Oral Defense Sample Questions

1. What are the main findings of your thesis?

In your response, you should briefly summarize your investigation. The question is straightforward but requires technical
knowledge for a more complete explanation of the concepts. For instance, if you were attempting to describe the
relationship between job satisfaction and affective commitment in a thesis, you could construct your response as
follows:

The main findings of my thesis are that there is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and organizational
commitment and that this relationship is mediated by affective commitment. Additionally, I found that there is a
significant relationship between affective commitment and turnover intention.

2. Why did you choose this study?

This question demands that you explain your initial motivation for pursuing the topic. Your responses may touch on your
own research interests. For instance, if you did a study titled “The Extent of State Obligations in Preventing and
Combating Human Trafficking: Challenges and Perspectives for a Philippine Human Rights-Based Approach,” your
response could be as follows:

I chose this study because I am interested in the topic of human trafficking. I am also interested in criminal justice, so
this topic is a perfect fit for me. I am excited to defend my thesis and share my findings with everyone.

3. What is the significance of your findings?

The response to this research question should describe the influence of your work on your field of study. You may
discuss the fresh insights that your study has contributed and their impact on society.

The significance of my findings is that they could help to improve the accuracy of predictions made by machine learning
algorithms. My thesis defense was important because it showed that my research is valuable and has the potential to
contribute to the field of machine learning.

4. How did you go about conducting your research?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the research process will vary depending on the topic of your
thesis and the methodology you’re using. However, in general, you’ll want to start by finding relevant literature and
articles, then designing and conducting experiments or surveys to collect data, and finally analyzing and interpreting
your findings. You’ll also need to present your findings in a clear and concise way in your thesis defense.

5. What sources did you use for data collection?

You would have looked for information on your topic from a variety of sources. You are free to expand on those sources.
You could have used databases, web content, or even conducted primary research by interviewing prospects. As a
result, you can discuss these sources. Please see the following response:

For data collection, I used a variety of sources, including both primary and secondary sources. For my primary sources, I
conducted interviews with experts in the field and collected survey data from consumers. For my secondary sources, I
analyzed studies conducted by other researchers as well as data from government agencies and private companies.

6. What are the limitations of your research?

This is another easy question that is hard to answer. Most of the time, the question isn’t asked to help you feel better,
but to find ways to criticize your work. You have to be careful with your words if you want to answer this question, or
you might get yourself in trouble. Be careful not to sell yourself short. Do not talk about the problems with your
methods or how you analyzed the data. This could make it seem like your study is biased or not well done. Instead of
putting limits on your study, use simple things like how hard it is to combine lectures and projects.

My research is focused on the use of big data and machine learning in marketing. However, there are many other
applications for these technologies that I am not able to explore in my thesis. Additionally, there are many potential
pitfalls with using big data and machine learning that I am not able to explore in my research.

7. What are the implications of your findings?

This question concerns the application of your study. You should discuss how your study benefits society and how it
might aid in resolving pressing problems.

The implications of my findings are that more research is needed to fully understand the effects of climate change on
plant communities. Additionally, my research suggests that climate change may lead to a decline in plant diversity,
which could have serious consequences for ecosystems.

8. How does your thesis contribute to existing knowledge in your field?

Explain how your research will add to the existing body of knowledge. To answer this question, you must describe how
your research will serve the government in policy formation and execution, how it will aid other students who may wish
to conduct research on the topic, and how organizations and society will benefit from your research.

My research is significant because it has the potential to improve the accuracy of predictions made by machine learning
algorithms. This could have a major impact on a wide range of industries, including finance, healthcare, and
manufacturing.

9. What are the future research directions that could be taken based on your findings?

You should be able to discuss the new fields of research that have been opened up as a result of your research as a
researcher. Researchers in the future will be able to use this as a starting point. For instance,

The future research directions that could be taken based on my findings are:

Investigating the effects of different types of music on cognitive function.

Examining the effects of music listening on mood and emotions.

Studying the long-term effects of music listening on cognitive function.

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

In your response, you should briefly summarize your investigation. The question is straightforward but requires technical
knowledge for a more complete explanation of the concepts. For instance, if you wrote a thesis attempting to explain
the effects of various types of stress on memory, you could structure your response as follows:

My study is about the effects of different types of stress on memory. I am looking at how different types of stressors,
such as physical or psychological stress, affect people’s ability to remember things.
11. Why did you choose this particular title for your research?

As a researcher, it is critical that you choose a title that accurately reflects the content of your thesis. How did you make
the final decision to name your work? Your committee will want to know that. For instance,

The title of my research is “The Role of Social Media in the Political Process.” I chose this title because I think social
media has a huge role to play in the political process. I’m interested in how social media can be used to engage people in
the political process and how it can be used to spread information about candidates and issues.

12. What is the scope of your study?

In your response, you must define the scope of your study and precisely what you are researching. There may be several
elements involved, but you must define the parameters you have chosen to investigate. As an example,

The scope of my study is to analyze the effects of a new management style on employee productivity. The elements
involved in the study are the employees of a company who will be randomly divided into two groups, one with the new
management style and one without. The parameters of the study are the number of employees in each group, the
length of time the study will be conducted, and the productivity metric that will be used.

13. Who will be most interested in your research?

You can discuss who might be affected by your research and who might benefit from it. Consider the following example:

The people who will be most interested in my research are other researchers in the same field. They will be interested in
my findings and how they can apply them to their own work. I also hope that my research will be of interest to the
general public, as it could have implications for their everyday lives.

14 . What gaps did you intend to bridge with your research?

Every research study must address an issue. Your ability to solve this challenge and explore previously unexplored places
earns you the maximum possible score for this response. You must be able to persuade the committee members that
your technique is novel and that it has covered regions where little research has been conducted by other researchers.

The gaps that I intended to bridge with my research were the lack of knowledge about the role of emotions in decision-
making and the lack of understanding of how people make decisions under stress. My research aimed to fill these gaps
by exploring how emotions affect decision-making and how people make decisions under stress.

15. What research findings surprised you?

When conducting research, you discover results that you did not anticipate. If you have had such an incident, you may
describe it to the evaluation committee in your response. For instance,

I was surprised by how little difference there was between the test scores of students who attended private and public
schools. I also found that the achievement gap between rich and poor students is much wider than I expected.

16. What is the validity of your findings?

You must discuss the criteria under which your research findings are valid.
The validity of our research findings is based on the accuracy and precision of our data. Our data was collected using a
valid and reliable survey instrument, which means that our findings are likely to be accurate. Additionally, our results
were analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques, which increases the reliability of our findings.

17 . What theories or theoretical framework is your study based on?

This is a very technical but intriguing question. Before entering the defense room, you should be familiar with at least
two relevant theories related to your research.

The study is based on the theory of planned behavior. This theory looks at the factors that influence people’s intentions
to behave in a certain way. It includes beliefs about the behavior, attitudes towards the behavior, and social norms
regarding the behavior.

18 . Based on your findings, what are your recommendations?

In every research study, recommendations are very important and should not be taken lightly. In the end, you should be
able to give your recommendations at any given time.

Based on my findings, I recommend that businesses focus on creating valuable content and building relationships with
their customers. They should also strive to create a strong online presence through social media and SEO.