The Stages of PhD Thesis Writing

The traditional model of the PhD The standard or ‘traditional’ model of the PhD can be considered a kind of academic apprenticeship that emphasizes the production of a written text (a thesis), closely supervised by a specialist in a particular field. In recent years, the emphasis has shifted slightly to take into account the importance of the learning process itself and the acquisition and further development of a range of skills that can be used later in a career. The stages for the traditional model can be described as below. Note, however, that the sequence will tend to be cyclical rather than linear. For example, reviewing relevant literature will take place in parallel with most of the other activities. Similarly, the initial proposal will be revisited and revised later on. Developing a research topic and the initial research proposal This will involve a mix of the following: identifying a topic area and clarifying overall aims applying feasibility criteria to the area of interest breaking down the topic area to give it a clearer focus turning this focus into research questions generating hypotheses from questions and vice versa (for some research projects) identifying and justifying suitable research methods building a written rationale around all of the above Reading takes place both before and after the gradual refinement of the research topic.