The last scramble - Submitting that thesis

The Last Scramble - Submitting that Thesis

Revised 2002

Ben Searle Ph.D

My Ph.D. Thesis

	Field:		Organisational Psychology
	Approach:		Scientific research thesis
	Timescale:		Began March 1997, submitted December 2000, revisions June 2001
	Document:		Thesis about 300 pages long, not including 100 pages of appendicies
	Processing:		Written using Microsoft Word
	Notes:		Situational factors play important role

Things I did that were Good

Prepared and tried to follow a timetable (don't get it right, get it written)
Had a firm final deadline, with reward (focus on meaningful goal / incentive)
Tried to keep myself reasonably healthy (one of the keys to stress management)

Things I was Right Not to Do

Try to get each chapter perfect before starting the next.
Wait until I was 100% happy with every aspect of the thesis before submitting.
Try to do everything myself.

Things I did that were Bad

Spent too much time writing papers before I began the thesis
Re-analysed data again and again
Became distracted by peripheral tasks during chapter writing (esp. formatting)

Things I was Wrong Not to Do

Before I began

Plan carefully what material would be in each of the first two chapters
Fully plan my formatting strategy
Read carefully the relevant style material

After I had finished

Read carefully through the final draft of the thesis from beginning to end

Getting Started on the Thesis

Summarise Answers to the Following:

What were you trying to find out?
What was original about the way you did it?
What were the main things you found?

Map out the Structure of the Thesis

Prepare a timetable to give yourself goals (and, if possible, rewards)
While writing, try to keep in mind what comes before and after each section

Using Microsoft Word

UNSW requirements, templates
http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/ew/thesis/Thesis_word.html
Problems more likely to occur with

Long documents
Reference management software
Multiple text styles
Multiple "sections"
Pictures, charts, objects, or anything else

Back-up everything regularly.

To Paper or not to Paper

I wrote three papers (January to May 2000) before starting my thesis. I received
feedback from one editor while writing the thesis and from another before
making thesis revisions.

Standards for peer-reviewed papers generally higher than Ph.D. theses
Makes writing chapters easier, but slows you down

Remember you need to:

Contact the postgraduate section to let them know you will submit soon
Choose thesis examiners with your supervisor, consider strategies
Give relevant parties time to review the "final" version
Leave time for printing and binding
Look through the pages after printing
Finish with your mind intact