This document provides information about writing a PhD dissertation, including the structure, research process, feedback, and completion. It discusses key parts like the literature review, original research and contribution, and concluding chapter. The dissertation defends the thesis or original argument developed through research. Supervisors provide feedback on drafts but do not edit the writing. After submitting the final draft, examiners conduct a viva voce exam and determine if the dissertation passes or needs minor/major revisions.
2. The PhD thesis is the most essential component of a doctoral research degree: it is the culmination
of three or four years of full-time labour aimed at creating an original contribution to your field of
study.
With a large word count, the pressure of producing something new, and, of course, the potential of
defending it at a viva once you've finished, your PhD dissertation can appear to be a scary
proposition.
This website will provide you an overview of all you need to know about writing a PhD thesis,
including tips on structure, feedback, and submission.
Getting started on your PhD thesis
The literature review will usually be the first part of your PhD thesis. We've already provided a
comprehensive guide on what a PhD literature review entails, but here's what you should know
about this stage of your research:
The literature review is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of what has
already been written about your research topic - this could include papers, articles, books, statistics,
and more.
Instead of just summarising what other scholars have stated about your topic, you should try to
evaluate and analyse their ideas.
The literature review is frequently the first job of your PhD, and it usually takes the form of the first
section or chapter of your dissertation.
After you've completed your literature review, you'll begin working on the meat of your PhD
dissertation. Of course, you'll go back to the lit review at some point to make sure it's up to date and
includes any new information you've discovered during your research.
Research for a PhD thesis
The fact that your PhD thesis should constitute an original contribution to academic knowledge sets
it different from past university work. Your discipline will have a big influence on the shape this
original contribution takes.
3. Dissertations in the arts and humanities typically entail examining a variety of texts, sources, and
theoretical frameworks.
Surveys and case studies in the social sciences are more likely to be qualitative or quantitative.
Experiments are designed, recorded, and analysed in STEM topics, and the data is used to verify or
disprove a given theory.
Depending on the nature of your research, you may choose to 'write up' your findings as you go, or
wait until the 'writing-up' time, which normally occurs in your third year of study. Whatever way you
choose, take thorough notes on your sources and approaches — it'll make your life a lot easier when
it comes to citing sources in your dissertation later on.
4. Dissertation vs. PhD thesis
Although it is popular to use the phrases 'thesis' and 'dissertation' interchangeably, the two terms
have distinct meanings:
Your argument is your thesis. It's the conclusions you've reached after conducting a literature review
and integrating it with the findings of your own original study.
The written statement of your thesis is your dissertation. This is where you present your findings in a
way that demonstrates and confirms your conclusion in a systematic manner.
Simply put, you submit a dissertation, but the thesis it tries to prove will serve as the foundation for
your PhD.
5.
6. Structure of a PhD thesis
After you've done your initial literature evaluation and original research, you'll move on to the
following phase of your doctoral dissertation, sketching up a plan for your thesis.
The format and content of your thesis will differ depending on your field, although many
dissertations follow this general template:
Introduction — This section explains the project's main goals, why the work is important, and what
the work's original contribution to knowledge is. You can also summarise the next chapters at this
point, providing an overview of the argument you'll construct later.
Literature review — In most cases, the introduction will be followed by a written summary of your
literature review. You'll describe the scholarly context for your project in this section. You'll
acknowledge how previous research has influenced your PhD, but you'll emphasise how unique your
work is.
Chapters — After you've completed introducing your research, you'll start writing the dissertation's
main body. This will summarise your findings and begin to explain the argument you've developed as
a result of them. Some PhDs will also include methodological chapters and/or a re-creation of the
data you've collected. Others will develop your case in phases, citing sources and results as
appropriate.
Conclusion - The dissertation will come to a close with a final chapter that ties together the various
components of your argument and the evidence you've presented. You'll restate the project's
importance (and its all-important original contribution to knowledge). You might also use this time
to acknowledge the possibilities for further research or applications of your results outside of
academia.
Bibliography and appendices — At the end of your thesis, you'll need to include a bibliography with a
complete list of the books, journals, and data you've cited. You may also need to include an
appendix with supplementary material.
7. Putting together your PhD thesis
There's only one thing left to do after you've done your research and decided on your thesis: write it
down. This final stage of a PhD is appropriately referred to as the 'write up period.'
This is when you will complete your final dissertation, which will serve as the foundation for your
viva voce exam. The nature of this endeavour varies from one PhD to the next.
It's possible that you already have a lot of chapter draughts and other materials. As a result, 'writing
up' becomes a process of re-drafting and putting this effort together into a final dissertation. This
method is widespread in Arts and Humanities fields, where PhD students progress through stages of
a project while writing.
You could, on the other hand, have spent the majority of your PhD collecting and analyzing data. If
that's the case, you'll need to 'write up' your results and conclusions to create your final dissertation.
This method is more popular in STEM fields, where experiment design and data gathering are more
time consuming.
Whatever method you use, you'll now have a persuasive and coherent statement of your case that's
ready for scrutiny.
feedback on a PhD thesis
Before you submit your dissertation for examination, your supervisor will normally provide you input
on each chapter draught and then on the overall final dissertation draught. When the thesis is still a
work-in-progress, their remarks will be an opportunity for them to ensure that your research is on
track and for you to seek their assistance on any issues you have. In most cases, this feedback will
come in the form of a supervisory meeting.
Although your PhD supervisor will gladly offer you guidance on your work, you should not expect
them to act as an editor; it is not their obligation to repair grammatical or spelling errors, and you
should ensure that any draughts you submit to them are error-free. Likewise, they will not be willing
to modify your work to match a specific word count.
8. completing your doctoral dissertation
You'll submit your PhD thesis for examination once the final draught has been completed and
authorized by your supervisor. It will be sent to the examiners who will conduct your viva at this
point.
Printing enough copies for your examiners and the university's repository is part of submitting your
thesis. Don't put it off till the last minute – printing multiple copies of a 300-page document is a
significant task, and you should always give enough time to account for any potential printing
difficulties or issues.
Within three months of submitting your thesis, you will have your viva. More information about the
PhD viva can be found in our dedicated guide. Your examiners will provide you a report following
your viva that will confirm whether or not you need to make any revisions to your thesis, with
numerous possible outcomes:
Pass – Congratulations, you've earned your doctorate!
Minor corrections - These are usually minor changes, modifications, and enhancements to your
thesis that you'll have three months to complete.
Major revisions — With a six-month deadline, you may need to rewrite a portion of your dissertation
or conduct more research to make these significant changes.
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