exeter university phd thesis

Biosciences: Library Dissertations & Research Projects: Welcome

• Introducing Dissertation Research
• Identify: Key Research Concepts
• Identify:Information Types
• Find: Where to Search
• Find: How to search
• Using Library Search
• Using Research Databases
• Using Research Resources
• Evaluate your search results
• Reference your research resources This link opens in a new window
• Getting help

How to use this online guide

This guide introduces the skills and techniques you can use for effective library research for your research projects.

Work through each section using the menu tabs above, or the Next button at the bottom of the page. 

There will be activities for you to complete as you go so that you can learn by doing and self test your learning.

This guide aims to ...

• Build your confidence in planning and conducting your research to support your research project.
• Highlight the library help and support available to you as you conduct your research.

You can download and use a dissertation workbook to make notes as you progress through the tutorial. By the end you'll have a plan you can use to help you complete your library research for your dissertation, project or research proposal.

• Dissertation workbook
• Next: Introducing Dissertation Research >>
• Last Updated: Sep 25, 2024 8:55 AM
• URL: https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/biosciencesdissertations

University of Exeter on Overleaf

Quick start.

The University of Exeter is providing Overleaf Professional features for all students, faculty and staff who would like to use a collaborative, online LaTeX editor for their projects. Overleaf Professional features include real-time track changes, unlimited collaborators, and full document history.

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Welcome to the quick start guide to Overleaf. We've put together some useful resources and links in the sections below, and if you have any questions about how to get started please let us know and we'll be happy to help!

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How to write a PhD thesis: a step-by-step guide

A draft isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper, writes Kelly Louise Preece

Kelly Louise Preece

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Congratulations; you’ve finished your research! Time to write your PhD thesis . This resource will take you through an eight-step plan for drafting your chapters and your thesis as a whole. 

Organise your material

Before you start, it’s important to get organised. Take a step back and look at the data you have, then reorganise your research. Which parts of it are central to your thesis and which bits need putting to one side? Label and organise everything using logical folders – make it easy for yourself! Academic and blogger Pat Thomson calls this  “Clean up to get clearer” . Thomson suggests these questions to ask yourself before you start writing:

• What data do you have? You might find it useful to write out a list of types of data (your supervisor will find this list useful too.) This list is also an audit document that can go in your thesis. Do you have any for the “cutting room floor”? Take a deep breath and put it in a separate non-thesis file. You can easily retrieve it if it turns out you need it.
• What do you have already written? What chunks of material have you written so far that could form the basis of pieces of the thesis text? They will most likely need to be revised but they are useful starting points. Do you have any holding text? That is material you already know has to be rewritten but contains information that will be the basis of a new piece of text.
• What have you read and what do you still need to read? Are there new texts that you need to consult now after your analysis? What readings can you now put to one side, knowing that they aren’t useful for this thesis – although they might be useful at another time?
• What goes with what? Can you create chunks or themes of materials that are going to form the basis of some chunks of your text, perhaps even chapters?

Once you have assessed and sorted what you have collected and generated you will be in much better shape to approach the big task of composing the dissertation. 

Decide on a key message

A key message is a summary of new information communicated in your thesis. You should have started to map this out already in the section on argument and contribution – an overarching argument with building blocks that you will flesh out in individual chapters.

You have already mapped your argument visually, now you need to begin writing it in prose. Following another of Pat Thomson’s exercises, write a “tiny text” thesis abstract. This doesn’t have to be elegant, or indeed the finished product, but it will help you articulate the argument you want your thesis to make. You create a tiny text using a five-paragraph structure:

• The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field.
• The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with “But”, “Yet” or “However”.
• The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This often starts with “This research” or “I report…”
• The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like: “This study shows,” or “Analysis of the data suggests that…”
• The fifth and final sentence addresses the “So What?” question and makes clear the claim to contribution.

Here’s an example that Thomson provides:

Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests. However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the drop in arts enrolments matters. This thesis reports on research which attempts to provide some answers to this problem – a longitudinal study which followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in arts subjects and the other not, for three years. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school, as well as the connections between the two. The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of both formal and informal arts education but also provides robust evidence for policymakers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of the arts. You can  find out more about tiny texts and thesis abstracts on Thomson’s blog.

• Writing tips for higher education professionals
• Resource collection on academic writing
• What is your academic writing temperament?

Write a plan

You might not be a planner when it comes to writing. You might prefer to sit, type and think through ideas as you go. That’s OK. Everybody works differently. But one of the benefits of planning your writing is that your plan can help you when you get stuck. It can help with writer’s block (more on this shortly!) but also maintain clarity of intention and purpose in your writing.

You can do this by creating a  thesis skeleton or storyboard , planning the order of your chapters, thinking of potential titles (which may change at a later stage), noting down what each chapter/section will cover and considering how many words you will dedicate to each chapter (make sure the total doesn’t exceed the maximum word limit allowed).

Use your plan to help prompt your writing when you get stuck and to develop clarity in your writing.

Some starting points include:

• This chapter will argue that…
• This section illustrates that…
• This paragraph provides evidence that…

Of course, we wish it werethat easy. But you need to approach your first draft as exactly that: a draft. It isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper. Start with whichever chapter you feel you want to write first; you don’t necessarily have to write the introduction first. Depending on your research, you may find it easier to begin with your empirical/data chapters.

Vitae advocates for the “three draft approach” to help with this and to stop you from focusing on finding exactly the right word or transition as part of your first draft.

This resource originally appeared on Researcher Development .

Kelly Louse Preece is head of educator development at the University of Exeter.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter .

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Research Writing and Thesis Requirements

PGR degrees are examined primarily on the basis of a piece of research presented in the form of a thesis submitted within the prescribed period of study. You will be examined about your thesis at the end of your programme. The production of that thesis is, therefore, your main task. In order to undertake this work you will need a well-focused research topic, a knowledge of the existing secondary literature on the subject, a well thought out methodology for tackling the research, access to the necessary primary sources required and the ability to produce a well-structured argument in lucid and well-presented prose. Many ancillary skills may be required to do this: knowledge of languages, palaeography, information technology, the latest theoretical and methodological approaches in your discipline, interview techniques and questionnaires to name but a few. 

Successful research students understand the task in hand, plan their work carefully, acquire the training and skills required, and take a systematic approach to research and writing, always keeping their deadline for submission clearly in view. They are helped in this task by supervisors, with whom they work closely. A thesis needs to conform to accepted academic conventions, to avoid plagiarism and to follow the ethical guidelines laid down for research. 

Students must work within strict deadlines laid down for completion, which vary according to the type of degree being taken and the registration status of each student. The progress of each student is monitored by the PGR Support team, which decides on any changes to a student’s status.

Requirements of a Research Thesis

You need to know what you have to achieve in your research in order to obtain your degree. A thesis must conform to standards laid down by the University and to follow proper academic conventions. The PhD demands a higher standard than the MPhil. 

• TQA Manual, Chapter 11 – Presentation of theses/dissertations for degrees in the Faculty of Research .
• MPhil regulations
• PhD regulations

Presentation of Thesis

The TQA Manual,   Chapter 11 - Presentation of theses/dissertations for degrees in the Faculty of Graduate Research: statement of procedures   details the format and presentation of the thesis must be closely followed. These provide information on all aspects of the overall layout of a thesis, including word length (up to 100,000 for a PhD and 60,000 for an MPhil), division into chapters, the scholarly apparatus. As of March 2020, you are no longer required to print and bind a hard copy of your thesis for submission, as we now follow an   electronic thesis submission   procedure. If your examiner requests a hard bound copy, our PGR Administration team will arrange for a copy to be printed and sent to your examiner. If you would like a hard copy of the thesis to refer to in your viva, it is your responsibility to arrange for your copy to be printed. 

If you would like to see an example of a successful thesis please ask your supervisor to show you one. 

In addition to the general formatting rules, research and writing in the Business School normally follow particular conventions and in part your thesis will be judged upon its adherence to them.

Alternative Form of Submission

Changes to the guidance on the presentation of theses have been made resulting in a re-definition of what we mean by the term ‘thesis’ which reflects the wide variety of ways in which research is carried out and assessed. This allows, for example, for the production of a thesis in an alternative format, which may include either:

a) The presentation of part or all of the thesis in an alternative format e.g. it may be a multimedia document (e.g. an element or the thesis in its entirety, which is presented in a format appropriate perhaps for presentation at a conference; OR

b) A constructed text such as a piece of art, or a record of professional practice in the form of a series of case-studies, which must be accompanied by a commentary.

You must seek advice from your supervisor and   PGR Support Team   as early as possible into your degree if you wish to consider the use of an alternative thesis format.

Business School Discipline Thesis Norms

Different disciplines within the Business School may expect “norms” in the way that research degrees are presented. Whilst for many Business and Management Schools these norms are unspoken rules, we have defined the most common ways that theses may be presented. Over the last few years, we have found that the 3 study thesis is becomiong more popular across all disciplines, although this is the primary thesis style in Economics and Finance. 

It is important to note that the structure of the thesis depends very much on the project itself and is to be agreed by the student and supervisor prior to upgrade, and preferably within the first few weeks of planning the research.

If you are unsure which format your thesis will take, you should discuss with your supervisory team in the first instance. They can share examples of other thesis in your subject area.

Research Misconduct

The University expects its staff and students to maintain the highest standards for the conduct of research. As such the University has procedures in place that govern academic/research conduct for graduate research students. ‘ Research Misconduct – Procedure for Graduate Research Students suspected of Research Misconduct ’ is specific to graduate research students, and defines research conduct in the context of the range of activities undertaken by those doing research. 

You are expected to review this procedure and ensure that you understand your responsibilities under this Procedure, and that you understand the definitions of misconduct. You should also be aware that any work submitted to a member of your supervision team either in full, in part, or as a draft will fall under the provisions of this Procedure, as will any work handed to a member of staff. 

If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes Research Misconduct and how to avoid it please talk to your supervisors or your Discipline DPGR.

Research Data Management and Open Access

There are a number of benefits to making your research and thesis available via Open Access:

• Increases citations and the visibility of your research
• Helps to build your research career
• Increases chances of further funding opportunities and collaborations
• Meets the transparency/openness agenda

The key points of the University’s   Open Access Research and Research Data Management Policy for PGR Students  are as follows:

A copy of your final thesis/dissertation will need to be   submitted to the institutional repository ,   Open Research Exeter (ORE) , prior to the award of your degree.

Research Papers

• PGR students should make the published peer-reviewed research papers and conference proceedings they produce whilst affiliated with the University available on Open Access according to funder requirements and as soon as publisher restrictions will allow.
• PGR research papers should be made available on Open Access, by depositing a copy of the paper in   Open Research Exeter (ORE) .
• Published research papers should include a short statement describing how and on what terms any supporting research data may be accessed.

  Resear ch  Data

• PGR students should always comply with   funder policy   and   University policy   on research data management.
• Responsibility for ongoing, day-to-day management of their research data lies with PGR students. Where the PGR is part of a project, data management policy will be set and monitored by the Principal Investigator (PI) and the PGR will be expected to comply with project guidelines.
• The lead PGR Supervisor is responsible for advising the PGR student on good practice in research data management.
• PGR students and their supervisors should discuss and review research data management issues annually, addressing issues of the capture, management, integrity, confidentiality, security, selection, preservation and disposal, commercialisation, costs, sharing and publication of research data and the production of descriptive metadata to aid discovery and re-use when relevant.
• A  checklist  to support PGRs and their supervisors in the annual research data review is available.
• At the end of the degree, PGR students should register selected research data in   Open Research Exeter (ORE) . Information about the data should be included as a statement in the thesis record using the Description field. When legally, commercially and ethically appropriate, this selected research data should also be made available on Open Access in an appropriate repository.
• unprotected intellectual property which you, your sponsor or any other 3rd party has the intention to use
• sensitive information that may need to be withheld from public view
• commercially sensitive material that may belong to your project sponsor
• Please contact   [email protected]   if you require any further advice.
• It is not School policy that students must provide the School with a copy of the final version of the thesis. However, it would be courteous of students to offer their supervisors a personal copy of the final thesis

Research Data Management Guidance

In order to save time and effort later on in your degree, before you start collecting or creating research data or materials research students should consider the following:

Further Information

The following links provide further help and guidance on Open Access and research data management:

• Research Data Management Survival Guide for New PhD Students .
• Open Access guide for PGRs 
• Research data management  
• Further help and advice is available via   [email protected]  or   [email protected] .

There are also training sessions on Open Access and Research Data Management as part of the  Researcher Development.

• Back to PGR Student Handbook index

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Doctoral theses, on the role of metatheory in the academic discipline of international relations.

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University of Exeter PhD in Computer Science thesis template

georgedeath/University_of_Exeter_Thesis_Template

Folders and files, repository files navigation, thesis template: university of exeter (unofficial).

This is a minimum working example of a template that adheres to the University guidelines as of 11/12/2019.

The template was the basis of my PhD thesis and it was submitted with only minor alterations to it.

In order to edit the information on the title page, e.g. the thesis title, change the contents of the macros starting with \thesis (line 114).

Note: the template does not use the correct font according to the guidelines (Size 12 in Arial) as the general consensus is that using Arial is unprofessional -- no issues were raised with the font change.

To compile the file use the following commands in the command line: