How to write a thesis

Getting Started
When you are about to begin, writing a thesis seems to be a long and difficult task. This is because it is a long and arduous task. Fortunately, this seems less daunting once you have one or two chapters done. Towards the end, you will find your own benefit --- an exercise based on the satisfaction in the achievement, the pleasure in improving your writing techniques, and of course the approach of the end. Like many tasks, thesis writing seems to be generally worse before we start, so let us look at how you should make a start.

At A Glance
First make a plan in place thesis: several pages containing chapter headings, subheadings, some titles figure (to indicate that the results where to go) and perhaps some other notes and comments. There is a section on chapter thesis structure of order and at the end of this text. Once you have a list of chapters and, within each chapter heading, a reasonably complete list of things to be reported or explained, you have struck a blow against the blocking of the writer. When you sit down to type, your goal is no longer a thesis --- --- daunting goal, but something much simpler. Your new aim is just to write a paragraph or a section on one of your lines. It helps to start with an easy one: you into the habit of writing, and gives you self-confidence. Often, the Materials and Methods section is the easiest to write --- just write what you did; carefully, officially and in a logical order.

How do you make an outline of a chapter? For most of them, you can try the method that I use for writing papers, and that I learned from my thesis adviser (Stjepan Marcelja): Collect all the figures you will be using in the - and put them in the order that you would use if you were going to explain to somebody what they all meant. You can repeat explain it to someone else after all --- you will probably give several talks on the basis of your thesis work. Once you have found a more logical order, noting keywords in your explanation. These keywords provide a skeleton for most of your chapter outline.

Once you have a plan, talk to your adviser. This step is important, he / she will have some useful suggestions, but it will also serve as a notice that it can expect a steady stream of chapter projects that will be of high priority to the requirements of his time. Once you and your advisor have agreed to a logical structure, he / she will need a copy of the draft reference when reading chapters that you probably inoperable. If you have a co-counsel, to discuss the outline with them also, and all chapters have both advisers for comment.

Organization
It is encouraging and helpful to start a registration system. Open a word processing file for each chapter and one for references. You can put notes in the files, as well as text. While doing something for Chapter No, you think "Oh, I must defer to / speak in the chapter m", and so you put a note to the file for Chapter m. Or you could think of something interesting or relevant to this chapter. If you come to work on the chapter m, most of these notes that you have accumulated, the easier it is to write.

Make a backup of these files and to make every day at least (depending on the reliability of your computer and the age of your hard drive). Do not keep back-up disks near the computer in the event thief who fancies your computer decides that he could use a portion of the disk as well.

A simple way to make a back-up distance is to send it as an attachment to an e-mail message consenting, preferably in a different location. You can also send it to yourself. In both cases, be sure to dispose of outdated versions so you do not waste disk space, especially if you have bitmap images or other large files.

You should also have a physical filing system: a collection of shirts with the chapter on numbers. This will make you feel good in the start-up and also help clean up your desktop. Your files not only plots and results pages of calculations, but all sorts of old notes, references and calibration curves, suppliers addresses, specifications, speculation, letters to colleagues, etc. that suddenly seems relevant to one or more Chapter. Paste them in this case. Then, save all files in a box or a binder. As you write pieces of text, place the paper, the numbers, and so in these cases as well. Touch and feel their thickness, from time to time --- ah, the argument is taking shape.

If your data existed only on paper, copy and keep a copy in a different place. Consider making a copy of your lab book. It has another purpose beyond security: the laboratory generally book stays in the lab, but you may want a copy for your own future. In addition, science ethics require you to keep books and laboratory data of origin for at least ten years, and a copy is more likely to be found if both copies exist.

If you have not already done so, you need to archive your electronic data in an appropriate format. Spreadsheets and word processor files are not suitable for long-term storage. Record keeping by Joseph Slater is a good guide.

Even if you are organized, we must deal with all university paperwork. Reviewers must be identified and they must agree to serve. Various forms are required by your department and the university administration. Make sure the rate limiting step is your production of the thesis, and not a few small bureaucratic problems.
A note on the word processors
A major FAQs for scientists: is it a word processor, preferably one compatible with MS Word, which allows you to type mathematical symbols and equations conveniently? One solution is to LaTeX, which is powerful, elegant, reliable, fast and free or http://www.latex-project.org/ http://www.miktex.org/. As far as I know, the only equation editor for MS Word is slow and clumsy. (If someone knows a way to write the equations in this software without using the mouse, many people, including this author would like to hear from you!) Another solution is to use older versions of commercial software . Word 5.1 allows typing comfortably equations: it is faster in this area to LaTeX, with the added advantage of "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG). (If anyone knows how to run Word 5.1 on OSX, please let me know!) A search will locate sites that offer software interrupted, but not knowing whether it's legal or not , I am not going to link to them. (I am told that LyX, available free at http: / / www.lyx.org/, is a front-end for LaTeX who WYSIWYG).

Commercial word processing have gradually become larger, slower, less reliable and harder to use because they gain more features. This is a general feature of the commercial software and an important contribution to the computer industry. If the software and operating system performance does not deteriorate, people would not need to buy new computers and reduce the benefits for both manufacturers of hardware and software. Vendors of software want it to look fancy and evident in the demo, and they do not really at ease, speed and reliability of an expert user because the expert user has already bought. In our example, it is much faster to type equations and to do so with the embedded formatting commands because you use your fingers independently rather than from you, and because your fingers do not leave the keyboard. However, clicks on menus, but they are slow and cumbersome when typing, look easy to use in the shop.

A timetable
I strongly recommend to sit with the advice and make a timetable for writing a list of dates for when you give the first and second drafts of each chapter to your advisor (s). The structures of your time and provides intermediate targets. If you merely meant to "have it all done by [a distant date]," you can deceive and procrastinate more easily. If you said to your adviser that you are going to deliver a first draft of Chapter 3, Wednesday, it focuses your attention.

You can make your schedule in a table with items that you can check that you have finished them. This is particularly useful towards the end of the argument when you are, there will be a lot of forgotten corners here and there.

Itérative
Every time you sit down to write, it is very important to write something. So write something, even if it is just a set of notes or a few paragraphs of text that you never show it to anyone else. It would be nice if clear, precise prose easily jumped from the keyboard, but it does not usually. Most of us find it easier, however, to improve something that is already written that the production of text from scratch. So introduce (as rough as you like) for your own use, then clean it to your adviser to read. Word processors are wonderful in this regard: in the first draft that you do not need to start at the beginning, you can leave gaps, we can put the little notes to yourself, and then you can clean it later.

Your advisor is expected to read each chapter, in draft form. He / she will then return it to you with suggestions and comments. Do not be upset if a Chapter --- especially the first one you write --- yields covered in red ink. Your want your thesis to be as good as possible, because his reputation, as well as yours is affected. Scientific writing is a difficult art, and it takes some time to learn. Accordingly, there will be many ways in which your first draft can be improved. So take a positive attitude to all the scribbles with your advisor that decorates your text: each comment indicates how you can make your best argument.

As you write your thesis, your scientific writing is almost certain to improve. Even for native speakers of English who write very well in other styles, we see a huge improvement in the first drafts of the first in the final chapter written. The process of writing the thesis is like a course in scientific writing, and in that sense each chapter is like an assignment that you were taught, but not assessed. Remember, only the final version of the project is valued more feedback from your consultant adds to the first or second project, the better.

Before you submit a project to your adviser, launch a spell to make sure it does not waste time on them. If you are lacking grammatical feature, check for them.
What is a theory? For whom is it written? How should it be written?
Your thesis is a research report. The report covers a problem or set of problems in your research and it should describe what was previously known about this, what you did to achieve solved, what you think your results mean and how and where further progress in this area can be Done. Do not carry your ideas on the evaluation cycle: a thesis is not an answer to the question of an assignment. One important difference is that the reader an assignment is usually the one who has it. He / she already knows the answer (or one), not to mention the background, literature, assumptions and theories, and the strengths and weaknesses of them. Readers of a thesis do not know what the answer is. If the thesis is a Ph.D., the university need to make an original contribution to human knowledge: Your research should discover something unknown.

Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be experts in the general area of your thesis, but on the specific topic of your thesis, you are expert in the world. Keep this in mind: you have to write to make the matter clear to a reader who has not spent most of the past three years to reflect.

Your thesis will also be used as a scientific report and consulted by future in your lab workers who want to know in detail what you have done. Theses are sometimes viewed by people from other institutions, and the library microfilm versions sent upon request (yes, again). More commonly theses are now stored in a digital form. These documents can be stored in. Pdf files on a server at your university. The advantage is that your thesis can be accessed more easily by researchers worldwide. (See, for example, Australian digital thesis project for the digital availability of research theses.) Write with these possibilities in mind.

It is often useful to have someone other than your advisor (s) to read certain sections of the thesis, especially the introduction and conclusion of the chapters. It may also be appropriate to ask other staff to read certain chapters of the thesis they can find relevant or of interest, as they may be able to make a valuable contribution. In both cases, just to give them a revised version, so as not to waste your time to correct grammar, spelling, construction or bad presentation.

How much detail?
The short answer is: not more than a scientific study. Once your thesis has been assessed and your friends have read the first three pages, the only Newsreaders are likely to be people who are seriously just do research in this area. For example, a future student research could be further research and even be interested to know exactly what you have done. ( "Why not the player who Bloggs built for his project work? Where is the circuit diagram? I'll look up his thesis." Blow's not converge subroutine parameter in my space! Should I seek Until his thesis. "How did this group in Sydney managed to get that technique work? I will order a microfilm of this argument, they cited in their paper.") For important parts of the aircraft, you must include workshop drawings, circuit Diagrams and computer programs, most notably in the form of annexes. (By the way, the intelligible annotation programs is about as frequent as pigs aviation, but it is much more desirable. You wrote that line of code for one reason: to the end of the line explaining what that the reason is.) You probably read the theses of previous students in the lab where you are working so that you may know the benefits of a clear, explicit thesis and / or disadvantages of the wave.

Make clear what is yours
If you are using a result, observation or generalization that is not yours, you must specify where ships in the scientific literature that the result is reported. The only exceptions are cases where each researcher in the area they already know: the dynamic equations do not need to be followed by a quote from Newton, analysis of circuits does not need a mention Kirchoff. The importance of this practice in science is that it allows the reader to check your starting position. Physics, in particular, is said to be a vertical science: the results are based on the results, which in turn are constructed from the results so good referencing allows us to check the foundations of your additions to the structure of knowledge in the discipline, or at least trace back to the level that we believe are reliable. Good listing also shows the reader what parts of the thesis are descriptions of prior knowledge as well as those who are your additions to this knowledge. In a thesis, written for the reader who has little familiarity with the literature dealing with, it must be especially clear. It might seem tempting to omit a reference in the hope that a reader think that a good idea or a nice piece of the analysis is yours. I advise against this. The reader will probably think: "What a great idea --- I wonder if it is original?". The reader can probably get through the net or at the library.

If you write in the passive voice, you have to be more cautious about the attribution unless you have written in the active voice. "The sample was prepared by the yttrium heating ..." Do not make it clear whether you did this or if Acme Yttrium it. "I prepared the sample ..." Is clear.

Style
The text must be clear. The grammar and writing thoughtful argument will be more readable. Scientific writing is to be a little more formal than formal --- this text. Mother tongue is English scientist should remember that English is an international language. Slang and informal writing will be more difficult for a non-native speaker to understand.

In short, sentences and simple words are often better than long. Some politicians use "at this time" instead of "now" precisely because it takes longer to convey the same meaning. They do not care about the elegance and efficient communication. You should. On the other hand, there will be times when you need a complex sentence because the idea is complicated. If your first statement requires several tracks, each of these may need a subordinate clause: "When [qualification], and if [condition], and if [condition] and [statement]." A few words long technique will also be needed in many theses, particularly in areas such as biochemistry. Do not sacrifice accuracy for the sake of brevity. "The black is white" is simple and catchy. An advertising copy writer do not like it. "Objets d'very different albedo can be lit differently to produce similar spectra reflected" is longer and use fewer words, but compared to the previous example, it has the advantage of being true. An example would be fine in a physical argument because speaking English physicists will have no trouble with the words. (A physicist who did not know all of those words would probably be happy to remedy this deficiency is from the context or consult a dictionary.)

Sometimes it is easier to present information and arguments as a series of numbered points, rather than one or more paragraphs long and uncomfortable. A list of items is easier to write. You should be careful not to use too much of this presentation: your thesis needs to be connected, convincing argument, and not just a list of facts and observations.

An important stylistic choice is between the active and passive voice. The active voice ( "I measured the frequency ...") is simpler, and it sets out clearly what you have done and what has been done by others. Passive voice (" The frequency was measured ...") it is easier to write sentences ungrammatical or awkward. If you use the passive voice, to be especially wary of dangling participles. For example, the following sentence: "After considering all of these Possible materials, plutonium has been selected "implicitly attributes the conscience of plutonium. This choice is a matter of taste: I prefer the asset because it is clearer, more logical and simple fact of attribution. alone arguments I have ever heard to avoid the active voice in a memorandum are: (i) many theses are written in the passive voice, and (ii) some people find very polite use of the "I" immodest term. first person singular, not the plural, when reporting the work that you have done yourself: the editorial "we" may suggest that you help beyond those listed in your thanks, or may believe that you try to share any blame. Conversely, in order to maintain the plural verb "data", "data" is the plural of "date", and many scientists as to maintain the distinction. Suffice it to say to yourself "is a date .. "," these data are .. "On several occasions. An excellent and widely used reference for grammar and style English is A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by HW Fowler.

Presentation
There is no need for a thesis to be a masterpiece of desktop publishing. Your time can be spent in a more productive way to improve the content of its appearance.

In many cases, a fairly neat diagram can be drawn by hand faster than with a graphics package, and you can scan if you want an electronic version. Or is generally satisfactory. At a bit (ie black and white), average scanning resolution of a sketch drawn by hand is larger than that of a line drawing generated on a graphics package, but not enormous. While talking about the size of the files, it is worth mentioning that the photographs look nice, but take up a lot of memory. There is another important difference, too. The photographer has thought of the camera angle and direction etc. The person who drew the blueprint thought that the components must be depicted and how the system components interact with each other. Thus, the information content of the numerically small line drawing can be much more useful information than in a photograph.

Another note about the numbers and photographs. In the digital version of your argument, not to ordinary photographs or other illustrations as bitmaps because they take up a lot of memory and are very slow to move. Almost all graphics software, you can record in compressed format to format. Jpg or. Gif. In addition, you can save space / speed things up by reducing the number of colors. In vector graphics (as used in the drawings), or shades of gray are often produced by black and white pixels, and thus a bit of color is adequate.

In general, students spend too much time on the charts --- time that could have been devoted to consideration of the arguments, which makes a clearer, more reflection on the meaning and Error Checking in algebra. The reason is, of course, the design is easier than thinking.

I do not think there is a strong correlation (either way), the length and quality. It is not necessary to leave big gaps to make the argument thick. Readers will not enjoy a large amount of text vague or irrelevant.

Approaching the end
A delay is very useful in some respects. You must submit the thesis, even if you think you need one more than the draft chapter, or someone else's comments on this section, or another refinement. If you do not have a deadline, or if you are thinking about this report, please note this: A memory is a great job. It can not be done in a finite time. Inevitably, there will be things that you could have done better. Inevitably, there will be a few typographical errors. Indeed, some related to Murphy's law, you will find one when you open the flip bound copy. No matter how you think about it and how many times you read the evidence, there will be some things that could be improved. It is no use hoping that examiners will not notice: Many reviewers feel compelled to find examples of improvements (if not outright errors), just to show how they carefully read. So, to set a deadline and stick to it. Make it as good as you can at this moment, and then share it! (In retrospect, there was an advantage in writing a thesis in the days before word processing, spell checkers and typing programs. Students have often paid a typist to produce the final draft and not could afford to do it once.)
How many copies?
Talk to your adviser about this. As for those examiners, university libraries and yourself, you must make copies of distribution. Those copies should be sent to other researchers who are working in your field, so that:

* They can discover this wonderful work you have done before it appears in the newspapers;
* They can look into the details of the methods and results that were published or more briefly elsewhere;
* They can make an excellent researcher what you are. This achievement could be useful if a post-doctorate were available in their laboratories. Shortly after enrollment, or if they were reviewers from your search or post-doctoral proposal. Even having your name in their libraries could be an advantage.

Whatever the University policy on single or double sided copies, distributing copies can be double-sided paper or digital form, so that the forests and postal accounts are not too exhausted by exercise. Your adviser can help you make a list of interested parties and / or persons potentially useful for such a mailing list. Your adviser can also help by financing the copying and mailing if not covered by your scholarship. A CD with your thesis will be cheaper than a paper copy. You do not have to burn them all: the company to make multiple copies for several dollars per copy.

The following commentary is from Marilyn Ball of the Australian National University in Canberra: "When I finished writing my thesis, a postdoc told me wisely to give a copy to my parents. I never thought about doing what I just could not imagine what they would do with it. I am very happy to have taken this advice to my parents really appreciate receiving a copy and it proudly for years. (My mother never finished high school and my father worked with the trucks - he fixed 'Em, built' em, drove 'em, sold' em and junked 'em. Nevertheless, they enjoy' a copy of my thesis.) "

Individuals
In an ideal situation, you will be able to spend a large portion --- --- perhaps the majority of your time to writing your dissertation. This can be bad for your physical and mental health.

Typing
Configure your chair and the computer properly. The Department of Health, professional users of keyboard, or perhaps even the school safety officer will be able to provide maps showing recommended relative heights, and also healthy posture exercises that you should do if you spend a lot of time on the keyboard. These are valid insurance: you do not want the headaches additional back or neck pain. Try to intersperse long typing sessions with other tasks, such as reading, drawing, calculating, thought or research.

If you do not touch type, you must learn to do for the good of your neck, as well as productivity. There are several good programs that teach typing interactive. If you use a say for 30 minutes a day for a couple of weeks, you should be able to touch type. Au moment où vous terminez la thèse, vous serez capable de toucher rapidement et avec précision le type et six heures de votre investissement sera payé pour lui-même. Faites attention à ne pas utiliser les exercices de frappe comme une activité de déplacement.

Exercice
Don't give up exercice de l'intérim. Le manque d'exercice, vous avez l'impression mauvaise, et vous n'avez pas besoin d'autre chose qui fait de vous sentir mal pendant l'écriture d'un mémoire. 30-60 minutes d'exercice par jour n'est sans doute pas le temps perdu à partir de votre thèse: Je trouve que si je ne reçois régulièrement de l'exercice, je dors moins saine et plus longue. Qu'en est-il de la marche de travailler et ramener à la maison? (Walk partie du chemin si votre domicile est éloigné.) Beaucoup de personnes qui opine promener les aide à penser, ou efface la tête. Vous trouverez peut-être qu'une balade occasionnelle améliore votre productivité.

Alimentation
N'oubliez pas de manger, et de faire un effort pour manger de la nourriture saine. Vous ne devriez pas perdre de fitness ou de risque de maladie à ce moment critique. L'exercice est bon pour vous l'appétit de maintien à un niveau sain. Je sais que vous avez peu de temps pour cuisiner, mais gardez une livraison de fruits frais, de légumes et de pain. Cela prend moins de temps pour faire un sandwich que pour aller à la sortie de locaux de restauration rapide, et vous vous sentirez mieux après.

Drogues
Thèse écrivains ont une longue tradition d'utilisation de stimulants comme le café et l'alcool ou de la marijuana comme relaxants. (Utilisez de l'alcool et de café est légal, l'utilisation de la marijuana ne l'est pas.) Utilisés avec modération, ils ne semblent pas avoir d'effets néfastes sur la qualité des thèses produites. Excès, cependant, sont évidemment contre-productives: plusieurs exprimés et vous serez bourdonnement trop de s'asseoir et de travail; plusieurs verres dans la nuit va perdre notre temps lendemain.

Autres
D'autres personnes seront sympathiques, mais ne les prennent pas pour acquis. Époux, amants, parents et amis ne devraient pas être sous-estimée. Passer du temps avec eux et, quand vous le faites, passer un bon moment. Ne passez pas votre temps ensemble plaindre de votre thèse: ils ressentent déjà la thèse parce que c'est vous tenir loin d'eux. Si vous pouvez trouver un autre élève écrit une thèse, alors vous trouverez peut-être thérapeutique pour se plaindre les uns des autres au sujet des conseillers et des difficultés. Il / elle n'a pas besoin d'être dans la même discipline que vous êtes.

Coda
Keep going --- you're presque là! La plupart des docteurs admettent qu'il ya eu des moments où nous avons pensé raisons de la non-finition. Mais il serait insensé de renoncer à la phase d'écriture, après des années de travail sur la recherche, et ce serait quelque chose à regretter pendant longtemps.

Rédaction d'une thèse n'est pas une mince. Un anonyme post doctorant m'a dit: «Vous devez dire à tout le monde que ça va être désagréable, qu'il va gâcher leur vie, qu'ils devront renoncer à leurs amis et à leur vie sociale pendant un certain temps. C'est une dure période pour Presque tous les étudiants. " Elle a raison: il est certainement dur travail, il sera probablement stressant et vous devrez adapter votre rythme à elle. C'est aussi un rite de passage important et la satisfaction vous vous sentirez après, est merveilleuse. Au nom des chercheurs partout dans le monde, je vous souhaite bonne chance!