how to write synopsis for phd in physics

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Format of synopsis for PhD | Download Sample.

how to write synopsis for phd in physics

Guidelines for Writing Ph. D Synopsis.

FORMAT OF SYNOPSIS (MS/MPHIL & PHD). Given below is an outline for synopsis writing. It provides guidelines for organization and presentation of research.

INTRODUCTION OF 2-3 PAGES

Identify a real world problem
Describe the undesirable symptoms
Identify the knowledge gap that needs to be filled in order to help solve the problem
Support your discussion with solid peer-reviewed references

LITERATURE REVIEW

Create an Outline or “mindmap” of the key theories and concepts.
Dig deep into the “ Peer-reviewed” literature for each theory and concept and create an annotated bibliography and literature map
Write literature review
Map out the research gap
Identify the “type(s)” of question that need to be answer to fulfill the purpose
Develop the main research question and sub-questions
Develop hypotheses as appropriate
Identify and diagram the key variables in the research question
Identify and diagram the key relationships between the variables
Identify and diagram the key context factors
Describe the framework
Research Process
Based on the research questions, the overall approach (Data Collection, Analysis methods, Validity and Reliability test process)

POSSIBLE OUTCOME AND LIMITATIONS OF YOUR STUDY

Identify the larger application(s) and meaning(s) of the findings.
Identify the limitations associated with the findings and conclusion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OR REFERENCES

Most preferable format:

Font: Times New Roman

Title of the thesis: 18

Main Heading: 14 Bold

Sub Heading: 12 Bold

Spacing 1.5

Reference style: APA/IEEE/Harvard

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SOP for PhD in Physics: Tips & Format

What is SOP
SOP Writing Tips
Statement of Purpose for Masters
SOP for MBA
Statement of Purpose for Phd

Updated on 08 February, 2024

Sr. Content editor

Studying a research-level course like PhD in Physics is a significant feat. Given the complexity of the curriculum and the need for in-depth research, only a few candidates are selected by top overseas universities.

The most important aspect of the admissions process is the SOP for PhD in Physics. Just like any other level of study, PhD students must ensure their Statement of Purpose is unique, crisp, and appealing to the admissions committee.

A well-drafted Physics PhD SOP can turn the tables in the applicant’s favor. It can convince the reviewers that the applicant is a suitable fit for their research program and downplay the applicant’s weaknesses. Students must remember that the admissions committee reads through 1000+ SOPs daily. Drafting a memorable SOP that strikes a chord with the reviewer is vital.

Focusing on One’s Self
Avoiding Teaching as the Main Interest
Addressing Previous “Issues” Upfront
Not Focusing too Much on Work Experience
Circulating the SOP
SOP Format for PhD in Physics

Frequently Asked Questions

5 tips to write effective sop for biological sciences .

Generally, a sample SOP for Ph.D. Physics will be similar to any other course level. However, the following tips should be kept in mind –

Focusing on One’s Self

The SOP is a platform where applicants can showcase themselves to the Admissions Committee. Many students focus more on complimenting the university when the focus should be on themselves –

What is their academic journey like?
Did they face any critical barriers to education? If yes, how did they overcome it?
Why have they chosen to study for a PhD in Physics?
Why is the student a good match for the chosen program?

Avoiding Teaching as the Main Interest

A PhD program qualifies a student to become a university professor. But the SOP related to Ph.D. Physics should not revolve around teaching as the primary interest for pursuing the program.

Reviewers want to know an applicant’s interest in research areas.

Addressing Previous “Issues” Upfront

A student can experience setbacks during their educational years. If yes, they should be addressed early on in the SOP.

Applicants should briefly explain their setbacks and ways in which they have overcome them.

Not Focusing too Much on Work Experience

Even if an applicant has decades of work experience in the field, it is best not to highlight it too much in the SOP for PhD in Physics.

If students wish to highlight their work experience, they should tie it to their motivation and the course’s research topics.

Circulating the SOP

Once the SOP is drafted, it is recommended that applicants share the same with recommendation writers, former professors, friends studying abroad, and family.

This will help in gathering important tips and refining the SOP before submission.

SOP Format for PhD in Physics

A Statement of Purpose sample for Ph.D. in Physics will follow a basic format, as discussed below –

Introduction

Applicants are recommended to keep the introduction concise and discuss their interest in the course, mentor, and university.

First Paragraph

This paragraph should talk about previous research and academic achievements. The aim is to let the reviewer know right off the bat that one can handle extensive research.

Second Paragraph

This paragraph must discuss the reason for pursuing the program and the applicant’s thoughts on choosing the specialization. One must also mention their short and long-term goals.

Third Paragraph

Applicants can use this paragraph to discuss previous projects or work experiences and their interest in the chosen country.

Fourth Paragraph

This paragraph can be utilized to talk about how the applicant considers themselves to be a good culture fit. They can write about their previous diversity experiences and how they have shaped the applicant’s current view of the course and life in general.

Fifth Paragraph

This paragraph should focus on plans in the future – the applicant’s vision of themselves in 10 to 15 years to showcase how they wish to integrate their knowledge into the real world. Applicants can also talk about future study topics and how they might influence the community.

SOP vs Personal Statement
SOP for internship

Conclusion

A good SOP for PhD in Physics can be the deciding factor in a candidate’s enrollment. Applicants must draft one carefully and with the target audience in mind.

Finally, it is important to maintain a formal tone throughout the SOP with slight deviations wherever relevant. Providing all information precisely and concisely will help an applicant stand out from the herd.

How long should an SOP for PhD in Physics be?

A student should go through the University’s official guidelines for drafting an SOP. The maximum number of words may range from 500 to 1000 words.

What are some common mistakes to avoid in an SOP?

Some common mistakes to avoid while drafting a Physics Ph.D. SOP involve writing within the prescribed word limit, a dull introduction, drafting an SOP at the eleventh hour, and complimenting the university or faculty too much.

Neha Uppal is a passionate content creator and editor. She carries 7.5+ years of experience working with leading edutech companies where she worked as a Faculty, Community Manager, and Content Marketeer. At upGrad, she is helping out people keep informed about the scopes and opportunities of studying abroad via informational articles/blogs.

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FSU | Department of Physics

Department of Physics

College of Arts and Sciences

Graduate Student Handbook

Click on contents option to jump down to relevant section, or scroll down for whole document.

Introduction
Admission requirements
Financial support
Language requirement
Counseling and registration
Credit load limit
Course and credit information
Course and credit requirements
Grade requirement
Teaching requirement
Major Professor and Supervisory Committee
Program of studies
Master's Degree
Research report requirement
Written Proficiency Examination
Doctoral Preliminary Examination
Admission to Candidacy
Annual evaluation
Writing Guidelines for the Dissertation
Defense of dissertation
Scholarly Engagement
Time limits
Application for a degree
Readmission
Summary of requirement s

1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Physics Department. This guide is to help you during your studies towards a M.S. or Ph.D. degree. The requirements for earning either a Master of Science in Physics or a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics at Florida State University are described in this guidebook. Students seeking one of the above degrees should familiarize themselves with these requirements and assume the responsibility for satisfying them. If a rule change is made after a student has been admitted to the graduate program, the student has the option of following either the rule which was in effect when they entered or all of the new rules.

Aid in surmounting the bureaucratic barriers on the road to an advanced degree in Physics can be obtained from the Graduate Student Affairs Coordinator whose office is in Room 307 of the Physics Building. Academic Inquiries or questions which require a policy decision should be directed to the Physics Department Director of Graduate Student Affairs or one of the members of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee.

If a student requests a waiver of some departmental policy, they should submit in writing a request for the waiver to the Physics Department through the Graduate Affairs Director.

Though this guidebook describes the most important requirements for attaining a graduate degree in Physics, it is not a comprehensive statement of all University policies. In addition to consulting this guidebook, students should become familiar with the pertinent sections of the latest edition of The Florida State University Graduate Bulletin . Furthermore, each semester before registering, students should consult the current Florida State University Registrar's Course Lookup page, not only for course information but also for any deadlines. In addition, sometime prior to the semester in which a student hopes to graduate, they should become familiar with the manuscript clearance process , including all deadlines and formatting requirements.

2. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

2.1. General information

The Graduate Affairs Committee is responsible for selecting students for admission into the Physics department graduate program. All correspondence concerning admission should be directed to (send email) (show email) .

2.2. Application

To be considered for admission, an applicant must submit or arrange for the submission of items 2.2.1 - 2.2.5 below. Applicants whose native language is not English, please see item 2.2.6 below.

2.2.1. Application for admission to the Graduate School. Each applicant must fill out and submit an application form for admission to the Graduate School .

2.2.2. Official transcripts. One may use unofficial transcript(s) for the application, but once admitted to FSU, you must submit official transcript(s). Please send the transcript(s) directly to the Office of Admissions. The online application portal has instructions for submitting the transcript(s). Any admission or financial offer including assistantships made prior to the reception of official transcript(s) provided by the schools attended is made on a provisional basis only. A grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in graduate or upper division undergraduate science and mathematics courses is required for admission in addition to the requirements of the Graduate School.

2.2.3. Three letters of recommendation. Each applicant should solicit letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with his or her qualifications for advanced study in physics. The online application portal has instructions for submitting the recommendation letters.

2.2.4. GRE score. Each applicant is required to take the verbal and quantitative portions of the general (aptitude) Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Graduate Record Examinations are offered several times a year at numerous testing centers in the United States and abroad. Advance registration is required. Registration, as well as detailed information on the availability and character of the examination, may be obtained from Educational Testing Services. After taking the exam the applicant should ask the Educational Testing Service to send the score to the Office of Admission. FSU's institutional reporting code is located here .

2.2.5. Application fee. Each applicant must send an application fee, currently thirty dollars, with the application described in item 2.2.1. The applicant will pay this fee electronically upon submitting the application in the application portal.

2.2.6. TOEFL score. A student whose native language is not English and who has not been educated in an English speaking institution for at least one year, must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A total score of at least 80 on the IBTOEFL test and 550 on the paper TOEFL test is required for admission. The TOEFL is offered six times a year at designated test centers in 170 countries throughout the world, including all of the states of the United States. Advance Registration is required. Registration, as well as detailed information on the availability and character of the examination, may be obtained from Educational Testing Services. After taking the exam the applicant should request the TOEFL Office to send the score to the Office of Admission. FSU's institutional reporting code is located here .

2.3. Deadline

For admission in the Fall semester, applicants must satisfy the above requirements by January 15 to be given full consideration; applications received after January 15th will also be considered until all of the available positions are filled.

3. FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Most graduate students are initially supported by a Teaching Assistantship for the Fall and Spring semesters. After a student has chosen a particular area of research, they are generally supported by a Research Assistantship funded by a grant from a government agency or other source. A graduate assistantship is provided with the expectation that the student works full time on their graduate education.

First year students should choose a research area by mid February and are usually supported by Research Assistantships over the summer. There are a limited number of Teaching Assistantships available during the Summer Semester.

Typically graduate students receive support for five continuous years provided that the student is making satisfactory academic progress, they are satisfying the service requirements of teaching or research, and funds are available.

A review of each Ph.D. student is conducted every year. If after review a student is determined not to be making satisfactory progress, their financial support may be terminated. The Department will not provide tuition waivers beyond the sixth year of study unless the student's major professor successfully petitions the Graduate Committee.

No graduate student may be appointed to any assistantship without the approval of the Graduate Affairs Committee. Only full time students are eligible for such appointments. Assistantship appointments are made with the understanding that the student has no other employment. If a student has outside employment and has not received prior approval by the Graduate Affairs Committee, their assistantship may be terminated. Also, no student on academic probation may receive an assistantship for more than one semester.

US residents must change their status from out-of-state to in-state residency before the start of their second academic year. The first step is to obtain the residency reclassification documentation before classes in their first academic semester. The reclassification documentation is located on the reclassification website . The department will not pay out-of-state tuition waivers for those students who are eligible to qualify as in-state residents beyond the first year of study.

4. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

There is no language requirement for admission into the department for a student whose native language is English or a student who has received an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution. However, there are requirements for teaching at Florida State University.

Students whose native language is not English must have, in addition to the ability to read and understand English, a reasonable proficiency in spoken English to pursue a graduate program in Physics at Florida State University. Such proficiency is necessary for a student to fully function in one of the research groups and also to satisfy the teaching requirement discussed in Section 10. To determine English language proficiency in relation to teaching, students whose native language is not English, whether or not they received their undergraduate degree from a U.S. university, are required to take the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) test. The only students whose native language is not English that are exempt from this exam are those that scored a 26 or higher on the Speaking portion of the IBTOEFL. The SPEAK test is administered on campus at the Center for Intensive English Studies and should be taken before the beginning of the first semester. Details on when and where this test is offered may be obtained from the Physics Department Graduate Office. After the SPEAK exam is administered and scored, the graduate coordinator will share the scores with the student, the graduate advisors, and the faculty member in charge of coordinating the semester's teaching assignments.

A score of 50 or higher on the SPEAK test certifies a student to teach at all levels.
A score of at least 40 on the SPEAK test is acceptable for a Level 1 TA, who will have no direct contact with undergraduate students.
A SPEAK score of 45, or a 23-24 on the Speaking section of the IBTOEFL certifies a TA to teach at Level 1; and at Level 2 for up to two semesters if also concurrently enrolled in an appropriate CIES English language course. If, by the end of these two semesters, the student's skills have not improved sufficiently to achieve a score of 50 on the SPEAK exam, the student will be eligible to teach only at Level 1.
Students that score less than 45 on the SPEAK test after two attempts must meet with the Physics Department Director of Graduate Affairs to determine what further steps are necessary to satisfy the language requirement.

5. COUNSELING AND REGISTRATION

Before registration for the Fall or Spring semesters, a student who does not have a Major Professor will meet for counseling with the Graduate Affairs Committee. During this meeting, faculty advisors will help the student devise a course schedule for the first semester(s). Before registration for the Summer semester, a student who does not have a Major Professor must meet for advising either with the Graduate Affairs Committee, or if the student is working for a particular faculty member, with that faculty member. A student who has a Major Professor must meet for counseling with his or her Major Professor before registering each semester.

For your first registration experience, the Graduate Coordinator will walk you through the process of registering for classes.

Classes may be dropped and added without penalty during the first four days of classes. Specifically drop/add ends on 11:59 PM of the fourth day. Significant changes in a student's schedule should be made only after consultation with his or her advisor.

Graduate students should be prepared to pay their registration and other fees at the beginning of each semester. Students who are unable to do so, should contact Student Business Services for an extension of the due date. The Physics Department offers tuition waivers that cover the matriculation fee for Florida residents and the out-of-state fee for non-Florida residents. However, students are responsible for the remaining fees (e.g. athletic, technology, etc.). See this document for more details.

6. CREDIT LOAD LIMITS

Nine (9) hours per semester constitutes a full-time load for graduate students and fellowship holders. Depending upon the circumstances, graduate students may receive a tuition waiver for up to twelve (12) credit hours.

Students on assistantships are granted tuition waivers. Waivers are given only for Physics Department courses. Under very exceptional circumstances, an advisor may petition the Graduate Affairs Director for a student to take no more than three (3) credit hours in another department. Since waivers are given to the Physics Department by the College of Arts and Sciences, no waivers are possible for other colleges.

The number of hours which a graduate student may carry without special permission is fifteen (15).

Thesis, dissertation, and directed individual studies credit hours are included in all of the above totals.

7. COURSE AND CREDIT INFORMATION

7.1. General information

Information on the spectrum and content of courses taught at Florida State University can be obtained from The Florida State University Graduate Bulletin . Information on the scheduling of classes in a given semester can be seen in the course search tool within my.fsu.edu. Additional information about a particular course can be obtained from the instructor in the course.

7.2. Transfer credits

Transfer of courses from a recognized graduate school is allowed provided: (i) such transfer has been approved by the instructor of the equivalent course at Florida State University, (ii) the courses have been evaluated as graduate courses by the Graduate Affairs Committee, and (iii) the courses have been completed with a grade of B or better. No more than six transfer credits can be used to satisfy the requirements for an M.S. There is no limit to the number of transfer credits which can be used to satisfy the requirements for a Ph.D. Grades earned at another institution cannot be used to improve a grade point average or eliminate a quality point deficiency at Florida State University.

7.3. Acceptable elective course work outside Physics

Courses in the Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics departments, and certain Computer Science courses are usually acceptable as elective course work, while courses outside the Natural Sciences are not, but (a) the student's major professor, and (b) the Graduate Affairs Committee must give their approval in each case.

7.4. Special Topics courses

In the Fall and Spring semesters one or more Special Topics courses are normally offered on subjects not covered in the standard courses. The subjects covered are sometimes of general interest and other times of particular importance in some specialized area of research. Students should check with the Graduate Affairs Office to obtain information on the Special Topics courses being offered in a given semester, or being planned for future semesters.

Proposals for special topics courses should be submitted by individual faculty members to the Physics Department Associate Chair and the Director of Graduate Affairs three months prior to the scheduling of these courses. Student or faculty groups are encouraged to approach an appropriate faculty member and persuade them to submit a proposal for a course they think is needed.

7.5. Directed Individual Study (D.I.S.)

Graduate students who have particular interests or projects may arrange with some faculty member to receive direction and credit for their work. The mechanism for this is PHY 5909 (Directed Individual Study). The credit hours obtained can be used to satisfy course load and graduation requirements.

A Directed Individual Study course may be used to do extended research or reading on a particular topic or in a particular field of Physics. A student desiring to register for Directed Individual Study must find a faculty member willing to direct them and discuss the proposed topic or area before registering for PHY 5909. A student should have a fairly complete idea about what they would like to accomplish before their conference with the faculty member. The methods of handling a Directed Individual Study vary, and are worked out between the faculty member and the student. Some faculty members require a weekly conference, others prefer written reports, or conferences on a less frequent basis.

Students should register for a section of PHY 5909 that includes the relevant faculty member as an instructor. If a faculty member is not already listed as an instructor, then the student should contact the Graduate Affairs Office to have a new section created.

7.6. Supervised Teaching

A student can receive credit for Supervised Teaching (PHY 5940). A student may register for such activity more than one term, using the same course number, and may count the hours in meeting residence requirements for the degree program.

7.7. Audits

Students will be afforded seating privileges after registration on a space available basis with permission of the instructor. Regular class attendance is expected of all those granted seating privilege, but students are not required to do written work unless a special arrangement is made between the student and instructor. Regular registration fees are required for those given seating privileges. The Audit Registration form and instructions are located here .

8. COURSE AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

The classroom phase of the graduate program is designed to introduce students to the basic conceptual tools used in physics and to acquaint them with a variety of research areas.

The well prepared incoming student will have had advanced undergraduate courses in Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Optics, comparable to the following undergraduate courses at Florida State: PHY 3221 - 4222 (Mechanics), PHY 4323 - 4324 (Electricity and Magnetism), PHY 3101 (Intermediate Modern Physics), PHY 4604-4605 (Quantum Theory of Matter A-B), PHY 4513 (Thermal and Statistical Physics), PHY 3424 (Optics). Students deficient in one or more of these areas should include in their graduate program whatever undergraduate courses are necessary to remedy these deficiencies.

The core graduate courses which contain the material with which every research physicist should be familiar are: PHY 5246 (Theoretical Dynamics); PHY 5524 (Statistical Mechanics); PHY 5346 and PHY 5347 (Electrodynamics A and B); PHY 5645 and PHY 5646 (Quantum Mechanics A and B).

8.1. Courses required for the M.S.

Both thesis and non-thesis programs are offered leading to the Master of Science degree.

8.1.1. Course-based Master's degree. To qualify for a course-based Master's degree, the student must complete at least thirty-three (33) hours in courses numbered 5000 or above. At least twenty-one (21) of the thirty-three (33) hours must be taken on a letter grade basis. At least four (4) of the courses must be from the six core graduate courses listed above, including at least one Quantum Mechanics course.

8.1.2. Thesis-based Master's degree. To qualify for a thesis degree, the student must submit an acceptable thesis and complete at least thirty (30) hours in courses numbered 5000 or above. At least eighteen (18) of the thirty (30) hours must be on a letter grade basis. A minimum of six credit hours must be earned in PHY 5971 (Thesis) culminating in the completion and successful defense of the thesis (PHY 8967). Students earning the thesis-based Master's degree must earn a B (3.0) average on at least three (3) of the core graduate classes listed above, including at least one course in Quantum Mechanics.

8.2. Courses required for the Ph.D.

After attaining mastery of the content of the core courses, a Ph.D. student is required to take and pass:

(a) Either Quantum Field Theory A (PHY 5667), or Quantum Many-Body Physics (PHY 5670)

(b) Two courses from the following set of courses:

AST 5416, Cosmology

PHZ 5491, Condensed Matter Physics I

PHZ 5354, High Energy Physics I

PHZ 5305, Nuclear Physics I

PHZ 5315, Nuclear Astrophysics

PHZ 5715, Biophysics I

Students who decide to take both AST 5416 and PHZ 5315 must take an additional course from this category.

AST 5245, Radiative Processes

PHZ 5492, Condensed Matter Physics II

PHZ 5355, High Energy Physics II

PHZ 5307, Nuclear Physics II

PHZ 5716, Biophysics II

(d) Take at least one of the following courses:

AST 5765, Advanced Analysis Techniques in Astronomy

AST 5760, Computational Astrophysics

AST5342, Hydrodynamics and Plasma for Astrophysics

PHY 5669, Quantum Field Theory B

PHY 5846C, Techniques in Experimental Physics

PHY 6937, Selected Topics in Physics

PHY 6938, Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena

PHZ 5475, Materials Characterization

Although there are no specific course requirements beyond the above, there are certain requirements implied by the University residency requirement (see Section 22) and by the University dissertation requirement (see Section 20).

9. GRADE REQUIREMENT

Before taking the Doctoral Preliminary Examination (Section 16) and advancing to Doctoral Candidacy (section 17), the student must maintain the following grade requirements:

A. Their cumulative grade point average (GPA) is at least 3.0 in the courses taken at FSU after their admission to graduate school. The following courses are not included in the GPA: courses numbered less than 5000, courses for which S/U grading is used, and transfer courses. A student whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 at the end of a semester will be placed on academic probation. If a student's grade point average remains below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters, they will be academically dismissed. A Major Professor or the Graduate Affairs Director may petition the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of the Graduate School for a probationary readmission.

B. Their GPA on the six core courses is at least 3.0 by the end of the second year. If this requirement is not fulfilled, the graduate student will no longer be retained in the program.

C. The graduate student meets the requirement at point B by repeating one core course and replacing that course's grade, as long as this is completed before the end of their second year in the program.

10. TEACHING REQUIREMENT

Training in teaching is an integral part of the graduate program. To accomplish this, M.S. candidates are required to teach at least one laboratory, recitation, or studio section for one semester and Ph.D. candidates are required to teach two of these sections.

Teaching Assistants who are assigned the duty of grading homework papers in a course cannot use these duties to satisfy the Teaching Requirement.

Students who have had an equivalent amount of teaching experience at another school may request an exemption from the above requirement. Such a request should be in writing to the Physics Department Director of Graduate Affairs, and should state the exact nature of the previous teaching experience.

The above teaching requirement must be fulfilled in the first two years of graduate study.

11. RESEARCH

Students should become acquainted as early as possible with the various research activities of the department. It is to a student's advantage to reach a tentative decision about their research interests before the first Summer semester. This permits the student to spend a Summer in a research area, normally as a Research Assistant, and to determine the extent of they interest in that area before a firm commitment is made.

To introduce incoming students to the research in Physics being done at Florida State University and to help them decide on a research area to pursue, a weekly introductory seminar on Research in each of the available fields is offered in the Fall semester. All first year students are required to attend these seminars.

Students will also find it helpful in making these decisions to attend seminars and group meetings in the various research groups, as well as departmental colloquia. Notices of colloquia and seminars are generally posted on the Physics Department web site. Otherwise, the time of group meetings and unpublished seminars can be found by checking with someone in the group or with the Physics Graduate Office.

Students should also talk to individual faculty members about their research. They should also get to know more advanced graduate students, and question them about the areas of research in which they are working.

Students who have decided on a particular area of research and a particular faculty member with whom they would like to work should discuss the matter with the faculty member and find out if they are willing to undertake their direction.

In early February of their first year, the Physics Department Director of Graduate Affairs will ask each student to indicate the faculty member with whom they plan to work; the Director will also ask about how the faculty member plans to support the student. This information is necessary in order for appointment papers to be completed prior to the Summer semester.

12. MAJOR PROFESSOR AND SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

12.1. Major Professor

When a student has chosen a faculty member for their research, that faculty member needs to be appointed as the Major Professor of their supervisory committee. The student should communicate this choice with the Graduate Student Office. In addition, the Major Professor will communicate the graduate student's appointment as an RA or TA with the Business office. We strongly encourage students to help proactively manage this communication to avoid delays in pay. To serve as a Major Professor for a master's degree student, a faculty member must have master's directive status. To serve as Major Professor for a doctoral student, a faculty member must have doctoral directive status.

Typically the Major Professor is a faculty member within the Physics Department. There are times when a graduate student may choose to work with a scientist outside of our department. In these circumstances, this external scientist is appointed as a co-chair, provided the Department gives them permission to serve in this capacity. In addition, the graduate student must identify a co-chair with doctoral directive status from the Department.

Neither the commitment of a student to conduct research under a given faculty member nor the commitment of a faculty member to serve as Major Professor for a particular student is a binding commitment. Should the arrangement at any time prove unsatisfactory to either of the involved parties, other arrangements should be made.

12.2. Mechanism for changing research groups

The mechanism for changing research groups will be the following: The student should discuss his or her situation and research interests with the Chair of the department and/or with the Graduate Affairs Committee Director, who will make suggestions about which professors to talk to in order to find a major professor who is able to provide support. In the unlikely event that this fails, the student will, subject to acceptable academic performance, be temporarily supported by a teaching assistantship.

12.3. Supervisory Committee

After a Major Professor has been appointed, the Major Professor together with the student should arrange to have a Supervisory Committee formed and officially appointed. To formalize these appointments, the student should report the names of these committee members to the Graduate Affairs Office. Constraints on the formation of the committee are discussed below.

12.3.1 Master's Supervisory Committee. The Master's Supervisory Committee: (i) must have at least three members with Graduate Faculty Status including the Major Professor; (ii) must have at least two members from the Physics department; (iii) may include one or more members from other departments in the College of Arts and Sciences; (iv) cannot include faculty who do not hold at least Master's directive status.

12.3.2 Ph.D. Supervisory Committee. The Ph.D. Supervisory Committee: (i) must have at least five members with Graduate Faculty Status including the Major Professor; (i.a) if a student has requested a co-chair with co-doctoral directive status, then the remaining supervisory committee must have at least four members with Graduate Faculty Status; (ii) must include one theoretical and one experimental physics faculty member; (iii) must include a representative of the College of Arts and Sciences from a department other than Physics, and this representative must have tenure; (iv) must include one member of the Physics Department outside of the student's research area. (v) Must have at least three members from the Physics Department.

13. PROGRAM OF STUDIES

At least one month before taking the oral portion of the Preliminary Exam, the student should submit to their Major Professor a Program of Studies, that is, a complete plan of courses taken and to be taken. Forms for listing these courses are available in the Graduate Studies Office of the Physics Department. A student's Program of Studies must be approved and signed by each member of the student's committee, and by the chairman of the Physics Department. The student should keep one copy of his or her program of studies, provide his or her Major Professor with one copy, and see that a signed copy is placed in his or her file in the Graduate Studies Office.

13. MASTER'S Degree

To qualify for a Master’s degree, a student has two options. One, the student may obtain an in-flight, or course-based, Master’s degree, or two, the student may obtain a thesis-based Master’s degree.

13.1. Course-based Master’s Degree requirements. The student must:

Complete and pass at least 33 hours of relevant courses, 21 of which are letter graded. See section 8.1.1 for more details.

Complete and pass at least four (4) graduate core courses, one in Quantum Mechanics (PHY 5645 or PHY 5646), with an average grade of B or better.

Maintain a 3.0 GPA

Teach at least one lab, recitation, or studio section

Complete these requirements in seven years

Submit an application for graduation

13.2. Thesis-based Master’s Degree. The student must:

Complete and pass at least 30 hours of relevant courses, 18 of which are letter graded. See section 8.1.2 for more details.

Complete and pass at least three (3) graduate core courses, one in Quantum Mechanics (PHY

5465 or PHY 5466)

Complete six hours of thesis credit (PHY 5971)

Take and pass the Defense of Thesis (PHY 8967)

Establish a Major Professor and Supervisory Committee by the end of the summer of their first full academic year

Teach at least one lab section

Prepare and submit a thesis to supervisory committee and manuscript clearance portal.

Approval of thesis from Department and University (section 13.2).

Complete requirements in seven years

13.2.1. Thesis defense. To obtain a thesis Master’s degree a student must carry out, under the direction and supervision of their Major Professor, an independent research project, and prepare a thesis, that is, a written account of the research and its results. Following this, the student will have a thesis defense examination. The first portion of this examination is in open session and the second portion is open to graduate faculty only.

13.2.2. Supervisory Committee. The supervisory committee is composed of three members, the major professor and two other physics faculty. One of the other members should represent a discipline other than the student’s discipline. The student shall form this supervisory committee by the end of the summer of their first fall academic year as a master’s student.

13.2.3. Schedule. If the Major Professor and the other members of the Supervisory Committee consent to the exam, then the student should arrange an exact time and place for the examination. The Physics Graduate Affairs Office will be glad to help the student schedule the examination, however it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the oral schedule is satisfactory to every committee member. Once a time has been established, the Major Professor should inform the Physics Graduate Affairs Office that the examination will take place and when it will take place.

13.2.4. Grade. Thesis degree. At the conclusion of the oral exam the student will be asked to step out of the room and the Supervisory Committee will discuss and evaluate their performance. The student will then be recalled and informed whether or not their thesis and the defense of the thesis were satisfactory. The Supervisory Committee may at this time also indicate if further changes should be made in the thesis.

13.2.5. Certification of Results. The certification of the results are handled by the Manuscript Clearance Online Portal (see these instructions ). You may ask the Graduate Affairs Office for help in setting up clearance for your thesis. After the defense of the thesis is completed and passed, the student will submit a final, edited manuscript to the Manuscript Clearance Portal. Then the Supervisory Committee members will receive an email requesting a signature on the Manuscript Signature Form. The student must then obtain University approval of their thesis as discussed in Section 13.2.8.

13.2.6 Thesis content. The question as to whether the content of a specific thesis meets the standards of the Physics Department is the responsibility of the student's Supervisory Committee. However, a well-written thesis should generally contain the following information: (i) A clear statement of the problem addressed by the thesis and its significance. (ii) A review of previous related published work. (iii) Definitions of any specialized technical terms employed. (iv) A review of the theoretical, computational, and/or experimental techniques to be used in solving the problem. (v) A thorough presentation of the student's solution of the problem. (vi) A discussion of the results of the thesis and an analysis of the impact of the results on the body of Physics. (vii) A summary of what was original and significant in the research, and suggestions for future research in the area.

13.2.6.1. Thesis Abstract. Every thesis must include an abstract, that is, a concise but complete and independently intelligible summary of the contents of the thesis normally placed just prior to the first page of text. As long as it is concise, there is no limit to the length of the abstract.

13.2.6.2. FSU Abstract. In addition to the above abstract which forms an integral part of the thesis, a second independent abstract limited to 250 words must be submitted to the University Graduate Office for use by Florida State University. If the Thesis Abstract is 250 words or less in length, then with appropriate reformatting, it may be used for the FSU Abstract.

13.2.6.2. Format and style. The particular form and style of the thesis customarily follow the guidelines in the American Institute of Physics Style Manual. The Major Professor may allow variations from these guidelines. However, whatever style is chosen must be consistent with the University clearance guidelines; the details of which are found on the Graduate School webpage .

13.2.7. Thesis credits. A student working on a thesis must register for thesis credits each term in which a substantial amount of work is being done on the thesis. A student who has completed the required course-work and continues to use campus facilities and/or receive faculty supervision but who has not made a final thesis submission shall include in the required full-time load of nine (9) hours, a minimum of two (2) thesis hours per term. Those with underload permission must register for at least two (2) hours of thesis credit per term. The exact number of hours shall be determined by the Major Professor based on the proportion of faculty/staff time, facilities, and other resources needed to support the student. At least six (6) thesis hours must be earned to qualify for a thesis Master's. (See Section 8.1.2).

13.2.8. Departmental approval of thesis. When a student’s thesis has been completed, they should submit a copy to each member of their Supervisory Committee. This should be done at least three (3) weeks prior to the time they plan to take the Master’s Thesis Defense. After at most two (2) weeks, the student should check with all members of the committee for any feedback they may have. After any changes suggested by the committee are made, the student should provide each member of the committee with a revised copy of the thesis. The revised copies should be in the hands of the committee at least one (1) week before the date set for the Master’s Thesis Defense. If the committee approves the thesis after reviewing the revised thesis and questioning the student during their Master’s Thesis Defense, then the student will submit their manuscript to the Manuscript Clearance Portal. An automatic request will be sent to the Supervisory Committee members for approval.

If a student wishes to graduate at the end of the semester in which they have obtained approval of their thesis, then it is necessary for them to make sure that all of the above has been completed in ample time to meet the pertinent University deadlines.

13.2.9. University approval of thesis. Before the defense, the student should submit a pre-defense copy of the dissertation electronically to ProQuest ETD; instructions for submitting the manuscript to this external site are located here . After approval by the oral examining committee, the student will submit a final, edited version of the manuscript to ProQuest ETD. This must be done within 60 days of the defense date or the student must be re-examined. A manuscript processing fee is charged. Consult the Registration Guide for the deadline dates .

As a condition of undertaking a thesis master’s program, the student agrees that the completed thesis will be archived in the University Libraries system. The student will make the electronic thesis available for review by other scholars and the general public by selecting an access condition provided by The Graduate School.

14. RESEARCH REPORT REQUIREMENT

This is likely an old process that we no longer do. We may remove this entirely. To determine early in a student's quest for a Ph.D. whether he or she possesses a genuine potential for research, and also to assure that the student begins research at an early date, a Research Report, that is, a formal presentation at an acceptable level of some explicit research accomplishment, is required of every doctoral student sometime in his or her first two years. Normally this condition is satisfied after the student has passed the Preliminary Examination for the Ph.D. and before the end of his or her second year. If a student has not satisfied this condition within two calendar years of the time he or she entered, his or her support will be discontinued until the condition is satisfied.

A Master's student who has passed the Preliminary Examination and seeks to be supported beyond two years must also satisfy the above requirement.

The exact nature of the Research Report is subject to prior approval by the student's Supervisory Committee. Examples of possible presentations satisfying the Research Report Requirement are: (i) a Master's Thesis; (ii) a substantial contribution to a published paper; or (iii) a comprehensive written report on research progress. The student's Supervisory Committee is responsible for determining whether the presentation is at an acceptable level. The fact that a student wrote a Thesis at Florida State University or elsewhere or was the author or coauthor on a published paper, does not automatically constitute satisfaction of this condition. Each case will be considered on an individual basis by the student's Supervisory Committee.

When a student has fulfilled the above requirement he or she should submit a written statement to the Physics Department Director of Graduate Studies indicating how the condition was fulfilled. This statement must be signed by all of the members of his or her Supervisory Committee. A student will not be considered to have formally satisfied the Research Report Requirement until this statement has been approved by the Physics Department Director of Graduate Studies and placed in the student's file.

15. WRITTEN PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

To be eligible for Preliminary Examination (or Prospectus Defense), a student must take and pass the Written Proficiency Exam PHY 8960, which follows the rules of a diagnostic exam as outlined in the Florida State University Graduate Bulletin . A student must register for PHY 8960 each semester until they pass the written Proficiency Exam. A student who passes all subject areas of the exam will receive a Satisfactory grade. A student who fails to do so will receive an Unsatisfactory grade.

15.1. Content and level.

The Proficiency Exam evaluates the student’s readiness for the graduate program and tests a student's knowledge of general undergraduate-level physics.

15.2. Format.

The Proficiency Exam will consist of four [4] subject areas administered separately: Classical Mechanics, Electrodynamics and Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Thermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics, and Modern Physics. To pass the exam, a student must demonstrate proficiency in each subject area, as determined by the Proficiency Exam Committee (PEC). A student who passes a subject area will not have to retake that subject area in subsequent exams. Students are expected to bring pens, pencils, ruler, and a hand calculator for the exam. Books, notes, and other electronic devices are not allowed.

15.3. Schedule.

The Proficiency Examination will be administered by the PEC three times a year: the August exam will be held before classes start and will also serve as a diagnostic exam for incoming students; the December and April exams will be held during Finals week. The exam schedule will be announced each semester once the university-wide exam schedule is available.

15.4. Timeline

Students who are admitted to the PhD program must pass all four subject areas by their last allowed attempt, which is in April of their first year.

15.5. Preparation Course

An incoming student who fails to pass at least one subject area of the exam on their first try in August must enroll in the Fall Proficiency Exam Preparation course, PHY 6937. Students should enroll in the Proficiency Exam section of PHY 6937 – Selected Topics. A student who fails to pass every subject area on their second attempt in December must enroll in the Spring Proficiency Exam Preparation course. The Proficiency Exam Preparation course serves as one of the three (3) main courses in a student’s schedule. The course instructor will temporarily be a member of the PEC and the course will be graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. The Fall prep course will cover two (2) of the four (4) subject areas of the exam, based on demand. The Spring prep course will cover the other two (2) subject areas. A student can ask for a prep-course waiver if they have already passed the subject areas covered that semester. The waiver will need to be approved by the prep course instructor. The December and April Proficiency exams are considered the “final exam” of the corresponding preparation course, but formally remain a separate requirement of the PhD program.

15.6. Evaluation Procedure.

Each question on the exam is reviewed independently by two or more graders. During a subsequent committee meeting any disagreements are reviewed by the entire committee, and overall students’ performance is assessed on a pass/fail basis in each subject area. Shortly after the PEC has reached a decision, each student who took the exam will be notified whether they passed the exam. Students will be permitted to see their corrected tests, but no specific grades or rankings will be provided.

15.7. Exam Requirement for M.S. Students A student admitted to the M.S. program (Bridge Fellows) must take both preparation courses and the December and April exams during their first year. They must pass at least two (2) subject areas in these two exams and pass the entire exam by their second spring in the M.S. program to be admitted into the PhD program.

16. DOCTORAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

To qualify for a Ph.D. degree, a student is required to take and pass at an acceptable level the Doctoral Preliminary Examination (PHY 8964; the Proficiency Written Exam PHY 8### is a prerequisite). This grade will remain an "I" for incomplete until the time that you pass the oral part of your exam. This course should be registered for once and only once. The purpose of this examination is to determine whether or not a student has the preparation and potential needed for carrying out original research in physics at an advanced level.

The Doctoral Preliminary Examination is divided into three parts: (i) the preparation of a tentative Prospectus; (ii) an oral examination; and (iii) the approval of the Prospectus. The time between successful completion of the first part and the last part typically ranges between six months and one year. Each of these parts is considered in detail below.

16.1. The Tentative Prospectus

After passing the Written Proficiency Examination (Section 16), the student should strive to obtain a comprehensive grasp of his or her chosen field of research, and then should decide within this field the problem that he or she would like to undertake for his or her doctoral dissertation.

At least one week prior to the Oral Preliminary Exam, which is discussed in Subsection 16.2 below, the student must submit to each member of his or her Supervisory Committee a tentative Prospectus, that is a proposal of a research topic suitable for a Ph.D. dissertation. Copies of past Prospecti are available in the Graduate Affairs Office and may be consulted for guidance as to the form and content of the Prospectus. Since this tentative Prospectus will be subjected to critical questioning in the Oral Preliminary Examination discussed in the following section, it is important that considerable effort be devoted to making it as correct, clear, and convincing as possible. The Prospectus is recommended to be about five pages long.

16.2. The Oral Preliminary Exam

Within one year of passing the Written Proficiency Exam (section 15), the student must take the Oral Preliminary Exam. An exception to this rule is that students who pass the Written Proficiency Exam during their first year of study should take the Oral Preliminary Exam within eighteen months. The purpose of this examination is twofold: (i) to determine whether the student's knowledge of the broad area within which he or she intends to specialize is sufficient to allow him or her to pursue research in that area; and (ii) to examine the feasibility of the student's proposed research topic as presented in his or her tentative Prospectus.

16.2.1. Format. The oral examination will be conducted by the student's Supervisory Committee and will consist of (i) a presentation by the student of his or her proposed research topic, as described in the tentative Prospectus, (ii) an examination of the student on the contents of the tentative Prospectus and (iii) an examination of the student on the broad area of Physics within which he or she intends to specialize and which forms the background for all problems in this area and not simply for his or her chosen problem. The exact definition of a particular area of specialization will be determined by the student's Supervisory Committee. Any graduate faculty can attend this examination, otherwise it is closed.

16.2.2. Grade. At the conclusion of the oral exam the student will be asked to step out of the room and the Supervisory Committee will discuss and evaluate his or her performance. The student will then be recalled and informed that he or she (i) passed the exam, or (ii) passed the exam conditionally, or (iii) must retake the exam at some later date. The student will also be informed of any changes which must be made in the Prospectus before it can be considered as satisfactory.

16.2.3. Retake policy. If a student fails the preliminary examination prior to admission to candidacy, a re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the student’s supervisory committee and approved by the Academic Dean’s Office. Students can take the preliminary examination for admission to candidacy only two times. The second attempt at the preliminary exam shall occur no sooner than six full class weeks after the results of the first attempt are shared with the student. For the purpose of this policy, a "full class week" is defined as a week with five days during which classes are held at FSU. Students must be registered separately for their first and second attempt, if necessary within the same semester, and must receive either a "pass" or a "fail" grade for each attempt. A second failure on the preliminary exam makes the student ineligible to continue in the degree program.

16.2.4. Certification of results. When a student has successfully passed the Preliminary Oral Examination, the student's Major Professor should provide the Graduate Studies Office with a statement signed by all members of the student's Supervisory Committee attesting to this fact. This statement will be placed in the student's file. Forms for certifying the above result are available in the Graduate Studies Office.

16.3. The Prospectus

Within two weeks after passing the Oral Preliminary Examination the student must present for approval to each member of his or her Supervisory Committee a final version of his or her Prospectus. If any of the Committee members find corrections which are still needed, then the student should make the corrections and resubmit the Prospectus. When the Prospectus is approved by the Supervisory Committee, it should then be submitted to the Chairman of the Department for his or her approval. The student will not be considered to have passed his or her Preliminary Exam until the Prospectus has been finally approved by the Supervisory Committee and the Chairman of the Department. When all members of the Supervisory Committee and the Chairman of the Department approve the Prospectus, the student should have them indicate their approval by signing the title sheet. A sample title sheet of a Prospectus with a place for signatures can be obtained from the Graduate Studies Office. The student should submit a signed copy to the Physics Graduate Office. He or she should also give a final copy of the prospectus to each committee member.

17. ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

Once a student has passed the Doctoral Preliminary Examination, the student should bring a signed copy of the Doctoral Supervisory Committee Form (available from the Physics Graduate Affairs Office) to the Physics Graduate Affairs Office. In return, the student will receive a copy of their preliminary Doctoral Graduation Checklist, to ensure that the student has completed or is on track to complete all the course requirements. If the student is missing required coursework, they must then sign and return the Checklist to acknowledge the missing courses. A copy of the checklist will also be sent to the student’s advisor.

18. ANNUAL EVALUATION

Each year, the supervisory committee, the major professor, or the student’s advisor prior to selection of a major professor will assess the progress of the student in writing and will make available copies of the annual review to the student, the departmental chair, and the academic dean. The Dean of The Graduate School, the academic dean, and the chair of the major department may attend committee meetings as nonvoting members. Only official members of the supervisory committee (i.e., those listed on a student’s committee in the Graduate Student Tracking/GST database) may vote and sign the online Manuscript Signature Form indicating approval of the dissertation. Students and their major professors and supervisory committees will need to:

18.1. Complete the annual review form found in the Graduate Student Affairs Office.

18.2. Send a copy of the document from 18.1 to their supervisory committee at least two weeks in advance of a short research seminar (about half an hour) such as the regularly scheduled seminar to their research groups.

18.3. Invite everyone on their committee to the research seminar, pointing out that this is being given in part to fulfill the annual review requirement of the Department and Graduate School; the student is responsible for making sure that at least three members of their committee can and do attend.

18.4. Gather the required signatures on the document and return it to the Graduate Student Affairs Office.

For students who have not yet passed the oral part of their Preliminary Exam ("prospectus defense"), only the student's faculty advisor or research supervisor if they have one will be required to sign the form.

19. Writing Guidelines for the DISSERTATION

To obtain a doctoral degree, a student must complete a dissertation in their area of specialization. To be acceptable, it must be an original research achievement, constitute a significant contribution to knowledge, and display a substantial scholarly effort on the part of the student.

19.1. Dissertation content

The question as to whether the content of a specific dissertation meets the standards of the Physics Department is the responsibility of the student's Supervisory Committee. The following are some suggested chapters:

19.1.1. Introduction. A dissertation should begin with a clear statement of the problem addressed in the dissertation, its significance, the scope and originality of the solution presented, and some indication of the organization of the dissertation.

19.1.2. Review of the literature. This review should provide context and provide criteria for judging the originality of the dissertation.

19.1.3. Terminology. Careful definitions of specialized technical terms provide clarity for the reader and frame the author's own conceptual comprehension.

19.1.4. Theoretical, Experimental, Observational, and Computational Background. A brief description of the methods may provide additional context for the author's scope and framework.

19.1.5. Presentation of original work. The development of the student's original contribution is the heart of the dissertation. The author should clearly identify new results as they arise, and the student should stress the differences with previous work.

19.1.6. Discussion of the Results. Whether experimental, theoretical, observational, or computational, a dissertation will ultimately be judged on the basis of the insight it stimulates and the impact it makes on the surrounding body of Physics. The author should thoroughly explore the implications of their original contributions.

19.1.7. Summary. A dissertation should conclude with a succinct summary. This summary should clearly state the originality and importance of the results. In addition, it should provide future possible avenues of exploration.

19.2. Abstract

Every dissertation must include a concise abstract, emphasizing motivation and the most important results. As long as it is concise, there is no limit on the length of the abstract.

19.3. Format and style

The particular format and style of the dissertation customarily follow the guidelines in the American Institute of Physics Style Manual. The Major Professor may allow variations from these guidelines. However, whatever style is chosen must be consistent with the University clearance guidelines; the details of which are found on the Graduate School webpage .

19.4. Dissertation credits

A student who has completed the required coursework, passed the Preliminary Examination and submitted an Admission to Candidacy form to the Office of the Registrar, and continues to use campus facilities and/or receives faculty supervision, but has not been cleared by the Manuscript Clearance office shall include in the required full-time load a minimum of two credit hours of dissertation per semester, including Summer term, until completion of the degree. A student must be enrolled in a minimum of two hours of dissertation in the semester of graduation. Those with underload permission must register for at least two credit hours of dissertation per semester (or term). Underloads must be approved by the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Before registering for dissertation hours, the student must consult the major professor as to the proportion of time to be devoted to dissertation work. Prior to degree conferral, all doctoral students must have completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) credit hours of dissertation.

19.8. Expenses

Expenses for typing, duplicating, and binding of the dissertation must be borne by the student. If the thesis or portions of the thesis are to be used without substantial modification in a technical report or a research publication, then at the discretion of the student's Major Professor these portions but these portions only may be paid for from funds available to the major professor.

20. DEFENSE OF DISSERTATION

After a student has completed their dissertation, they are required to defend it in an oral examination. Responsibility for suggesting the time, designating the place, and presiding at the examination rests with the Major Professor. However, the examination must be completed by a specific University deadline each semester prior to the date on which the degree is to be conferred. The date should be confirmed with the graduate office.

At least two weeks prior to the date of the examination, the Major Professor or student is required to submit an abstract of the dissertation, a list of committee members, and an announcement of the dissertation title and the date and place of the examination to the Office of Graduate Studies. An announcement of the defense will be made to the general University community by the Office of Graduate Studies.

The Supervisory Committee will conduct the Defense of Dissertation. All members of the graduate faculty are invited to attend. The first portion of the defense is open to anyone who wishes to attend.

After the defense the Supervisory Committee must certify in writing the results of the examination: passed, failed, or to be re-examined. One reexamination is allowed. The report of results following a re-examination must indicate the student either passed or failed.

A written critique of the conduct of the examination should be submitted by the representative-at-large member of the Supervisory Committee to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of Graduate Studies within one week after the defense. Suggested forms for the critique are available in the Office of Graduate Studies.

20.1. Manuscript Clearance

To graduate with a PhD, the dissertation must be cleared by both the Physics Department (section 20.1.1) and the University (20.1.2). A major first step in this clearance process is for the student to sign up on the Manuscript Clearance Portal (see these instructions ). The portal helps facilitate most of the processes for defending and clearing the manuscript. Therefore, students should visit the Manuscript Clearance website to initiate the process of defending their dissertation at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to graduate. You may ask the Graduate Affairs Office for help in setting up clearance for your dissertation. The final step in manuscript clearance is to submit a final, edited manuscript to ProQuest ETD (See section 20.1.2).

20.1.1. Departmental Approval of the Dissertation. The Supervisory Committee are responsible for the Departmental Approval of the Dissertation. When a student's dissertation has been completed, they should submit a copy of the dissertation to each member of their Supervisory Committee. This should be done at least four (4) weeks before the time the student intends to defend the dissertation. After a minimum of two (2) weeks, the student should check with all members of the committee for any feedback they may have. After making these changes, the student should provide each member of the committee with a revised copy of the dissertation. The revised copies should be in the hands of the committee at least one (1) week before the date set for the Defense of Dissertation. After the defense of the dissertation, an automatic request will be sent to the Supervisory Committee members for approval.

20.1.2. University approval of the Dissertation. Before the defense, the student should submit a pre-defense copy of the dissertation electronically to ProQuest ETD; instructions for submitting the manuscript to this external site are located here . After approval by the oral examining committee, the student will submit a final, edited version of the manuscript to ProQuest ETD. This must be done within 60 days of the defense date or the student must be re-examined. A manuscript processing fee is charged. Consult the Registration Guide for the deadline dates .

20.2. Checklist of Major Milestones in Defending:

Sign up with Manuscript Clearance Portal.
Declare a date for the dissertation defense.
Send the dissertation to the Supervisory Committee at least four (4) weeks before the defense date.
Submit a pre-defense copy of manuscript to ProQuest ETD
Apply for Graduation. Details can be found here .
Submit Defense Announcement at least two weeks before defense. The Manuscript Clearance Portal will provide instructions.
University Representative must submit University Representative Doctoral Defense Report no later than a week after defense.
Submit final manuscript to ProQuest ETD.

21. Scholarly Engagement

The purpose of the Scholarly Engagement requirement is to ensure that doctoral students are active participants in the scholarly community. To meet the Scholarly Engagement requirement, doctoral students should interact with faculty and peers in ways that may include enrolling in courses; attending seminars, symposia, and conferences; engaging in collaborative study and research beyond the university campus; and utilizing the library, laboratories, and other facilities provided by the University. The goal is to prepare students to be scholars who can independently acquire, evaluate, and extend knowledge, as well as develop themselves as effective communicators and disseminators of knowledge.

Residency at national or international laboratories under the supervision of Florida State faculty and registered for dissertation credits is acceptable towards the scholarly engagement requirement.

22. TIME LIMITS

22.1. Master's Degree

The work for the Master's degree must be completed within seven years from the time the student first registers for graduate credit. Any graduate work completed by extension or transferred from another institution must have commenced not more than seven years prior to graduation in order for the credits to be applied toward the Master's degree.

22.2. Doctoral Degree

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within five calendar years from the time the student passes the preliminary examination and is admitted to the candidacy. If the student’s major professor and/or Department Chair does not choose to either approve an Extension of Time (EOT) or require the student to take the preliminary exam and/or coursework again for readmission to candidacy, then the student may no longer be enrolled in that program or at Florida State University.

23. APPLICATION FOR A DEGREE

During the semester in which a student expects to receive a degree, and prior to the deadline listed in the Directory of Classes, the student must apply to graduate. Details can be found here . At this time the student will be given instructions on conditions that must be fulfilled to be officially awarded a graduate degree. If it becomes obvious that the student will not complete the requirements by the end of the semester, the Physics Graduate Affairs Office should be notified as soon as possible. A student who does not complete the requirements in a given semester must reapply within the appropriate period of the following semester or the semester in which they plan to graduate.

Registration is required in the final term in which a degree requiring a thesis or dissertation is granted and must consist of a minimum of two (2) semester hour of thesis or dissertation credit even if the student has completed the requirements for the degree in previous semesters. This is to reimburse the University for the administrative costs of manuscript clearance and final degree clearance procedures. If the student has not been enrolled for the previous two terms, readmission is required before registration.

24. READMISSION

If the student has not been enrolled for the two previous terms, readmission is required before registration. Also, if a student is receiving a non-terminal M.S. degree then they must apply for readmission to continue their studies.

25. GRADUATION

At least four weeks before graduation, cap and gown, and hood for the Ph.D. should be rented from the Bookstore .

Diplomas are automatically mailed 6 to 8 weeks after the semester ends to the student's address on record. The student provides this address during the application process.

26. SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

26.1. Summary of requirements for non-thesis M.S.

To qualify for a non-thesis Master's degree, a student must:

1. Complete at least thirty-three hours of acceptable course work, complete three graduate core courses, including at least one in Quantum Mechanics. 2. Maintain a 3.0 grade point average. 3. Teach one laboratory section. 4. Complete and pass at least four (4) graduate core courses, one in Quantum Mechanics (PHY 5645 or PHY 5646), with an average grade of B or better. 5. Complete all requirements within seven years. 6. Make formal application for the degree.

26.2. Summary of requirements for thesis M.S.

To qualify for a thesis Master's degree, a student must:

1. Complete at least thirty hours of acceptable course work, complete three graduate core courses, including at least one in Quantum Mechanics. 2. Maintain a 3.0 grade point average. 3. Teach one laboratory section. 4. Have a Major Professor and Supervisory Committee appointed. 5. Register for at least six hours of thesis credit (PHY 5971) 6. Take and pass the Defense of Thesis (PHY 8976) 7. Prepare and submit a thesis to supervisory committee and manuscript clearance portal. 8. Approval of thesis from Department and University (section 13.2). 9. Complete all requirements within seven years. 11. Make formal application for the degree.

26.3. Summary of requirements for Ph.D.

To qualify for a Doctoral degree, a student must:

1. Complete all six core graduate courses: Theoretical Dynamics (PHY 5246), Statistical Mechanics (PHY 5524), Classical Electrodynamics A&B (PHY 5346 and PHY 5347), and Quantum Mechanics A&B (PHY 5645 and PHY 5646). Students must fulfill this requirement by the end of their second year at the latest.

2. Take at least one of the following courses: Quantum Field Theory A (PHY 5667), Quantum Many Body Physics (PHY 5670)

3.Take at least two courses from the list in section 8.2 (b).

4. Take at least one course from the list in section 8.2 (c).

5. Take at least one course from the list in section 8.2 (d).

6. Maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

7. Teach two laboratory sections.

8. Take and pass the Written Proficiency Examination (PHY 8###).

9. Have a Major Professor and Supervisory Committee appointed.

10. Prepare and submit a Prospectus.

11. Take and pass the Doctoral Preliminary Examination. (Prospectus Defense PHY 8967)

12. Be admitted to candidacy.

13. Have your progress evaluated annually.

14. Prepare and submit a Dissertation.

15. Make a successful Defense of Dissertation (PHY 8985)

16. Have Dissertation approved by the University Graduate Studies Office.

17. Register for at least twenty-four (24) hours of dissertation credit (PHY 6980).

18. Complete all requirements within five years of passing the Preliminary Examination.

19. Make formal application for the degree.

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How to write a good PhD literature review?

I am in the early stages of my PhD and I am trying to put together a literature review of my topic. My intention is that this review will eventually be included in my thesis, something like " the chapter that describes the state of the art in the domain ."

My subject is soft matter physics and a large number of theses have already been written this topic. When looking at the literature reviews included in these other works I've noticed that:

The sequence of ideas is often the same (this makes sense, so why not?)
Cited papers are always the same, even though 20 years elapsed between the first and last thesis. Moreover, papers from the 30's are cited but no one in my lab seems to have a copy available?

My hypothesis is that these theses are derived from some sort of a Mother of All Thesis , and that paraphrasing the work of the previous student is OK.

So, what makes a good literature review?

How do you notice that a literature review is sloppy?

PS: I posted this question because I assume many of you have experience with this process either in your own PhD work, or as a supervisor where you have had to deal with paraphrasing of your students.

PS2: I am not asking about making proper citations, LaTeX+BibTeX handles that like a charm.

literature-review

I am not sure if your question fits here, if I remove the term "soft matter physics" this can be applied to any thesis in the natural sciences. In general I would recommend against a "review thesis" and keep this section rather short. You should cite only the relevant literature for your scientific argument, not what the whole field generated over the last decades. – Alexander Commented Oct 12, 2013 at 12:16
It's a very good point but I think writing a good literature review is specific to a given domain... I fear that good practices in social science or biology may not apply to physics, but I may be wrong on that point. – Pascail Commented Oct 12, 2013 at 12:22
The relevance of such a section is a very good starting point, I like the idea of citing only literature relevant to the scientific discussion that comes after the results. Won't it sound too superficial, like "Well you're talking about elasticity but you don't even cite Landau's work ?" – Pascail Commented Oct 12, 2013 at 12:29

4 Answers 4

The purpose and expectations of a PhD literature review is likely to vary from field to field. My PhD was in Physics, but my views might be taken to apply generally.

There is likely to be some repetition or paraphrasing between students in the same research group, when it comes to the literature review. However, perhaps the comments below might help.

A literature review should be an enjoyable to read (!) introduction, survey and guide to the state of the art. You want to introduce your reader to the field (assuming a clever, but non-expert reader), setting out what has gone before, and perhaps to some extent showing where the gaps are in the research - raising the opportunity for you to present your research as that which fills a gap (Next chapter: "Aims and Objectives", or similar).

My primary hallmarks of a poor, or sloppy literature review is that papers are listed without any helpful context . A dreary literature review, to me, is a listing of papers that we all already know about, without any guide to the reader why the trail leads me to hold the present thesis. No-one much likes reading a dry chronology of papers. I personally, want to be told the story of the research and the literature review plays an important part of that story.

The opportunity exists here to review the field - what are the general trends in the literature? For example, Paper A was the first to introduce the theory that drove the authors of Paper B to perform experiment Z which is now the standard technique. However, Paper C suggests that an alternative method may be more effective, etc.

Note that your review shouldn't attempt to be a complete review of the field - whole standalone papers are written on this, usually by invitation. Your PhD literature review should be more focused, but still a recounting of the Story So Far.

Since your literature review is to be a nice, focused review of the path to your contribution, it is likely that you will read far more papers than you will need to cite in your literature review. Those papers that do not contribute to the Story So Far can be excluded from your literature review. Going off on a tangent, like in any story, can lose and confuse your readers. If you feel a need to refer to these papers, perhaps you can refer to a decent review article which discusses them in detail, for the interested reader.

I think Nikolas' answer is already pretty great. I'm not doing physics, but I'll try and stay as general as I can. Here's some specific advice I got from my supervisor and things I realized while doing my own lit review:

It is normal for a big section of referenced papers to be the same across a lot of survey / literature review papers. Those would be the papers that first introduced a problem, a concept, an approach.

In addition to the seminal papers from your (sub)field, you usually want to describe the current state-of-the art . This would be based on current papers based on the original problem, concept or approach that adopt the problem for a different environment, apply a concept for a different purpose or represent an improvement to the approach.

For example, in Computer Science, it would be okay to talk about a structure or a problem ( seminal paper ) and then talk about the current best algorithm(s) to solving the problem ( state-of-the-art ) without mentioning every single "evolution step" of the algorithm.

Basically, to sum up and dump up these two points: you cite the "first" and the "last" paper dealing with the same thing. Of course, there's exceptions to this: if there's any groundbreaking papers between the "first" and the "last" paper, sometimes intermediate papers can also be viewed as "seminal papers" for the subject/field.

This might depend slightly on the type of document you want to produce, but usually it is okay for you to explain the technique / method in detail, while for practical uses of the technique, you just mention (and cite) several successful applications of the technique without going in to detail about how exactly the method was adopted.

Finally, if your goal is to publish your literature review as a survey paper (which is usually worth a shot), you should think about how to "get a new spin on things".

Every paper, including survey papers, is supposed to be a scientific contribution. That means that you have to find something that makes your survey useful , or in some context better, then all the existing surveys. This might be a change of context in which the methods are examined, it might cover more material, offer new classifications of the methods or new links between them.

I would say you have to think of at least one type of reader (a reader with one type of goal) who will take your review and say: "That's it!" , while he can not say that any of the current surveys out there are exactly "it" for him.

References and bibliography are to be read and digested in a progressive manner. References that might have been not so intuitive become useful over time as we gain more experience. One needs to document them in any suitable way and:

Add new references and connections with current work.
Track these references and revisit them when and where you touch base again with them.
Revise the entry with new information or clearer understanding of the subject.
Remove any parasite or related paper that you think is no more directly related to your work - clear clutter up - this is important to stop accumulating lots of bibliography which can become non specific!
All of the references you might accumulate may not be useful for the final bibiliography. There is need to sort or classify these references as biblio, self learning references, state of art, related (first order, second order) and so on and so forth.

Doing this using a wiki would be advisable - and if there is a team involved group updates would be preferable! Basically one needs a good sense of organization while writing the thesis.

Sorting the refs into specific usage is a great help ! – Pascail Commented Feb 4, 2014 at 11:18
1 While it is all great advice, somewhat similarly to Vaidyanathan's answer , I feel like it's more focused on how to organize the bibliography during one's PhD and not how to do a lit review. It does mention using this for the final bibliography , but I would say putting this in the more specific context of the question would make for a much better answer. – penelope Commented Feb 4, 2014 at 13:05

There are couple of points i like to make from my perspective.

Bibliography is something which evolves during your PhD. I would recommend not to write it at the first place. As you read more and more, relevant to your area in Soft matter, you can keep adding it to your bibliography

Soft matter is a really huge area. One who works on Molecular dynamics may not even touch crystal defects while writing his bibliography. In that way it is really topic specific and not the entire area.

You said, you saw some say 30 papers in every thesis. This is not because of magic, this is only because they are path breaking. If you are in MD area (which is mine), and you are using a thermostat, it is 99.9999 % sure that you cite Nose-Hoover paper. It is no magic.

There is no point in saying none from my lab is cited. It depends on how many groups are working in that "specific" area and what impact had the papers published from your lab made in their research.

This all points out to the fact that one does not simply write a bibliography of an entire area :)

I'm sorry for the downvote but I do not feel like this answers the right question at all. It is all useful advice, just not the answer to "How do I write a lit review?" but rather "How do I organize/keep my bibliography collection?" . – penelope Commented Feb 4, 2014 at 12:59

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How to Write a Synopsis for PhD With Focus on the Right Format

The correct format of synopsis starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, but the confusion lies in knowing what’s in between them. This guide will show you how to do the right format of synopsis for PhD. Moreover, a focus on the importance of synopsis format will also be shed light in this blog. Knowing the correct structure and parts of a PhD summary is super important because it's like a map for your whole research. And if you need some extra help, there are services out there, like APA Formatting Services, that can make sure your summary is top-notch. Whether you're just starting or want to make your summary better, this guide will give you simple tips for writing according to the right PhD Synopsis Format.

Importance of Synopsis Format

The right format of synopsis for PhD is really important because it's like a roadmap for your research. It helps you organize your ideas in a clear and easy-to-follow way. When you stick to the format, it shows that you understand the rules of academic writing and take your research seriously. This makes it easier for your readers to understand what you're trying to say. It's like using a recipe to make sure your dish turns out just right. Plus, when you follow the format, it makes your work look more professional. This is important because it gives a good impression to your professors and peers. So, the PhD Synopsis Format isn't just a bunch of rules - it's a tool that helps you present your research in the best possible way.

Correct PhD thesis Format

A PhD synopsis is like a summary of what you want to study for your doctorate. It's like a roadmap that tells people what your research will be about. Let's break it down:

1. Title : - Choose a clear and catchy title for your research.

2. Introduction : - Introduce the topic you want to study. - Explain why it's important and how it fits into existing knowledge.

3. Research Question : - Clearly state the main question you want to answer in your research.

4. Objectives : - List the specific goals you want to achieve with your research.

5. Literature Review : - Summarize what others have already found about your topic. - Highlight any gaps in the current knowledge.

6. Methodology : - Explain how you will conduct your research. - Mention the methods, tools, and techniques you'll use.

7. Data Collection : - Describe where you'll get your information or data from. - Explain how you'll gather it.

8. Analysis : - Say how you'll examine the data to find answers to your research question.

9. Expected Results : - Predict what you think you'll discover from your research.

10. Significance : - Explain why your research is important for the field and how it can be useful.

11. Timeline : - Give a rough idea of how long each phase of your research will take.

12. References : - List the books, articles, and sources you've used for your synopsis.

Remember, keep it clear and simple. Your synopsis should give a good overview of your research without getting too detailed. Good luck with your PhD journey!

Understand the Guidelines: How Understanding Guidelines Helps in Writing a Synopsis for PhD With Focus on the Right Format.

1. ensures proper organization: - guides you in arranging sections logically and coherently. - helps in presenting important information in a structured way., 2. facilitates clarity and readability: - enables you to use headings and subheadings effectively for clear presentation. - ensures that the reader can easily follow and understand your research., 3. enhances professionalism: - reflects your proficiency in adhering to academic standards. - presents your work in a manner consistent with the expectations of the academic community., 4. minimizes revisions and corrections: - reduces the likelihood of having to make significant changes later on. - saves time and effort in the long run by getting it right from the start., outline your research clearly.

When you outline your research, you're basically giving a clear picture of what your study is all about. This helps the reader know right away what to expect and why your work is important. It's like telling a story – you start with the main idea and then explain the details. This also helps you stay on track. When you know what you want to say, it's easier to put it down on paper. You won't forget important points or get lost in your own thoughts. It's like having a plan before building a house – you know where each brick goes. When you outline your research clearly, it makes writing the synopsis much easier. You already know what to say and in what order. It's like having a blueprint before constructing a building – you know where everything goes. This clarity also benefits the reader. They can easily grasp your research and understand its significance. It's like reading a well-organized story – everything makes sense and keeps the reader engaged. This way, your synopsis becomes a valuable piece of academic work, contributing meaningfully to your field.

Adhere to the Prescribed Format

Importance of adhering to the prescribed format:.

Following a specific format ensures that your synopsis is organized and easy to follow. Each section has a designated place, making it clear for the reader to navigate through your research.

Universities have specific guidelines for a reason. Adhering to the prescribed format shows that you respect and understand these academic standards. It's like speaking the language of academia.

Proper formatting demonstrates a high level of professionalism. It shows that you take your research seriously and are committed to presenting it in a way that meets the expectations of the academic community.

When everyone uses the same format, it avoids confusion. Readers, including your professors and peers, can quickly find the information they need. It's like using a universal key that fits the lock.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up, understanding the right way to set up your PhD summary, as explained in the format of synopsis for PhD, is really important. This format is like a map that helps you present your research in a clear and organized way. It's like following a recipe to make sure your dish turns out just right. Sticking to this format also shows that you take your research seriously and respect the rules of the academic world. If you need some extra help in understanding the importance of synopsis format, services like APA Formatting Services can make sure your summary meets the highest standards. By following these guidelines, you not only make your research easy to read and understand but also show that you're dedicated to producing top-notch work. Remember, a well-organized summary and the right PhD Synopsis Format isn't just informative, it's a big step towards earning your PhD.

Thesis India provides comprehensive support to researchers in India who aspire to make significant contributions to their fields of study. They offer expert assistance in crafting an exceptional doctoral research proposal, which is more than just a document; it is your gateway to an enriching academic voyage. Their team of experienced researchers and writers is dedicated to helping you craft a proposal that showcases the depth of your knowledge and the potential impact of your research. They specialize in providing comprehensive support to researchers like you, ensuring a successful start to your PhD journey with a compelling research proposal. They also offer expert synopsis editing services to ensure your synopsis meets the highest standards. The format of synopsis for PhD may vary from one institution to another, but Thesis India can guide you on how to do the correct PhD Synopsis Format.

1. What should be included in a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis should include the research topic, objectives, methodology, literature review, expected outcomes, and references.

2. How long is a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis is typically about 10-15 pages long.

3. How many pages is a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis is usually between 20-30 pages.

4. How do you start a PhD synopsis presentation?

Start a PhD synopsis presentation by introducing yourself, stating the research topic, and providing an overview of the research objectives.

5. What are the parts of the synopsis in PhD?

The parts of a PhD synopsis include the introduction, literature review, methodology, expected outcomes, and references.

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How to Write Your Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation As a Physics Major

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Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year of College Part III: Mathematical Preparations Part IV: The Life of a Physics Major Part V: Applying for Graduate School Part VI: What to Expect from Graduate School Before You Get There Part VII: The US Graduate School System Part VIII: Alternative Careers for a Physics Grad Part VIIIa: Entering Physics Graduate School From Another Major Part IX: First years of Graduate School from Being a TA to the Graduate Exams Part X: Choosing a Research area and an advisor Part XI: Initiating Research Work Part XII: Research work and The Lab Book Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal Part XIV: Oral Presentations Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal (Addendum) Part XIV: Oral Presentations – Addendum Part XV – Writing Your Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation Part XVI – Your Thesis Defense Part XVII – Getting a Job! Part XVIII – Postdoctoral Position Part XIX – Your Curriculum Vitae

At this stage, you have performed your doctoral research work, maybe even have published (or about to publish) a paper or two, and may have presented your work at a physics conference. It is time for you to think about finishing this part of your life. However, before you can do that, you have a couple more obstacles to get through – writing your thesis/dissertation and defending it. We will discuss the first one in this chapter.

You and your adviser should have narrowed down the main points that you will need to cover in your thesis. More often than not, you would have done more than you need during your graduate research work. It is not unusual for a graduate student to have studied several different areas within his/her field of study, especially at the very beginning of his/her research work. However, it doesn’t mean that anything and everything needs to be included in the doctoral thesis. Your thesis must present a coherent research work that you have accomplished that no one else has done. So you and your adviser do need to be very clear on exactly what area should be included, and what shouldn’t. Chances are if you have published your work in a peer-reviewed journal, the area being covered by that paper would qualify as something that should be covered in your thesis.

Once you and your adviser have agreed on the general scope that should be in your thesis, it is time for you to organize your thoughts and figure out what to write. You should have plenty of practice already by now if you have published a few papers already. So all the advice on writing a paper applies here. Figure out the central points that you wish to convey and try to make your point as direct and as clear as possible. Note also that depending on your school’s requirements, you may have to explore the background of the issues/physics in general terms. This is because, in many schools, your thesis committee may comprise not just individuals who are familiar with your field of study, but also individuals from other fields or even other departments. So pay attention to what needs to be covered based on what kind of thesis committee you will be facing.

When it comes to the actual writing process, this is where you will need (i) your institution’s thesis guidelines and (ii) copies of the thesis that have already been written. The first one should be available from the graduate school program at your school. Read it carefully. It will tell you several things you must follow, including (i) thesis formatting/typesetting requirement (ii) the format and order of the thesis (iii) thesis committee requirements. Pay attention to how your thesis should be written, especially in terms of figures(*), captions, bibliography format, section titles, etc. In some schools, they might even have a read-made template for you to use with your favorite word processor (or even Tex editor) that can make your life easier. Looking at older theses from your department will give you specific examples of what can and cannot be done. Chances are, your adviser will give you examples of an already-approved thesis, or you may even have been referring to one already. So look at all of those as guides. Do not relegate this as something trivial. Your thesis will be looked at by a thesis examiner, who can and will reject it if it does not conform to the format required, thereby possibly delaying your graduation. Note also that in many schools, the graduate program often has a short briefing on those who intend to submit their thesis in that particular semester. This can be either a 1-hour class or an individual meeting with the thesis examiner. Make sure you attend this and be aware of what is required.

How long a thesis should be is highly subjective. I’ve seen advisers who don’t care how long it is, while others who don’t want it longer than, say 150 pages. I’d say that it should be as long as it needs to be. Don’t ramble on and on and turn it into War and Peace, but you also do not want it to be lacking in details, because these are the details that probably no one else has worked on.

As you are writing it, pay attention to the deadlines that your school has listed if you wish to graduate at the end of a particular year or semester. This is very important because missing it could mean that your graduation will be delayed. If you wish to graduate at the end of the semester, look at first and foremost, when your thesis is due for submission to the graduate program. Now work backward. Move that date two weeks earlier. Why? This is because you want to be sure that if there are unanticipated problems with your thesis, that there’s plenty of time to correct it. So that two-week-early date should be the latest you should hand it in. Note that this is your planned FINAL SUBMISSION. This should NOT be the first time you have shown your thesis to the thesis examiner. So you should plan on a meeting with the thesis examiner even earlier than this two-week-early date. For the sake of illustration, let’s put this like 4 weeks earlier than the final deadline. So 4 weeks before the graduate school’s published deadline, you should meet the thesis examiner for the very first examination of your thesis. There’s a very good chance that you will need to make modifications, hopefully, minor ones if you have paid close attention to the required format. This will give you two weeks left to make the correction and to make your final submission two weeks before the graduate school deadline. Confusing? Hopefully, not.

So it does mean that if you wish to have a completed form 4 weeks before the hard deadline, you need to already have done your thesis defense by then. This means you have incorporated comments you received during your thesis defense into your written thesis, AND have received final approval from all your thesis committee members [thesis defense process will be discussed in the next chapter]. This again takes time. This means that you should schedule your thesis defense at least 2 months before the graduate school’s hard deadline (I would even suggest a little longer). This will give you time to make changes, send the corrected version to all the committee members, allow for more changes, and then get their approval. These things can be time-consuming, trust me!

So if you have to schedule your thesis defense 2 months before the hard deadline, then you should need to contact your thesis committee members before then to schedule your defense. Sometimes it can be a chore to get a suitable date, so plan. It also means that you now have a good idea of when you should be done with the writing of your thesis! So pay attention to that date! It is the clearest indicator that, if you want to graduate at the end of that semester, you must be done writing by that date! Your thesis committee members will need to have your thesis in their hands at least a week before you can call for your defense. So if you work this backward again, you should have a good idea of the date when you should be all done. Knowing this will guide you on when you should start writing your thesis, and how fast you have to work to be done by that date.

Note that, depending on how involved your adviser wants to be, he or she may want to see the progress of your thesis as you are writing it. You may also want to consult with him/her along the way as you are progressing. This may save major revisions afterward especially if both you and your adviser don’t see eye-to-eye. Fine as this may be, you should always keep in mind that the thesis should be your work and not expect your adviser or anyone else to write parts of it for you.

Hopefully, this guide will give you an idea of what to expect, especially on time management. The last thing you want to have is sleeping deprivation while writing your thesis simply because of things you haven’t anticipated, or you didn’t give yourself ample time.

(*) The issue of how figures can be displayed in a thesis can be a major headache. Most thesis requirements do not allow for color figures because your thesis will be sent to a service that will archive it as microfilm. This destroys all color effects. In some schools, they will allow you to make two versions of your thesis – one with a color figure that can be used as the distribution/department/library copies, and another for a microfilm archive.

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He corrected that spelling below. didn't you see "… writing your thesis/dessertation and defending it." It was a trifling mistake :-)

Desertation ?

"Desertation" is German for desertion. Interesting typo.

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How to Format a PhD Synopsis (India)

By Qamar Mayyasah
August 26, 2020

Introduction

This article will answer common questions about the PhD synopsis, give guidance on how to write one, and provide my thoughts on samples.

A PhD synopsis is a detailed summary of your proposed research project which justifies the need for your work. It is used to convince academic committees that your project should be approved.

If you are wondering how to write a synopsis for a PhD, then there are several things you must make sure your synopsis includes. Firstly, the reader must be able to read your synopsis and understand what contribution it would make to the research area. You should also explain the research objectives, methodology, data analysation and presentation format. Finally, you should conclude with limitations of your study and how you envisage others building on the findings you make.

PhD Synopsis format for a project

Although the format of a PhD synopsis report may differ between universities, there are many universal recommendations I can give. First, the research project synopsis format must include several fundamental sections which allow you to clearly detail your proposed project.

These sections are outlined below:

Research project title

Clearly define the title of your research project.

Include an introduction which summarises the current knowledge in your research area. This section should explain where gaps in knowledge are, and briefly what your project aims to do to address these gaps.

Literature review

A literature review will be a summary of published literature including journals, papers and other academic documentation which relate to your project. You need to critically appraise these documents: What have others done? What did they find? Where could their work be expanded on?

Aims & Objectives

Clearly define what the purpose of the PhD project is. What questions are you trying to answer? How will you measure success?

Research Methodology

Explain how you will achieve your objectives. Be specific and outline your process; the equipment you will use, data collection strategies, questionnaires you will distribute and data analysation techniques you will employ. This is a critical part of the research synopsis as it demonstrates whether your project is achievable or too ambitious.

You must provide references and citations to any sources you use. Reference materials are needed to acknowledge the original source, allow further reading for those who are interested and avoid claims of plagiarism. A number of different referencing systems exist, so it is important that you use the referencing system outlined in your university guidelines.

Provide a conclusion which should briefly summarise what your PhD research project is and why it is needed. You should also comment on the limitations of your work so that the scope of your study is clear.

In addition to the synopsis format for a PhD, we have outlined the styling rules you should follow:

Approximately 1” margins on top, bottom, and right of page.
Approximately 1.25” margin on left of page to allow space for binding.
Sans serif font (for example Times New Roman).
Black colour font.
Size 11pt or 12pt font.

It is important to remember this is general advice to assist with PhD synopsis writing. You must check your university guidelines first as they may have particular rules which you should follow.

PhD Synopsis Samples

I would not recommend using a PhD synopsis sample. This is because every research project is different, and the purpose of a synopsis report is to demonstrate the uniqueness of your project. Instead you should use the above format, and ensure you address each of the sections.

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Research Papers

How to Write a Research Synopsis: Template, Examples, & More

Last Updated: May 9, 2024 Fact Checked

Research Synopsis Template

Organizing & Formatting
Writing Your Synopsis
Reviewing & Editing

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Raven Minyard, BA . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 270,284 times.

A research synopsis describes the plan for your research project and is typically submitted to professors or department heads so they can approve your project. Most synopses are between 3,000 and 4,000 words and provide your research objectives and methods. While the specific types of information you need to include in your synopsis may vary depending on your department guidelines, most synopses include the same basic sections. In this article, we’ll walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to write a synopsis for research.

Things You Should Know

Begin your research synopsis by introducing the question your research will answer and its importance to your field.
List 2 or 3 specific objectives you hope to achieve and how they will advance your field.
Discuss your methodology to demonstrate why the study design you chose is appropriate for your research question.

Organizing Your Research Synopsis

Step 1 Follow the formatting guidelines provided by your instructor.

Find out what citation format you’re supposed to use, as well as whether you’re expected to use parenthetical references or footnotes in the body of your synopsis.
If you have questions about anything in your guidelines, ask your instructor or advisor to ensure you follow them correctly.

Step 2 Set up the headings for your sections.

Title: the title of your study
Abstract: a summary of your research synopsis
Introduction: identifies and describes your research question
Literature Review: a review of existing relevant research
Objectives: goals you hope to accomplish through your study
Hypotheses: results you expect to find through your research
Methodology and methods: explains the methods you’ll use to complete your study
References: a list of any references used in citations

Tip: Your synopsis might have additional sections, depending on your discipline and the type of research you're conducting. Talk to your instructor or advisor about which sections are required for your department.

Keep in mind that you might not end up using all the sources you initially found. After you've finished your synopsis, go back and delete the ones you didn't use.

Writing Your Research Synopsis

Step 1 Format your title page following your instructor’s guidelines.

Your title should be a brief and specific reflection of the main objectives of your study. In general, it should be under 50 words and should avoid unneeded phrases like “an investigation into.”
On the other hand, avoid a title that’s too short, as well. For example, a title like “A Study of Urban Heating” is too short and doesn’t provide any insight into the specifics of your research.

Step 2 Identify your research problem with the introduction.

The introduction allows you to explain to your reader exactly why the question you’re trying to answer is vital and how your knowledge and experience make you the best researcher to tackle it.
Support most of the statements in your introduction with other studies in the area that support the importance of your question. For example, you might cite a previous study that mentions your problem as an area where further research needs to be done.
The length of your introduction will vary depending on the overall length of your synopsis as well as the ultimate length of your eventual paper after you’ve finished your research. Generally, it will cover the first page or two of your synopsis.

Step 3 In your literature review, describe the work done by other researchers.

For example, try finding relevant literature through educational journals or bulletins from organizations like WHO and CDC.
Typically, a thorough literature review discusses 8 to 10 previous studies related to your research problem.
As with the introduction, the length of your literature review will vary depending on the overall length of your synopsis. Generally, it will be about the same length as your introduction.
Try to use the most current research available and avoid sources over 5 years old.

Step 4 Set forth the goals or objectives for your research project.

For example, an objective for research on urban heating could be “to compare urban heat modification caused by vegetation of mixed species considering the 5 most common urban trees in an area.”
Generally, the overall objective doesn’t relate to solving a specific problem or answering a specific question. Rather, it describes how your particular project will advance your field.
For specific objectives, think in terms of action verbs like “quantify” or “compare.” Here, you’re hoping to gain a better understanding of associations between particular variables.

Step 5 List your hypotheses for your research project.

Specify the sources you used and the reasons you have arrived at your hypotheses. Typically, these will come from prior studies that have shown similar relationships.
For example, suppose a prior study showed that children who were home-schooled were less likely to be in fraternities or sororities in college. You might use that study to back up a hypothesis that home-schooled children are more independent and less likely to need strong friendship support networks.

Step 6 Discuss the methodology and methods you’ll use in your research.

Expect your methodology to be at least as long as either your introduction or your literature review, if not longer. Include enough detail that your reader can fully understand how you’re going to carry out your study.
This section of your synopsis may include information about how you plan to collect and analyze your data, the overall design of your study, and your sampling methods, if necessary. Include information about the study setting, like the facilities and equipment that are available to you to carry out your study.
For example, your research work may take place in a hospital, and you may use cluster sampling to gather data.

Use between 100 and 200 words to give your readers a basic understanding of your research project.
Include a clear statement of the problem, the main goals or objectives of your study, the theories or conceptual framework your research relies upon, and the methods you’ll use to reach your goals or objectives.

Tip: Jot down a few notes as you draft your other sections that you can compile for your abstract to keep your writing more efficient.

Reviewing and Editing Your Research Synopsis

Step 1 Take a break before you start editing.

If you don’t have that kind of time because you’re up against a deadline, at least take a few hours away from your synopsis before you go back to edit it. Do something entirely unrelated to your research, like taking a walk or going to a movie.

Eliminate sentences that don’t add any new information. Even the longest synopsis is a brief document—make sure every word needs to be there and counts for something.
Get rid of jargon and terms of art in your field that could be better explained in plain language. Even though your likely readers are people who are well-versed in your field, providing plain language descriptions shows you know what you’re talking about. Using jargon can seem like you’re trying to sound like you know more than you actually do.

Tip: Free apps, such as Grammarly and Hemingway App, can help you identify grammatical errors as well as areas where your writing could be clearer. However, you shouldn't rely solely on apps since they can miss things.

Step 3 Check the format of your references.

Reference list formatting is very particular. Read your references out loud, with the punctuation and spacing, to pick up on errors you wouldn’t have noticed if you’d just read over them.
Compare your format to the one in the stylebook you’re using and make sure all of your entries are correct.

Step 4 Proofread your synopsis carefully.

Read your synopsis backward by starting on the last word and reading each word separately from the last to the first. This helps isolate spelling errors. Reading backward sentence by sentence helps you isolate grammatical errors without being distracted by the content.
Print your synopsis and circle every punctuation mark with a red pen. Then, go through them and focus on whether they’re correct.
Read your synopsis out loud, including the punctuation, as though you were dictating the synopsis.

Step 5 Share your paper with classmates and friends for review.

Have at least one person who isn’t familiar with your area of study look over your synopsis. If they can understand your project, you know your writing is clear. If any parts confuse them, then that’s an area where you can improve the clarity of your writing.

Step 6 Do a second round of editing and proofreading.

Expert Q&A

If you make significant changes to your synopsis after your first or second round of editing, you may need to proofread it again to make sure you didn’t introduce any new errors. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

↑ https://admin.umt.edu.pk/Media/Site/iib1/FileManager/FORMAT%20OF%20SYNOPSIS%2012-10-2018.pdf
↑ https://www.scientificstyleandformat.org/Tools/SSF-Citation-Quick-Guide.html
↑ https://numspak.edu.pk/upload/media/Guidelines%20for%20Synopsis%20Writing1531455748.pdf
↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279917593_Research_synopsis_guidelines
↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
↑ https://www.cornerstone.edu/blog-post/six-steps-to-really-edit-your-paper/

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Writing a Literature Review
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Physics: Writing a Literature Review

Literature reviews.

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work.

Provide context for a research paper
Explore the history and development of a topic
Examine the scholarly conversation surrounding the topic
Shows relationships between studies
Examines gaps in research on the topic

Components

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Conducting a Literature Review

1. choose a topic. define your research questions..

Your literature review should be guided by a central research question. Remember, it is not a collection of loosely related studies in a field but instead represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow. Is it manageable?
Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor.

2. Decide on the scope of your review.

How many studies do you need to look at?
How comprehensive should it be?
How many years should it cover?

Tip: This may depend on your assignment. How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search.

Where to find databases:

Find Databases by Subject
T he Find Articles tab of this guide

This page contains a list of the most relevant databases for most Physics research.

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. Keep track of your searches!

Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
Write down the searches you conduct in each database so that you may duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid dead-end searches that you'd forgotten you'd already tried).
Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
Ask your professor or a librarian if you are missing any key works in the field.

5. Review the Literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions. Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited?; if so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips:

Again, review the abstracts carefully.
Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.

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Andrea Idini

How to write a thesis in theoretical physics.

Your thesis is like your first love: it will be difficult to forget. In the end, it will represent your first serious and rigorous academic work, and this is no small thing. - U. Eco

A Thesis in theoretical physics

You visited an advisor and got a topic to work on in theoretical physics, congratulations! Now the only thing you are left to do is study; do the research; wrap it up and write it down. As for the Tools of the trade article, this list has a down-to-earth approach on providing a pragmatical look on tools and advice regarding your thesis. As in other articles I will be as general as possible and as specific as needed. I will describe my suggestions for doing a thesis in general -> in physics -> theoretical physics -> theoretical nuclear physics -> and my Lund group in particular. Both at undergraduate, graduate and PhD level.

There are entire libraries, websites, and initiatives dedicated to the craft of writing in general and academic writing in particular. Nice initiatives and tools on general writing are shut up and write , Hemingway App . There is also plenty of material to take inspiration regarding academic writing. Most interestingly, there is a whole 300-pager by Umberto Eco: “How to write a thesis” ( here you can read the review and excerpt). Online you can find the book if you wish but don’t waste precious thesis time (this post is already long more than enough). Keep in mind that Eco’s book was written in the context of Italian humanities where a thesis lasts easily more than a year of pure writing, therefore is more applicable to a PhD’s than an undergraduate’s thesis. Lund University (LU from now on) has its own resources on academic writing. There are courses, workshops and an interesting website .

Learning to have a strong academic writing is a lifelong endavour. It is not possible to master every process at any given stage of your studies. However, following advice and practicing you will become better and more confident on your writing.

Bibliographic Research

Textbook, journals and articles, bibliographic tools, programming, scope, tone, language, following up.

The thesis is the final academic document testifying some work required for the attainment of a degree. There are theses for bachelor, master students, licenciate, and PhD degrees. Theses are used even for some professional or professor habilitation in some countries and circumstances. Therefore, even though topics, length and depth might differ from thesis to thesis, they have always the same primary audiences: the people handing out the degree. In LU the B.Sc. and M.Sc. graduation theses are refereed by one or two external examiners. In our case, they are usually people in mathematical physics, that have experience in many-body systems but not necessary in your method of choice or nuclear physics.

When writing anything, the first thing to keep in mind is the reader. Like your examiners, other people that might read your thesis are knowledgeble of the field, but not of the argument. For example in our case, they will be your students colleagues that might need to pick up your work. That is, prospective physicists but not necessarely with a nuclear or theoretical physics background. You can give for granted that the reader knows what is a Lorentz transformation or quantum state, but you should not abuse field-specific jargon and use it without introduction. Every acronym, method and code must be introduced and referred to with references.

The use of references has to be strategic. Being the thesis an official document for the attainment of degree, it has to “stand on its own feet”. The reader from your target audience has to be able to read comfortably without need of constantly referring to the literature. Of course, you need to use references and literature, especially to provide plenty of examples and material to study in more depth. However, within reason, everything you use for your results needs to be introduced explicitly so that the content and context of your work is clear.

The work done for a thesis in physics is usually a work centered in research, either by critically reviewing previous research results or by developing original research guided by the supervisor. Bachelor and Master theses are 15, 30, or 60 credits, corresponding to 10, 20 or 40 weeks of full time work respectively. The goals are usually set by the supervisor, and the amout of supervision and independence will dependend on the specific project and adjusted according to performance.

Last and probably least, another consequence of being an official document it is that the thesis has often to adhere to some official or unofficial guidelines. Usually concerning length, structure, format and rarely content. For Lund physics department, you can find the guidelines here and here . Here is the checklist for registration of a Physics diploma work in LU. Pay particular attention to the learning outcomes.

The first thing when approaching thesis work, is to understand the scientific background and context to your work. This is done by reading articles and books suggested by the supervisor that are instrumental to the problem. Some articles are worth to read and understand in detail, others to skim to grasp the main concepts and results. Only experience can judge how much to devote to each article and how to read and understand effectively. It is not an exact science but an art that improves with experience.

Your thesis work is the opportunity to delve into the literature and start to gain this experience, picking the brain and experience of an expert supervisor, so make the most of it. Try to read academic literature every day. Read everything that you think is worth to cite and everything you will cite in your work. Read modern developments on journals and the arXiv of your field. It is not uncommon for a thesis work to review dozens and even few hundreds articles. The articles your supervisor cites you are only the starting point of a journey of understanding.

In the writing of your thesis, especially in the introduction you will need to refer to the literature, in order to point the reader providing context and pointers to concept and tools you used in your work. In the same way, scientists use references in articles, and often in books. Therefore, you can use the bibliography of the article you read as an important tool for your bibliographic research. You can follow citations in two ways:

upstream, looking at an article references to understand on which other works is based,
and downstream, looking at works that cited the said articles and use it for follow-up works.

This is crucial to understand the scientific foundation and impact of a work.

At LU a short training course is given in Language and Library .

There are different outlets of scientific publications. Textbooks are published by a publisher. Articles of different type get published by a journal. Topical journals are the traditional and always good way to read and update about new results in a field. The editorial collocation of an article is an indication about subject, novelty, and median impact of a publication. Unofficially and roughly they can be cathegorized in the following way.

Textbooks: you encountered textbooks in your basic education. Academic textbooks are often more advanced but they are written to be a comprehensive, reliable, organized, and pedagogically useful treatment of an argument. There are few updated books in nuclear physics, in the later years the community is relying more and more on articles.
Review papers: they are long overview of an argument published in a journal. More updated, limited and cutting-edge than a book, may contain new results. They are a good starting point to work on an argument, especially if books are not available. Journals publishing reviews are e.g. Review on Modern Physics and Reports on progress in physics
Articles: these are the “standard” scientific publications, describing new results in as much detail as needed for understanding and reproduction. It is good practice to periodically read issues of the journal publishing articles in the field you want to be updated. For physics a good resources are the APS journals , in particular Physical Review C (shortened PRC) for nuclear physics and Physical Review E for many-body systems and non-linear phenomena. In these journals, some particularly interesting articles get featured on the homepage as editorial suggestions.
Letters: these are short articles, to communicate particularly novel results and timely results that the community should take quick notice. For this reason, on average letters have higher impact and the selection is often stricter. Topical journals like PRC have “rapid communication” sections for letters. Letters are often targeted to a wider public of physicists and even scientists in general. Being featured in Physical Review Letters (shortened PRL), Nature and Science is an achievement for any physicist.

To organize the work of the bibliographic research and citation, apart from the quite important brain and internet, sometimes is useful to be helped by tools:

Zotero to organize your article library.
Scholar and web of science to find scientists, topics, articles and track citations.

Some people use Mendeley, but I don’t feel right endorsing bibliographic options owned by editorial companies.

This will probably be your first experience in original scientific work. Arguably, your objectives shoud be:

To learn as much as possible.
To do a good research job, that feeds into the primary objective.
To present it properly. That is part of the learning outcomes for the diploma work.
To think about the role of science and your work in business, society and in your future.

Here is the list of learning outcomes for the diploma work of B.Sc. and M.Sc. . These are no small technicalities, but set the expectation of the quality of your work required by not only LU, but the ministry of research and education. Be mindful of the responsability that the title you are applying for carries.

To organize the work according to these requirements, you have to coordinate with your supervisor. Set a timeline and schedule. Keep in mind that the most open and available of the supervisors is probabily a busy person, and has other duties to attend to and frequent trips. Be sure that he is available for any strict bureaucratic or work request you have from your project.

The time management is your responsability and to be open about duties and request you have is an important part of efficient project management and hence successfull work. Check the deadlines and appointments. According to the type of work and credits you have for the project (1 credit are 25-30 hours of work), the work load will be set accordingly and the supervisor will help you set realistic goals.

Some research requires coding to simulate and understand the physical system and formalism. The tools of the trade article can help you find some tools and resources. Regarding the context of the thesis work, one word of advice is to not trying to do it all. Choose few tools to perfect and focus on getting most done and be effective for your project.

To help the organization of the work and collaboration, it is sometimes efficient to use git. For this reason at the division of mathematical-physics we set up our own Gitlab server (not to be confused with the public gitlab.com). Focus the objectives and the structure the code accordingly.

It is good practice to use git as versioning system (not anymore v1, v2) and when you get the hang of it, it is convenient to use also for important documents, such as the thesis.

The tone and language of the thesis have to be gauged according the objective and the audience. The audience are your examiners, and your fellow students. You have to write for prospective students that need to understand the scientific context, have a good bibliography to start from, and a report of your results useful to reproduce and continue your work. Even more than usual, write only what you really know to be correct. Typos happen. Imprecise concepts, incorrect statements, wrong equations, will not help your reader, and therefore you.

Scientific writing has to be crisp and precise. Use short and clear phrases. Keep the grammar simple and exact. Choose your words precisely. The objective is first and foremost a dry, correct , and objective account of your research and results.

A modified version of George Orwell’s rules for writing can be used: > A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself […]: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? […] I think the following rules will cover most cases:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print .
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
Without compromising precision , if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active. Use the first person singular, when is work you (and only you) have done. Use the first person plural to refer to the group or the community. Use “One” to refer to an eventual reader. Use the passive voice when needed, especially to refer to the work itself
Never use a foreign phrase ~~, a scientific word, ~~ or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Use the scientific words respecting their context and meaning
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous wrong .

In addition,

Equations are part of a phrase, use punctuation when introducing (not : but ,) and after the equation (usually , or .)
I cannot stress this enough: define everything you use. Every symbol and index in an equation, quantum number, content of a figure, axes of a plot… etc… Attach captions to figures and tables.
Refer to equations as Eq. (*). Figures as Fig. *. Tables as Table *.
Write, both thesis and code, for yourself of the future. When you will have forgotten what was that index in the third line of equation (7.24) about.

If you read as suggested, you will pick up the style of your discipline. Try to imitate it.

For more information, a short training course is given in LU regarding Language and Library .

Being the thesis an official document, it is extra important to respect official rules. One of the most relevant regards plagiarism. Literal quotes of other works have to be in quotes and properly referred. Not original figures have also to be cited, even when the copyright is available and free to use. Plagiarism is a serious offence, and can ruin careers and lives. LU has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism on diploma works, including self-plagiarism (copying one own’s work). To guarantee this, al thesis are passed through a plagiarism detection system called URKUND. Submit the thesis to URKUND few days in advance of the deadline.

The number of pages of a report varies enomoursly according to topic and originality. A research thesis requires less pages than a review one. At the Physics department of Lund a (somewhat) strict limit of pages for diploma works is in place:

15 credits B.Sc. report: 25 pages max;
30 credits M.Sc. report: 40 pages max;
60 credits M.Sc. report: 50 pages max.

This can work also as indicative size for similar works.

Other constrains might be in place, depending on your field, University and situation. Formalities such as cover page are often in place. Moreover, Lund’s physics department also imposes the sections that have to be present in a thesis.

The title of the thesis should illustrate the work you have done. There is no point in too general titles (“Nuclear physics”); too specific titles (“Study of 2+ states in rotational bands using HFBTHO code in the Praseodymium isotopic chain”) on the other hand discourage the reader that might be interested in more general concepts. As with many things related to writing, you will have to strike a balance. Let’s use the latter example to guide you through the process, considering you evaluate this to be your contribution. Your study might not only be interesting for people looking for 2+ states. For sure, if your study is in physics, the results should not depend on the code used. Hence, without loss of information, “Study of rotational bands in the Praseodymium isotopic chain” is definetely more useful for people that need to decide if your thesis deserves a second look.

When writing, you should always ask yourself what is needed here, why, and how is it possible to improve it. Especially for important sections like title and abstract.

The abstract is a short summary of few lines. It regards the premise, main method and results and conclusion of your work. A thesis summary is not much different from an article, therefore you have plenty of examples under your hand.

In the appendix of the diploma work are specified the necessary sections and content of a thesis.

If you allow me a kitchen metaphor, consider the thesis as a hamburger: the Introduction is the restaurant, table and plate; the Method the bottom bread; the Results the patty; the Conclusion the condiments; the Bibliography the top bun; the Appendix , code and other documentation your complementary fries and beverage.

Introduction

The introduction is the support and presentation for your work. It is needed to introduce your work and its scientific context. Use what you have read but don’t exagerate with background information. A thesis is not a textbook. The main objective of having context is to introduce the significance of your work. Why are you doing what you are doing, and how does this help the scientific community. One of your student colleagues should be able to be introduced to the topic, have the pointers to the literature needed to understand deeper, and be compelled to continue reading.

The method section is the foundation of your work. It is not strictly required by the syllabus and can eventually be merged with “results”. However, is good practice to keep them separate. Here you should introduced the techniques that will be used in the result section, in order to decrease the reliance of external reference material and make your thesis self-sufficient.

For example, Hartree-Fock method, or cellular automata, are examples of well-known techniques that might be needed to understand your work. A brief and to the point description of this well-known method will help the reader. But restrain yourself and describe only the methods which are most relevant to your work. Other background information should be referenced to literature. Remember the page limit and to preserve the sanity and disposition of advisors and examiners. Think that we have to read few of these theses in a week, and while we want to verify you understand, reading pages of well known irrelevant details does not put us in the mood for a positive evaluation.

The results section is where “the beef” is. The main content of your work, your original contribution. Here you use the methods introduced, within the scientific context explained in the introduction, to provide new insight into the topic of your thesis. Depending on the type of thesis, stage of studies, ambition, field, it can be radically different. The results section is the one most comparable to articles. Therefore, you should take inspiration from the literature on how to present your results.

Here more than ever you have to consider Orwell’s suggestion: ask yourself “What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer?”. Try to focus a message and think of the best way to convey it.

A common mistake is thinking of the thesis as a simple laboratory report, where you are tempted to list all your trials in chronological order. Introducing results chronologically might be an efficient strategy (often a thesis progresses in complexity and builds on previous results), but it is not always the best strategy. Focus on the scientific message, and select those results that are important to illustrate that message.

Conclusion and Outlook

The conclusion gives the flavour and aftertaste. What you want the reader to take away and remember? What are the discoveries you made in your work, and how do they fit with and contribute to our understanding?

Moreover, an outlook must also be provided. That is, suggesting possible avenues for continuing the journey you started. What should we do next? Why?

Bibliography

The good researched and redacted bibliography is an essential part of a text. It provides both motivation, context and possibility to investigate deeper. In good bibliographies you can find insightful texts and hidden gems. An expert examiner (or referee) can almost judge the quality of a work by only looking at the attached bibliography. The bibliography is a good marker of quality because is a marker of the intellectual “diet” of a person. The more varied, deep, sophisticated is the diet the higher quality the work will usually come to be. An intellectual is just as good as his/her reading list and scientists make no exception.

Curate your reading list and demonstrate good use of the bibliography. Readers will be grateful.

Appendix and others

Appendix is an additional part of the text. It is a good and sometimes necessary addition. Interesting derivations, ancillary results, additional content, can enrich the text and provide details for the not-so-average reader. In the main text you target the audience of examiner and fellow students, that need to understand the scientific contribution you made. The appendix will be reserved for the reader that want more details. The student that have to pick up the work. Someone that might want to implement something you derived. Who want to know the nitty gritty of your results in order to reproduce them.

Before my time, way back when dinosaur roamed the earth, codes used to be attached in the appendix. Today is not that useful to have a line-by-line printout of the code. It is way easier to provide a link to a public or semi-public repository (like the division’s gitlab ), and often codes are now too complicated to be printed out with ease. However, this is an excellent example of the content of an appendix: something perhaps not directly scientifically relevant, but informative for people that want to look closer and work it out for themselves.

As I described in the article Tools of the trade , physics and theoretical physics in particular use Latex for scientific writing. This comes from a general tendency to prefer opensource and Linux-based tools. Moreover, latex has the perfect equation typeset. To write Latex you can use whatever text editor, but I find Kile to be the easiest editor. Some people use Lyx or Overleaf .

Since the bibliography in a thesis is substantial, is useful to use the proper instrument to cite it. I suggest to use bibtex, since is the most automatic and complete way to reference literature in latex. You have to put bibtex references in a separate .bib file, and cite it with \cite{...} . Figures and equation can be labelled with \label{...} and \ref{...} . Here is a short introduction to Latex by A. Cottrell, and a short tutorial on overleaf.com .

When the thesis is done and delivered. You will have to present it (and sometimes defend it) in front of the examiners. This usually consists in a presentation, that in LU Physics consists in 30 minutes or less. If your thesis needs to have a clear scientific message, this is doubly true for the presentation. In a presentation everything needs to be purposefully presented with the objective of delivering a single, impactful, scientific message.

A good exercise is: think of you thesis, and summarize the conclusion in 10 simple words or less. Now question everything: “does this help me deliver this 10 word message?”. Build your presentation on this.

Reason by blocks: the single presentation needs to build up to a single message; the single slide needs to have a single message that helps the presentation; the single figure and text needs to convey a single message that helps the slide. You get the jist.

If you have to revolutionize the structure you use in your thesis, or cut out many results, so be it. A presentation have to be convincing and compelling, not a complete account of your work. In fact quite the opposite. In the most prestigious conferences often you have few minutes to summarise years of work.

Also in the presentation, the most important attribute is precision. Avoid touching subjects you are not sure of and employ a specific and correct vocabulary adequate for your subject.

It is fairly common that after the presentation, the examiners request some changes before agreeing on the final mark. Don’t be discouraged, scientific work and writing is a lifelong endavour and this is an excellent opportunity to polish your craft. Maybe your last opportunity to confront yourself with professionals in scientific writing.

If your work is particularly original and potentially impactful, your advisor can propose to publish it in a scientific journal. If that’s the case, you can use results, figures and paragraphs you have produced in the thesis. You will discuss with your supervisor the type of article and the style to adopt.

In most cases, substantial revision is needed, because the format of an article is quite different from a thesis. A scientific article has a lower degree of self-sufficiency and a higher reliance on external sources. For example, in your thesis you might need to define Hartree Fock, in an article is not necessary in most cases, since it is a well known method and can be referenced. This might imply also that the notation you used might need a revision.

In this case, your supervisor will guide you very closely. It is good practice to offer a first draft, revised as asked. This first draft will probably need extensive correction, but again this is common. Having a publication out of a thesis up to several factors not always under your control, but certainly does feel good to have a test of the scientific maturity you have reached in such a short amount of time, and definetly will help future PhD publications.

This concludes this guide. Don’t hesitate to contact me for more explanation and suggest modification. Sorry if it’s long, I did not have time to make it shorter. To compensate, you deserve a Seal of approval to have arrived here!

Nuclear Physics and other amenities

Constantly striving to disseminate science to wider audiences with questionable results

When you are about to begin, writing a thesis seems a long, difficult task. That is because it is a long, difficult task. Fortunately, it will seem less daunting once you have a couple of chapters done. Towards the end, you will even find yourself enjoying it – an enjoyment based on satisfaction in the achievement, pleasure in the improvement in your technical writing, and of course the approaching end. Like many tasks, thesis writing usually seems worst before you begin, so let us look at how you should make a start.

First make up a thesis outline: several pages containing chapter headings, sub-headings, some figure titles (to indicate which results go where) and perhaps some other notes and comments. There is a section on chapter order and thesis structure at the end of this text. Once you have a list of chapters and, under each chapter heading, a reasonably complete list of things to be reported or explained, you have struck a great blow against writer's block. When you sit down to type, your aim is no longer a thesis – a daunting goal – but something simpler. Your new aim is just to write a paragraph or section about one of your subheadings. It helps to start with an easy one: this gets you into the habit of writing and gives you self-confidence. In an experimental thesis, the Materials and Methods chapter is often the easiest to write – just write down what you did; carefully, formally and in a logical order.

How do you make an outline of a chapter? For most of them, you might try the method that I use for writing papers, and which I learned from my thesis adviser (Stjepan Marcelja): Assemble all the figures that you will use in it and put them in the order that you would use if you were going to explain to someone what they all meant. You might as well rehearse explaining it to someone else – after all you will probably give several talks based on your thesis work. Once you have found the most logical order, note down the key words of your explanation. These key words provide a skeleton for much of your chapter outline.

Once you have an outline, discuss it with your adviser. This step is important: s/he will have useful suggestions, but it also serves notice that s/he can expect a steady flow of chapter drafts that will make high priority demands on his/her time. Once you and your adviser have agreed on a logical structure, s/he will need a copy of this outline for reference when reading the chapters which you will probably present out of order. If you have a co-adviser, discuss the outline with him/her as well, and present all chapters to both advisers for comments.

It is encouraging and helpful to start a filing system. Open a word-processor file for each chapter You can put notes in these files, as well as text. While doing something for Chapter n, you will think "Oh I must refer back to/discuss this in Chapter m" and so you put a note to do so in the file for Chapter m. Or you may think of something interesting or relevant for that chapter. When you come to work on Chapter m, the more such notes you have accumulated, the easier it will be to write.

(depending on the reliability of your computer and the age of your memory). Do not keep a back-up drive close to the computer in case the hypothetical thief who fancies your computer decides that s/he could use the drive as well.

If you thesis file is not too large, a simple way of making a remote back-up is to send it as an email attachment to a consenting email correspondent; you could also send it to yourself. In either case, be careful to dispose of superseded versions so that you don't waste disk space, especially if you have bitmap images or other large files. Or you could use a drop-box or other more sophisticated system.

You should also have a physical filing system: a collection of folders with chapter numbers on them. This will make you feel good about getting started and also help clean up your desk. Your files will contain not just the plots of results and pages of calculations, but all sorts of old notes, references, calibration curves, suppliers' addresses, specifications, speculations, notes from colleagues etc., which will suddenly strike you as relevant to one chapter or other. Stick them in that folder. Then put all the folders in a box or a filing cabinet. As you write bits and pieces of text, place the hard copy, the figures etc in these folders as well. Touch them and feel their thickness from time to time – ah, the thesis is taking shape.

If any of your data exist only on paper, copy them and keep the copy in a different location. Consider making a copy of your lab book. This has another purpose beyond security: usually the lab book stays in the lab, but you may want a copy for your own future use. Further, scientific ethics require you to keep lab books and original data for at least ten years, and a copy is more likely to be found if two copies exist.

If you haven't already done so, you should archive your electronic data, in an appropriate format. Spreadsheet and word processor files are not suitable for long term storage. by Joseph Slater is a good guide.

While you are getting organised, you should deal with any university paperwork. Examiners have to be nominated and they have to agree to serve. Various forms are required by your department and by the university administration. Make sure that the rate limiting step is your production of the thesis, and not some minor bureaucratic problem.

One of the big FAQs for scientists: is there a word processor, ideally one compatible with MS Word, but which allows you to type mathematical symbols and equations conveniently? One solution is LaTeX, which is powerful, elegant, reliable, fast and from or . The standard equation editor for MS Word is point and click, so extremely slow and awkward. In many versions, Word's equation editor can be reached via hotkey Alt-equals, and takes pseudo latex typed input (eg X_1 converts to X subscript 1) upon the next space or operator. It uses some different formats - eg () rather than the {} of latex to group things and interprets divisions rather than having to use \frac. Here's a link:
It has been useful to know these as it seems biologists and latex don't mix! I strongly recommend sitting down with the adviser and making up a timetable for writing it: a list of dates for when you will give the first and second drafts of each chapter to your adviser(s). This structures your time and provides intermediate targets. If you merely aim "to have the whole thing done by [some distant date]", you can deceive yourself and procrastinate more easily. If you have told your adviser that you will deliver a first draft of chapter 3 on Wednesday, it focuses your attention.

You may want to make your timetable into a chart with items that you can check off as you have finished them. This is particularly useful towards the end of the thesis when you find there will be quite a few loose ends here and there.

Whenever you sit down to write, it is very important to write So write something, even if it is just a set of notes or a few paragraphs of text that you would never show to anyone else. It would be nice if clear, precise prose leapt easily from the keyboard, but it usually does not. Most of us find it easier, however, to improve something that is already written than to produce text from nothing. So put down a draft (as rough as you like) for your own purposes, then clean it up for your adviser to read. Word-processors are wonderful in this regard: in the first draft you do not have to start at the beginning, you can leave gaps, you can put in little notes to yourself, and then you can clean it all up later.

Your adviser will expect to read each chapter in draft form. S/he will then return it to you with suggestions and comments. Your adviser will want your thesis to be as good as possible, because his/her reputation as well as yours is affected. Scientific writing is a difficult art, and it takes a while to learn. As a consequence, there will be many ways in which your first draft can be improved. So take a positive attitude to all the scribbles with which your adviser decorates your text: each comment tells you a way in which you can make your thesis better.

As you write your thesis, your scientific writing is almost certain to improve. Even for native speakers of English who write very well in other styles, one notices an enormous improvement in the first drafts from the first to the last chapter written. The process of writing the thesis is like a course in scientific writing, and in that sense each chapter is like an assignment in which you are taught, but not assessed. Remember, only the final draft is assessed: the more comments your adviser adds to first or second draft, the better.

Before you submit a draft to your adviser, run a spell check so that s/he does not waste time on those. If you have any characteristic grammatical failings, check for them.

Your thesis is a research report. The report concerns a problem or series of problems in your area of research and it should describe what was known about it previously, what you did towards solving it, what you think your results mean, and where or how further progress in the field can be made. Do not carry over your ideas from undergraduate assessment: a thesis is not an answer to an assignment question. One important difference is this: the reader of an assignment is usually the one who has set it. S/he already knows the answer (or one of the answers), not to mention the background, the literature, the assumptions and theories and the strengths and weaknesses of them. The readers of a thesis do not know what the "answer" is. If the thesis is for a PhD, the university requires that it make an original contribution to human knowledge: your research must discover something hitherto unknown.

Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be experts in the general field of your thesis but, on the exact topic of your thesis, you are the world expert. Keep this in mind: you should write to make the topic clear to a reader who has not spent most of the last three years thinking about it.

Your thesis will also be used as a scientific report and consulted by future workers in your laboratory who will want to know, in detail, what you did. Theses are also consulted by people from other institutions, and the library at your university will store a copy as a file on a server. The advantage is that your thesis can be consulted much more easily by researchers around the world. (See e.g. for the digital availability of research theses.) Write with these possibilities in mind.

It is often helpful to have someone other than your adviser(s) read some sections of the thesis, particularly the introduction and conclusion chapters. It may also be appropriate to ask other members of staff to read some sections of the thesis which they may find relevant or of interest, as they may be able to make valuable contributions. In either case, only give them revised versions, so that they do not waste time correcting your grammar, spelling, poor construction or presentation.

The short answer is: rather more than for a scientific paper. Once your thesis has been assessed and your friends have read the first three pages, the only further readers are likely to be people who are seriously doing research in just that area. For example, a future research student might be pursuing the same research and be interested to find out exactly what you did. ("Why doesn't the widget that Bloggs built for her project work any more? Where's the circuit diagram? I'll look up her thesis." "Blow's subroutine doesn't converge in my parameter space! I'll have to look up his thesis." "How did that group in Sydney manage to get that technique to work? I'll look up a copy of the thesis they cited in their paper.") For important parts of apparatus, you should include workshop drawings, circuit diagrams and computer programs, usually as appendices. (By the way, the intelligible annotation of programs is about as frequent as porcine aviation, but it is far more desirable. You wrote that line of code for a reason: at the end of the line explain what the reason is.) You have probably read the theses of previous students in the lab where you are now working, so you probably know the advantages of a clearly explained, explicit thesis and/or the disadvantages of a vague one.

If you use a result, observation or generalisation that is not your own, you must usually state where in the scientific literature that result is reported. The only exceptions are cases where every researcher in the field already knows it: dynamics equations need not be followed by a citation of Newton, circuit analysis does not need a reference to Kirchoff. The importance of this practice in science is that it allows the reader to verify your starting position. Physics in particular is said to be a vertical science: results are built upon results which in turn are built upon results etc. Good referencing allows us to check the foundations of your additions to the structure of knowledge in the discipline, or at least to trace them back to a level which we judge to be reliable. Good referencing also tells the reader which parts of the thesis are descriptions of previous knowledge and which parts are your additions to that knowledge. In a thesis, written for the general reader who has little familiarity with the literature of the field, this should be especially clear. It may seem tempting to leave out a reference in the hope that a reader will think that a nice idea or an nice bit of analysis is yours. I advise against this gamble. The reader will probably think: "What a nice idea – I wonder if it's original?". The reader can probably find out via the net or the library.

If you are writing in the passive voice, you must be more careful about attribution than if you are writing in the active voice. "The sample was prepared by heating yttrium..." does not make it clear whether you did this or whether Acme Yttrium did it. "I prepared the sample..." is clear.

The text must be clear. Good grammar and thoughtful writing will make the thesis easier to read. Scientific writing has to be a little formal – more formal than this text. Native English speakers should remember that scientific English is an international language. Slang and informal writing will be harder for a non-native speaker to understand.

Short, simple phrases and words are often better than long ones. Some politicians use "at this point in time" instead of "now" precisely because it takes longer to convey the same meaning. They do not care about elegance or efficient communication. You should. On the other hand, there will be times when you need a complicated sentence because the idea is complicated. If your primary statement requires several qualifications, each of these may need a subordinate clause: "When [qualification], and where [proviso], and if [condition] then [statement]". Some lengthy technical words will also be necessary in many theses, particularly in fields like biochemistry. Do not sacrifice accuracy for the sake of brevity. "Black is white" is simple and catchy. An advertising copy writer would love it. "Objects of very different albedo may be illuminated differently so as to produce similar reflected spectra" is longer and uses less common words, but, compared to the former example, it has the advantage of being true. The longer example would be fine in a physics thesis because English speaking physicists will not have trouble with the words. (A physicist who did not know all of those words would probably be glad to remedy the lacuna either from the context or by consulting a dictionary.)

Sometimes it is easier to present information and arguments as a series of numbered points, rather than as one or more long and awkward paragraphs. A list of points is usually easier to write. You should be careful not to use this presentation too much: your thesis must be a connected, convincing argument, not just a list of facts and observations.

One important stylistic choice is between the active voice and passive voice. The active voice ("I measured the frequency...") is simpler, and it makes clear what you did and what was done by others. The passive voice ("The frequency was measured...") makes it easier to write ungrammatical or awkward sentences. If you use the passive voice, be especially wary of dangling participles. For example, the sentence "After considering all of these possible materials, plutonium was selected" implicitly attributes consciousness to plutonium. This choice is a question of taste: I prefer the active because it is clearer, more logical and makes attribution simple. The only arguments I have ever heard for avoiding the active voice in a thesis are (i) many theses are written in the passive voice, and (ii) some very polite people find the use of "I" immodest. Use the first person singular, not plural, when reporting work that you did yourself: the editorial 'we' may suggest that you had help beyond that listed in your acknowledgments, or it may suggest that you are trying to share any blame. On the other hand, retain plural verbs for "data": "data" is the plural of "datum", and lots of scientists like to preserve the distinction. Just say to yourself "one datum is ..", "these data are.." several times. An excellent and widely used reference for English grammar and style is by H.W. Fowler.

There is no need for a thesis to be a masterpiece of desk-top publishing. Your time can be more productively spent improving the content than the appearance.

In many cases, a reasonably neat diagram can be drawn by hand faster than with a graphics package, and you can scan it if you want an electronic version. Either is usually satisfactory. A one bit (i.e. black and white), moderate resolution scan of a hand-drawn sketch will be bigger than a line drawing generated on a graphics package, but not huge. While talking about the size of files, we should mention that photographs look pretty but take up a lot of memory. There's another important difference, too. The photographer thought about the camera angle and the focus etc. The person who drew the schematic diagram thought about what components ought to be depicted and the way in which the components of the system interacted with each other. So the numerically small information content of the line drawing may be much more useful information than that in a photograph.

Another note about figures and photographs. In the digital version of your thesis, do not save ordinary photographs or other illustrations as bitmaps, because these take up a lot of memory and are therefore very slow to transfer. Nearly all graphics packages allow you to save in compressed format as .jpg (for photos) or .gif (for diagrams) files. Further, you can save space/speed things up by reducing the number of colours. In vector graphics (as used for drawings), compression is usually unnecessary.

In general, students spend too much time on diagrams – time that could have been spent on examining the arguments, making the explanations clearer, thinking more about the significance and checking for errors in the algebra. The reason, of course, is that drawing is easier than thinking.

I do not think that there is a strong correlation (either way) between length and quality. There is no need to leave big gaps to make the thesis thicker. Readers will not appreciate large amounts of vague or unnecessary text.

A deadline is very useful in some ways. You must hand in the thesis, even if you think that you need one more draft of that chapter, or someone else's comments on this section, or some other refinement. If you do not have a deadline, or if you are thinking about postponing it, please take note of this: . There will inevitably be things in it that you could have done better. There will be inevitably be some typos. Indeed, by some law related to Murphy's, you will discover one when you first flip open the bound copy. No matter how much you reflect and how many times you proof read it, there will be some things that could be improved. There is no point hoping that the examiners will not notice: many examiners feel obliged to find some examples of improvements (if not outright errors) just to show how thoroughly they have read it. So set yourself a deadline and stick to it. Make it as good as you can in that time, and then hand it in! (In retrospect, there was an advantage in writing a thesis in the days before word processors, spelling checkers and typing programs. Students often paid a typist to produce the final draft and could only afford to do that once.) Talk to your adviser about this. As well as those for the examiners, the university libraries and yourself, you should make some distribution copies. These copies should be sent to other researchers who are working in your field so that:

Whatever the University's policy on single or double-sided copies, the distribution copies could be double-sided paper, or digital, so that forests and postage accounts are not excessively depleted by the exercise. Your adviser could help you to make up a list of interested and/or potentially useful people for such a mailing list. Your adviser might also help by funding the copies and postage if they are not covered by your scholarship. A CD with your thesis will be cheaper than a paper copy. You don't have to burn them all yourself: companies make multiple copies for several dollars a copy.

The following comment comes from Marilyn Ball of the Australian National University in Canberra: "When I finished writing my thesis, a postdoc wisely told me to give a copy to my parents. I would never have thought of doing that as I just couldn't imagine what they would do with it. I'm very glad to have taken that advice as my parents really appreciated receiving a copy and proudly displayed it for years. (My mother never finished high school and my father worked with trucks - he fixed 'em, built 'em, drove 'em, sold 'em and junked 'em. Nevertheless, they enjoyed having a copy of my thesis.)"

In the ideal situation, you will be able to spend a large part – perhaps a majority – of your time writing your thesis. This may be bad for your physical and mental health.

Keep going – you're nearly there! Most PhDs will admit that there were times when we thought about reasons for not finishing. But it would be crazy to give up at the writing stage, after years of work on the research, and it would be something to regret for a long time.

Writing a thesis is tough work. One anonymous post doctoral researcher told me: "You should tell everyone that it's going to be unpleasant, that it will mess up their lives, that they will have to give up their friends and their social lives for a while. It's a tough period for almost every student." She's right: it is certainly hard work, it will probably be stressful and you will have to adapt your rhythm to it. It is also an important rite of passage and the satisfaction you will feel afterwards is wonderful. On behalf of scholars everywhere, I wish you good luck!

The list of contents and chapter headings below is appropriate for some theses. In some cases, one or two of them may be irrelevant. Results and Discussion are usually combined in several chapters of a thesis. Think about the plan of chapters and decide what is best to report your work. Then make a list, in point form, of what will go in each chapter. Try to make this rather detailed, so that you end up with a list of points that corresponds to subsections or even to the paragraphs of your thesis. At this stage, think hard about the logic of the presentation: within chapters, it is often possible to present the ideas in different order, and not all arrangements will be equally easy to follow. If you make a plan of each chapter and section before you sit down to write, the result will probably be clearer and easier to read. It will also be easier to write.

an introduction. It is a résumé of your thesis.

The introduction should be interesting. If you bore the reader here, then you are unlikely to revive his/her interest in the materials and methods section. For the first paragraph or two, tradition permits prose that is less dry than the scientific norm. If want to wax lyrical about your topic, here is the place to do it. Try to make the reader want to read the heavy bundle that has arrived uninvited on his/her desk. Go to the library and read several thesis introductions. Did any make you want to read on? Which ones were boring?

This section might go through several drafts to make it read well and logically, while keeping it short. For this section, I think that it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read it and to comment. Is it an adequate introduction? Is it easy to follow? There is an argument for writing this section – or least making a major revision of it – towards the end of the thesis writing. Your introduction should tell where the thesis is going, and this may become clearer during the writing.

How many papers? How relevant do they have to be before you include them? Well, that is a matter of judgement. On the order of a hundred is reasonable, but it will depend on the field. You are the world expert on the (narrow) topic of your thesis: you must demonstrate this.

A political point: make sure that you do not omit relevant papers by researchers who are like to be your examiners, or by potential employers to whom you might be sending the thesis in the next year or two.

Another disadvantage is that your journal articles may have some common material in the introduction and the "Materials and Methods" sections.

The exact structure in the middle chapters will vary among theses. In some theses, it is necessary to establish some theory, to describe the experimental techniques, then to report what was done on several different problems or different stages of the problem, and then finally to present a model or a new theory based on the new work. For such a thesis, the chapter headings might be: Theory, Materials and Methods, {first problem}, {second problem}, {third problem}, {proposed theory/model} and then the conclusion chapter. For other theses, it might be appropriate to discuss different techniques in different chapters, rather than to have a single Materials and Methods chapter.

Here follow some comments on the elements Materials and Methods, Theory, Results and discussion which may or may not correspond to thesis chapters.

but you should not reproduce two pages of algebra that the reader could find in a standard text. Do not include theory that you are not going to relate to the work you have done.

When writing this section, concentrate at least as much on the physical arguments as on the equations. What do the equations mean? What are the important cases?

When you are reporting your own theoretical work, you must include rather more detail, but you should consider moving lengthy derivations to appendices. Think too about the order and style of presentation: the order in which you did the work may not be the clearest presentation.

Suspense is not necessary in reporting science: you should tell the reader where you are going before you start.

Take care plotting graphs. The origin and intercepts are often important so, unless the ranges of your data make it impractical, the zeros of one or both scales should usually appear on the graph. You should show error bars on the data, unless the errors are very small. For single measurements, the bars should be your best estimate of the experimental errors in each coordinate. For multiple measurements these should include the standard error in the data. The errors in different data are often different, so, where this is the case, regressions and fits should be weighted (i.e. they should minimize the sum of squares of the differences weighted inversely as the size of the errors.) (A common failing in many simple software packages that draw graphs and do regressions is that they do not treat errors adequately. UNSW student Mike Johnston has written a that plots data with error bars and performs weighted least square regressions. It is at http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/3rdyearlab/graphing/graph.html). You can just 'paste' your data into the input and it generates a .ps file of the graph.

In most cases, your results need discussion. What do they mean? How do they fit into the existing body of knowledge? Are they consistent with current theories? Do they give new insights? Do they suggest new theories or mechanisms?

Try to distance yourself from your usual perspective and look at your work. Do not just ask yourself what it means in terms of the orthodoxy of your own research group, but also how other people in the field might see it. Does it have any implications that do not relate to the questions that you set out to answer?

This chapter should usually be reasonably short – a few pages perhaps. As with the introduction, I think that it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read this section and to comment.

, it may be appropriate to cite web sites. (Be cautious, and don't overuse such citations. In particular, don't use a web citation where you could reasonably use a "hard" citation. Remember that your examiners are likely to be older and more conservative.) You should give the URL and also the date you downloaded it. If there is a date on the site itself (last updated on .....) you should included that, too.

If you have found these documents useful, please feel free to pass the address or a hard copy to any other thesis writers or graduate student organisations. Please do not sell them, or use any of the contents without acknowledgement.

This document will be updated occasionally. If you have suggestions for inclusions, amendments or other improvements, please send them. Do so after you have submitted the thesis – I thank Marilyn Ball, Gary Bryant, Bill Whiten and J. Douglas, whose suggestions have been incorporated in this version. Substantial contributions will be acknowledged in future versions. I also take this opportunity to thank my own thesis advisers, Stjepan Marcelja and Jacob Israelachvili, for their help and friendship, and to thank the graduate students to whom I have had the pleasure to be an adviser, a colleague and a friend. Opinions expressed in these notes are mine and do not necessarily reflect the policy of the University of New South Wales or of the School of Physics.

Why and how did I write this document? The need for it was evident so, as one of my PhD students approached the end of his project, I made notes of everything that I said to him about thesis writing. These notes became the plan for the first draft of this document, which has been extended several times since then. I am surprised that it has hundreds of readers each day. However, this is an important message about the web. It takes time and thought to make a good resource but, if you do, it can benefit a lot of people. When this document was first posted, the web was relatively new and feedback showed that people were often surprised to find what they sought. Now there is a tendency to take the web for granted: one is almost disappointed not to find what one is seeking. However, the web is only as good as the collective effort of all of us. The readers of this document will be scholars, experts and educators: among the many contributions you will make to knowledge and your communities, there may be contributions that should be made freely available, all over the world. Keep this observation about the web in the back of your mind for when you are not writing a thesis.

School of Physics , University of New South Wales , Sydney, Australia.

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WRITING A GOOD Ph.D RESEARCH SYNOPSIS

Synopsis is a short summary of your Ph.D thesis work. This paper suggests some ideas to motivate the young researchers for effectively writing the Ph.D synopsis with essential tips and tricks.This can act as a reference and help young researcher to going to write Ph.D synopsis.

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Provides guide to write the Research Project/Dissertation Synopsis

Scientific Research Publishing: Creative Education

Dr. Qais Faryadi

Literature writing is a skill that every PhD candidate must procure to communicate his or her research findings clearly. The main objective of this paper is to facilitate the literature writing process so that PhD candidates under- stand what PhD literature is and are able to write their PhD literature cor- rectly and scientifically. The methodology used in this research is a descrip- tive method as it deliberates and defines the various parts of literature writing process and elucidates the how to do of it in a very unpretentious and under- standing language. As thus, this paper summarizes the various steps of litera- ture writing to pilot the PhD students so that the task of PhD literature writ- ing process becomes adaptable and less discouraging. This research is a useful roadmap especially for students of the social science studies. Additionally, in this paper, literature writing techniques, procedures and important strategies are enlightened in a simple manner. This paper adopts a how-to approach when discussing a variety of relevant topics, such as literature review intro- duction, types of literature review, advantages of literature reviews, objective of literature review, literature review template, and important check lists about literature review are discussed. This paper has 5 parts, such as Intro- duction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Conclusion. The lit- erature review chapter is discussed in this paper. I will discuss the rest as a se- ries in the future. Keywords Thesis Writing Process, Literature Review, PhD, Social Science, Research Methodology

The Educational Review, USA

maria Fareed

Scientific Research Publishing: Creative Education.

Thesis writing is a skill that every PhD candidate must acquire to convey his or her research findings clearly. The main objective of this paper is to facili- tate the thesis writing process so that PhD candidates understand what a PhD thesis is and can write their thesis correctly and scientifically. The methodol- ogy used in this research was descriptive as it discusses and describes the var- ious parts of thesis writing process and explains how to do it in a very simple and understanding language. As thus, this article outlines the various steps of thesis writing to guide the PhD candidate so that the task of PhD thesis writ- ing becomes manageable and less daunting. This research is a useful roadmap especially for students of the social sciences studies. Further, in this paper, research procedure and thesis writing strategies are explained in a simple manner. This paper adopts a how-to approach when discussing a variety of relevant topics, such as thesis introduction, types of introductions, introduc- tion statements, problem statement, research questions, hypothesis and con- tributions of the study. This paper has 5 parts: Introduction, Literature Re- view, Methodology, Results and Conclusion. The introduction chapter is dis- cussed in this paper. I will discuss the rest as a series in the future.

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Science Archive

Mohammed Ismael Rushdi

An abstract is like a movie trailer. People will only consider reading the rest of the manuscript if they find your abstract interesting. It is an outline/brief summary of your paper and your whole project. Keywords: , research, descriptive and informative research.

This book aims to guide researchers, academicians and PhD candidates especially Social Science Researchers on how todo research systematically. Research is a premeditated investigation using scientific methodology (quantitative, qualitative,) to solve a serious problem (not ordinary problem), thus creating additional (new) knowledge. Research is also regarded as an inquiry of reality about something by testing a hypothesis, answering questions, generating new queries, finding solutions, and creating new knowledge. This book guides you how to effectively structure your research from the proposal till VIVA presentation. Although research designs may differ from one discipline to another, a general road map should include the following: Ø Topic of research Ø Research problem, questions and hypotheses Ø Review of current literature Ø Theoretical framework or methodology experimental, observation and so Ø Data collection and testing if any Ø Data analysis Ø Results Ø Discussions and Applications Ø Conclusion Ø References

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(PDF) How to Make the Research Synopsis as Ph.D. and PG. level
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PDF PhD in Physics
In graduate classes, students learn fundamentals and also develop more specialized knowledge. In fulfilling teaching duties, PhD students learn communication skills and how to effectively teach science. In the early stages of working with a research group, PhD students learn fundamentals of their chosen area.
Format of synopsis for PhD
FORMAT OF SYNOPSIS (MS/MPHIL & PHD). Given below is an outline for synopsis writing. It provides guidelines for organization and presentation of research. Figure 1: Format of Synopsis. THE TITLE OF RESEARCH OR THESIS. CERTIFICATE. INDEX. INTRODUCTION OF 2-3 PAGES. Identify a real world problem.
PDF Writing a Physics Thesis: Some Advice from Prof. Jones
You need to allow time for editing and revision. In an effort to encourage good scientific writing, the Physics Department has a requirement that you include in your thesis an executive summary of your work. In a space of 2 to 4 pages (keeping in mind Rule 1), you should explain to the educated reader the question you have pursued, the methods ...
Statement of purpose(SOP) for Ph.D. in Physics
A well-drafted Physics PhD SOP can turn the tables in the applicant's favor. It can convince the reviewers that the applicant is a suitable fit for their research program and downplay the applicant's weaknesses. ... 5 Tips to Write Effective SOP for Biological Sciences . Generally, a sample SOP for Ph.D. Physics will be similar to any other ...
Graduate Student Handbook
Such a request should be in writing to the Physics Department Director of Graduate Affairs, and should state the exact nature of the previous teaching experience. ... the problem. (vi) A discussion of the results of the thesis and an analysis of the impact of the results on the body of Physics. (vii) A summary of what was original and ...
How to write a good PhD literature review?
23. The purpose and expectations of a PhD literature review is likely to vary from field to field. My PhD was in Physics, but my views might be taken to apply generally. There is likely to be some repetition or paraphrasing between students in the same research group, when it comes to the literature review.
How to Write a Synopsis for PhD With Focus on the Right Format
Significance: - Explain why your research is important for the field and how it can be useful. 11. Timeline: - Give a rough idea of how long each phase of your research will take. 12. References: - List the books, articles, and sources you've used for your synopsis. Remember, keep it clear and simple.
PDF MANUAL FOR PREPARATION OF Ph.D. SYNOPSIS (Prescribed Format and
LMANUAL FOR PREPARATION OF Ph.D. SYNOPSIS (Prescribed Format and Specification)GENERAL:The synopsis is to be considered as a detailed summary of the work wit. important results highlighting the orig. nal contributions in the thesis to be submitted. It should give an outline of the thesis. The review of earlier work is to be minimized with jus.
PDF FORMAT OF SYNOPSIS (MS/MPHIL & PHD)
FORMAT OF SYNOPSIS (MS/MPHIL & PHD) Given below is an outline for synopsis writing. It provides guidelines for organization and presentation of research in form of synopsis as well as organization of material within each section. Contents in each section tell what needs to be included in each section and how
PDF CENTRE FOR RESEARCH (PHD) Guidelines for preparing PhD Synopsis and Thesis
contents). Page number shall appear 20 mm from below. 2.5 Paragraph formatThe line spacing of the body text should be 1. ng.The first line of each paragraph should normally be. ndented by 15 mm.A paragraph should normally comprise more than one line. A single line of a paragraph shall not be left at.
PDF Guidelines for Preparation of Synopsis
tables, etc.) for writing the Synopsis is the same as that for the thesis. Please consult the "Guidelines for Preparation of Thesis / Dissertation/Reports" for IIT Ropar for reference. 2. The length of a synopsis for the Ph.D. Thesis should normally be 1000 to 4000 words, including tables and figures. The Synopsis should be on A4 size paper. 3.
How to Write Your Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation As a Physics Major
So that two-week-early date should be the latest you should hand it in. Note that this is your planned FINAL SUBMISSION. This should NOT be the first time you have shown your thesis to the thesis examiner. So you should plan on a meeting with the thesis examiner even earlier than this two-week-early date.
PDF Format of PhD Synopsis
PhD Scholars of all disciplines are expected to ensure that the synopsis submitted to the center for research complies with the guidelines in this handbook. 1. Parts of the synopsis. Every synopsis will have three parts. The first part is the cover page. The second part is the preliminary pages and the third is the main body.
How to Format a PhD Synopsis (India)
In addition to the synopsis format for a PhD, we have outlined the styling rules you should follow: Approximately 1" margins on top, bottom, and right of page. Approximately 1.25" margin on left of page to allow space for binding. Sans serif font (for example Times New Roman). Black colour font. Size 11pt or 12pt font.
PhD Thesis Help
PhD Thesis Help. Guide to Preparing and Submitting Your Dissertation. Top-10 Dissertation Formatting Errors. Sample Dissertation. LaTeX Template for Harvard Dissertation. Publishing Your Doctoral Dissertation with UMI® Dissertation Publishing. 17 Oxford Street. Cambridge, MA 02138. (617) 495-2872 phone.
How to Write a Synopsis for Research: A Step-By-Step Guide
1. Format your title page following your instructor's guidelines. In general, the title page of a research synopsis includes the title of the research project, your name, the degree and discipline for which you're writing the synopsis, and the names of your supervisor, department, institution, and university.
Physics: Writing a Literature Review
A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work.. Purpose. Provide context for a research paper; Explore the history and development of a topic; Examine the scholarly conversation surrounding the ...
How to Write a PhD Personal Statement for Physics
Whatever the reasons why your specific course appeals to you, make sure to include them in your personal statement. 4. Go into detail about your past studies. When applying for PhD Physics, you need to outline exactly why and how you are well-suited to the course based on your previous academic experience.
PDF Guidelines for Preparation of Ph.D. Synopsis in Science, Engineering
Guidelines for writing Ph.D. synopsis Following are the tentative guideline on how to write the Ph.D. synopsis by the prospective research scholars as per the need and requirements of their subject and topic. Preliminary Section- I Cover page The cover page will comprise the title of the study and the scholar's name (Annexure I).
How to write a thesis in theoretical physics
When the thesis is done and delivered. You will have to present it (and sometimes defend it) in front of the examiners. This usually consists in a presentation, that in LU Physics consists in 30 minutes or less. If your thesis needs to have a clear scientific message, this is doubly true for the presentation.
PDF Guidelines for preparation of Synopsis for the Ph.D. thesis
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How to Write a PhD Thesis
As you write bits and pieces of text, place the hard copy, the figures etc in these folders as well. Touch them and feel their thickness from time to time - ah, the thesis is taking shape. If any of your data exist only on paper, copy them and keep the copy in a different location.
PDF Writing the synopsis of your PhD-thesis (online version)
The course aims to develop the PhD students' abilities to write their own synopsis in a coherent and transparent way. After completing the course, the PhD students will have general knowledge about: • The purpose of a synopsis in an article based PhD thesis. • The national and institutional guidelines for writing the synopsis.
(PDF) WRITING A GOOD Ph.D RESEARCH SYNOPSIS
WRITING A GOOD Ph.D RESEARCH SYNOPSIS. Hira Qureshi. Synopsis is a short summary of your Ph.D thesis work. This paper suggests some ideas to motivate the young researchers for effectively writing the Ph.D synopsis with essential tips and tricks.This can act as a reference and help young researcher to going to write Ph.D synopsis.