1. Washington State University
How to Write a Thesis
Joan Wu
Washington State University

2. Similar personal experiences Presentation by
Thoughts Based Upon
Similar personal experiences
Presentation by
- R. Hotchkiss, formerly CEE, WSU
- M. Flury, CSS, WSU

3. Thesis Goal Acquire Contribute to - knowledge - research experiences
- technical, communication skills
Contribute to
- knowledge base

4. Thesis Final Product
Publications

5. Publication
Refereed journal articles
Archived

6. What is not a Publication?
Book chapter
Conference paper
Project report
Non-archived article

7. Why a Publication? If it is not published, the work has not been done!
Peer review (for quality)
Effective communication

8. Literature Review Know what has been done Know current state-of-the
science
Know what currently is being
done
Know what to be done

9. Literature Review
Avalanche technique
Current Contents
Database search
Recent review articles

10. Literature Review
Be rigorous!
Be persistent!

11. Reading a Paper Read title carefully Read abstract Read objectives
Look at figures
Look at tables
Read summary/conclusions

12. Experimental Section
Keep good notes
Write-up as much as possible right away

13. Paper Format Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgment
References
Appendices

14. Abstract Write it last! Keep it short (1 or 2 paragraphs)
Most important
No references
No equations/figures/tables
No codes

15. Introduction Relevance of work Literature review Objectives
Organization/structure of paper

16. Materials and Methods Be accurate and in adequate detail
Work should be reproducible
No more rationale and discussions

17. Results Wording, tabular, graphic, codes
Report under categories/sub-headings
Results-discussion relation

18. Figures/Tables One per page
Should be stand-alone - Headings need to be explanatory - Clear labels
High-quality graphics
Pencil in figure number and prepare a figures list

19. Figures/Tables
Warning: - Takes a long, long time …
- Careful design

20. Discussion Be objective, concise, and clear
Do not over interpret your data
Do not expect perfect, complete knowledge

21. Conclusions It is more than a summary Results and discussion based
Certainty
Synthesis
Relevance
Recommendations
No “new” statements
No figures/tables/codes

22. Acknowledgment Funding source(s) Data source(s) Professional help
Avoid inadequate generosity

23. References Be accurate Use appropriate references
Use standard format and be consistent

24. Appendix
Unless required or
Necessary and allowed

25. Scientific No’s
Never quote a paper you have not seen—no cross-referencing
Never copy sentence from a paper word by word—you need to rephrase

26. Software Word-processing Scientific plotting Scientific drawings
Spreadsheet
Statistics
Programming

27. Research vs Course Work
Good balance of time
Serving each other
If you aim to learn, the good
grades will come automatically

28. Practice, Practice, Practice
Write a lot
Read a lot
Laboratory reports
Conference papers
Journal articles

29. What You Need Time schedule Discipline Motivation Dedication Exercise
Fun

30. We Work as a Group
Consult with colleagues
Use resources
Help each other
Collaborate

31. At the End
Be better than your advisor!