Original PhD Blog

Quality data analysis forms the basis of any PhD thesis and determines the capability of the researcher to address the posed research objectives and questions. Unfortunately, many students fail to succeed in becoming a PhD due to some common mistakes in this sphere. Below, you will find 8 key points to keep in mind when interpreting data in a PhD thesis.

Interpreting Data in a PhD Thesis

1. Data Collection Design Is Crucial

Even the best data interpretation method cannot address the problems of missing, inaccurate or biased data in PhD thesis writing. If you are planning to work with statistical tools, make sure that you have a sufficient sample size, validate your data sets, and run some basic significance tests such as Cronbach’s alpha.

2. Select the Right Instruments

Even experienced students are prone to methodological mistakes such as the use of the Mann-Whitney test for comparing dependent data or building linear regressions of mean values. If possible, consult with your tutor or a reliable PhD services agency to ensure that you are using the right tools for the job.

3. Prepare Your Data in Advance

Many researchers make the mistake of not revising their numeric datasets or database records prior to conducting statistical analyses. Try to convert all your information into a common format in advance to recognise any existing inconsistencies, missing respondent statements or unusual trends before it is too late to address these issues.

4. Analyse the Work of Your Colleagues

If you are using a popular PhD research design or a widely applied statistical instrument, chances are you can easily find 5-10 published projects with similar methodological choices. Study these examples to gain some interesting ideas or learn about better data interpretation instruments and techniques you may have missed.

5. Question Your Assumptions

If you are working with qualitative data, your interpretations may be prone to various forms of researcher and respondent bias. Approach all your assumptions with caution and never exaggerate your findings or overstate their significance. The same is true for the statements made by your respondents. If you are working with thematic analysis, make sure that you only analyse the ‘quantitative’ factors such as code frequency. Your respondents may be biased or uninformed in some spheres, which is why basing your assumptions on a single interviewee statement is never a good idea.

6. Avoid Unwarranted Claims

Some doctoral dissertation research projects do not produce ground-breaking results and there is nothing you can do to influence their outcomes. If your study confirms the assumptions based on the previous projects in this field, this still does not detract from its significance or novelty. Remember that your responsibility as a researcher is to enlist the facts of your hard work and not make these facts sensational by distorting their objectivity or accuracy.

7. Use Graphical Analysis

Besides the improved readability of your findings, data visualisation allows you to recognise some major problems or unusual trends within your findings. An instantly visible deviation on one of your graphs is much easier to note than several problematic lines within a large table. Most software packages including SPSS and NVivo allow you to build graphs with several clicks of your mouse. Try to produce these visuals after each analysis you perform to promptly identify any possible issues.

8. Have a Backup Plan

Things do not always go as planned. If you encounter data quality problems, sample size issues or other unexpected factors reducing the statistical significance and statistical power of your findings, you may need to return to the data collection stage. Make sure that you always have a contingency plan for any emerging difficulties including personal ones. In some scenarios, it may be better to return to your analysis phase several times to improve its quality than to work with sub-optimal data and suffer the consequences.

Writing a PhD thesis is the magnum opus of many postgraduate students, the pinnacle of their academic journey and achievement. That is why students cautiously approach topic selection for their thesis, investing a good amount of time and effort in this process. Many students opt for ‘safe’ PhD topics, which do not stand out although their contribution to the existing body of knowledge is undeniable. Luckily, the world of academic research is much more unusual than one can assume, which sometimes results in the selection of strange subject matters by students. In this article, we are looking at some of the weirdest PhD topics that will blow your mind.

1. Is wet underwear comfortable?

Many of us know that children are not comfortable with wet underwear so adults are likely to feel the same discomfort. Still, the reason behind this feeling was undiscovered until the date the journal Ergonomics published a PhD thesis, in which the authors assessed the relationship between wet underwear and thermal comfort in the cold. Eight men agreed to participate in the study and they had to wear wet underwear for 60 minutes at 10 degrees Celsius. All for science! Obviously, it was found that wearing wet underwear caused a significant cooling effect on the participants’ thermoregulatory responses.

2. Does listening to country music provoke suicidal thoughts?

Do you love country music as much as we do? If yes, we have bad news for you! In 1992, two students of Wayne State University and Auburn University attempted to link country music to metropolitan suicide rates. The researchers assumed that country music could nurture a suicidal mood by concerning problems, which were common in the suicidal population, including alcohol abuse and marital discord. You would be surprised but the students managed to establish a strong link between the number of country songs on the radio and suicide rates. With this information in mind, listening to ‘Guitars, Cadillacs’ on repeat might not sound a good idea anymore.

3. Jesus Potter Harry Christ

In his PhD thesis, Derek Murphy attempted to establish a relationship between J.K. Rowling’s beloved character and, well, Jesus Christ. Although it might sound weird or even shocking, Mr Murphy actually demonstrates, with strong arguments and references to academic literature, that the only real difference between Harry Potter and Jesus Christ is that the latter has traditionally been viewed as a real person in history. An interesting spin on this story is added by the fact that the PhD thesis was actually funded through a crowdfunding platform. As a result, Mr Murphy exceeded his initial funding goal, which has allowed for transforming the thesis into a book that can still be purchased. Bear in mind that the book touches a sensitive topic and, hence, it can be viewed by some readers as an attack on faith and belief so reader discretion is advised.

4. Can birds tell Monet from Picasso?

You will not believe but there is a PhD thesis that assesses the extent to which pigeons appreciate fine art. In 1995, the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour published a PhD thesis, according to which pigeons indeed can tell a work by Picasso from a work by Monet. Not bad for a bird with a brain no bigger than the tip of an index finger.

Although these thesis topics seem weird, they nevertheless push the boundaries of our knowledge of this world. If you are intended to write a PhD thesis on a unique or unusual topic but do not know where to start, you can always get assistance from PhD writing services and get help from senior academics who have graduated from top universities.

Apart from PhD thesis writing, the most dreaded task for PhD graduates is to survive the viva. As PhD is quite different from any Bachelors and master’s degree and viva plays an important role in measuring the overall performance of the PhD candidate. Since it is the final hurdle for gaining a PhD, the viva is often surrounded by horrendous stories based on different experiences. If these stories still haunt you and make you worried about your viva, then relax as we answer all your viva worries in our below post. Apart from answering your worries, our tips will also help you in preparing and performing well on your viva day.

Myth: Viva lasts for about nine hours

Fact: Viva lasts no longer than two hours

While stories of viva lasting for nine hours is common, generally a viva lasts anywhere between one to two hours and does not go over two hours. To make the most out of your time, make sure all your statistics, drawings and equations are in place and you are ready to answer any question based on your research.

Myth: The examiners will break you

Fact: The examiners are only evaluating your knowledge

Students often believe that the examiners will try their very best from refraining students to score better points for their answers. However, like any other examination, the examiner’s job during the viva is to check the student’s subject knowledge. So, be prepared to gather all the knowledge covering your research in different ways. Calmly answer every question asked by the examiner to give a better understanding of your PhD thesis ideas, findings and conclusions.

Myth: Students go blank during the viva

Fact: Tricky questions might confuse you

Although you might forget your answers and get confused during the viva, you will never go blank if you prepare well in advance. Go through different subjects of your PhD dissertation and practise answering predictable questions. Learn to answer different types of questions such as open, closed, applied, probing, specific and general.

Myth: The examiner might misinterpret your answers

Fact: Examiner will give you a chance to defend your work

Examiners often get disappointed when students do not do justice to themselves and come with no strategies to defend their work during the viva. Experts advice to prepare short summaries of important topics of your thesis and make different strategies to present your key findings, arguments, methodology and conclusions. Also, know your strengths and weaknesses beforehand and do not hesitate from accepting your weaknesses.

Myth: You should be over-prepared

Fact: Over-preparing might not help

As viva is an important examination, you might think of spending a longer time to go through your complete dissertation and learn the key points. However, this is not required as you have already spent a lot more time researching your topic and presenting your ideas in the dissertation. You have already completed the groundwork and need to be confident to present your ideas in front of the examiner.

Myth: Viva is like a confrontational contest

Fact: Viva is like any other two-way communication event

Instead of taking viva as an ordeal, consider it as an opportunity to discuss your research with your peers who are specialists in your field. Remain calm and remember that you have presented valuable research. Showcase your skills, make eye contact, use gestures and use clear voice to present your ideas and arguments.

In the modern knowledge driven 21^st century, employers all across the board seek highly educated and experienced personnel to add into their board of staff. Having said that, PhD graduates are one of the highly sought after and skilled candidates in the domain of human capital. Their skills are highly utilized in the fields of either academia or research based organizations in the market as the skills gathered by them in research and analysis for thesis during the PhD tenure are unmatched and highly diverse.

Statistics in favour of PhD

According to the Longitudinal DLHE survey conducted by HESA on the outcomes of employment of graduated PhD candidates in the United Kingdom, 77.5% of the PhD graduates were able to get into full time positions 3.5 years after their graduation, and 8.2% of the PhD graduates were able to engage themselves in part time work during the same period. Thus, 85.7% of the survey candidates were able to find jobs within 3.5 years of their graduation from PhD. According to their findings, PhD graduates are highly employable as majority of the students either find a job or started to purse higher training in terms of Post-Doctoral programs.

The Non-academic attributes

The attributes possessed by PhD graduates are highly recognized, not only in the field of academia but also by the industry. Some of the demanded skills set recognized by various employers in PhD graduates include high degree of problem solving skillset, the determination to identify innovative and relatively better methods to solve arduous challenges. Moreover, having a PhD degree adds to the characteristics of the candidate and to the credibility of the employing organization. Apart from that, employing organizations seek abilities in their employees such as data analytics, project management, interpersonal skillset, which are engraved in the characteristics of PhD graduates. These skillsets are gathered inherently while preparing for the PhD, which employers highly value in the today’s time. These peripheral qualities demonstrate great attractiveness among the employers for non-academic profiles.

The present brand of employers have identified that PhD is no longer an academia based professional course. The present day PhD candidates are highly versatile and diverse as they inculcate wide band of transferable skillset. The experience they have during the PhD work including voluntary work, assisting professors in classes, giving presentations, and so on have a lasting impact on their employability.

Universities enhancing employability of PhD graduates

Nowadays, universities have also understood the changing patterns of the skill set required in the modern day industries and organizations. Therefore, they have also developed programmes or amended new changes in the existing programmes that encourages developing skillsets to increase the employability of PhD candidates including developing administrative and leadership skills, apart from enhancing academic skills. Nowadays, many of the PhD graduates are moving into the field of highly lucrative jobs instead of going into intransigent research and teaching.

In a nutshell, a PhD really does increase your employability. This is because PhD graduates offer a strong inquiring  approach and attitude, unparalleled analytical skill set with perseverant problem solving psyche, a comprehensive self-confidence to display their ideas, and lucid and eloquent writing and speaking skills, among others.

One of the many things which PhD students fear of missing out on is taking a long summer holiday. As your PhD research demands a lot of time, staying committed to your research throughout the year might prove to be a bit difficult. However, as PhD students are known for turning their biggest challenges into opportunities, staying focused on your PhD during summers should not be a big deal for you. Still, if you cannot resist making the most out of the summertime for your personal lives, here are a few tips which will help you stay focused.

Set summer goals

Completely dedicating yourself for a PhD dissertation writing can at times be overwhelming or intimidating. To make sure you do not miss out the summer barbecue with your friends or family gatherings, take time to set a few summer goals. Start by breaking the summer period into months and then decide which month you will dedicate to which work. To make your PhD thesis writing manageable, break down bigger tasks into smaller pieces. This will help you achieve all your goals at different stages of your PhD writing.

Plan your schedule

With the arrival of summer, there comes an urge of lazing around and relaxation, which makes it difficult to be productive. To ensure that you do miss out on any of the important deadlines, it is important for you to plan your schedule. Start by marking your calendar with the important events and accordingly schedule your time to dedicate to different activities such as researching, PhD writing and spending leisure time. Additionally, keeping a to-do list for each day will help you list down your daily tasks and will give you a feeling of accomplishment while crossing off the tasks. This will also make you feel more organised and productive.

Do not isolate yourself

While your PhD is the most important thing for you, make sure that you do not isolate yourself completely in the process of getting your doctorate. You can even join a summer camp or a fellowship where you can meet like-minded people and discuss with them about your research. By this way, you will be able to get some feedback on solving your research or writing issues. Additionally, check with your university if they offer any dissertation boot camps or summer fellowships. This will introduce you to new people and will help you stay updated with the latest instructions in producing your PhD thesis.

Enjoy the summertime

While it is important to work on your PhD dissertation, taking some time out from your desk for leisure will not cause you any harm. So, reach out to your family and friends and meet them over a barbecue or a cup of coffee. Additionally, you can go for a movie or just take a day trip with your family to unwind yourself. Socialising will momentarily make you forget all your anxieties and stress related to your PhD dissertation and will make you feel more refreshed and energised.

Pursuing a PhD can be both interesting and overwhelming. In the beginning, a majority of the PhD students feel energised to conduct extra-ordinary research and submit a PhD research proposal which is unique and innovative. However, with time the task to balance both personal and academic life becomes difficult. As a result, the students try to isolate themselves to focus on their PhD thesis writing. This isolation often makes students stressed and anxious and even leads them to confusion. So, before you try to isolate yourself to introduce the whole mankind to cutting-edge research, read the below tips which will help you to deal with stress and anxiety as a research student.

Be organised

One of the major sources of stress is the inability to control a situation. As PhD proposal writing or PhD dissertation writing are inevitable parts of a PhD academic life, try to manage your time wisely. To keep control over the deadlines, ensure that you do not leave any academic writing task for the last minute. Experts suggest that breaking a major task into smaller goals is the best way to remain organised and stay on top of your PhD work.

Identify and address your dysfunctional emotions

As a number of thoughts run through a PhD student’s mind, to retain the health of your emotions it is important to stay away from any irrational thoughts. Identifying your dysfunctional feelings is a great way to deal with stress and anxiety. Instead of procrastinating your work due to irrational feelings or feeling embarrassed about your research related problems, try to get professional PhD thesis help. Professional help with PhD thesis writing will guide you in completing your work which might otherwise get affected due to negative feelings.

Be mindful

Being mindful means paying more attention to yourself and your surroundings. This is one of the proven methods of reducing the stress level as the people who practice mindfulness can easily notice any early signs of stress. It is also the best way to reduce any kind of distress in students during examination periods. To practice mindfulness, just sit quietly and pay attention to your body and surroundings. Do some breathing exercises to relax and reduce any negative thoughts.

Exercise

The PhD students need to spend hours either standing for conducting a research or continuously sitting for reading and writing PhD dissertation. This adds to the physical and mental stress which you might go through. Taking part in any exercise such as walking, running, aerobics or swimming before starting your PhD work will help you improve your mental and physical health.

Look after yourself

Stress and anxiety can either lead to developing habits such as poor eating, emotional eating, drinking or smoking. Although these habits might reduce your stress temporarily, when continued for a long time, these habits can affect your body and immune system. So, be watchful and never fall prey to any habits which might lead you to nowhere. Additionally, get enough sleep to charge yourself up before doing any intellectual activity.

The personality trait of someone who is always striving for flawlessness and is continuously setting extraordinary performance standards is known as perfectionism. Perfectionism is often accompanied by self-criticism and anxiety regarding other’s opinions. This multi-dimensional characteristic is likely to affect people from different walks of life, despite their age. In fact, university students who are constantly seeking perfection to secure approval of their peer are more likely to be affected by perfectionism.

However, perfection can lead to stress and affects the self-esteem of university students. While it can be difficult to shed the burden of perfectionism, once you do, it will help lower stress levels and increase performance. Below are a few tips that can help you to beat perfectionism.

It’s OK to fail

Being a perfectionist frequently keeps student’s subconscious glued to only tasks they are good at. Hence, it might refrain you from trying and experimenting with something new. Although failure might sound something unimaginable for you, failing at times is ok. Try to challenge yourself by doing something which you are not perfect at. This will get you accustomed to the edgy feeling which comes along failure.

Do not forget your ultimate goal

Rather than focussing on minute details of your academic assignments or thesis writing, focus on your ultimate goal. While submitting a great assignment can help you obtain good grades, it will be of no use if you submit it after the prescribed deadline. For example, break a dissertation writing task into smaller tasks such as researching, writing and editing and set time limits for each of these tasks. Focus more on strict deadlines rather than finding flaws in your dissertation. Do not exceed your set time limits, as submitting a slightly average dissertation assignment is better than not being able to submit it before the university deadline.

Appreciate your achievements

Take some time out from your busy schedule to appreciate the things you have achieved so far. Instead of rushing from PhD assignment writing to exam notes preparation, take a break to feel happy about the completed task. After every accomplishment, take a moment to de-stress and praise yourself for every achievement.

Strive for excellence

Excellence is greatly focused on becoming a better version of you by developing your skills and increasing your efficiency. Whereas, perfectionism mostly emphasises on not making any significant mistakes and avoiding any occasions of appearing wrong. The idea of practicing excellence will make you view your mistakes as possible learning opportunities and not something which makes you feel embarrassed or judgemental.

Be yourself

While performing any academic task, make sure you be yourself. Instead of imitating others, learn about your traits and focus on improving your personality. As perfection is stationary, it can become boring after some time. Accept your true self and respond to your achievements and failures with compassion. As you try to free yourself from the pressure of being a perfectionist, you will be more inclined towards experimenting with your strengths and weakness.

Motivation holds a significant part in our everyday lives. It is an essential requirement to boost one’s happiness, creativity and productivity. Not only students but people from different forms of loves need to stay motivated to prosper in any activity they choose.

Since university brings a life-changing experience for most of the students where they are continuously expected to match up with the peers and execute a wide range of tasks, students are mostly on the brim to get demotivated. This demotivation is generally reflected in their routine tasks such as exam notes preparation or assignment writing. While students can seek help with coursework, lifting their spirits is important to bring students back to the track.

If you have been experiencing any sort of de-motivation, here is a complete guide to explain the reasons of losing motivation and ways to get it back.

Fear

Feeling afraid before dissertation writing, appearing for an examination or raising a question in the lecture can make you hesitant. Although fears can make you watchful, imaginary fears might make you lack motivation. To overcome this, try to analyse the things that make you afraid and search for the loopholes you need to fill. Make your strategies to manage any risks and plan for everything in advance.

Setting the wrong goals

Many times due to peer pressure, students set up the wrong goals. As these goals are set to fulfil the social expectations, these goals pull students away from the direction in which one wants to go. If you feel demotivated to achieve your goals, then keep on reviewing your goals from time to time. Start by setting small goals and then set your ultimate goal. Once you start feeling happy about accomplishing a small goal, you will be automatically motivated towards achieving the big goal.

Lack of challenge

Challenging situations are important in life to keep us continuously moving, growing and learning new skills. Lack of challenge or very small challenges makes us bored and eventually leads to demotivation. To challenge yourself, get out of your comfort zone and try to get into activities which will enhance your life skills and stimulate yourself.

Unhappiness

Lack of happiness is another major cause of demotivation. Unhappiness leads to self-doubt, confusion, feeling lost, mistrust and at times depression. To overcome unhappiness, do things which make you feel happy. Get adequate sleep, food and exercise or express your feelings with family and friends. Spend time with people you love or take a walk in the fresh air. The more you accept both happy and sorrow feelings, the more you will feel normal and safe.

Loneliness

To excel in your university examinations, you do not have to isolate yourself from family and friends. After a certain time, just sitting alone and working towards your coursework will make you feel miserable. Rather, spend some quality time with your family or play a sport with your friends or just go to the library and discuss your academic assignment writing with your classmates. Establishing communication and meeting new people will help you get out from the isolated zone and will even make you feel more productive.

The journey of attaining a PhD is one of the longest qualifications a candidate has to undergo. It demands constant and consistent time and energy from the candidate’s end. One of the major challenges faced by any focused PhD candidate is keeping the digital world at bay.

The toxic effect of digital engagements

The journey for a PhD student encompasses lots of work, including preparing various presentations, lectures, coursework, notes, and mails, thus constantly engaging them on computers, mobile phones and internet. Moreover, constantly liaising with mentors, guides and other researchers through email and messages for research updates and study makes the life of a PhD student highly dependent on digital media. Though all of these are great developments, they distract a PhD student from his/her top priority – utilising your faculties and completing PhD thesis. This never ending cycle of digital media involvement significantly impacts the performance of a PhD student.

Resorting to family and friends

Despite all the best efforts and intentions, even a best candidate can get distracted or get complacent. In order to take a digital detox, one of the best methods is that focus be shifted from screen engagement to family and friends’ engagement. In addition, productive discussions with fellow PhD candidates and professors can also assist in detoxing the process of digital mayhem. Notably, engaging with family and friends for a discussion, movie or even just for a quiet weekend can transform your digital engagements in line with a normal routine.

Building the essence of discipline

Another effective way of digital detoxing to focus on PhD writing is discipline towards switching off gadgets on time. It is one of the best ways to embark on the digital detox journey. Fix a time to use your digital devices and social media platforms to rejuvenate your mind but stick to the timings. Even scheduling your some time for complete gadget free mode can assist you break the sticky cycle of the digital engagement. Moreover, you can access different applications available for computers and smartphone to restrict your screen time and binging on different social media platforms such as Digital Detox, Flipd, and Moment. The true essence of using these apps is to take these detox breaks in a periodic and consistent manner.

Detoxifying through sports

Sports or any extracurricular activities are considered as a marquee digital detox player. Switching your digital time with sports can help you build a new leisure activity into a productive and healthy life style. These activities can include any exercise that require physical engagement including cooking, playing an instrument, and drawing, among various other activities. This has been proved as one of the best ways to digital detox to get a re-focus on your work and studies.

In the course of the ever demanding PhD program from any University across the world, you cannot afford to go off the digital grid entirely. However, with the use of the aforementioned tricks, you can certainly have a digital detox to re-focus on your PhD thesis writing.

Pursuing a PhD can be a challenging task. With PhD candidates spending a countless number of hours in studying, working, PhD thesis writing, attending seminars, etc. it becomes difficult for them to spend time on their personal lives. While experts suggest that the Christmas period is one of the best times for PhD students to take, many candidates are unable to decide between taking a break and continuing their PhD. Here are some of the reasons which will help you decide if it is worth taking a break from working on your PhD during the Christmas period.

Taking a break helps increase productivity

To have a healthy and productive PhD life it is advisable to take a holiday. Intermittent breaks from studying and working help the brain to rest, recover and rejuvenate. This, in turn, increases our performance, focus and productivity.

It will help you spend time with your family and friends

As Christmas is one of the happiest time of the year, many people take a break from work and studies. This also makes it the best period to spend time with loved ones. Also, with the festive spirit of Christmas around every corner, you will get time to indulge in activities such as shopping, drinking hot cocoa with friends, watching your favourite movies or planning a short trip with your family or friends.

A holiday will save you from being miserable

A PhD demands students to continuously work in labs and perform research while limiting their social interactions with friends, family, peers and colleagues. This social withdrawal at some point is likely to make students miserable. Taking a holiday will let you do things which you usually don’t get to do while working on your PhD. The happiness and positivity that you will get to indulge in during your Christmas holiday will be reflected in your effective PhD dissertation writing.

Taking a break will protect you from entering a panic zone

As PhD students are continuously thinking of theories and finding methods which have never been implemented before, it is likely that they might enter a panic zone. However, entering a panic zone at this most crucial point of your career can bring some unfavourable results for your PhD. So before you start scratching your head to find out what is going wrong in your research, plan a holiday which will keep you motivated to work harder towards your PhD thesis.

All your peers might not be working during Christmas

If you are not planning to take a holiday thinking you will be able to work on your research and connect with your colleagues, then think again. As most of the people are not working during Christmas, there are meagre chances that you will be able to get in touch with the company sponsoring your research or your PhD advisor to take your work ahead. As all your peers are set to take a break during Christmas, it is better that you too follow the custom and get the much-needed rest.