The end stages of a PhD

The end stages of a PhD are a very good example of the principal of 'what goes up, must come down' . The key to success is a good start!

1. Starting

The bare essentials are

a) Make sure that you want to do PhD – that is, a time limited piece of defined research written under advice and in a fixed format - rather than, say, write an exciting novel, save the world, impress your colleagues or relatives etc.. Getting a PhD may be a tool en route to some of these achievements, but unless you approach it as an end in itself you are likely to be diverted and not succeed.

b) Make sure that you know what doing a PhD actually involves, and that you have a realistic assessment of the amount of work and commitment that will be required -- neither over or underestimated.

c) Make sure that you what doing the PhD in the right place -- it is your responsibility to do your own consumer research and make sure that the institution that you choose is the right place both for both you and the subject.

d) Make sure that you have clear ground rules for relating to your supervisor -- that you understand how often you will meet, what you have to do, and what they have to do. Keep your side of the agreement, but be prepared to make sure that the institution keeps the other side, for example, in the face the unexpected such as of the supervisor's illness or absence.

e) Most importantly and above all, make sure that you have a thesis. This is the rock on which so many founder. It is simply not enough to describe or restate an author's position, or to compare or promote particular systems, of ethics for example. You must have an argument. You absolutely must spend time and effort at the very beginning refining your argument and concentrating your points of focus.

2. Producing the written text

a) The "what" questions -- all PhD s involved a certain amount of hard grind. The relevant author's and documents in the field have to be identified -- a literature search is an essential beginning -- and at you have to read and digest the foundational material. This is hard work of one kind.

b) The "why" questions -- everything has to be evaluated in the light of your thesis. This is where your critical ability, your intelligence and your originality really need to be developed. This is very hard work of another kind.

c) These questions, of the what and the why, have to be tackled on a limited timescale. You must have a realistic timetable, and the self-command to stick to it.

d) Motivation and feelings -- a PhD is an individual piece of work, and you are very isolated while you do it. That is why it is very important to have made sure at the outset that it is a PhD that you want to do. Most people experience a phase with a lot of negative feelings when they simply wish it was all over. Some people have the opposite problem, become over enthusiastic, and enlarge their project beyond the realistic boundaries of the PhD. You have to be prepared to deal with these kind of

...