PhD Thesis

Obtaining your PhD is one of the most challenging aspects of any academic career, and it is capped off with one of the most intensive research and writing projects of all—your PhD thesis. This guide explains what it is and answers questions like how should I approach my PhD thesis and how should I write it?

What is a PhD thesis?

In first defining a PhD thesis, it is generally defined as a comprehensive compendium of original research. In terms of time, effort, and resources, a PhD thesis is likened to the size and scope of three or four graduate dissertations rolled into one extensive and detailed report. It is intended to add significant insights or findings into a particular topic in order to provide some benefit that can be used by others whether it is new knowledge, new perspectives, or potential new solutions to an existing problem. No pressure at all, right?! A PhD functions like an academic's “masterpiece” - it is their initiation into the world of academia, from the world of the student. PhD's are usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words in length, and are often published subsequently as books – so if you're looking for an academic career, you're basically writing your first book.

How should I approach my PhD thesis?

PhD's are a major life-commitment, and many students think twice, change their topic, or drop out. Successful PhD candidates are usually those who have taken on a project they can handle, and towards which they are strongly motivated. If you are preparing for an academic career, the PhD normally determines your later field of research and specialism (though later changes are sometimes possible). It is therefore important to find an area which you care enough about to spend your life researching or working on. Factors in the “fit” between candidate and thesis include thinking and learning styles, the fit between personality and methodology, choosing an area which can inspire ongoing interest, and finding an institution and supervisor with whom one works well. Other factors in finishing a PhD include choosing a project which is manageable in scale, research methods which are within one's means, and a project for which a suitable supervisor is available.

With so much riding on the results of a PhD thesis, it is important to have the right approach before getting started and a roadmap of where you are going so you stay on course in terms of the objectives and, just as importantly, the expected timeline that you previously delivered to your thesis committee. Try not to think of the entire task at hand or you will get overwhelmed. Take each step in the plan outlined below and celebrate the accomplishment of ticking off every item as you go.

If you are now looking at approaching your PhD thesis, it means you have already produced a PhD proposal. This is your framework for moving ahead with your proposal. It means that your advisor or tutor as well as your thesis committee gave their stamp of approval, so each section of the proposal is now the outline for your PhD thesis. That means you can take your proposal and use that as the start of a new document as it will have a similar structure. That means it has a:

• Summary Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction with background, aims, and objectives
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Conclusions

Then, you will also add other segments, such as:

• List of Tables and Figures
• Findings
• Recommendations
• Appendices with various documents related to your research like survey forms, interview questions, letter of consent, tables, pictures and anything that helps but may be too large to include in the main body of the report

Also, be sure to review the university’s guidelines for format and structure to make sure you have placeholders for every element that will be included your PhD thesis.

The first year of PhD research is normally spent familiarising yourself with the literature and writing the literature review chapter. The last year is usually spent writing up the results.

How should I write my PhD thesis?

The tack you take with wring your PhD thesis is very much like the one you took with your proposal:

Thesis Outline: Create several pages with chapter headings, sub-headings, and figure or table titles. Then write a paragraph or two under each to describe what you will include there. This helps remind you what you need to focus on there, which keeps you organised and on task. PhD's are normally divided up into chapters, and students will write one chapter at a time (leave the introduction and conclusion until the end, and don't necessarily write the chapters in the order they'll be presented). Try to break down the topic into a logical structure which provides the headings of the chapters, then break each chapter down into manageable subsections. Keep adding subsections as new material emerges. The structure varies with different types of projects: you might find you need to write several literature review chapters if using different literatures, divide your empirical research into different groups of subtopics, arrange research outcomes by themes, or simply separate your method, results and interpretation into three different chapters. For ideas on how to divide it up, look at previous PhD's or books on similar topics.

Filing System: Keep notes of your research on your computer by topic. These can relate to theoretical context or each research aim or hypothesis included in your PhD thesis. This will help you put certain research in specific places to keep track of it and shape your ideas as you write. You can do this as you read and research. Of course, you can do this the old school way and make note cards, but a computer filing system keeps you from writing it twice (it’s already on the computer for you to cut and paste into various sections of your PhD thesis rather than handwriting and then typing!).

Keep a Timetable: Don’t lose track of time. Even if you have three or four years to complete, time flies, especially if you are working or doing other things while working on your PhD thesis. NOTE – full-time PhD's are usually 3-4 years, often longer if revision time is counted. Students with work or other commitments should be registered as part-time, meaning they have 6-8 years. It’s easy to say, “I’ll start on it tomorrow.” Suddenly, months have passed or your next advisor meeting or committee review is here and you have accomplished nothing. Stick to your timetable.

Work on it Everyday: Divide the immense project up into a series of manageable tasks, such as reading particular books or articles, writing-up short sections from your notes, or carrying out a limited part of the empirical research. Do a little every day and you will find it that you will accomplish your timetable tasks more quickly than you anticipated. This will also help in case you hit any roadblocks and have to change your research path.

Reflect, Revise, and Redraft: Keep making changes and get help from others to help make each draft better, clearer, and more detailed. This will help as you reach the end of your writing with fewer revisions later as you get close to presenting your PhD thesis.

Our PhD experts can help you write your PhD thesis: