EASA-450
Scientific Communications, Spring 2003
Martha
Davis - Chapter
6, The Graduate Thesis
Basics
for many people, this is the most intense written product in a person's life
it usually represents the culmination of years of research and effort (2-3 years for an MS, 4-5 years for a PhD).
writing usually takes 3 months - 2 years, and so must be started well before the end of the study period
for most students, the thesis is the first major work and must be written before you have honed all your skills - the learning process can be painful but also ultimately rewarding
probably 50% or more of all theses are never looked at by more than a handful of people - it is the papers that you write afterwards (or during) with your thesis supervisor that will get your ultimate credit in your scientific career
Design
All theses are governed by the Graduate School of your university; the following sections are usually found, approximately in this order
title page
acknowledgements to your friends, family, pets etc.
abstract
introduction (literature review)
materials, methods and procedures
results
discussion
conclusions
future directions of this research
bibliography
appendices
The whole thesis may run to several hundred pages, particularly if you are including extensive tables of data, figure, maps, mathematical derivations and such like. Only if you eventually write a textbook will you ever exceed the work of a (PhD) thesis.
Tips
There are many good tips in this chapter for graduate students, not all directly related to communications, but nevertheless relevant. Among the best:
establish a good relationship with your supervisor; try to get a good idea of what he or she expects early on
use other profs or postdocs around the department to help your thesis work or other problems
establish a good rapport with your fellow graduate students; share your work and thinking with them; this can be especially valuable in checking your writing skills.