A PhD research thesis is a work of original research that all students will have to present for the completion of their doctoral studies. It provides a summary of the work you did in your PhD and shows the work you did, the results, and conclusions you achieved. It is the product of three- or four years full-time studies.
A thesis can seem like a huge undertaking, with the significant word count, the need to be creative, and the requirement to present them at a viva voce (oral examination). This PhD research thesis Guidance looks at what you need to consider when writing your doctoral thesis as well as offering some tips on how to structure your thesis, give feedback to it, submit, and other important points. It’s possible to make it there with concentration and persistence.
Table of Content
• PhD Thesis Structure
• Writing Up Your PhD Thesis
• Completing Your PhD Thesis
• Frequently Asked Questions
Beginning your PhD thesis Guidance
Typically, the literature review will be your first task in writing a PhD thesis. We’ve already written an extensive guide to what but here’s what you need to know about this part of your PhD:
• The literature review is a chance for you to display your knowledge and understanding of what’s already been written about your research area – this could consist of papers, articles, books, data and more
• Instead of just summarizing the words of other scholars about your subject, try to evaluate and analyze the arguments.
• Typically, the literature review will be the first part or chapter of your PhD – and it’s usually the first task you do during your PhD.
Once you have completed your literature review, you will then proceed to the main part of your doctoral thesis. Of course, you’ll eventually return to the lit review to make sure it’s up-to-date and contains any additional material you may have come across during your research.
PhD thesis research
The key difference between your PhD thesis and other academic work you’ve produced in the past is that it should be a true contribution to academic knowledge. The form that this original contribution takes will largely depend on your discipline.
• Arts and Humanities dissertations typically look at various texts, sources and theoretical approaches.
• Social Sciences are more likely to be concerned with qualitative or quantitative surveys or case studies.
• The STEM subjects are characterized by designing, recording, and analyzing experiments, then using the data to prove or disprove a set theory.
• The writing up of your research can be done either as you go along – or at a special ‘writing up’ time, which is typically in the third year of your PhD. Whatever you do, it’s important to have thorough notes of your sources and techniques; it will make your life a lot easier when it comes to time for you to use your references in your dissertation later.
PhD thesis vs dissertation
It’s common to use the terms ‘thesis’ and ‘dissertation’ interchangeably, but strictly speaking there is a difference in meaning between them:
• Your argument is your thesis. It is your conclusion that you have reached after reviewing the scholarship that is found in the literature and after performing your original research.
• Your dissertation is the written statement of your thesis. Here is where you present your results in a logical sequence to show and support your conclusion.
In other words, you write a dissertation, but it is the thesis that you try to establish that will be used to build your PhD.
This also implies that writing up your dissertation will typically proceed with the writing of your doctoral thesis (which is rather hard to write up a PhD without knowing what you want to say)!
But it is common for universities and academics to refer to either dissertation (or both) when they are talking about a PhD thesis – in fact both ‘thesis’ and ‘dissertation’ are used on our site.
Can I use my master’s research in my PhD thesis?
For MPhil students, it is very common to ‘upgrade’ an MPhil into a PhD study. Find more information on our guide.
PhD thesis structure
After completing your literature review and some original PhD research, you will need to start planning your thesis and establish a framework it will follow.
While the composition of your doctoral thesis will differ according to your discipline, most doctoral theses have the following outline:
1. Introduction: This sets out the key objectives of your project, why the work is significant, and what its original contribution to knowledge is. You can also summarize the remaining chapters at this stage, providing an abstract of the argument you will build up.
2. Literature review: The introduction will generally lead to a write-up of your literature review. In this section, you will provide a brief background of the scholarly context of your project. You’ll recognize how your research relates to previous work but highlight the distinctiveness of your work.
3. The Chapters: Once you are done with the research introduction, you’ll start with the bulk of the dissertation – chapters. This will sum up your results and start to explain your argument based on your results. A few Ph.D. will also have chapters on methodology and / or a recreation of the data you have developed. Others will take you through various steps to develop your argument, with reference to sources and outcomes as appropriate.
4. Conclusion: Your final chapter will tie together all the points you’ve made in the dissertation and the evidence that you’ve presented. You will restate on the importance of your project (and original contribution to knowledge. This can also be when you recognize that there may be additional research and/or opportunities to use your research in a wider context beyond the academic environment.
5. Bibliography and appendices: You will have to provide a comprehensive list of the books, articles, and data that you have referred to in your thesis at the end of your thesis. It is also possible that you must submit more information in the shape of an appendix.
How long is a PhD thesis?
The minimum pages for a PhD research thesis in India vary from subject to subject, but all are far longer than those for undergraduate or master’s degrees. Typically, the upper limit of your dissertation is between 70,000 and 100,000 words, depending on all the university, and most dissertations fall within the 80,000-word range.
The average length of STEM theses will be slightly longer than those in the Arts, HSS.
Every university (and every department) will have its own guidelines for what will be included in the PhD research thesis word count – check with the University and/or department to be sure. Ask your teacher or supervisor for any references; bibliography or appendices are part of the word limit for your dissertation.
How many chapters should the PhD thesis have?
There’s no hard and fast rule for the numbers of chapters in a PhD research thesis, but most will have four or five chapters (in addition to the introduction and conclusion). You’ll be talking with your teacher for about such things when you’re planning your research to do.
Writing up your PhD thesis
After careful research and determining your thesis, one thing remains to put it on paper. This last stage of a PhD is fittingly called the ‘writing up period’.
It is at this stage that you will create the final dissertation that you will submit as the foundation for your viva voce examination. This type of job can change from PhD to PhD.
At times, you might have a considerable number of drafts of your chapters and other content already. This is why ‘writing up’ is a process of re-drafting and collating this work into a dissertation at the end. It is frequently adopted in Arts and Humanities disciplines where postgraduate students usually go through the phases of a project, producing texts along the way.
Or you have been collecting and analyzing data for most of your PhD. If you do, you will now ‘write-up’ your findings and conclusions with a view to creating your final dissertation. This is more popular in STEM subjects, where the design of experiments and collection of data are far more resource intensive.
In either method, you will now be able to generate a clear, convincing statement of your argument that you will be able to submit for evaluation.
PhD thesis feedback
Usually, your supervisor will provide feedback on every draft of each chapter of the dissertation and then feedback on the completed dissertation draft before you submit it for examination. When the thesis is a work-in-progress, their comments will be a chance for them to make sure your research is going in the right direction and for you to ask their advice on anything you’re concerned about. This feedback will normally be given in the form of a supervisory meeting.
Your PhD research thesis supervisor will be pleased to advise you about your work but should not consider himself or herself to be your editor; he or she is not responsible for editing for grammatical or spelling errors, and you should ensure that any drafts you submit to your supervisor are free of grammatical and spelling errors. Likewise, they will not be able to edit your work to a specific word count.
Completing your PhD thesis
Once you have completed the last copy of your doctoral thesis and it is approved by your supervisor, you will submit your thesis for examination. This is when it’s sent to the examiners who will conduct your viva.
Printing for the examiners and the university repository are part of the thesis submission. Don’t wait until the last printing of multiple copies of the document is a large task, and it’s always a good idea to give yourself time to avoid any printing glitches.
• Now, you are a doctor!
• Minor corrections: these are usually small edits, tweaks and improvements to your thesis, which you’ll be given three months to implement
• Major Corrections: substantial changes may require you to rewrite some section of your dissertation or conduct additional research; 6 months’ time limit
The great majority of PhD students will have to make some corrections to their thesis (not necessarily large ones). It’s very rare for a dissertation to fail.
After any PhD research thesis revisions, your thesis will be submitted again (typically by electronic means).
When you intend to publish, either part or all, of your work, there is a possibility that you could ask for an embargo period so that it remains hidden from the public for a specific period of time. 12 months is a fairly standard time period for this, although you may want to ask for a longer embargo if you know that you want to turn your thesis into a book or monograph.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PhD Thesis Guidance?
The academic guidance, which is provided to assist scholars in their designing, drafting and completing of the doctoral thesis, is referred to as PhD research thesis guidance.
How to obtain the PhD advice?
The guidance for the PhD can be obtained from your professorial experts, selecting the right supervisor, and enrolling in any research workshops and seminars.
Is there anyone who can assist me with my PhD thesis?
Academic guidance is primarily from your PhD supervisor, faculty members, research mentors, and subject experts.
How much should I interact with my PhD Supervisor?
Progress which in research is kept up, and feedback which is given in a timely fashion through the regular meetings, usually once or every two to four weeks a year.
What happens after submit a PhD thesis?
On submission, the thesis is evaluate by the examiners, then a viva voce (oral examination) is held, and minor or major corrections can made as appropriate before the award of the degree.
