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PHD
Thesis

Introduction

Anyone who decides to pursue a Ph.D. will be required to put a thesis together in order to be awarded a degree. Understanding this key component of a Ph.D. program is essential to decide whether this degree is in your future. Time, dedication and research are all required while composing a thesis.

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Objective

Welcome to the M.Phil. /PhD programme of the School of Language, Literature, & Culture Studies, and to a completely new world of academics. This handbook is intended as your guide to the research process in general, and dissertation in particular, as well as to allay the unneeded anxiety and feelings of confusion and inadequacy that will almost inevitably plague you over the next few years.

A dissertation is the culmination and the final product of an involved process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organisation, and composition. The dissertation serves not only to further the field in which it is written, but also to provide you with an exceptional opportunity to increase your knowledge in that field. The process of writing a dissertation can be one of the more rewarding experiences one may encounter in academics, and is a test of your abilities of diligence, organisation, practice, a willingness to learn (and to make mistakes!), and, perhaps most important of all, patience.

If you take some care in developing your dissertation, the document can be transformed after your degree has been awarded into a book or series of articles that can help launch your academic career. Unlike earlier course papers that just received a grade, your dissertation can be used and revised for years to come.

Experience

Many people go into research because they have always been "good at studies”, and want to continue with something that brings them success and self-confidence. The dissertation, on the other hand, is a new kind of academic project, unlike anything else you have done, and is the academic project that marks your transition from student to scholar.

Writing a dissertation is a very large, very independent project. It is, by definition, a self-directed process. There are usually no weekly deadlines from professors, no regular discussions with classmates, no reading assignments, no one telling you what to do— you are on your own, writing something longer than you have ever written, and doing it without a safety net. This independence can make the process seem very intimidating

Writing a dissertation is stressful. When you embark on this project, you may begin to ask yourself questions about your future in academia. When you finish your dissertation, you will have to change your life dramatically —you will have to look for a job, begin work as an independent scholar, develop classes, and move out of a community that you have grown to love, and so on. You may also feel like your dissertation will begin to define your professional identity. You may feel like your research interests, your theoretical influences, and your skill as a writer may be evaluated by this first piece of serious scholarship.

Understand that you may experience self-doubt.

At various points in the research degree, you may find yourself questioning your commitment to your chosen profession or topic. In that event, consider these tactics:

Do some soul-searching. This may be a time to ask yourself what the PhD means to you, and whether you really want to continue. Remember that what it means to you and what it means to your partner, family, or friends may be very different. Ask yourself "What will make me happy? And why?"
Seek help from other sources of advice. Your supervisor or colleagues in the Centre may be able to help you. Other research scholars, especially those who are close to finishing or have finished, may be helpful.
Remember that there is no shame in not pursuing this advanced degree. Deciding not to continue with a research degree does not mean that you have "quit", or that others who continue to pursue it are smarter, more driven, or more virtuous than you are. Many people lead happy, fulfilling lives, build lucrative and rewarding careers, make important
contributions to knowledge, and generally get along just fine without doing either an M.Phil. or a PhD. 1.2

Time Management

We follow the university-specific guidelines or publisher’s guidelines across the top countries like United Kingdom, United States, Australia and other Asian Universities.At PhD Assistance, the Thesis synopsis work provides a broad outline of your proposed research project and it.

Effective time management can be another way to
alleviate some of the external stresses of a research program.
Here are a few tips:

  Plan each day

  Choose a scheduling strategy that works for you.

  Schedule the dissertation work along with the other work you
  need to do.

  Schedule research work at times most productive for you.

  When planning your long-range goals, work backwards.

Confront the Procrastination Monster.

Here is what to do when you do not feel like writing:

Make a list of all the little things you need to do for a given section of the dissertation, no matter how small. Then when you do not feel like tackling something big, you can do something else, like photocopying an article you need, or check citations.

Do the more mundane things needed in a dissertation. Reformat margins; work on the bibliography, tab examples, draw trees and diagrams, etc..

Vent your frustration. Free-write about why you are stuck, and perhaps even about how tired you are of your dissertation/ supervisor, etc. This could even get you past the emotions of writer's block and move you toward creative solutions.

If you are really feeling disorganised, clean your workspace. A clear desk and an organised set of notes can go a long way toward clearing your head and getting you on track, but do not make the office-cleaningritual your first choice for procrastination.

Emulate the students who are serious workers. If you do not know who they are, ask your supervisor. Try not to emulate the non-workers in your department – it can be easy to fall into a sort of fraternity of alleged dissertation writers who are bound by the mantra, "I'm not getting any work done”.

Feel and behave like a professional
One of the most important parts of becoming a scholar is feeling like one. The transition from student to scholar is a huge mental step toward completion. Essentially, do things that help you feel like you have a legitimate place in academia – here are a few tips:

Think about the dissertation as a nine-to-five job.

Organize and run Centre-level discussion groups on matters of common interest to your peers and/or specific to a sub-discipline.

Attend seminars, conferences and workshop, and read broadly in your field. Deliver papers on your research, and engage with the research of your peers.

Talk with scholars from outside your Centre who do similar work, and engage in intellectual conversations.

When faculty in the area of your research visit your Centre, make appointments to meet them to discuss your own work. Keep in mind, however, that everyone is very busy, so preferably you ask for such an appointment well in advance, preferably by email. Make sure that you are on time for the appointment and that the visitor has your contact phone number.

When faculty in the area of your research visit your Centre, make appointments to meet them to discuss your own work. Keep in mind, however, that everyone is very busy, so preferably you ask for such an appointment well in advance, preferably by email. Make sure that you are on time for the appointment and that the visitor has your contact phone number.

As far as possible, try and teach what you have learnt to others in the same discipline, as teaching a subject is the best way to truly understand what it is. Although a research scholar cannot seek or accept full-time employment, there is no bar to you taking classes and tutorials for free. Remember though that teaching carries with it a huge responsibility, so you must check and crosscheck the content of your lectures. If there is something that you do not fully understand, or a question that you cannot satisfactorily answer, there is no shame in approaching another scholar to help you to resolve the question.

Steps to a Research Degree

Choose a topic

Work With your supervisor

Tell your supervisor what kind of feedback would be most helpful to you.

Keep your supervisor informed.

Keep your supervisor informed.

Understand that your supervisor has many other teaching and supervision responsibilities, as well as a personal life.

Remember that rights as a human being are not suspended in the supervisor/ research scholar relationship.

Plan your research

The licensing of subject-verb agreement – in which conditions does it take place?

The role of perfective aspect in blocking subject-verb agreement – why does transitivity and aspect create the conditions for (a) to be blocked?

The role of lexical case in blocking subject-verb agreement – when are subjects marked with a lexical Case? How does agreement with predicate nominals relate to (a) and (b)?

Use of dialect in literature in general, and in Hindi literature in particular – in what kind of literary texts is there an occurrence of dialect? What is the frequency of dialect use in the text? How lengthy is the passage in dialect?

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This systematic approach is sequential but cumulative – the results of each step must serve as the premise at the next. This sequential approach can be applied also to our second example of a feminist interpretation of a Dalit woman writer’s novel. There can be at least five sub-problems that may be postulated here:

What are the distinguishing features of the autobiographical form?

How have feminist interpretations treated other instances of such forms? Why do you find them preferable? What are their shortcomings and strengths?

How has Dalit writing in general, and autobiography in particular, been viewed in the literature? What are their shortcomings and strengths?

What needs to be added to or altered in feminist approaches to autobiography to make the approach that you will be ready to adhere to?

How does your approach work when applied to the text you have chosen? In what ways does it work better (for you) than other interpretations?