2012 Grad Cohort - Preparing Your Thesis Proposal and Becoming a Ph.D. Candidate

8/11/2019 2012 Grad Cohort - Preparing Your Thesis Proposal and Becoming a Ph.D. Candidate

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PhD Proposal

Identify important, unsolved problems

Show that

The problem is solvable

I will solve P != NP

You can solve it :

ability to develop a complex research topic

expository skills to explain what you are doing

thoroughness to collect and analyse the data.

How to picka topic ?

How much is

enough for a

proposal?


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Part I : Picking a topic


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Inspiration Versus Perspiration

There are two main ways to find a topic:

inspiration and perspiration.

Inspiration is great, but unpredictable.

Perspiration is a lot more dependable.

Join a project, build something, and see whats

hard about it. Whatever caused you difficulty has

a potential of thesis topic in it.


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Multiple research problems

Its OK to explore multiple problems

till you figure out what you like.

Very narrow domain problems do

not typically make a good thesis.


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Making a coherent whole

Research can be messier than you imagine.

If you are lucky, thesis = n steps to solving a

problem

Thesis = n papers + a story/theme

Think the big picture!


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The thesis title

Optimizing Scoring Functions & Indexes for

Proximity Search in Type Annotated Corpora.

v/s

Next Generation Search

v/sNext Generation Search via Answer Types

Too

technical

Too broad

Just right


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Attend other proposals (defense)*

*Read other peoples proposals

*and thesis defense.


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Find committee members early

Get to know faculty members through classes

and other interaction

Collaborate with other faculty in your research

area and other related topics They will often give you feedback about your

progress.


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So far ..

Work on multiple problems (if needed)

Think about the big picture (the title)

The outline Do some research

Now what ? Am I ready to propose ?


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Part II :

How much (research) is enough?

Requirements & expectations differ by

university

When to propose : 3rd

to 5th

year Length of proposal : 15 to 150 pages

Amount of research : 0 to many papers

Get yourself familiar with your department

expectations!


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When do you propose then ?

You will know when you are ready !

I have done enough research.

I really really want to graduate!

If not, your advisor should tell you.

If not


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Again

Attend other proposals (defense)* !

Read other peoples proposals*

*and thesis defense.


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Under-confidence issues

The imposter syndrome

My 2 papers were just luck ! They are not that

good !

They are good but they dont form a thesis

I havent done enough math ! I have no

experiments !

Get a mentor.

Talk to your friends and colleagues.


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To summarize

Do good research

Think about the big picture

Talk to other people Attend other peoples proposals


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Ready to propose ?


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Part III:WRITING A Ph.D. PROPOSAL


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What is a PhD Proposal

really?

a succinct write-up of your proposed research

goals, strategies, justification, contributions


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really?



a brainstorming and planning process

a good time to get feedback and direction from

experts


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really?



a brainstorming and planning process

a good time to get feedback and direction from

experts

Sometimes a stressful period of graduate school


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Why write a PhD Proposal?

Focus your research direction

Writing can clarify your thoughts

Establish contact with committee

Obtain feedback from committee

An important step towards graduation!

Side effect: Proposal writing experience


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Challenges, Frustrations,

Misconceptions

The proposal is just a hurdle. I can just proposeideas off the top of my head now and then figure outwhat I really want to do later.


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Misconceptions


How can I propose something when I dont knowthe details yet? the unknown path


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Misconceptions



I dont know how to organize the different parts of

the research on the page.


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Misconceptions



I dont know how to organize the different parts of

the research on the page. I am not ready yet. I might as well solve the

problems and then present them


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Whatdoes a good Proposal

Accomplish?

The proposal should clearly answer:

What is the problem you are studying?

Why is it important? What results have you achieved so far and why to they

matter?

How is this substantially different from prior work?

How will you systematically evaluate your work?

What do you need to do to complete your work?


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When is the best time to

write/present a Proposal?

When you have a clear idea of the problem

you want to solve

When you have some preliminary work done

to demonstrate promise of your approach

When you have some notion of the major

subproblems to be solved

When your advisor recommends


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What would help before I

start writing?

Think about what YOU want to accomplish

Write a succinct thesis statement/hypothesis

Discuss your ideas to others Presented parts of the research at seminars,

conferences etc.,

Think about 3-4 major contributions/papers Formulate these contributions in writing


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How do I get started writing?

Look at examples in your department, withsame advisor, in same overall topic (from adistance)

Breadth of project proposed Separation into subprojects

Writing style: problem statement, hypothesis

Organization Overall outline and flow

Within each proposed project section

How they motivated their topic and expectedcontributions


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Think about the Audience

Your Committee

Not necessarily all in your general topic area

Not familiar with your specific problem

Not aware of your prior work Not aware of your skills, infrastructure

Implications

Background: terminology, problem, State of the art related to your problem

Convincing motivation for importance

Demonstration of feasibility/promise of success


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Organization

Introduction

Problem statement and importance

Background and State of the Art

Proposed Research

Subsections on each research contribution

Evaluation Plans Research Plan

Summary of Expected Contributions


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The Introduction

Motivation and general, high level problem for non-

experts to appreciate

Quick overview of what state of the art does not

address and the current needs Thesis statement specific open problem and

proposed strategy

Brief overview of key insights and why is promising

approach

List of expected contributions of dissertation


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The Background

What level is it presented?

How much is included?

How is it organized?


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The Background

What level is it presented?

How much is included?

How is it organized?

A good rule of thumb:

Include terminology and background on an as-neededbasis let the rest of the proposal drive the

background section.


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State of the Art

Which works need to be included?

At what level of detail are they described?

What order are they best presented?

How do I nicely discuss limitations?


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State of the Art

Which works need to be included?

At what level of detail are they described?

What order are they best presented?

How do I nicely discuss limitations?

A good rule of thumb:

Enough to give complete picture of context andnovelty

Most closely related to least related.

Problem, strategy, limitations show how still an

open problem


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Proposed Research

Overview of project diagram or flow chart?

Specific projects in steps

For each

Assumptions

Problem Statement (including input and output)

Strategy & Overall Approach

Details known now Plans for remaining challenges

Evaluation plan


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Evaluation Plans

Experiment Design: Questions you will target to judge success of your

approach

Independent variables what is being varied/compared

Eg, your technique versus other techniques Dependent variables and Measures what is being

measured Effectiveness precision and recall, speedup

Cost overhead

Subjects which programs, loops, Methodology

Design choices

Justification


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Research Plan

What steps do you plan to take next?

After that? E.g. Future work


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General tips on Writing: Diagrams

Tell the story in a visual way

Explain the key ideas

Together they should present the mainconcepts and results

The picture should be self-explanatory

Each caption should clearly explain theassociated diagram by itself

l


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General tips on Writing:

References

Thorough survey

Key references must be included

Avoid having mostly self-citations

Be generous & gracious

Give appropriate credits


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Part IV:

PROPOSAL PRESENTATION

Wh t i th l f th


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What is the role of the

Committee? Throughout the process

Guidance and Understanding of what to expect

Feedback

Eventually, reference letters

At the proposal

Make sure you know your stuff, have thought about theissues

Make sure you have the right topic/focus/questions/plan

At the defense

Make sure you know your stuff and that youre ready to flyon your own

S l i h PhD


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Selecting the PhD

Committee

PhD advisor

Faculty in the topic area to provide useful direction

Faculty outside topic to provide high level feedback

External member someone in research area whocould write a ref letter or provide suggestions


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Proposal Presentation Tips

Attendothers presentations before yours Thank committee, introduce yourself and

background

Practice presentation many times

Have someone take notes of questions

Be polite during interruptions with questions

Be open to suggestions

Prepare for questions

Dont be afraid to have no answer for a question. Ask

for direction/help on those questions.

Be confident. Dont look to advisor for answers.

E l Q ti t


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Example Questions at

Proposal Defense

Topic: too large, too small; doable in the timeframe;focus; What are the can of worms that are beneath the

surface (difficult to implement or evaluate)?

Evaluation (plan, statistics, validity) Related work

Practicality/scalability

Limitations and possible ways to address them

Vision of where this can go

Certain people have go-to questions.

Watch your committee members on other committees

S Ph D P l P


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Summary: Ph.D. Proposal Process

1. Select your committee with your advisor

2. Create abstract of your proposal3. Invite your committee members, sending them the abstract

and predicted timeline

4. Get committee approved by department (if required)

5. Write proposal and iterate with advisor

6. Give proposal to committee

7. Prepare presentation of proposal

8. Prepare for hard questions reread proposal as committeemember

9. Set proposal defense date10. Present and defend proposal

11. Celebrate this big milestone!

12. Thank committee, meet with advisor to discuss questionsand directions

13. Move forward on research


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2012 Grad Cohort - Preparing Your Thesis Proposal and Becoming a Ph.D. Candidate