1. Managing Your PhD Part 3: BEING A COMPLETER/FINISHER

2. The PhD Process - Psychological Aspects
Enthusiasm
Isolation
Increased interest in work
Transfer of dependence from supervisor
Boredom
Frustration
A job to be finished
Euphoria
Dr C Wilson 2009

3. The Form of the Thesis Background theory Focal Theory Data Theory
Contribution
Dr C Wilson 2009

4. Having a ‘Thesis’ for the Thesis
The Cocktail Response
Can you explain to someone from a different discipline what you are trying to do using the following phase:
“ I am going to argue that…”

5. The Martini Method Set yourself a target
Reward yourself when you reach it
Have mini martini’s
Dr C Wilson 2009

6. Activity- Your Martini’s
What are your Martini’s?
Spend a couple of minutes and plan out a day on your thesis using the Martini method
Share you ideas with a partner
Dr C Wilson 2009

7. The Concept of Originality
The PhD is awarded for ‘an original contribution to knowledge’
Carrying out empirical work that hasn’t been done before
Making a synthesis that has not been made before
Using already known materials with a new interpretation
Taking a particular technique and applying to a new area
Bringing new evidence to bear on an old issue
Adding to knowledge in a way that’s not been done before
Setting down a major piece of information in writing for the first time
You do something in this country that has only been done else where
You continue an original piece
Dr C Wilson 2009

8. Activity – Consider your Own Originality!
Write for 5 minutes
My work is/will be original in the sense that…
My work is/will not be original in the sense that…
Dr C Wilson 2009

9. The Thesis Structure Introduction (including aims) Literature
Method (data theory including a description of what you have done)
Results (focal theory including what was found)
Discussion (development of focal theory and suggestions for future work)
Conclusions (summary and contribution)
Dr C Wilson 2009

10. Conclusions
Remind reader of the purpose of your thesis – recap your aims/research questions
Neatly summarise the middle bits.
In the context of your findings and the work of others, clearly specify the contribution's) you have made in relation to the research question. You may wish to say something about the limitations of your research but you can also include this in a final section on:
Building on your research – the ‘limitations’ can be dealt with in the context of further research required.
Everything in the conclusions should relate to what has gone before – nothing new in this section!
Dr C Wilson 2009

11. Writing - What can I write in 5 mins!
Write continuously, non stop, in sentences on this question:
What do you think of the idea of writing 1000 in an hour?
Count the number of words you wrote
Dr C Wilson 2009

12. Writing: Getting Going
Establish writing goals
Prompts
When you finish make a note of what you will do next time
Free writing
Write yourself a letter
Tape yourself and transcribe
Write on a scrap of paper
Think of writing as thinking
Dr C Wilson 2009

13. Writing Tips
Allow sufficient time for all stages of the writing process
Read, think, plan write (1st draft), revise….read, think, plan, write (2nd draft)…
Draft early – don’t wait until all the results are in or the night before the document is due
Write don’t edit or correct
Seek specific and detailed feedback
Revise twice, once for content, once for structure and expression
Edit and proof read
Dr C Wilson 2009

14. Start Writing – Keep Writing
Delaying the inevitable can often be seriously detrimental to the written product.
There is universal agreement among those who advise on this subject that it is essential to begin writing early and to continue writing as the research develops’
Paul Boyle (2005:304)
Dr C Wilson 2009

15. Writing Strategies What did I write about last time?
Planning and regular work habits can help to transform writing into perfectly manageable everyday activities.’ (Delamont et al)
Learn to write regularly, in short bursts.
Beginning each writing session by writing for no more than five minutes to a simple ‘prompt’, which might go along the lines of:
What did I write about last time?
What am I going to write about today?
Dr C Wilson 2009

16. Write Daily! You can fix, edit change, reject later on
The process of writing helps your thinking
Regular writing helps you see how the project is progressing
You cannot produce something good in a hurry
You cannot make something better that’s not yet been written
Think of the task in manageable terms
200 quality words a day
1,400 words a week
5,600 words a month
50,000 in 9 months
Dr C Wilson 2009

17. Writing as Thinking
While many ‘argue that writing reflects thinking, [it is arguable that] writing is a form of thinking’ (Boyle 2005:304, original emphasis).
Clark and Ivanic: You think and write at the same time.
Helpful look at writing as ‘a way of pinning thoughts down…so you can go back to [them], refine them, build on them, discard or develop them’.
Dr C Wilson 2009

18. Techniques to Assist the Reader
Forecasting
Summarising
Signalling
Signposting
Dr C Wilson 2009

19. Free writing What is Free writing? Writing for 5 minutes
Without stopping
In sentences
Private writing: no external reader
Topic what you want to write about next
No structure needed
Dr C Wilson 2009

20. Activity
Write for 15 minutes, without stopping on one of the following:
All the questions you currently have about your study
The question ‘what can I write about now’
Why I have nothing to write about…’
One of the prompts from the earlier activity
Dr C Wilson 2009

21. 12 Handy Hints for Writing Up
Never read something without writing a summary
Make sure you keep track of all your references
Write a Table of Contents with headings and sub-headings of how your proposed thesis will look
Write one page summaries of the various sections and pass them to colleagues for feedback
Start anywhere on the thesis
Don’t stop writing until you reach a ‘pick up point’
Set obtainable sub goals
Place tables and diagrams in a logical order
Work on a draft of one chapter, while editing another and preliminary research on another
Form a group of PhD students to work on drafts
Commit yourself to a daily writing routine
Dr C Wilson 2009

22. The last 385 Yards Preparing to let go! Concentrated writing phase
Well being
Peer support
New Goal !
Enough is enough
Dr C Wilson 2009

23. Polishing! Check you are using the University approved format
Crosscheck: Match chapter headings (sub-headings) on the contents page to headings and sub-headings in each chapter.
Turn the grammar checker back on
Check you have consecutive page numbers, for every page, no errors
Do the spell check again
Check the bibliography line by line
Check all reference dates match those in the bibliography
Locate a thesis binding service (how long will the binding take?)
Show the final draft all together to your supervisor (s)
Dr C Wilson 2009

24. Your Intellectual Property
1: It is difficult for the student to prove that the ideas were hers/his in the first place
Be certain that you are clear yourself, in the context of your written work, about what are your own ideas and which are the ideas of others
Make sure that you name and date all your work - attach a ‘header’ section to everything you share with anyone.
Dr C Wilson 2009

25. Your Intellectual Property
2. Value your work and protect it
If you are sharing work with others as part of a discussion group (either face-to-face or on-line), or if you leave your work out on your desk and others see it, there will be no question about who it belongs to and when it was written.
At conferences, if the formal presentation of your work is accompanied by handouts, ensure that your name is on each of these. Make a note of what you presented where, and what the date was on each occasion
Dr C Wilson 2009

26. Your Intellectual Property
3: Don’t give away your ideas voluntarily
One reason why students’ work may be plagiarised by others is because the student herself, has given the perpetrator permission to use it. Don’t loan out work which the borrower may then submits, presents, or publish in their own name, without giving due credit to you
If someone asks for a copy of your unpublished written work, or seeks to use it for any purpose think very carefully before you say ‘yes’. Ask the borrower what s/he intends to use it for, whether s/he plan to give due credit to you, and when it will be returned to you.
Dr C Wilson 2009

27. Your Intellectual Property
Requests: very occasionally, faculty might seek permission to use a student’s work. If this happens to you it is perfectly reasonable to seek further information about why your work is wanted, and how much will be used.
Supervision: If you are working closely with your supervisor (s), be clear about what is your work and what is shared. This is important in terms of gaining your PhD as well as with regard to future publications
Dr C Wilson 2009

28. References
How to Get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors Estelle Phillips, Derek S. Pugh (2005) Open University Press How to Write a Thesis Rowena Murray (2002) Open University Press .
Dr C Wilson 2009