10 Tips for revising a PhD Thesis
If you are reading this post and are in the same position as me, having finished ALL.THE.DREADFUL.THESIS.WRITING. well done!!!! I imagine you are full of a feeling of massive relief!
But what happens after thesis writing? Thesis revisions!
Just to make this clear because I know we might mean different things with ‘thesis revisions’, with this term I am referring to having finished the writing of every single chapter and now need to revisit them all, update them and bind them into one document. The reason I am writing this post is because I wondered:
How do I start revising the PhD thesis?
A disclaimer for this post: First, my PhD is interdisciplinary, Human Computer Interaction and FIlm Studies, and I am taking a mixed discipline approach on writing my thesis. As a result, not all points apply to all PhDs obviously but there are some main steps that can be followed by all (I think!). Secondly, because of my special situation (rushing to finish and submit because I am starting my first job after the PhD in 2 months) I am taking a rather unconventional route on thesis writing and revising -I just needed to inform that the below might not be the norm. For example, one first does revisions and then writes conclusions and introduction: I did the opposite. Nevertheless, it worked perfectly for me!
So here are my 10 steps into PhD thesis revisions:
1. TAKE A DAY OFF…
…after finishing writing the last words of introduction and conclusions! I am in the verge of barely-have-time-to-submit BUT I still took the day to complete pending tasks and do some planning. Clearing our mind from intense writing is obligatory!
2. Re-read your thesis
Keep a “diary” of the changes you want to do to every chapter after re-reading them all. Before I started writing my introduction and conclusions, I read all my thesis and noted all the major changes I wanted to do in this ‘revision period’ chapter by chapter. Now I have a list of the very high level things I need to edit as a starting point. I keep this notebook beside my laptop as a guide. (insert photo of notebook)
3. Make a timeplan of all the changes you need to do
Use this as a guide through out the process. Breaking down in small tasks, day by day ‘to do’s’ will help with time management and keeping on the right track! I only have 3 weeks to deliver my final full thesis draft to supervisors, so every day counts!
4. Create a ‘revisions’ folder and put duplicates of each chapter
I think this is important in case you want to go back to some stuff you cut or editted and decided you need them back or your supervisors advised you to add stuff back. It is also better to have an idea of how your chapters looked before chopping them off (which I am about to do!).
5. Start with updating chapter 1: literature review
To begin with, renew the references. I don’t know about you, but I wrote both my lit. review chapters (yes I have two as I did one for each discipline but will now merge them in one) back in 2016 and 2017. I have already found many many papers and books that renew my subject and need to go in. Additionally, I now know my PhD project MUCH BETTER than 3 years ago when I was trying to understand what I am doing. This means that I figured out the points I am missing in order to strengthen my argument and will include them in the chapter. I will go on and skim through all the papers I got, just to be assert myself that I didn’t miss anything!
6. Check you don’t duplicate methodology stuff in any other chapter
For my thesis, chapter 2 is methodology. For now, it is a quite big chapter but I decided to chop it off a bit and disperse any method review stuff in my lit review chapter. However, I am also taking anything that is related with methodology from my findings chapters so that I make sure I don’t repeat myself.
7. Add all new references into your findings chapters
I have 3 findings chapters. Personally, I have to: a. update the references and add them into my discussion of the findings, b. add previous literature as I haven’t properly done so.
8. For us doing user research: be consistent with participants’ quotes
I really need to check I am using all right pseudonyms as I had many participants and some of them participated in more than one study so I will have to check I have changed their pseudonyms. Furthermore, follow a concise way of presenting all quotes in all chapters. Finally, make sure you don’t italicise quotes, but rather intend them in a new paragraph if they are 40 words or more (the 40w. rule!).
9. Have you accomplished all aims stated in Introduction?
After revising the introduction, make sure you replied to all research questions (signpost where -you will need it for the conclusions) and you achieved all aims and objectives.
10a. Re-read all the thesis
Every thesis needs to have an argument. Is there a consistency in your argument throughout all the chapters? Is every chapter a continuation of the previous? Did you cut all the clutter? Bear in mind that the examiners don’t know your project, therefore you need to be very clear and concise about everything you want to say. Especially for us in multidisciplinary PhDs, make sure your use of jargon is explained very well because what is obvious for one discipline is not for the other!
10b.Conclusions: do they live up to what they claim this thesis did?
After reading all the thesis, you know what it does and what it doesn’t. Make sure all limitations are explicitly stated, check that you covered all the things you said you did, and make it one hell of a summary of all this hard work you did!
Attach the full thesis draft in an email to supervisors and
-— — — — — — PRESS THE BUTTON! — — — — — — -
