PhD Progress – Sample Thesis Plan
to be submitted with 24 Month Report Form
Chapter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Contents
Writing & Diagrams Progress
Still to do
Time needed to resolve problems
Completion
date
End of August
(e.g.) Brief introduction to topic
of study. Hypotheses to be
tested, questions to be
investigated. Summary of
project. Thesis layout.
(e.g.) Definition of subject
area. Summary of relevant
previous work, and how my
investigations fit into that
(e.g.) Field work
OR
Basic setup of instrument
technique
OR
Petrography and sampling….
(e.g.) Some analyses
OR
Fieldwork in a different place
OR
Seismic interpretation
(e.g.) Even more analyses
OR
Sequence analysis of sediment
OR
Computing another attribute
Statistical processing of my
results and cross-correlation
with previous interpretations
All done
None
May need modified in August
Text outline completed.
Thirty references still to find in
detail, ten diagrams to draw, and
15 diagrams to scan and
acknowledge
Final 30% of first draft
San 20 diagrams
Draw 15 new diagrams
1 day for references, 4 days to draw
diagrams, 1 day to scan diagrams
March 23
10 days to complete text
2 days to scan diagrams
10 days to draw new diagrams
April 15
Preliminary notes on first
draft. Maybe 30% written
Need to write 70%
Draw 30 diagrams (from software
capture so quite easy)
Find references
30 days to write text
5 days to get diagrams
5 days to get the references
May 25
Only have half the data so
far. Instrument broke last
September and supervisor
couldn’t get it fixed whilst I
was on holiday
Haven’t done anything
about this
About 150 analyses still to do.
Not sure if calibration is correct
End of July?
Discussion and conclusions
Summary of important new
Absolutely no idea
Nothing done at all
Have to decide on most important 25
to do, no time for the rest
20 days for analyses, 20 days to
write text, 10 days for diagrams
5 days fro references
Work with xxx suggested by
supervisor and ask other students.
~ 10 days for processing, 10 days to
write, 5 days for computer output
diagrams
Can’t start this properly until chapter
6 is written.
First draft 70% completed
Haven't a Scooby about how to do
it, but I'll pretend it is OK. Maybe
I should go and get some help
now??
End of August
September 7th
conclusions. Ideas for future
work (if I can think of any)
8
9
Rewrite Abstract
and
modify (not rewrite)
Introduction
Number the pages, print it out.
Get the diagrams printed out
and the difficult colour ones
copied.
Submit the Forms to College
Office— if not done already
First drafts done and given
to Supervisor, but he's not
given them back to me yet
Nothing extra
Most of the digital files are
OK. I forgot to back up one
Chapter and nearly lost it
when the system crashed.
I'm going to write to CDs in
future and not trust the
Central backup
Allow a week to get everything
formatted, printed out, and
manually put in order if I have to
Make a .pdf file of each Chapter,
and write each onto CD of MY
THESIS!!
Suspend illness
I was ill for three months
from June in my first year
BUT it is only short.
3 days for the text
1 day for the diagrams
MUST get comments back from my
Supervisor
(Better not be
late!!)
Allow a week for photocopy and
binding. I'll probably have to work
weekends
September 24th
I should have a
3 month
extension
Signed (Student)
Signed Supervisor 1
Signed (Supervisor 2)
Signed (Advisor)
A plan has been agreed and delivery dates are realistic
Form available on-line at http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/geosciences/postgraduate/phd-supervisors/forms
Late February
Then
September 14th
Date: