Understanding the structure of PhD Thesis

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Understanding the structure of PhD Thesis
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PhD Thesis Title

• The title is the face of a thesis. It denotes an
  identity to the project and also gives an insight
  about what the thesis is going to be about. Hence
  then PhD thesis topic lay a basic foundation of
  your thesis.
• While formulating a title, it must be ensured
  that it clearly communicates the idea that the
  aspirant has in mind. A vague or disconnected
  title may fail to impress.
• The size of the title is another point that
  should be noted, if it is too long it may miss
  explaining the idea to the evaluators.

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Acknowledgements

• This is a page that contains a note of gratitude
  and acknowledgment for those who may have been of
  help in the process of making the thesis.
• Aspirants usually show acknowledgement to the
  institute, the mentor or the dean and at times
  all three.
• The format of the write up that goes on the
  acknowledgement sheet is generally in the first
  person mode and the person making the thesis,
  dedicates this page to those who have been
  instrumental in the completion of the project.

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Table of Contents

• This is an overview page for the entire thesis.
• The contents page not only gives an insight on
  the topics that are covered in the project.
• Apart from showing the topics, the content page
  also serves as a quick access tool for reaching a
  particular point in the thesis, without having to
  look through all the pages.
• The content page usually consists of serial
  numbers, sub serial numbers, particulars or
  sub-topics and page numbers.

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Abstract of Thesis

• A window to the thesis may be named the abstract.
  
• As the name suggests it is an abstract of the
  entire thesis and serves as a summary of the
  project.
• When choosing a thesis subject, it is first
  necessary to provide the evaluator with the
  abstract or the proposal of the project.
• If the abstract is impressive, it may help in
  getting the topic getting approved.

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Introduction

• Any topic of study needs to be introduced to the
  reader.
• In the case of the thesis, not only should the
  introduction talk about the subject, but it
  should also provide a short background about the
  topic of study so that the project does not have
  an abrupt start.
• The introduction serves well in cases when the
  evaluator needs to know the thesis aspirants
  understanding of the study.

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Literature Review

• The literature review section helps an aspirant
  express the kind of study and research he or she
  has made for the thesis.
• The section should talk about the personal
  inferences and ideas of the aspirant that he or
  she derived after studying various resources.
• The inferences could be in the form of
  comparative studies or even descriptions, however
  one should avoid writing summaries of studies
  while creating a literature review.

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Research Methodology

• This is one of the most important sections in the
  thesis, it is because of the methodology
  information that an evaluator may be able to know
  what kind of a thesis research design or
  techniques aspirant has used.
• The chapter should explain in detail the ways in
  which a research will be carried out and how one
  proposes to use the method.

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Data Analysis

• As the name suggests, this chapter works as an
  explanatory section for any data inferences that
  are made. The chapter gives a summary of the
  analysis of a study that is derived from
  researches and surveys.
• The data analysis that is done should be
  explained in the chapter and an evaluator should
  be able to get an unambiguous account of how one
  came to the conclusions mentioned in the
  inferences.

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Findings and Discussions

• The discussions and findings section is a place
  where one can express their study and their
  findings in a more detailed manner.
• One must ensure that the findings are not
  repeated from the literature review
• The findings and discussions should be more in
  the context of the data analysis and by way of
  examples or studies, one should elaborate on the
  inferences found.

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Conclusions and Limitations

• The conclusions and limitations section is the
  part of the thesis where one finishes off.
• This is the part where the writer can express his
  or her findings in a new light and can talk about
  how the findings of the thesis may affect the
  study.
• One should also talk about the limitations of the
  study in this section to show where the scope of
  study was obstructed or how the findings may be
  limited to the understanding of the writer.

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Bibliography

• The bibliography is the part of the write up
  where one puts in the names and resources of the
  places where the study was found.
• The bibliography is important in order to make
  sure that no copyright is infringed and that the
  person who did the original study is duly
  recognized and acknowledged.
• The section should include detailed descriptions
  of all the journals, books, websites or articles
  that the information is studied and used from.

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Appendix

• This is the section where you can use all of the
  information that did not suit the flow of the
  thesis.
• The appendix should contain only relevant study,
  data or survey that adds value to the study as a
  whole or any part of the study.
• The appendix or appendices are explanatory
  supplements used to explain theories or studies
  and inferences.