will contribute to the body of knowledge, you will need to
state the importance of your study. To answer this question, you will need to highlight how
your study will aid the government in policy development and implementation, how it will
help other students who may wish to conduct research studies on the subject matter and
how organizations and the society will benefit from your study.
What limitations did you encounter?

This is another simple but tricky question. Most times the question is not asked to
sympathize with you, rather to get loopholes to criticize your work. To answer this
question, you must be careful with words as you may implicate yourself. Be careful enough
not to sell out yourself. Do not discourse limitations in your methods or data analysis
techniques as this may imply that your study may be biased or not well researched. Use
simple limitations like difficulties encountered in combining lectures and project instead of
limiting your study.

How did you establish the limits around the scope of your data collection?

What is the scope of the study?

This one is a cheap or should I say bonus question? Here you quickly state the delimitation
of the study in brief.

What are the main issues and debates in this subject area?

What were the crucial research decisions you made?

What is the research problem? What phenomenon are you trying to

explain/understand?

Who will be most interested in your work?

What is the theoretical and practical gap?

Is your literature current (up-to-date)?

Have you obtained the local literature on this topic?

Have you included in the literature the major theories, concepts, factors, and
variables connected with your research?
Have you collected and reviewed enough literature? Have you been exhaustive in your
literature search?

A regression model is a statistical model that estimates the relationship between one
dependent variable and one or more independent variables using a line