Embarking on postgraduate research is both an exciting and demanding journey. From structuring and writing a thesis to developing strong supervisory relationships, students face numerous challenges along the way. Understanding what makes a well-constructed dissertation, how to communicate research effectively, and what examiners look for can make the process smoother and more rewarding. This page brings together a few useful resources to support both research students and their supervisors, offering guidance on thesis writing, supervision, authorship, and peer review.
For those engaged in integrative and action research, additional resources provide insights into managing interdisciplinary projects, navigating methodological challenges, and ensuring a research process that is both rigorous and meaningful. Supervisors, examiners, and students can also find materials on best practices for research supervision and thesis examination. Whether you are just starting your PhD or preparing to submit, these resources offer practical advice to help you succeed in postgraduate research.
Tips on starting and finishing your thesis
A structured approach to presenting theses: notes for students and their supervisors
This paper by Chad Perry addresses the problem: how should a postgraduate research student in marketing or a similar field (and his or her supervisor) present the thesis? The structure developed provides a starting point for understanding what a thesis should set out to achieve, and also provides a basis for communication between a student and his or her supervisor. Firstly, criteria for judging a PhD thesis are reviewed and justification for its structure is provided. Then writing style is considered. Finally, each of the five ‘chapters’ and their sections are described in some detail: introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis of data, and conclusions and implications.
Summary Notes of Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article
A thought provoking piece that reflects upon the essence and the philosophy of writing, and the fears, anxieties, joys and frustrations involved in the process, in a down to earth tone.
Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation
This guide has been created by Joseph Levine to assist his graduate students in thinking through the many aspects of crafting, implementing and defending a thesis or dissertation. The site has been built up with experience over a number of years.
How theses get written: Some cool tips
A concise powerpoint style guide to getting your thesis started … and finished! Written by Dr Steve Easterbrook this presentation covers key topics from structure to what examiners will look for.
How to Write a PhD Thesis
This guide to thesis writing gives simple and practical advice on the problems of getting started, getting organised, dividing the huge task into less formidable pieces and working on those pieces. It is written by Joe Wolfe (School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney). The guide also explores the practicalities of surviving the ordeal. It includes a suggested structure and a guide to what should go in each section. It was originally written for graduate students in physics, and most of the specific examples given are taken from that discipline. Nevertheless, the feedback from users indicates that it has been widely used and appreciated by graduate students in diverse fields in the sciences and humanities.
Three little-known keys to writing a thesis
Worth reading! A short piece in which Chad Perry highlights three valuable tips to writing a thesis that experience and research have uncovered.
The supervisory team
Students’ perspectives on quality supervision
This page provides some University of Otago (New Zealand) students’ perspectives on quality supervision and problems encountered in supervision. It is designed to help postgraduate research supervisors and students in understanding what to aim for, expect and be aware of in relation to postgraduate research supervision. This is divided into two parts: “The 10 most important qualities of the ideal graduate research supervisor’; and ‘The 10 most substantial problems faced by students in graduate research supervision’.
Research supervision
A succinct but well set-out text by Professor Robert Dale, Division of Information and Computing Sciences at Macquarie University, describing a personal view of research supervision. It outlines the mutual expectations of supervisor and supervisee, and it is intended for students so that they know what they are getting into.
Integrated and/or Action Research theses
PhD students and integrative research
This book chapter by Gary Fry, & Bärbel and Gunther Tress raises some interesting issues for PhD students undertaking integrative research. Their focus is on the training needs of PhD students studying integrative research questions and their need for support from both supervisors and the wider institutional infrastructure. The role of supervisors seems key to the success or failure of integrative PhD projects. The authors find evidence that the disciplinary background, interest and motivation of the supervisor have much influence on research outcomes, in terms of the quality and whether PhD studies are completed on time (or at all).
You want to do an action research thesis?
Here Bob Dick outlines how to conduct and report action research, including a beginner’s guide to the literature.
The examiner’s viewpoint
‘It’s a PhD, not a Nobel Prize’:how experienced examiners assess research theses
This paper by Gerry Mullins and Margaret Kiley reports on a study of the processes that experienced examiners go through, and the judgements they make before writing their reports. Clear trends emerged with regard to: the criteria used by examiners and the levels of student performance expected by them; critical judgement points in the examination process; the examiners’ perceptions of their own role in the process; the influence on examiners of previously published work, the views of the other examiner(s) and their knowledge of the student’s supervisor and/or department, and the level of perceived responsibility between student and supervisor.
Examining PhDs and other research programme theses: Good Practice Guide
The purpose of this 2014 Reading University guide is to help examiners to understand what is involved in the examination process, how it might best be approached, exactly what your responsibilities are (as either internal or external examiner) and the standards you should be looking for.