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writing your thesis
in the Sciences
Ronald Grau
Department of Informatics
March 2015
agenda
The significance of the thesis to your PhD
The overall process of writing-up and handing in
Tips on how to structure and compose your thesis effectively
Advice on style, writing about software, and the use of figures and tables
Useful techniques to help you starting to write and maintaining progress
Practical tips from experience
Copyright issues
Some of the formalities to keep in mind
a quick reminder – what is this all about?
Merriam-Webster encyclopaedia on „thesis“:
“A dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating
a specific view; especially: one written by a candidate for an academic degree.”
“A position or proposition that a person (as a candidate for scholastic honors)
advances and offers to maintain by argument.”
The thesis is the documentation of your PhD research endeavour
in general, and your work and achievements in particular.
It is the basis of examination and required for obtaining your
academic degree.
composing your thesis – a journey
A substantial piece of writing
Requires time and motivation to put together
Writing is creative work: Cannot be laid out entirely in advance
Don’t Panic!
Can be made a feasible task by splitting into manageable chunks
Progress is usually increasing towards the end
Making and sticking to plans helps
Being organised helps, too
Your supervisor will guide you along the way
planning and organisation
Make a plan with milestones and concrete deadlines.
http://ithinkwell.com.au/PhDToolkit/index.html
Esp. useful: Overall outline, chapter tasks, weekly and daily to-do lists
Organise references, notes, summaries, and other materials.
Use software like Endnote, Zotero, Evernote, etc.
Explore the suitability of different working environments for writing.
Library, Lab, Bed, Kitchen, Pub, … ?
Make a writing times schedule and stick to it.
Get any required tools, software, and a reliable file backup regime in place.
Meet with your supervisor on a regular basis to discuss progress.
writing – your audience
Question: Who are your readers?
writing – your audience
Your readers:
Supervisor
Thesis Committee
Examiners
The scientific community in general
writing – your audience
Your supervisor
Encourages and guides you along the way to make sure you’re not going off-track in your
research. Cannot make your argument for you but point out possibly fruitful directions to
explore. Will tell you whether what you have written is convincing but may be less
critical towards your research than other people in the scientific community.
The people on your thesis committee
They read your annual reports, sometimes also selected chapters of the thesis.
They can be an invaluable source of constructive criticism.
Your examiners:
One internal and one external
They will read your work in time slices – keep this in mind when writing.
What are they looking for in your thesis?
writing – your audience
Examiners’ expectations (1 of 2)
Knowledge of the field and the literature
Reviewed literature must be understood, and relevant to your work.
Critical appraisal rather than descriptive “I know all about topic x”-style
The reviewed literature should be relevant for your own methodology
Methodology
Appropriate for collecting data / addressing the research question
Bias / Justification
Allows for a suitable and consistent analysis
Adapted and condensed from Steve Easterbrook: “How Theses get Written: Some Cool Tips”
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswriting.pdf
writing – your audience
Examiners’ expectations (2 of 2)
Results
Is the presentation of results clear?
Do the results relate to the hypotheses / research questions asked?
Are the results reproducible / do they fit the analysis?
Does the software work? (if you created any)
Discussion and Conclusions
Is there a discussion of achievements as well as limitations of the work?
Have the main points to emerge from the results been picked up for discussion?
Is there evidence of attempts at theory building or reconceptualisation of problems?
Has it been made clear how the thesis extends any previous work?
Adapted and condensed from Steve Easterbrook: “How Theses get Written: Some Cool Tips”
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswriting.pdf
writing – how to start?
“Layered Writing” technique
Produces a structured outline of your thesis content
1. Find some main chapter headings.
2. Write bullet points and/or sentences to indicate the contents of each section.
3. Categorise and order the above to find sub-headings for every chapter.
4. Write a short introductory paragraph for every section.
5. Make notes on how you want to develop each section.
6. Go back to 1 or 2 and repeat, as necessary.
Refinement and revision of structure is an ongoing process.
Adapted from R. Murray: “How To Write a Thesis”,
2nd ed., Open University Press, 2007, p125.
writing – create an outline
Question: What are chapters that are commonly found in a thesis?
writing – create an outline
Example chapters:
Introduction
Background/Literature Review/Related Work
Approach/Method/Theory/Synthesis
Experiment/Data/Case Study/Materials/Subjects
About your software
Analysis/Findings/Evaluation/Results
Interpretation/Discussion
Conclusions/Implications/Recommendations/Outlook/Future Work
Adapted from R. Murray: “How To Write a Thesis”,
2nd ed., Open University Press, 2007, p123.
writing – start developing your sections
Example chapter: Literature Review
Ask yourself:
Why do you write about related work?
How can you write about related work?
writing – start developing your sections
Example chapter: Literature Review - Objectives
Establish an understanding of the state of the art.
Select work that is relevant for your research.
Evaluate this other work in the context of your own research.
Link your work to the existing literature.
Show the reader where your own ideas originate.
Justify why you omitted certain work.
Identify gaps that would allow you to make a contribution to the field.
Inform and justify the synthesis of your own theoretical contribution or
specific methodology with an analysis and critique of related work.
writing – start developing your sections
Example: Literature Review – Try to find phrases to answer these questions:
Whose work is this? What is the argument made here?
Why is this work relevant for my research problem?
Which part of my research does this work relate to?
Are there specifically defined terms that are important for my research?
How does the subject or method compare to my own?
Has someone else found a better way of doing x?
What in this work can be adapted to be of use for my own research?
Is there anything missing in this approach that I would provide or develop?
Adapted from R. Murray: “How To Write a Thesis”,
2nd ed., Open University Press, 2007,p114,115.
other writing techniques
Free-Writing and Generative Writing
Write for 5 minutes
Without stopping or correcting mistakes
In full sentences
Informal - no particular structure needed
No external reader (FW) / optional external reader (GW)
About anything (FW) / About a specific topic (GW)
Adapted from R. Murray: “How To Write a Thesis”,
2nd ed., Open University Press, 2007, p88,99.
other writing techniques
Task: Try 5 minutes of free or generative writing about your research
Topic suggestions
About your research question / main hypothesis.
Why is your research original?
What are the main schools of thought in your research area?
About an interesting paper you have read recently.
Why are you finding it difficult to write?
other writing techniques
Summary: Free-Writing and Generative Writing
A good warm-up for writing, gets you into the habit
Develop fluency without correcting too early
Discover and interrelate topics through writing
Frees your thinking & allows articulating problems you may have
May help you change your behaviour towards becoming a serial writer
Usefulness of either technique may vary depending on the task & your preferences
Adapted from R. Murray: “How To Write a Thesis”,
2nd ed., Open University Press, 2007, p94.
writing – tips on style
In your formal writing, communicate effectively with your audience.
Communication = translation of ideas into messages that your readers can understand.
Try to be precise, clear, and concise – especially if your subject is complex.
Avoid repetition of content within the same section.
When writing about your own work, decide whether to use the active or the passive
voice and then stick to it.
Make sure you actually build and support your overall argument.
Your writing should transform existing knowledge, not just restate it.
writing – more tips on style
Frequent signposting and summarising makes your thesis readable.
In the introduction
At the beginning of each chapter
In between larger sections
At the end of each chapter
writing – avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism can spoil your entire effort – be careful
It is important to make clear when you used somebody else’s ideas
(Not for common knowledge)
Plagiarism is often unintentional: Be disciplined when creating notes or
summaries for your literature review. Mark any phrases and sentences that
are not your own.
Check your manuscript before submission
TurnItIn (via Study Direct)
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/tldu/ideas/assessment/turn/use
figures and tables
How to make good use of figures and tables in your thesis
Summarising (usually larger) bodies of information
Structuring information according to certain criteria
Explaining a complex concept or idea
Illustrating relationships between concepts or ideas
When using diagrams, pick those types that represent the information effectively
for your task or objective (e.g., to make some data comparable in a diagram).
Do not leave figures or tables to stand uncommented. This will attract criticism.
Use figures and tables effectively by utilizing them in your writing:
Reference them to support an argument, highlight facts, explain relations, etc.
figures and tables
Software for creating figures and tables
Your text processing software will usually have good integrated features for the
handling of tables
Use a separate, specialised program to prepare figures – e.g., Adobe Photoshop, MS
Visio or PowerPoint, Open Office Draw, etc.
Keep copies in formats that retain individual objects / layers should you have to make
changes later (e.g.: PSD, PPT, ODG)
Save figures in appropriate file formats (e.g.: PNG, JPG - depending on content) before
importing them into your manuscript
Printing quality: Make figures in a sufficiently large resolution (~300dpi), disable
picture compression in your text processing software, if applicable.
writing about your software
Tell the reader what the purpose of your software is early on in your thesis.
Tell them again in more detail before referring to any technicalities.
It is ok to use screen shots of your software as figures to illustrate parts of your
method/approach before you explain everything else about it in a later chapter.
Link the software development to your research by justifying your design decisions.
Routine technical/implementation details are usually not written about in a thesis.
If you want to look for inspiration: Find journal articles about software applications
and compare how the authors presented theirs.
Apart from the writing: Make sure it actually works.
(You may have to give a demo in your viva)
Thanks go to Prof. Peter Cheng for his
constructive input on this matter.
finalising
Knowing when to stop
When “sufficient” work has been done – consult with your supervisor
When there’s little left to improve on the big scale – don’t get caught up in details
Double-check your references
Double-check formatting
Proofreading
Your readers expect proper use of language
Don’t rely solely on your supervisor for this: Your friends and colleagues may be
willing to read some parts of your thesis and provide feedback, too
If uncertain about your language proficiency, consider using a professional
proofreading service
tips for survival
How to maintain your motivation to complete
Try to stick to your overall plan but don’t panic if you fall behind somewhat - the
amount of progress you make will often vary
As you progress, try to work out and refine concrete tasks for every chapter
If you feel overwhelmed by a task, try to break it down into parts
Reward yourself for parts completed: Try to take breaks without feeling guilty.
Have a change of activity from time to time: Do the dishes, go for a walk, or get
some exercise. Do make sure you go back to work afterwards, though.
more tips for survival
Procrastination
Mental + physical state that can be destructive to your progress
Symptoms: Occupying oneself with easy or repetitive activities (either related or
unrelated to the thesis), instead of working on planned or more important issues,
hiding from supervisor, feeling guilty for not progressing
How to deal with it
Try to find out why you are procrastinating:
Low spirit / motivation? Overwhelmed by a task? Unable to make a decision? Lack of
knowledge or ideas? Tiredness?
Take action (see also the previous slides) to attack the problem without further delay.
Resist the temptation to let yourself be distracted. You must break the vicious cycle!
Putting on music may be useful, as this helps some people focus, and prevents them
from engaging with more distracting things (videos, news websites, games, etc.)
more tips for survival
Writer’s block
You’re not procrastinating but still don’t know what to write / how to proceed
You may have over-structured your content without actually producing much text
You may need to get new ideas or a new perspective on things
How to deal with it
Try free-writing and/or generative writing to kick-start a creative process
Re-reading some related literature may help you get new insights
Talk to a colleague about the problematic subject in an informal setting
See if you can write after restructuring the current section
more tips for survival
If you really, really can’t
If you’re physically or mentally exhausted, there is little point in trying to soldier
on – you are unlikely to achieve much when you’re tired.
Do not remain at your desk doing unproductive things.
Take a proper break. Go outside, get some exercise, meet friends, or catch up on
some sleep. You will feel better and more ready to continue work afterwards.
some formalities
2 months before submission
Hand in your “Intention to submit”
Attach the abstract/summary of your thesis
How many copies?
Pre-viva: 3 required in temporary binding for Sussex House
(Supervisor, Internal examiner, External examiner)
Post-viva: Submit final-bound copies after successful viva + completed corrections (if any)
Note there are differences between the schools on how many you need to submit bound
and/or electronically – check your school’s handbook
Don’t forget to get one bound for yourself
some formalities
Find all details and more useful advice here:
University Handbook and Regulations for Doctoral Researchers
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/codesandhandbooks
Engineering and Informatics Research Student Handbook http://www.sussex.ac.uk/ei/internal/documents/enginf-handbook-for-research-students.pdf
Life Sciences Research Student Handbook https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=pgr-handbook-2014-
15.pdf&site=7
Mathematical & Physical Sciences Handbook for Research Students https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=mps-handbook-for-research-
students-2014.pdf&site=22
Brighton & Sussex Medical School Student Handbook https://studentcentral.brighton.ac.uk/
further information
Other workshops offered by the doctoral school http://www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/researcherdev/events/
Rowena Murray: “How to Write a Thesis”, and other related works Search the University Library Catalogue
John Cochrane: “Writing Tips for Ph. D. Students” http://matt.might.net/articles/shell-scripts-for-passive-voice-weasel-words-duplicates/
3 shell scripts to improve your writing http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/phd_paper_writing.pdf
Bundy et al.: “The Researcher’s Bible” http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/bundy/how-tos/resbible.html
There are many more such guides on the Web - feel free to explore but make
sure you spend your time effectively (i.e.: mostly working on your thesis)
Related workshop:
Exploring academic writing
(for science researchers)
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/researcherdev/events/
T: 01273 873366
Related online modules:
Writing your thesis
Writing tips for researchers
Visit the Workshops and Events page to view workshop
recommendations by research stage