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How to organize your How to organize your thesis? thesis? Ku-Yaw Chang Department of E.E. National Cheng-Kung University No.1 University Rd. Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C. 1999/4/2

How to organize your thesis?

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Page 1: How to organize your thesis?

How to organize your How to organize your thesis?thesis?

Ku-Yaw Chang

Department of E.E.National Cheng-Kung UniversityNo.1 University Rd.Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.

1999/4/2

Page 2: How to organize your thesis?

OutlineOutline

• How to organize your thesis?• Other general tips and comments• Conclusions• References

Page 3: How to organize your thesis?

What Graduate Research What Graduate Research is All Aboutis All About

The distinguishing mark or graduate research– an original contribution to knowledge

Thesis– a formal document to prove that you have

done the above– two important things

• identify a worthwhile problem or question which has not previously answered

• solve the problem or answer the question

Page 4: How to organize your thesis?

What GraduateWhat Graduate Thesis is All About Thesis is All About

The examiners want to find the answers of the following questions:– What is this student’s research question?– Is it a good question?(been answered

before? or worthwhile to work on?)– Did the student convince me that the

question was adequately answered?– Has the student made an adequate

contribution to knowledge?

Page 5: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

Abstract• State the problem• Why the problem is a problem• My startling sentence• The implication of my startling sentence

Page 6: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

Four Sentence Summary The rejection rate for OOPSLA papers is near

90%. Most papers are rejected not because of a lack of good ideas, but because they are poorly structured. Following four simple steps in writing a paper will dramatically increase your chances of acceptance. If everyone followed these steps, the amount of communication in the object community would increase, improving the rate of progress.

Page 7: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

1 Introductiona general introduction to what the thesis is all about - not just a description of the contents of each section• Briefly summarize the question• Describe some of the reasons why it is a

worthwhile question• Give an overview of your main results• a description of the contents of each section

Page 8: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

2 Background Information(optional) a brief section giving background information may be necessary, especially if your work spans two or more traditional fields• A different title is usually better, e.g. “A

Brief Review of Interpolation”

Page 9: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

3 Background of the State of the ArtThe ideas is to present the major ideas in the state of the art right up to, but not including, your own personal brilliant ideas• Organize this section by idea, not by

author or by publication• A different title is usually better, e.g.

“State of the Art in Interpolation”

Page 10: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

4 Research Question or Problem Statement• Three main parts:

– a concise statement of the question that your thesis tackles

– justification that your question is previously unanswered

– discussion of why it is worthwhile to answer

• A more specific title is better, e.g. “The Interpolation Problem”

Page 11: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

5 Describe How You Solve the Problem or Answer the Question• much more free-form

– one or several sections and subsections

• Only one purpose– to convince the examiners that you answered the

question or solved the problem that you set for yourself in Section 4.

Page 12: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

6 Conclusions•Conclusions

– short, concise statements of the inference that you have made because of your work. (not a rambling summary of the thesis)

– from most to least important

•Summary of Contributions– list the contributions of new knowledge that your thesis

make– from most to least important

•Future Research

Page 13: How to organize your thesis?

A Generic Thesis SkeletonA Generic Thesis Skeleton

7 References• Being closely tied to the review of the state of

the art given in Section 3. • All references give must be referred to in the

main body.• Organize the list either by alphabetically, by

author surname, or by order of citation in the thesis.

Page 14: How to organize your thesis?

Other general tips and Other general tips and commentscomments

• Always keep the reader’s background in mind• Don’t make the readers work to hard• A thesis is not a story. It’s a formal document

designed to answer only a few major questions.• Avoid using phrases like “Clearly, this is the

case…” or “Obviously, if follows that…”• Avoid red flags like “software is the most important

part of a computer system”• Avoid too many low level technical details

Page 15: How to organize your thesis?

ConclusionsConclusions

A Generic Thesis SkeletonAbstractI. IntroductionII. Background Information(optional)III. Review of the State of the ArtIV. Research Question or Problem StatementV. Describing How You Solved the Problem or Answered the QuestionVI. ConclusionsReferences

Page 16: How to organize your thesis?

ReferencesReferences

• John W. Chinneck’s “How to Organize your Thesis”

• Alan Snyder's "How to Get Your Paper Accepted at OOPSLA" paper, from OOPSLA'91

• Ralph Johnson's "How to Get a Paper Accepted at OOPSLA" panel transcript, from OOPSLA'93