3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis
Howtowriteathesis?Thisguidegivessimpleandpracticaladviceontheproblemsofgettingstarted,
gettingorganised,dividingthehugetaskintolessformidablepiecesandworkingonthosepieces.Italso
explainsthepracticalitiesofsurvivingtheordeal.Itincludesasuggestedstructureandaguidetowhat
shouldgoineachsection.Itwasoriginallywrittenforgraduatestudentsinphysics,andmostofthe
specificexamplesgivenaretakenfromthatdiscipline.Nevertheless,thefeedbackfromusersindicates
thatithasbeenwidelyusedandappreciatedbygraduatestudentsindiversefieldsinthesciencesand
humanities.
Spanishversion:Cmoescribirunatesisdedoctorado
Frenchversion:Commentredigerunethse
Italianversion:Comescrivereunatesididottorato
Gettingstarted
Anoutline
Organisation
Wordprocessors
Atimetable
Iterativesolution
Whatisathesis?Forwhomisitwritten?Howshoulditbewritten?
Howmuchdetail?
Makeitclearwhatisyours
Style
Presentation
Howmanycopies?
Personal
Coda
ThesisStructure
Howtosurviveathesisdefence
Writingandpublishingascientificpaper

GettingStarted
Whenyouareabouttobegin,writingathesisseemsalong,difficulttask.Thatisbecauseitisalong,difficult
task.Fortunately,itwillseemlessdauntingonceyouhaveacoupleofchaptersdone.Towardstheend,youwill
evenfindyourselfenjoyingitanenjoymentbasedonsatisfactionintheachievement,pleasureinthe
improvementinyourtechnicalwriting,andofcoursetheapproachingend.Likemanytasks,thesiswriting
usuallyseemsworstbeforeyoubegin,soletuslookathowyoushouldmakeastart.

Anoutline
Firstmakeupathesisoutline:severalpagescontainingchapterheadings,subheadings,somefiguretitles(to
indicatewhichresultsgowhere)andperhapssomeothernotesandcomments.Thereisasectiononchapter
orderandthesisstructureattheendofthistext.Onceyouhavealistofchaptersand,undereachchapter
heading,areasonablycompletelistofthingstobereportedorexplained,youhavestruckagreatblowagainst
writer'sblock.Whenyousitdowntotype,youraimisnolongerathesisadauntinggoalbutsomething
simpler.Yournewaimisjusttowriteaparagraphorsectionaboutoneofyoursubheadings.Ithelpstostart
withaneasyone:thisgetsyouintothehabitofwritingandgivesyouselfconfidence.Inanexperimentalthesis,
theMaterialsandMethodschapterisoftentheeasiesttowritejustwritedownwhatyoudidcarefully,
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

1/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

formallyandinalogicalorder.
Howdoyoumakeanoutlineofachapter?Formostofthem,youmighttrythemethodthatIuseforwriting
papers,andwhichIlearnedfrommythesisadviser(StjepanMarcelja):Assembleallthefiguresthatyouwill
useinitandputthemintheorderthatyouwoulduseifyouweregoingtoexplaintosomeonewhattheyall
meant.Youmightaswellrehearseexplainingittosomeoneelseafterallyouwillprobablygiveseveraltalks
basedonyourthesiswork.Onceyouhavefoundthemostlogicalorder,notedownthekeywordsofyour
explanation.Thesekeywordsprovideaskeletonformuchofyourchapteroutline.
Onceyouhaveanoutline,discussitwithyouradviser.Thisstepisimportant:s/hewillhaveusefulsuggestions,
butitalsoservesnoticethats/hecanexpectasteadyflowofchapterdraftsthatwillmakehighprioritydemands
onhis/hertime.Onceyouandyouradviserhaveagreedonalogicalstructure,s/hewillneedacopyofthis
outlineforreferencewhenreadingthechapterswhichyouwillprobablypresentoutoforder.Ifyouhaveaco
adviser,discusstheoutlinewithhim/heraswell,andpresentallchapterstobothadvisersforcomments.

Organisation
Itisencouragingandhelpfultostartafilingsystem.Openawordprocessorfileforeachchapterandoneforthe
references.Youcanputnotesinthesefiles,aswellastext.WhiledoingsomethingforChaptern,youwillthink
"OhImustreferbackto/discussthisinChapterm"andsoyouputanotetodosointhefileforChapterm.Or
youmaythinkofsomethinginterestingorrelevantforthatchapter.WhenyoucometoworkonChapterm,the
moresuchnotesyouhaveaccumulated,theeasieritwillbetowrite.
Makeabackupofthesefilesanddosoeverydayatleast(dependingonthereliabilityofyourcomputerandthe
ageofyourdiskdrive).Donotkeepbackupclosetothecomputerincasethehypotheticalthiefwhofancies
yourcomputerdecidesthats/hecouldusesomedisksormemboryaswell.
Asimplewayofmakingaremotebackupistosenditasanemailattachmenttoaconsentingemail
correspondent,preferablyoneinadifferentlocation.Youcouldalsosendittoyourself.Ineithercase,be
carefultodisposeofsupersededversionssothatyoudon'twastediskspace,especiallyifyouhavebitmap
imagesorotherlargefiles.
Youshouldalsohaveaphysicalfilingsystem:acollectionoffolderswithchapternumbersonthem.Thiswill
makeyoufeelgoodaboutgettingstartedandalsohelpcleanupyourdesk.Yourfileswillcontainnotjustthe
plotsofresultsandpagesofcalculations,butallsortsofoldnotes,references,calibrationcurves,suppliers'
addresses,specifications,speculations,lettersfromcolleaguesetc.,whichwillsuddenlystrikeyouasrelevantto
onechapterorother.Sticktheminthatfolder.Thenputallthefoldersinaboxorafilingcabinet.Asyouwrite
bitsandpiecesoftext,placethehardcopy,thefiguresetcinthesefoldersaswell.Touchthemandfeeltheir
thicknessfromtimetotimeah,thethesisistakingshape.
Ifanyofyourdataexistonlyonpaper,copythemandkeepthecopyinadifferentlocation.Considermakinga
copyofyourlabbook.Thishasanotherpurposebeyondsecurity:usuallythelabbookstaysinthelab,butyou
maywantacopyforyourownfutureuse.Further,scientificethicsrequireyoutokeeplabbooksandoriginal
dataforatleasttenyears,andacopyismorelikelytobefoundiftwocopiesexist.
Ifyouhaven'talreadydoneso,youshouldarchiveyourelectronicdata,inanappropriateformat.Spreadsheet
andwordprocessorfilesarenotsuitableforlongtermstorage.ArchivingdatabyJosephSlaterisagoodguide.
Whileyouaregettingorganised,youshoulddealwithanyuniversitypaperwork.Examinershavetobe
nominatedandtheyhavetoagreetoserve.Variousformsarerequiredbyyourdepartmentandbytheuniversity
administration.Makesurethattheratelimitingstepisyourproductionofthethesis,andnotsomeminor
bureaucraticproblem.

Anoteaboutwordprocessors
OneofthebigFAQsforscientists:isthereawordprocessor,ideallyonecompatiblewithMSWord,butwhich
allowsyoutotypemathematicalsymbolsandequationsconveniently?OnesolutionisLaTeX,whichis
powerful,elegant,reliable,fastandfreefromhttp://www.latexproject.org/orhttp://www.miktex.org/.The
standardequationeditorforMSWordispointandclick,soextremelyslowandawkward.Inmanyversions,
Word'sequationeditorcanbereachedviahotkeyAltequals,andtakespseudolatextypedinput(egX_1
convertstoXsubscript1)uponthenextspaceoroperator.Itusessomedifferentformatseg()ratherthanthe
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

2/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

{}oflatextogroupthingsandinterpretsdivisionsratherthanhavingtouse\frac.Here'salink:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/murrays/archive/2008/02/17/hiddenmathfeaturesinword2007.aspx
Ithasbeenusefultoknowtheseasitseemsbiologistsandlatexdon'tmix!

Atimetable
Istronglyrecommendsittingdownwiththeadviserandmakingupatimetableforwritingit:alistofdatesfor
whenyouwillgivethefirstandseconddraftsofeachchaptertoyouradviser(s).Thisstructuresyourtimeand
providesintermediatetargets.Ifyoumerelyaim"tohavethewholethingdoneby[somedistantdate]",youcan
deceiveyourselfandprocrastinatemoreeasily.Ifyouhavetoldyouradviserthatyouwilldeliverafirstdraftof
chapter3onWednesday,itfocusesyourattention.
Youmaywanttomakeyourtimetableintoachartwithitemsthatyoucancheckoffasyouhavefinishedthem.
Thisisparticularlyusefultowardstheendofthethesiswhenyoufindtherewillbequiteafewlooseendshere
andthere.

Iterativesolution
Wheneveryousitdowntowrite,itisveryimportanttowritesomething.Sowritesomething,evenifitisjusta
setofnotesorafewparagraphsoftextthatyouwouldnevershowtoanyoneelse.Itwouldbeniceifclear,
preciseproseleapteasilyfromthekeyboard,butitusuallydoesnot.Mostofusfinditeasier,however,to
improvesomethingthatisalreadywrittenthantoproducetextfromnothing.Soputdownadraft(asroughas
youlike)foryourownpurposes,thencleanitupforyouradvisertoread.Wordprocessorsarewonderfulinthis
regard:inthefirstdraftyoudonothavetostartatthebeginning,youcanleavegaps,youcanputinlittlenotes
toyourself,andthenyoucancleanitalluplater.
Youradviserwillexpecttoreadeachchapterindraftform.S/hewillthenreturnittoyouwithsuggestionsand
comments.Donotbeupsetifachapterespeciallythefirstoneyouwritereturnscoveredinredink(orits
electronicequivalent).Youradviserwillwantyourthesistobeasgoodaspossible,becausehis/herreputation
aswellasyoursisaffected.Scientificwritingisadifficultart,andittakesawhiletolearn.Asaconsequence,
therewillbemanywaysinwhichyourfirstdraftcanbeimproved.Sotakeapositiveattitudetoallthescribbles
withwhichyouradviserdecoratesyourtext:eachcommenttellsyouawayinwhichyoucanmakeyourthesis
better.
Asyouwriteyourthesis,yourscientificwritingisalmostcertaintoimprove.Evenfornativespeakersof
Englishwhowriteverywellinotherstyles,onenoticesanenormousimprovementinthefirstdraftsfromthe
firsttothelastchapterwritten.Theprocessofwritingthethesisislikeacourseinscientificwriting,andinthat
senseeachchapterislikeanassignmentinwhichyouaretaught,butnotassessed.Remember,onlythefinal
draftisassessed:themorecommentsyouradviseraddstofirstorseconddraft,thebetter.
Beforeyousubmitadrafttoyouradviser,runaspellchecksothats/hedoesnotwastetimeonthose.Ifyou
haveanycharacteristicgrammaticalfailings,checkforthem.

Whatisathesis?Forwhomisitwritten?Howshoulditbewritten?
Yourthesisisaresearchreport.Thereportconcernsaproblemorseriesofproblemsinyourareaofresearch
anditshoulddescribewhatwasknownaboutitpreviously,whatyoudidtowardssolvingit,whatyouthink
yourresultsmean,andwhereorhowfurtherprogressinthefieldcanbemade.Donotcarryoveryourideas
fromundergraduateassessment:athesisisnotananswertoanassignmentquestion.Oneimportantdifferenceis
this:thereaderofanassignmentisusuallytheonewhohassetit.S/healreadyknowstheanswer(oroneofthe
answers),nottomentionthebackground,theliterature,theassumptionsandtheoriesandthestrengthsand
weaknessesofthem.Thereadersofathesisdonotknowwhatthe"answer"is.IfthethesisisforaPhD,the
universityrequiresthatitmakeanoriginalcontributiontohumanknowledge:yourresearchmustdiscover
somethinghithertounknown.
Obviouslyyourexaminerswillreadthethesis.Theywillbeexpertsinthegeneralfieldofyourthesisbut,onthe
exacttopicofyourthesis,youaretheworldexpert.Keepthisinmind:youshouldwritetomakethetopicclear
toareaderwhohasnotspentmostofthelastthreeyearsthinkingaboutit.
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

3/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Yourthesiswillalsobeusedasascientificreportandconsultedbyfutureworkersinyourlaboratorywhowill
wanttoknow,indetail,whatyoudid.Thesesareoccasionallyconsultedbypeoplefromotherinstitutions,and
thelibrarysendsmicrofilmversionsifrequested(yes,still).Morecommonlythesesarenowstoredinan
entirelydigitalform.Thesemaybestoredas.pdffilesonaserveratyouruniversity.Theadvantageisthatyour
thesiscanbeconsultedmuchmoreeasilybyresearchersaroundtheworld.(Seee.g.Australiandigitalthesis
projectforthedigitalavailabilityofresearchtheses.)Writewiththesepossibilitiesinmind.
Itisoftenhelpfultohavesomeoneotherthanyouradviser(s)readsomesectionsofthethesis,particularlythe
introductionandconclusionchapters.Itmayalsobeappropriatetoaskothermembersofstafftoreadsome
sectionsofthethesiswhichtheymayfindrelevantorofinterest,astheymaybeabletomakevaluable
contributions.Ineithercase,onlygivethemrevisedversions,sothattheydonotwastetimecorrectingyour
grammar,spelling,poorconstructionorpresentation.

Howmuchdetail?
Theshortansweris:rathermorethanforascientificpaper.Onceyourthesishasbeenassessedandyourfriends
havereadthefirstthreepages,theonlyfurtherreadersarelikelytobepeoplewhoareseriouslydoingresearch
injustthatarea.Forexample,afutureresearchstudentmightbepursuingthesameresearchandbeinterestedto
findoutexactlywhatyoudid.("Whydoesn'tthewidgetthatBloggsbuiltforherprojectworkanymore?
Where'sthecircuitdiagram?I'lllookupherthesis.""Blow'ssubroutinedoesn'tconvergeinmyparameter
space!I'llhavetolookuphisthesis.""HowdidthatgroupinSydneymanagetogetthattechniquetowork?I'll
orderamicrofilmofthatthesistheycitedintheirpaper.")Forimportantpartsofapparatus,youshouldinclude
workshopdrawings,circuitdiagramsandcomputerprograms,usuallyasappendices.(Bytheway,the
intelligibleannotationofprogramsisaboutasfrequentasporcineaviation,butitisfarmoredesirable.You
wrotethatlineofcodeforareason:attheendofthelineexplainwhatthereasonis.)Youhaveprobablyread
thethesesofpreviousstudentsinthelabwhereyouarenowworking,soyouprobablyknowtheadvantagesofa
clearlyexplained,explicitthesisand/orthedisadvantagesofavagueone.

Makeitclearwhatisyours
Ifyouusearesult,observationorgeneralisationthatisnotyourown,youmustusuallystatewhereinthe
scientificliteraturethatresultisreported.Theonlyexceptionsarecaseswhereeveryresearcherinthefield
alreadyknowsit:dynamicsequationsneednotbefollowedbyacitationofNewton,circuitanalysisdoesnot
needareferencetoKirchoff.Theimportanceofthispracticeinscienceisthatitallowsthereadertoverifyyour
startingposition.Physicsinparticularissaidtobeaverticalscience:resultsarebuiltuponresultswhichinturn
arebuiltuponresultsetc.Goodreferencingallowsustocheckthefoundationsofyouradditionstothestructure
ofknowledgeinthediscipline,oratleasttotracethembacktoalevelwhichwejudgetobereliable.Good
referencingalsotellsthereaderwhichpartsofthethesisaredescriptionsofpreviousknowledgeandwhichparts
areyouradditionstothatknowledge.Inathesis,writtenforthegeneralreaderwhohaslittlefamiliaritywiththe
literatureofthefield,thisshouldbeespeciallyclear.Itmayseemtemptingtoleaveoutareferenceinthehope
thatareaderwillthinkthataniceideaorannicebitofanalysisisyours.Iadviseagainstthisgamble.The
readerwillprobablythink:"WhataniceideaIwonderifit'soriginal?".Thereadercanprobablyfindoutvia
thenetorthelibrary.
Ifyouarewritinginthepassivevoice,youmustbemorecarefulaboutattributionthanifyouarewritinginthe
activevoice."Thesamplewaspreparedbyheatingyttrium..."doesnotmakeitclearwhetheryoudidthisor
whetherAcmeYttriumdidit."Ipreparedthesample..."isclear.

Style
Thetextmustbeclear.Goodgrammarandthoughtfulwritingwillmakethethesiseasiertoread.Scientific
writinghastobealittleformalmoreformalthanthistext.NativeEnglishspeakersshouldrememberthat
scientificEnglishisaninternationallanguage.Slangandinformalwritingwillbeharderforanonnative
speakertounderstand.
Short,simplephrasesandwordsareoftenbetterthanlongones.Somepoliticiansuse"atthispointintime"
insteadof"now"preciselybecauseittakeslongertoconveythesamemeaning.Theydonotcareaboutelegance
orefficientcommunication.Youshould.Ontheotherhand,therewillbetimeswhenyouneedacomplicated
sentencebecausetheideaiscomplicated.Ifyourprimarystatementrequiresseveralqualifications,eachofthese
mayneedasubordinateclause:"When[qualification],andwhere[proviso],andif[condition]then[statement]".
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

4/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Somelengthytechnicalwordswillalsobenecessaryinmanytheses,particularlyinfieldslikebiochemistry.Do
notsacrificeaccuracyforthesakeofbrevity."Blackiswhite"issimpleandcatchy.Anadvertisingcopywriter
wouldloveit."Objectsofverydifferentalbedomaybeilluminateddifferentlysoastoproducesimilarreflected
spectra"islongeranduseslesscommonwords,but,comparedtotheformerexample,ithastheadvantageof
beingtrue.ThelongerexamplewouldbefineinaphysicsthesisbecauseEnglishspeakingphysicistswillnot
havetroublewiththewords.(Aphysicistwhodidnotknowallofthosewordswouldprobablybegladto
remedythelacunaeitherfromthecontextorbyconsultingadictionary.)
Sometimesitiseasiertopresentinformationandargumentsasaseriesofnumberedpoints,ratherthanasoneor
morelongandawkwardparagraphs.Alistofpointsisusuallyeasiertowrite.Youshouldbecarefulnottouse
thispresentationtoomuch:yourthesismustbeaconnected,convincingargument,notjustalistoffactsand
observations.
Oneimportantstylisticchoiceisbetweentheactivevoiceandpassivevoice.Theactivevoice("Imeasuredthe
frequency...")issimpler,anditmakesclearwhatyoudidandwhatwasdonebyothers.Thepassivevoice("The
frequencywasmeasured...")makesiteasiertowriteungrammaticalorawkwardsentences.Ifyouusethe
passivevoice,beespeciallywaryofdanglingparticiples.Forexample,thesentence"Afterconsideringallof
thesepossiblematerials,plutoniumwasselected"implicitlyattributesconsciousnesstoplutonium.Thischoice
isaquestionoftaste:Iprefertheactivebecauseitisclearer,morelogicalandmakesattributionsimple.The
onlyargumentsIhaveeverheardforavoidingtheactivevoiceinathesisare(i)manythesesarewritteninthe
passivevoice,and(ii)someverypolitepeoplefindtheuseof"I"immodest.Usethefirstpersonsingular,not
plural,whenreportingworkthatyoudidyourself:theeditorial'we'maysuggestthatyouhadhelpbeyondthat
listedinyouracknowledgments,oritmaysuggestthatyouaretryingtoshareanyblame.Ontheotherhand,
retainpluralverbsfor"data":"data"isthepluralof"datum",andlotsofscientistsliketopreservethe
distinction.Justsaytoyourself"onedatumis..","thesedataare.."severaltimes.Anexcellentandwidelyused
referenceforEnglishgrammarandstyleisADictionaryofModernEnglishUsagebyH.W.Fowler.

Presentation
Thereisnoneedforathesistobeamasterpieceofdesktoppublishing.Yourtimecanbemoreproductively
spentimprovingthecontentthantheappearance.
Inmanycases,areasonablyneatdiagramcanbedrawnbyhandfasterthanwithagraphicspackage,andyou
canscanitifyouwantanelectronicversion.Eitherisusuallysatisfactory.Aonebit(i.e.blackandwhite),
moderateresolutionscanofahanddrawnsketchwillbebiggerthanalinedrawinggeneratedonagraphics
package,butnothuge.Whiletalkingaboutthesizeoffiles,weshouldmentionthatphotographslookprettybut
takeupalotofmemory.There'sanotherimportantdifference,too.Thephotographerthoughtaboutthecamera
angleandthefocusetc.Thepersonwhodrewtheschematicdiagramthoughtaboutwhatcomponentsoughtto
bedepictedandthewayinwhichthecomponentsofthesysteminteractedwitheachother.Sothenumerically
smallinformationcontentofthelinedrawingmaybemuchmoreusefulinformationthanthatinaphotograph.
Anothernoteaboutfiguresandphotographs.Inthedigitalversionofyourthesis,donotsaveordinary
photographsorotherillustrationsasbitmaps,becausethesetakeupalotofmemoryandarethereforeveryslow
totransfer.Nearlyallgraphicspackagesallowyoutosaveincompressedformatas.jpg(forphotos)or.gif(for
diagrams)files.Further,youcansavespace/speedthingsupbyreducingthenumberofcolours.Invector
graphics(asusedfordrawings),compressionisusuallyunnecessary.
Ingeneral,studentsspendtoomuchtimeondiagramstimethatcouldhavebeenspentonexaminingthe
arguments,makingtheexplanationsclearer,thinkingmoreaboutthesignificanceandcheckingforerrorsinthe
algebra.Thereason,ofcourse,isthatdrawingiseasierthanthinking.
Idonotthinkthatthereisastrongcorrelation(eitherway)betweenlengthandquality.Thereisnoneedtoleave
biggapstomakethethesisthicker.Readerswillnotappreciatelargeamountsofvagueorunnecessarytext.

Approachingtheend
Adeadlineisveryusefulinsomeways.Youmusthandinthethesis,evenifyouthinkthatyouneedonemore
draftofthatchapter,orsomeoneelse'scommentsonthissection,orsomeotherrefinement.Ifyoudonothavea
deadline,orifyouarethinkingaboutpostponingit,pleasetakenoteofthis:Athesisisaverylargework.It
cannotbemadeperfectinafinitetime.Therewillinevitablybethingsinitthatyoucouldhavedonebetter.
Therewillbeinevitablybesometypos.Indeed,bysomelawrelatedtoMurphy's,youwilldiscoveronewhen
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

5/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

youfirstflipopentheboundcopy.Nomatterhowmuchyoureflectandhowmanytimesyouproofreadit,
therewillbesomethingsthatcouldbeimproved.Thereisnopointhopingthattheexaminerswillnotnotice:
manyexaminersfeelobligedtofindsomeexamplesofimprovements(ifnotoutrighterrors)justtoshowhow
thoroughlytheyhavereadit.Sosetyourselfadeadlineandsticktoit.Makeitasgoodasyoucaninthattime,
andthenhanditin!(Inretrospect,therewasanadvantageinwritingathesisinthedaysbeforewordprocessors,
spellingcheckersandtypingprograms.Studentsoftenpaidatypisttoproducethefinaldraftandcouldonly
affordtodothatonce.)

Howmanycopies?
Talktoyouradviseraboutthis.Aswellasthosefortheexaminers,theuniversitylibrariesandyourself,you
shouldmakesomedistributioncopies.Thesecopiesshouldbesenttootherresearcherswhoareworkinginyour
fieldsothat:
theycandiscoverwhatmarvellousworkyouhavebeendoingbeforeitappearsinjournals
theycanlookupthefinedetailsofmethodsandresultsthatwillorhavebeenpublishedmorebriefly
elsewhere
theycanrealisewhatanexcellentresearcheryouare.Thisrealisationcouldbeusefulifapostdoctoral
positionwereavailableintheirlabs.soonafteryoursubmission,oriftheywerereviewersofyour
research/postdoctoralproposal.Evenhavingyournameintheirbookcasesmightbeanadvantage.
WhatevertheUniversity'spolicyonsingleordoublesidedcopies,thedistributioncopiescouldbedoublesided
paper,ordigital,sothatforestsandpostageaccountsarenotexcessivelydepletedbytheexercise.Youradviser
couldhelpyoutomakeupalistofinterestedand/orpotentiallyusefulpeopleforsuchamailinglist.Your
advisermightalsohelpbyfundingthecopiesandpostageiftheyarenotcoveredbyyourscholarship.ACD
withyourthesiswillbecheaperthanapapercopy.Youdon'thavetoburnthemallyourself:companiesmake
multiplecopiesforseveraldollarsacopy.
ThefollowingcommentcomesfromMarilynBalloftheAustralianNationalUniversityinCanberra:"WhenI
finishedwritingmythesis,apostdocwiselytoldmetogiveacopytomyparents.Iwouldneverhavethoughtof
doingthatasIjustcouldn'timaginewhattheywoulddowithit.I'mverygladtohavetakenthatadviceasmy
parentsreallyappreciatedreceivingacopyandproudlydisplayeditforyears.(Mymotherneverfinishedhigh
schoolandmyfatherworkedwithtruckshefixed'em,built'em,drove'em,sold'emandjunked'em.
Nevertheless,theyenjoyedhavingacopyofmythesis.)"

Personal
Intheidealsituation,youwillbeabletospendalargepartperhapsamajorityofyourtimewritingyour
thesis.Thismaybebadforyourphysicalandmentalhealth.
Typing
Setupyourchairandcomputerproperly.TheHealthService,professionalkeyboardusersorperhaps
eventheschoolsafetyofficerwillbeabletosupplychartsshowingrecommendedrelativeheights,
healthyposturesandalsoexercisesthatyoushoulddoifyouspendalotoftimeatthekeyboard.These
lastareworthwhileinsurance:youdonotwanttheextrahassleofbackorneckpain.Trytointersperse
longsessionsoftypingwithothertasks,suchasreading,drawing,calculating,thinkingordoingresearch.
Ifyoudonottouchtype,youshouldlearntodosoforthesakeofyourneckaswellasforproductivity.
Thereareseveralgoodsoftwarepackagesthatteachtouchtypinginteractively.Ifyouuseoneforsay30
minutesadayforacoupleofweeks,youwillbeabletotouchtype.Bythetimeyoufinishthethesis,you
willbeabletotouchtypequicklyandaccuratelyandyoursixhourinvestmentwillhavepaidforitself.Be
carefulnottousethetypingexercisesasadisplacementactivity.
Exercise
Donotgiveupexercisefortheinterim.Lackofexercisemakesyoufeelbad,andyoudonotneed
anythingelsemakingyoufeelbadwhilewritingathesis.3060minutesofexerciseperdayisprobably
nottimelostfromyourthesis:IfindthatifIdonotgetregularexercise,Isleeplesssoundlyandlonger.
Howaboutwalkingtoworkandhomeagain?(Walkpartofthewayifyourhomeisdistant.)Manypeople
opinethatawalkhelpsthemthink,orclearsthehead.Youmayfindthatanoccasionalstrollimproves
yourproductivity.
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

6/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Food
Donotforgettoeat,andmakeanefforttoeathealthyfood.Youshouldnotlosefitnessorriskillnessat
thiscriticaltime.Exerciseisgoodforkeepingyouappetiteatahealthylevel.Iknowthatyouhavelittle
timeforcooking,butkeepasupplyoffreshfruit,vegetablesandbread.Ittakeslesstimetomakea
sandwichthantogotothelocalfastfoodoutlet,andyouwillfeelbetterafterwards.
Drugs
Thesiswritershavealongtraditionofusingcoffeeasastimulantandalcoholormarijuanaasrelaxants.
(Useofalcoholandcoffeeislegal,useofmarijuanaisnot.)Usedinmoderation,theydonotseemtohave
illeffectsonthequalityofthesisproduced.Excesses,however,areobviouslycounterproductive:several
espressiandyouwillbebuzzingtoomuchtositdownandworkseveraldrinksatnightwillslowyou
downnextday.
Others
Otherpeoplewillbesympathetic,butdonottakethemforgranted.Spouses,lovers,familyandfriends
shouldnotbeundervalued.Spendsometimewiththemand,whenyoudo,haveagoodtime.Donot
spendyourtimetogethercomplainingaboutyourthesis:theyalreadyresentthethesisbecauseitis
keepingyouawayfromthem.Ifyoucanfindanotherstudentwritingathesis,thenyoumayfindit
therapeutictocomplaintoeachotheraboutadvisersanddifficulties.S/heneednotbeinthesame
disciplineasyouare.

Coda
Keepgoingyou'renearlythere!MostPhDswilladmitthatthereweretimeswhenwethoughtaboutreasons
fornotfinishing.Butitwouldbecrazytogiveupatthewritingstage,afteryearsofworkontheresearch,andit
wouldbesomethingtoregretforalongtime.
Writingathesisistoughwork.Oneanonymouspostdoctoralresearchertoldme:"Youshouldtelleveryonethat
it'sgoingtobeunpleasant,thatitwillmessuptheirlives,thattheywillhavetogiveuptheirfriendsandtheir
sociallivesforawhile.It'satoughperiodforalmosteverystudent."She'sright:itiscertainlyhardwork,itwill
probablybestressfulandyouwillhavetoadaptyourrhythmtoit.Itisalsoanimportantriteofpassageandthe
satisfactionyouwillfeelafterwardsiswonderful.Onbehalfofscholarseverywhere,Iwishyougoodluck!

Asuggestedthesisstructure
Thelistofcontentsandchapterheadingsbelowisappropriateforsometheses.Insomecases,oneortwoof
themmaybeirrelevant.ResultsandDiscussionareusuallycombinedinseveralchaptersofathesis.Think
abouttheplanofchaptersanddecidewhatisbesttoreportyourwork.Thenmakealist,inpointform,ofwhat
willgoineachchapter.Trytomakethisratherdetailed,sothatyouendupwithalistofpointsthatcorresponds
tosubsectionsoreventotheparagraphsofyourthesis.Atthisstage,thinkhardaboutthelogicofthe
presentation:withinchapters,itisoftenpossibletopresenttheideasindifferentorder,andnotallarrangements
willbeequallyeasytofollow.Ifyoumakeaplanofeachchapterandsectionbeforeyousitdowntowrite,the
resultwillprobablybeclearerandeasiertoread.Itwillalsobeeasiertowrite.
Copyrightwaiver
Yourinstitutionmayhaveaformforthis(UNSWdoes).Inanycase,thisstandardpagegivesthe
universitylibrarytherighttopublishthework,possiblybymicrofilmorothermedium.(AtUNSW,the
PostgraduateStudentOfficewillgiveyouathesispackwithvariousguidelinesandrulesaboutthesis
format.Makesurethatyouconsultthatforitsformalrequirements,aswellasthisratherinformalguide.)
Declaration
Checkthewordingrequiredbyyourinstitution,andwhetherthereisastandardform.Manyuniversities
requiresomethinglike:"Iherebydeclarethatthissubmissionismyownworkandthat,tothebestofmy
knowledgeandbelief,itcontainsnomaterialpreviouslypublishedorwrittenbyanotherpersonnor
materialwhichtoasubstantialextenthasbeenacceptedfortheawardofanyotherdegreeordiplomaof
theuniversityorotherinstituteofhigherlearning,exceptwheredueacknowledgmenthasbeenmadein
thetext.(signature/name/date)"
Titlepage
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

7/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Thismayvaryamonginstitutions,butasanexample:Title/author/"Athesissubmittedforthedegreeof
DoctorofPhilosophyintheFacultyofScience/TheUniversityofNewSouthWales"/date.
Abstract
Ofallyourthesis,thispartwillbethemostwidelypublishedandmostreadbecauseitwillbepublished
inDissertationAbstractsInternational.Itisbestwrittentowardstheend,butnotattheverylastminute
becauseyouwillprobablyneedseveraldrafts.Itshouldbeadistillationofthethesis:aconcise
descriptionoftheproblem(s)addressed,yourmethodofsolvingit/them,yourresultsandconclusions.An
abstractmustbeselfcontained.Usuallytheydonotcontainreferences.Whenareferenceisnecessary,its
detailsshouldbeincludedinthetextoftheabstract.Checkthewordlimit.Remember:eventhoughit
appearsatthebeginning,anabstractisnotanintroduction.Itisarsumofyourthesis.
Acknowledgments
Mostthesisauthorsputinapageofthankstothosewhohavehelpedtheminmattersscientific,andalso
indirectlybyprovidingsuchessentialsasfood,education,genes,money,help,advice,friendshipetc.If
anyofyourworkiscollaborative,youshouldmakeitquiteclearwhodidwhichsections.
Tableofcontents
Theintroductionstartsonpage1,theearlierpagesshouldhaveromannumerals.Ithelpstohavethe
subheadingsofeachchapter,aswellasthechaptertitles.Rememberthatthethesismaybeusedasa
referenceinthelab,soithelpstobeabletofindthingseasily.
Introduction
Whatisthetopicandwhyisitimportant?Statetheproblem(s)assimplyasyoucan.Rememberthatyou
havebeenworkingonthisprojectforafewyears,soyouwillbeveryclosetoit.Trytostepback
mentallyandtakeabroaderviewoftheproblem.Howdoesitfitintothebroaderworldofyour
discipline?
Especiallyintheintroduction,donotoverestimatethereader'sfamiliaritywithyourtopic.Youare
writingforresearchersinthegeneralarea,butnotallofthemneedbespecialistsinyourparticulartopic.
Itmayhelptoimaginesuchapersonthinkofsomeresearcherwhomyoumighthavemetata
conferenceforyoursubject,butwhowasworkinginadifferentarea.S/heisintelligent,hasthesame
generalbackground,butknowslittleoftheliteratureortricksthatapplytoyourparticulartopic.
Theintroductionshouldbeinteresting.Ifyouborethereaderhere,thenyouareunlikelytorevivehis/her
interestinthematerialsandmethodssection.Forthefirstparagraphortwo,traditionpermitsprosethatis
lessdrythanthescientificnorm.Ifwanttowaxlyricalaboutyourtopic,hereistheplacetodoit.Tryto
makethereaderwanttoreadtheheavybundlethathasarriveduninvitedonhis/herdesk.Gotothelibrary
andreadseveralthesisintroductions.Didanymakeyouwanttoreadon?Whichoneswereboring?
Thissectionmightgothroughseveraldraftstomakeitreadwellandlogically,whilekeepingitshort.For
thissection,Ithinkthatitisagoodideatoasksomeonewhoisnotaspecialisttoreaditandtocomment.
Isitanadequateintroduction?Isiteasytofollow?Thereisanargumentforwritingthissectionorleast
makingamajorrevisionofittowardstheendofthethesiswriting.Yourintroductionshouldtellwhere
thethesisisgoing,andthismaybecomeclearerduringthewriting.
Literaturereview
Wheredidtheproblemcomefrom?Whatisalreadyknownaboutthisproblem?Whatothermethodshave
beentriedtosolveit?
Ideally,youwillalreadyhavemuchofthehardworkdone,ifyouhavebeenkeepingupwiththeliterature
asyouvowedtodothreeyearsago,andifyouhavemadenotesaboutimportantpapersovertheyears.If
youhavesummarisedthosepapers,thenyouhavesomegoodstartingpointsforthereview.
Ifyoudidn'tkeepyourliteraturenotesuptodate,youcanstilldosomethinguseful:passonthefollowingadvicetoany
beginningPhDstudentsinyourlabandtellthemhowusefulthiswouldhavebeentoyou.Whenyoustartreadingabouta
topic,youshouldopenaspreadsheetfile,oratleastawordprocessorfile,foryourliteraturereview.Ofcourseyouwritedown
thetitle,authors,year,volumeandpages.Butyoualsowriteasummary(anythingfromacoupleofsentencestoacoupleof
pages,dependingontherelevance).Inothercolumnsofthespreadsheet,youcanaddkeywords(yourownandtheirs)and
commentsaboutitsimportance,relevancetoyouanditsquality.

Howmanypapers?Howrelevantdotheyhavetobebeforeyouincludethem?Well,thatisamatterof
judgement.Ontheorderofahundredisreasonable,butitwilldependonthefield.Youaretheworld
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

8/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

expertonthe(narrow)topicofyourthesis:youmustdemonstratethis.
Apoliticalpoint:makesurethatyoudonotomitrelevantpapersbyresearcherswhoareliketobeyour
examiners,orbypotentialemployerstowhomyoumightbesendingthethesisinthenextyearortwo.

Middlechapters
Insometheses,themiddlechaptersarethejournalarticlesofwhichthestudentwasmajorauthor.There
areseveraldisadvantagestothisformat.
Oneisthatathesisisbothallowedandexpectedtohavemoredetailthanajournalarticle.Forjournal
articles,oneusuallyhastoreducethenumberoffigures.Inmanycases,alloftheinterestingandrelevant
datacangointhethesis,andnotjustthosewhichappearedinthejournal.Thedegreeofexperimental
detailisusuallygreaterinathesis.Relativelyoftenaresearcherrequestsathesisinordertoobtainmore
detailabouthowastudywasperformed.
Anotherdisadvantageisthatyourjournalarticlesmayhavesomecommonmaterialintheintroduction
andthe"MaterialsandMethods"sections.
Theexactstructureinthemiddlechapterswillvaryamongtheses.Insometheses,itisnecessaryto
establishsometheory,todescribetheexperimentaltechniques,thentoreportwhatwasdoneonseveral
differentproblemsordifferentstagesoftheproblem,andthenfinallytopresentamodeloranewtheory
basedonthenewwork.Forsuchathesis,thechapterheadingsmightbe:Theory,MaterialsandMethods,
{firstproblem},{secondproblem},{thirdproblem},{proposedtheory/model}andthentheconclusion
chapter.Forothertheses,itmightbeappropriatetodiscussdifferenttechniquesindifferentchapters,
ratherthantohaveasingleMaterialsandMethodschapter.
HerefollowsomecommentsontheelementsMaterialsandMethods,Theory,Resultsanddiscussion
whichmayormaynotcorrespondtothesischapters.
MaterialsandMethods
Thisvariesenormouslyfromthesistothesis,andmaybeabsentintheoreticaltheses.Itshouldbepossible
foracompetentresearchertoreproduceexactlywhatyouhavedonebyfollowingyourdescription.There
isagoodchancethatthistestwillbeapplied:sometimeafteryouhaveleft,anotherresearcherwillwant
todoasimilarexperimenteitherwithyourgear,oronanewsetupinaforeigncountry.Pleasewritefor
thebenefitofthatresearcher.
Insometheses,particularlymultidisciplinaryordevelopmentalones,theremaybemorethanonesuch
chapter.Inthiscase,thedifferentdisciplinesshouldbeindicatedinthechaptertitles.
Theory
Whenyouarereportingtheoreticalworkthatisnotoriginal,youwillusuallyneedtoincludesufficient
materialtoallowthereadertounderstandtheargumentsusedandtheirphysicalbases.Sometimesyou
willbeabletopresentthetheoryabinitio,butyoushouldnotreproducetwopagesofalgebrathatthe
readercouldfindinastandardtext.Donotincludetheorythatyouarenotgoingtorelatetotheworkyou
havedone.
Whenwritingthissection,concentrateatleastasmuchonthephysicalargumentsasontheequations.
Whatdotheequationsmean?Whataretheimportantcases?
Whenyouarereportingyourowntheoreticalwork,youmustincluderathermoredetail,butyoushould
considermovinglengthyderivationstoappendices.Thinktooabouttheorderandstyleofpresentation:
theorderinwhichyoudidtheworkmaynotbetheclearestpresentation.
Suspenseisnotnecessaryinreportingscience:youshouldtellthereaderwhereyouaregoingbeforeyou
start.
Resultsanddiscussion
Theresultsanddiscussionareveryoftencombinedintheses.Thisissensiblebecauseofthelengthofa
thesis:youmayhaveseveralchaptersofresultsand,ifyouwaittilltheyareallpresentedbeforeyou
begindiscussion,thereadermayhavedifficultyrememberingwhatyouaretalkingabout.Thedivisionof
ResultsandDiscussionmaterialintochaptersisusuallybestdoneaccordingtosubjectmatter.
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

9/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Makesurethatyouhavedescribedtheconditionswhichobtainedforeachsetofresults.Whatwasheld
constant?Whatweretheotherrelevantparameters?Makesuretoothatyouhaveusedappropriate
statisticalanalyses.Whereapplicable,showmeasurementerrorsandstandarderrorsonthegraphs.Use
appropriatestatisticaltests.
Takecareplottinggraphs.Theoriginandinterceptsareoftenimportantso,unlesstherangesofyourdata
makeitimpractical,thezerosofoneorbothscalesshouldusuallyappearonthegraph.Youshouldshow
errorbarsonthedata,unlesstheerrorsareverysmall.Forsinglemeasurements,thebarsshouldbeyour
bestestimateoftheexperimentalerrorsineachcoordinate.Formultiplemeasurementstheseshould
includethestandarderrorinthedata.Theerrorsindifferentdataareoftendifferent,so,wherethisisthe
case,regressionsandfitsshouldbeweighted(i.e.theyshouldminimizethesumofsquaresofthe
differencesweightedinverselyasthesizeoftheerrors.)(Acommonfailinginmanysimplesoftware
packagesthatdrawgraphsanddoregressionsisthattheydonottreaterrorsadequately.UNSWstudent
MikeJohnstonhaswrittenaplottingroutinethatplotsdatawitherrorbarsandperformsweightedleast
squareregressions.Itisathttp://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/3rdyearlab/graphing/graph.html).Youcanjust
'paste'yourdataintotheinputanditgeneratesa.psfileofthegraph.
Inmostcases,yourresultsneeddiscussion.Whatdotheymean?Howdotheyfitintotheexistingbodyof
knowledge?Aretheyconsistentwithcurrenttheories?Dotheygivenewinsights?Dotheysuggestnew
theoriesormechanisms?
Trytodistanceyourselffromyourusualperspectiveandlookatyourwork.Donotjustaskyourselfwhat
itmeansintermsoftheorthodoxyofyourownresearchgroup,butalsohowotherpeopleinthefield
mightseeit.Doesithaveanyimplicationsthatdonotrelatetothequestionsthatyousetouttoanswer?

Finalchapter,referencesandappendices
Conclusionsandsuggestionsforfurtherwork
Yourabstractshouldincludeyourconclusionsinverybriefform,becauseitmustalsoincludesomeother
material.Asummaryofconclusionsisusuallylongerthanthefinalsectionoftheabstract,andyouhave
thespacetobemoreexplicitandmorecarefulwithqualifications.Youmightfindithelpfultoputyour
conclusionsinpointform.
Itisoftenthecasewithscientificinvestigationsthatmorequestionsthananswersareproduced.Does
yourworksuggestanyinterestingfurtheravenues?Aretherewaysinwhichyourworkcouldbeimproved
byfutureworkers?Whatarethepracticalimplicationsofyourwork?
Thischaptershouldusuallybereasonablyshortafewpagesperhaps.Aswiththeintroduction,Ithink
thatitisagoodideatoasksomeonewhoisnotaspecialisttoreadthissectionandtocomment.
References(Seealsounderliteraturereview)
Itistemptingtoomitthetitlesofthearticlescited,andtheuniversityallowsthis,butthinkofallthetimes
whenyouhaveseenareferenceinapaperandgonetolookituponlytofindthatitwasnothelpfulafter
all.
Shouldyoureferencewebsitesand,ifso,how?Ifyouciteajournalarticleorbook,thereadercangotoa
libraryandcheckthattheciteddocumentandcheckwhetherornotitsayswhatyousayitdid.Awebsite
maydisappear,anditmayhavebeenupdatedorchangedcompletely.Soreferencestothewebareusually
lesssatisfactory.Nevertheless,therearesomeveryusefulandauthoritativesources.So,iftherulesof
yourinstitutionpermitit,itmaybeappropriatetocitewebsites.(Becautious,anddon'toverusesuch
citations.Inparticular,don'tuseawebcitationwhereyoucouldreasonablyusea"hard"citation.
Rememberthatyourexaminersarelikelytobeolderandmoreconservative.)YoushouldgivetheURL
andalsothedateyoudownloadedit.Ifthereisadateonthesiteitself(lastupdatedon.....)youshould
includedthat,too.
Appendices
Ifthereismaterialthatshouldbeinthethesisbutwhichwouldbreakupthefloworborethereader
unbearably,includeitasanappendix.Somethingswhicharetypicallyincludedinappendicesare:
importantandoriginalcomputerprograms,datafilesthataretoolargetoberepresentedsimplyinthe
resultschapters,picturesordiagramsofresultswhicharenotimportantenoughtokeepinthemaintext.

http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

10/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

Somesiteswithrelatedmaterial
Writingandpublishingascientificpaper
Howtosurviveathesisdefence
Somerelevanttexts
Stevens,K.andAsmar,C(1999)'DoingpostgraduateresearchinAustralia'.MelbourneUniversityPress,
MelbourneISBN052284880X.
Phillips,E.MandPugh,D.S.(1994)'HowtogetaPhD:ahandbookforstudentsandtheirsupervisors'.
OpenUniversityPress,Buckingham,England
Tufte,E.R.(1983)'Thevisualdisplayofquantitativeinformation'.GraphicsPress,Cheshire,Conn.
Tufte,E.R.(1990)'Envisioninginformation'GraphicsPress,Cheshire,Conn.
Distribution
Ifyouhavefoundthesedocumentsuseful,pleasefeelfreetopasstheaddressorahardcopytoanyotherthesis
writersorgraduatestudentorganisations.Pleasedonotsellthem,oruseanyofthecontentswithout
acknowledgement.
Suggestions,thanksandcaveats
Thisdocumentwillbeupdatedoccasionally.Ifyouhavesuggestionsforinclusions,amendmentsorother
improvements,pleasesendthem.Dosoafteryouhavesubmittedthethesisdonotusethisinvitationasa
displacementactivity.IthankMarilynBall,GaryBryant,BillWhitenandJ.Douglas,whosesuggestionshave
beenincorporatedinthisversion.Substantialcontributionswillbeacknowledgedinfutureversions.Ialsotake
thisopportunitytothankmyownthesisadvisers,StjepanMarceljaandJacobIsraelachvili,fortheirhelpand
friendship,andtothankthegraduatestudentstowhomIhavehadthepleasuretobeanadviser,acolleagueand
afriend.OpinionsexpressedinthesenotesaremineanddonotnecessarilyreflectthepolicyoftheUniversity
ofNewSouthWalesoroftheSchoolofPhysics.
AFAQandsomeobservationsabouttheweb
WhyandhowdidIwritethisdocument?Theneedforitwasevidentso,asoneofmyPhDstudentsapproached
theendofhisproject,ImadenotesofeverythingthatIsaidtohimaboutthesiswriting.Thesenotesbecamethe
planforthefirstdraftofthisdocument,whichhasbeenextendedseveraltimessincethen.Iamsurprisedthatit
hashundredsofreaderseachday.However,thisisanimportantmessageabouttheweb.Ittakestimeand
thoughttomakeagoodresourcebut,ifyoudo,itcanbenefitalotofpeople.Whenthisdocumentwasfirst
posted,thewebwasrelativelynewandfeedbackshowedthatpeoplewereoftensurprisedtofindwhatthey
sought.Nowthereisatendencytotakethewebforgranted:oneisalmostdisappointednottofindwhatoneis
seeking.However,thewebisonlyasgoodasthecollectiveeffortofallofus.Thereadersofthisdocumentwill
bescholars,expertsandeducators:amongthemanycontributionsyouwillmaketoknowledgeandyour
communities,theremaybecontributionsthatshouldbemadefreelyavailable,allovertheworld.Keepthis
observationaboutthewebinthebackofyourmindforlater,whenyouarenotwritingathesis.
1996.Modified2/11/06JoeWolfe/J.Wolfe@unsw.edu.au,phone61293854954(UT+10,+11OctMar).
SchoolofPhysics,UniversityofNewSouthWales,Sydney,Australia.
Joe'sscientifichomepage
Alistofeducationallinks
Scientificpublications
Membranes:homeostasisandregulationofareaandtension
Joe'smusicpage

http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

11/12

3/15/2015

HowtoWriteaPhDThesis

(CountercourtesyofExtremeTracking)

Happybirthday,theoryofrelativity!
AsofJune2005,relativityis100yearsold.Ourcontributionis
EinsteinLight:relativityinbrief...orindetail.Itexplainsthekey
ideasinashortmultimediapresentation,whichissupportedbylinks
tobroaderanddeeperexplanations.

http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

12/12