Writing a Thesis - University of Nevada,...

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Writing a Thesis:or how I learned to Iove cleaning the house, go shopping, do yard

work, walk the cat, and find other ways to procrastinate

Paul VerburgBased on presentation developed by Toby Walsh, University College Cork & Uppsala University

The Good News

• You only have to write ONE thesis– Except if you are a glutton for

punishment and do a MS and a PhD

– Except you French and Germans who have to do a habilitation

• At the end, you can add “MS” or “PhD” behind your name– Good for upgrades on planes (not

really)

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The Bad News

• Writing a thesis is hard, painful work– You’ve already done the fun

part (the research)

• Some people never manage to write one– 99% perspiration– 1% inspiration?

• It’s unlike any other document– Thesis writing is not a

marketable skill

Why write a thesis?

• You all have to suffer like we did!

• In the process, you will learn– How to research

– How to write

• You get to add “MS” or “PhD” to your name– Your family will be most impressed

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Why write a thesis?

• It will make you famous

– Unlikely

• It will advance our knowledge– Just a little

• It will be read by others– Your advisor

– Your thesis committee (or not)

What a thesis isn’t?

• What I did in the lab over the last years– I first read the background

material– I then implemented an

algorithm– I ran some experiments – …

• A thesis is a logical reconstruction of your research– Not a historical narrative

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What a thesis isn’t?

• A brain dump of everything you’ve done– You get to leave out the

dead‐ends

– But you have to fill in any obvious gaps!

• A thesis is a logicalreconstruction– With a single coherent

message

What is a thesis?

• Demonstration of an understanding of the state of the art

– Critical appreciation of existing work

• A novel contribution

– Evaluated systematically

Early Chemists describe the first DIRT MOLECULE

(The Far Side by Gary Larson)

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What is a thesis?

• Opens a new area of research

• Provides unifying framework

• Resolves long‐standing question

• Thoroughly explores area

• Contradicts existing knowledge

• Experimentally validates theory

• Provides empirical data

• Derives superior algorithms

• Develops new methodology

Read some theses

• Good way to get a feel for the beast

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Ok, when do I start?

• When do I actually start writing my thesis?

– After you are done with all your experiments?

Ok, when do I start?

• When do I actually start writing my thesis?

– After you are done with all your experiments?

– No, the day you start your degree

– Write it all down!

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So, how do I start?

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So, how do I start?

• Write a thesis message– 1 sentence

So, how do I start?


– 1 paragraph

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So, how do I start?


– 1 paragraph

– 1 page

• Everything you write should be directed at this– Thesis (noun).

1. A proposition maintained by argument

2. A dissertation advancing original research

Thesis message

• You’re tackling an important research problem

• You’ve made an original contribution to its resolution

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What next?

• So, I’ve got a good thesis message

• What do I do next?

What next?



– Write the table of contents

– Logical structure of your thesis

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Table of Contents

1. Abstract

2. General IntroductionThesis message

3. BackgroundContext, definitions, notation

4. Problem statement/hypothesis

5. Chapter 1

6. Chapter 2

7. Chapter 3

8. General Conclusions/Recommendations

Nested hourglass model

• The whole thesis

• Each section, subsection

• Most paragraphs

• Broad focus at beginning, end; specifics/narrow focus in middle

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Organization of the thesis

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Background/Lit. review

• Problem statement/research question

• Methods

• Data presentation

• Interpretation

• Discussion

• Conclusions

• References

What next?


• And a table of contents


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What next?


• And a table of contents


– Make a timetable• Targets to meet

• Light at the end of the tunnel

Timetable

• How long will it take?

• Depends on many factors– How much you’ve written as papers

– …

• Heavy‐tailed distribution– Min = 2 months (very rare)

– Max = infinity

– Mean = infinity

– Median = 6‐9 months

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Timetable

• “Your thesis is your baby” P. Prosser– Give it 9 months

• Write it up

• Fill in gaps, expts …

• “You have to know when to let it go”– Put a fence around what you’ve done

What next?


• And a table of contents and timetable


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What next?


• And a table of contents and timetable


– Prepare your committee

Thesis committee

• Who should be on your committee?– Ideally you and your

supervisor will come to a mutual decision

• Important, well‐known researchers– People notice if your

committee was “tough”– You’ll get good feedback– They may employ you– They may recommend you to

others

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Thesis committee

• Why decide your committee before you start writing?– They can help you (what a concept!)

– They’re busy people• Even busy people have open dates in their diaries a year ahead

• They’ll still manage to schedule other events on the day of your defense

What next?


• And a table of contents, timetable and committee


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What next?


• And a table of contents, timetable and committee


– Work to your timetable!

Writing each chapter

• Some people say don’t start with the Introduction or Conclusion

• Starting with an Introduction can help you focus; should have been written as part of the proposal

• Start where you feel happiest– Typically a middle chapter

– Write outwards

– Finally Conclusions and revisit the Introduction

– (and don’t forget the abstract)

• Write everything with your thesis message in mind

• Something on paper is better than nothing

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• Get feedback before you write too much– One person to read each chapter as it is written

– Another person to read thesis in order

• Lay some good groundwork– LaTeX macros

– Bib file

– Indexing

– …


• You’ll discover holes in your research– Parameters you didn’t measure

– Experiments you didn’t run

• Mix writing with research

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How long should thesis be?

• As long as necessary– Check on rules for min/max length

– Don’t include unnecessary stuff to lengthen it

– Don’t omit critical information to shorten it

• Nash’s PhD thesis– 27 pages long

– Won him a Nobel prize

Common mistakes

• Informal text– Committee members will jump on imprecision

• Opinions“.. I don’t believe climate change is caused by humans ..”

– A thesis is an argument!

“.. Humans may not be the main cause of climate change because……..”

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Common problems

• It’s never possible to cover all issues

– So you will ever finish?

Common problems

• It’s never possible to cover all issues

– So you will ever finish?

– It’s sometimes enough to identify the issues that were not covered

– Examiners greatly appreciate you identifying limitations (it is better to point out your own shortcomings rather than have somebody else point them out for you)

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Common problems

• Ideas become obvious to you

– You stop writing to a sufficient level of detail

– Especially hurts the opening chapters as they are often written last

Common problems

• At some point, your brain will surely become toast– Take a break

– Eat properly, exercise, sleep …

• Toasted brain is only temporary– Just look at me?

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What to expect from your advisor?

• Your not in this on your own

• Your supervisor is on your side

– Your success is their success

What to expect from your advisor?

• Intellectual support– Quality assurance

– What standard a thesis should reach

– Indication of when to stop

• Emotional support– Encouragement

– Constructive atmosphere

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What not to expect from your advisor?

• Smiles– If draft chapters contain simple

spelling mistakes and typos

• Mind‐reading skills– Motivation dipping

– Absence = illness

Defending your thesis

• Logistics

– Public/Private?

– How long should the talk be?

– Give committee enough time to read before defense

– Allow enough time to make corrections (needing to have the thesis in at a certain time is not a good reason to pass!)

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• Don’t panic– You’re probably the world’s expert on this topic by now!

• Your examiners are human– They’ve sat in your seat

– They will help you find what changes (if any) are needed to make this the required quality


• Practice, Practice, Practice– Give the talk to a friendly but critical audience

– Prepare your opening statement (most nerve‐wracking moment)

• Enjoy it– You have the world’s experts in the room

– They want to talk about your work

– How often will that happen in the future?

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What are examiners looking for?

• Review of literature

– Is the literature relevant?

– Is it comprehensive?

– Does it summarize the essential aspects?

– Does it link to the methodology in the thesis?

– Does it lead to a clear hypothesis?

• Methodology

– Is the methodology justified?

– Is the data collected appropriately?

– Are the limitations identified?

What are examiners looking for?

• Presentation of results– Are the results shown to support the hypothesis?

– Is the data properly analyzed?

– Are the results presented clearly?

– Are patterns identified and summarized?

• Discussion and Conclusions– Have the hypotheses in fact been tested?

– Are the main points to emerge identified?

– Are the limits of the research identified?

– Are links made to the literature?

– Are the speculations well grounded?

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It’s all over

• You’ve finished writing & defending your thesis

• What do you do next?

It’s all over



– Turn it into a book

– Publish some journal articles around it

– Make copies for your parents, …

– Make a copy for yourself My thesis

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It’s all over



– Just think, you’ll never have to do it again!

It’s all over



– Just think, you’ll never have to do it again!• Unless you continue to do a PhD

• Unless you’re French or German

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Good Luck!

Writing a Thesis - University of Nevada,...

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