Decision Agent Academia: written work and a simulated viva

Purpose and scope

Decision Agent Academia is an available configuration of the platform’s shared assessment modules. The brochure’s example connects a research-paper submission with a simulated viva voce examination. It explores the candidate’s command of the subject and their reasoning about a piece of research.

The team should agree the disciplinary context, intended use and behaviours before using the assessment. The configuration can be adapted to the work; it is not a claim that one exercise establishes suitability for every academic role.

The candidate experience

The candidate submits a research paper setting out the question, its relationship to the literature, the methodology and the findings. The submission provides the basis for the simulated viva.

The candidate explains methodological choices, substantiates claims and responds to critical questions about the work. Discussion includes limitations, alternative interpretations and what further research could address, as described in the specialist brochure.

What reviewers can learn

Review the submitted work alongside the candidate’s defence. The shared assessment approach considers whether predefined behaviours appear in the responses and explains the findings using the relevant evidence. The recruiter can define the behaviours with assistance from Decision Agent.

For this workflow, useful evidence may concern how a candidate justifies a method, recognises a limitation or connects a conclusion to the results. Human subject expertise remains necessary. Confidence of delivery alone does not establish that the underlying claim is sound.

Worked example: an alternative explanation

Illustrative example: a paper reports an association between two measures. A question can ask what other explanation could produce the finding and what additional study would help distinguish the possibilities.

A reviewer can examine whether the candidate understands the limitation and proposes a relevant next step. This is an example of an assessment design, not a real participant’s result or a promise of one fixed marking framework.

Limitations and human review

A simulated viva samples discussion about submitted work. The exercise alone does not establish authorship or academic integrity, and it does not replace disciplinary peer review. A behaviour finding in one response is not a validated prediction of broader research performance.

The configuration is available today. Discuss its practical requirements and intended evidence through the specialist brochure page. Candidates can email for technical help; the recruiter decides any assessment exception.

Explore the Academia assessment workflow and how to interpret assessment evidence.