Thesis StructureTitle pageAbstractTable of ContentsList of FiguresList of Tables IntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionConclusionsRecommendationsAcknowledgementsReferencesAppendices

Title Page

Title (including subtitle), author, institution, department, date of delivery, research mentor, mentor's institution 

Abstract A good abstract explains in one line why the paper/thesis is

important. It then goes on to give a summary of your major results, preferably couched in numbers with error limits. The final sentences explain the major implications of your work. A good abstract is concise, readable, and quantitative. 

Length should be ~ 1-2 paragraphs, approx. 400 words. 

Absrtracts generally do not have citations.

Information in title should not be repeated.  Be explicit.  Answers to these questions should be found in the abstract: 

What did you do?  Why did you do it? What question were you trying to answer?  How did you do it? State methods. What did you learn? State major results.  Why does it matter? Point out at least one significant implication.

IntroductionYou can't write a good introduction until you know what

the body of the paper/thesis says. Consider writing the introductory section(s) after you have completed the rest of the paper/thesis, rather than before. Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the introduction. This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting to motivate your reader to read the rest of the paper/thesis, it is an important/interesting scientific problem that your paper either solves or addresses. You should draw the reader in and make them want to read the rest of the paper/thesis.

The next paragraphs in the introduction should cite previous research in this area. It should cite those who had the idea or ideas first, and should also cite those who have done the most recent and relevant work. You should then go on to explain why more work was necessary (your work, of course.) 

IntroductionWhat else belongs in the introductory section(s) of your paper/thesis? A

statement of the goal of the paper/thesis: why the study was undertaken, or why the paper was written. Do not repeat the abstract. 

Sufficient background information to allow the reader to understand the context and significance of the question you are trying to address. 

Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on which you are building. Sufficient references such that a reader could, by going to the library, achieve a sophisticated understanding of the context and significance of the question. 

The introduction should be focused on the thesis question(s).  All cited work should be directly relevent to the goals of the thesis.  This is not a place to summarize everything you have ever read on a subject.

Explain the scope of your work, what will and will not be included.  A verbal "road map" or verbal "table of contents" guiding the reader

to what lies ahead.  Is it obvious where introductory material ("old stuff") ends and your

contribution ("new stuff") begins? 

MethodsWhat belongs in the "methods" section of a

scientific paper/thesis? Information to allow the reader to assess the believability of your results.

Information needed by another researcher to replicate your experiment.

Description of your materials, procedure, theory.Calculations, technique, procedure, equipment,

and calibration plots. Limitations, assumptions, and range of validity. 

Description of your analytical methods, including reference to any specialized statistical software.  

ResultsThe results are actual statements of observations, including

statistics, tables and graphs. Indicate information on range of variation.Mention negative results as well as positive. Do not interpret

results - save that for the discussion. Lay out the case as for a jury. Present sufficient details so that

others can draw their own inferences and construct their own explanations. 

Use S.I. units (m, s, kg, W, etc.) throughout the thesis. Break up your results into logical segments by using

subheadingsKey results should be stated in clear sentences at the beginning

of paragraphs.  It is far better to say "X had significant positive relationship with Y (linear regression p<0.01, r^2=0.79)" then to start with a less informative like "There is a significant relationship between X and Y".  Describe the nature of the findings; do not just tell the reader whether or not they are significant.

Dicussions Start with a few sentences that summarize the most important results. The

discussion section should be a brief essay in itself, answering the following questions: What are the major patterns in the observations?

What are the relationships, trends and generalizations among the results? What are the exceptions to these patterns or generalizations? What are the likely causes (mechanisms) underlying these patterns resulting

predictions? Is there agreement or disagreement with previous work? Interpret results in terms of background laid out in the introduction - what is the

relationship of the present results to the original question? What is the implication of the present results for other unanswered questions in

earth sciences, ecology, environmental policy, etc....? Multiple hypotheses: There are usually several possible explanations for results. Be

careful to consider all of these rather than simply pushing your favorite one. If you can eliminate all but one, that is great, but often that is not possible with the data in hand. In that case you should give even treatment to the remaining possibilities, and try to indicate ways in which future work may lead to their discrimination.

Avoid bandwagons: A special case of the above. Avoid jumping a currently fashionable point of view unless your results really do strongly support them. 

What are the things we now know or understand that we didn't know or understand before the present work?

Include the evidence or line of reasoning supporting each interpretation. What is the significance of the present results: why should we care? 

ConclusionsWhat is the strongest and most important statement

that you can make from your observations? If you met the reader at a meeting six months from

now, what do you want them to remember about your paper? 

Refer back to problem posed, and describe the conclusions that you reached from carrying out this investigation, summarize new observations, new interpretations, and new insights that have resulted from the present work.

Include the broader implications of your results. Do not repeat word for word the abstract,

introduction or discussion.

RecommendationsInclude when appropriate (most of the time)

Further research to fill in gaps in our understanding. 

Directions for future investigations on this or related topics. 

AcknowledgementsAdvisor(s) and anyone who helped

you: technically (including materials, supplies)

intellectually (assistance, advice)financially (for example, departmental

support, travel grants) 

ThesisA successful thesis poses an interesting question you can

actually answer. Having found a topic that really interests you, you need to locate an empirical or theoretical puzzle that needs more exploration. Working with your advisor, narrow your topic to a manageable size.

A topic is manageable if you canmaster the relevant literature;collect and analyze the necessary data; andanswer the key questions you have posed.Some problems are simply too big and unwieldy to master

within the time limits. Some are too small to interest you. This is a Goldilocks problem, and the solution is to select a well-defined topic that bears on some larger issue. You can begin either with a large issue or a well-defined topic, depending on your own interests.

What is a THESIS An argument An exposition of an original piece of research The product of an apprenticeship Probably the largest (most self-indulgent) piece ofwork you’ll ever do Something that could be published: E.g. at least one paper in a scholarly journal but you will probably never publish the whole

thesis

Thesis DefinitionA thesis for the PhD must form a distinctive

contribution to the knowledge of the subject and afford evidence of originality shown by the discovery of new facts and/or by the exercise of independent critical power.”

(University of London regulations)

Time TableI strongly recommend sitting down with the adviser and

making up a timetable for writing it: a list of dates for when you will give the first and second drafts of each chapter to your adviser(s). This structures your time and provides intermediate targets. If you merely aim "to have the whole thing done by [some distant date]", you can deceive yourself more easily. If you have told your adviser that you will deliver a first draft of chapter 3 on Wednesday, it focuses your attention. You may want to make your timetable into a chart with items that you can check off as you have finished them. This is particularly useful towards the end of the thesis when you find there will be quite a few loose ends here and there.

What is a thesis? For whom is it written? How should it be written?

Your thesis is a research report. The report concerns a problem or series of problems in your area of research and it should describe what was known about it previously, what you did towards solving it, what you think your results mean, and where or how further progress in the field can be made. Do not carry over your ideas from undergraduate assessment: a thesis is not an answer to an assignment question. One important difference is this: the reader of an assignment is usually the one who has set it. S/he already knows the answer (or one of the answers), not to mention the background, the literature, the assumptions and theories and the strengths and weaknesses of them. The readers of a thesis do not know what the "answer" is. If the thesis is for a PhD, the university requires that it make an original contribution to human knowledge: your research must discover something hitherto unknown. Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be experts in the general field of your thesis but, on the exact topic of your thesis, you are the world expert. Keep this in mind: you should write to make the topic clear to a reader who has not spent most of the last three years thinking about it.

Your thesis will also be used as a scientific report and consulted by future workers in your laboratory who will want to know, in detail, what you did. Theses are occasionally consulted by people from other institutions, and the library sends microfilm versions if requested (yes, still). More commonly theses are now stored in an entirely digital form. These may be stored as .pdf files on a server at your university. The advantage is that your thesis can be consulted much more easily by researchers around the world.

Make it Clear What is Yours

If you use a result, observation or generalization that is not your own, you must usually state where in the scientific literature that result is reported. The only exceptions are cases where every researcher in the field already knows it: dynamics equations need not be followed by a citation of Newton, circuit analysis does not need a reference to Kirchoff. The importance of this practice in science is that it allows the reader to verify your starting position. Physics in particular is said to be a vertical science: results are built upon results which in turn are built upon results etc. Good referencing allows us to check the foundations of your additions to the structure of knowledge in the discipline, or at least to trace them back to a level which we judge to be reliable. Good referencing also tells the reader which parts of the thesis are descriptions of previous knowledge and which parts are your additions to that knowledge. In a thesis, written for the general reader who has little familiarity with the literature of the field, this should be especially clear. It may seem tempting to leave out a reference in the hope that a reader will think that a nice idea or an nice bit of analysis is yours. I advise against this gamble. The reader will probably think: "What a nice idea---I wonder if it's original?". The reader can probably find out via the net or the library.

Differences Between the Undergraduate and Postgraduate

ThesesThe difference between the undergraduate and postgraduate theses is one of degree

rather than kind. They share a common structure and need for logical rigour. It is only in the substance and the emphasis placed on it that the difference arise.

A PhD thesis shall be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, for example, through the discovery of knowledge, the formulation of theories or the innovative reinterpretation of known data and established ideas .

An undergraduate thesis is, at present, graded on the quality of research, the significance of the contributions and the style of presentation. Thus, the undergraduate thesis is judged on a similar basis to the postgraduate one.I ndeed, the three most commonly cited qualities that earn an undergraduate thesis the first class grade are originality, independence, and mastery .

Candidates writing a higher degree thesis—and the PhD thesis in particular—are required to present their research in the context of existing knowledge. This means a thorough and critical review of the literature, not necessarily limited to the narrow topic of research, but covering the general area. The PhD candidate should also show clearly what original contributions she or he has made. Although neither of these requirements applies strictly to undergraduate work, the candidate should demonstrate familiarity with previous relevant work in his or her thesis.

Important Tips Start writing early. Do not delay writing until you have finished

your project/research. Write complete and concise “Technical Reports” as and when you finish each nugget of work. This way, you will remember everything you did and document it accurately, when the work is still fresh in your mind. This is especially so if your work involves programming.

Spot errors early. A well-written “Technical Report” will force you to think about what you have done, before you move on to something else. If anything is amiss, you will detect it at once and can easily correct it, rather than have to re-visit the work later, when you may be pressured for time and have lost touch with it.

Write your thesis from the inside out. Begin with the chapters on your own experimental work. You will develop confidence in writing them because you know your own work better than anyone else. Once you have overcome the initial inertia, move on to the other chapters.

End with a bang. First things first, and save the best for last. First and last impressions persist. Arrange your chapters so that your first and last experimental chapters are sound and solid.

Important TipsWrite the Introduction after writing the Conclusions.

The examiner will read the Introduction first, and then the Conclusions, to see if the promises made in the former are indeed fulfilled in the latter. Ensure that your Introduction and Conclusions match 100%.

“No man is an Island” The critical review of the literature places your work in context. Usually, one third of the PhD thesis is about others’ work; two thirds, what you have done yourself. After a thorough and critical literature review, the PhD candidate must be able to identify the major researchers in the field and make a sound proposal for doctoral research.

Lindsay’s lawsResearch is finished only after it is written up. What

you write must communicate and persuade. The hallmarks of scientific writing are precision,

clarity and brevity, in that order.Try to write as if you were speaking to someone: “see a

face”. This way you get to say it directly and clearly.The scope and emphasis of the Literature Review must

be directly relevant to the subject of the thesis.Include a common chapter that presents in one place

all the experimental details common to all your experimental chapters. This avoids boring repetition and clears the way for a more fluent presentation of experimental results in different chapters without the intervening distraction of tedious methodology.

Do’s and Don’tsDo keep records as you go along and date

them. Do systematic work. Don’t claim precision where it is not

justified. Don’t plagiarize. Don’t falsify records or cook up data.