Category Archives: thesis

the big book thesis has some advantages

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

This final post in the series on publication in the PhD and as the PhD comes from Dr Greg Thompson, an Australian Research Council funded early career fellow at Murdoch University. Greg also blogs at Effects of Naplan and tweets … Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, doctoral education, expert, monograph, PhD, PhD by publication, thesis | 3 Comments

should a journal editor know if a paper is from a doctoral researcher?

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

One of the most obvious difficulties of a PhD which requires published, rather than publishable, papers is the dependence of the doctoral researcher on the reviewing process. At a very early stage they must brave what can be a lengthy … Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, early career researchers, journal editor, PhD, PhD by publication, reviewing, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

the downside of having a Big Book thesis

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

This is a guest post by Katie Wheat. Katie graduated with a PhD in Psychology from University of York and now works as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University. She is currently using brain … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Book, doctoral research, early career researchers, Europe, PhD by publication, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

the PhD and publication/by publication – a very peculiar practice? part one

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

It is now increasingly common in parts of Europe for PhDs in the humanities and social sciences to be awarded on the basis of publication. The norm seems to be three, but sometimes four, papers in international peer reviewed journals. … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, Europe, monograph, parity, PhD, PhD by publication, publishing, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

story-boarding the thesis structure

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

As is generally the case, one of my two posts for the week focuses on academic writing. This time I’m looking at putting the thesis together. It usual for people to start writing their thesis text in the middle – … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, dissertation, middle work, storyboarding, thesis | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

keeping your thesis reader/examiner on track

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

I’m currently reading my fifth doctoral thesis for the year. I realized a while ago that I’ve now examined at least fifty doctorates. I guess that’s a lot. I recently decided to go back to my examination reports to see … Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, doctoral research, examiner, reader, signposts, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

getting tense about tense

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

In a recent comment to this blog someone asked me if I had any tips on managing tense. They found themselves, they said, wandering around in time as they wrote, meandering from present to past and back again, undertaking an … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, grammar, literature review, methodology, methods chapter, tense, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

the discussion chapter – it’s about taking flight

Posted on February 28, 2013 by

A long time ago I visited the albatross sanctuary on the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand. I was there at a time when the fledglings were exercising their wings, but had not yet reached the point where they were able … Continue reading →

Posted in academic title, discussion, flying metaphor, metaphor, thesis | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

methodology isn’t methods.. or… what goes in a methods chapter

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

Since I’ve been posting about methods and methodology, I’ve been asked several times to discuss the difference between methodology and methods and how these appear in a methods chapter. This post is by way of an answer. Not all dissertations … Continue reading →

Posted in epistemology, methodology, methods chapter, ontology, research design, research methods, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

thirteen reasons researchers get asked to write their methods chapter again

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Dissertation examiners always check the methods chapter or methodological writings carefully. And the more the doctorate is seen as research training, the more important it will be for examiners to make sure that the relevant writings in the thesis really … Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, doctoral research, epistemology, methods chapter, research methods, research project, theory, thesis | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments