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Original PhD Blog

Find out the latest industry news from PhD requirements, the top programs, to PhD level study tips.

The Most Common Reasons Why Q1 and Q2 Journals Will Reject Your PhD Manuscript

If you are pursuing a career in science, or completing a PhD that requires published journals, then publishing papers becomes a crucial step in sharing your results and establishing yourself in the scientific community. However, getting your paper accepted by a reputable journal is no small endeavour. Studies suggest that the majority of published papers…

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Complete Guide for Pursuing a PhD in Chemistry

A PhD in chemistry is one of the best higher education options for candidates looking to develop expertise in understanding the behaviour of different chemicals, their applications and their interactions. The rigorous nature of a PhD allows students to engage in independent studies, conduct different experiments and enhance their skills. It also equips students with…

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A Complete Guide on How to Prepare an Effective Application for a PhD Programme

The decision to enter a PhD programme is a huge decision anyone can make. It may give a great boost to a professional career or open the doors to the academic world. What can be said for sure is that your life won’t be the same after making such a decision. A PhD gives you…

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Dealing with Uncertainty in PhD Projects: 5 Expert Techniques on Managing Stress and Building Resilience

If there is a single word characterising the modern environment, it is ‘uncertainty’. We live in a world torn apart by political conflicts, economic declines, and global pandemics. Over the previous decade, more and more people have suffered from chronic anxiety since they simply do not understand how to live in an environment where they…

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Ultimate Guide to PhD Thesis Writing  

What is a thesis and how it differs from a dissertation? If you’re a candidate in a university planning to write a comprehensive paper and stumbled upon under which category to post the paper – A Dissertation or A Thesis, then you’re not alone. Both dissertation writing and thesis writing are more often than not…

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Everything you need to know as a new PhD student

The trajectory of a PhD course is a steep but steady learning curve. You have likely already received some advice on your first steps as a PhD student such as reading research papers, properly communicating with the supervisor, and developing good research habits. However, such advice often lacks some crucial details that may not be…

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What makes a great PhD Writing Service?

Completing a PhD provides you with so many opportunities that can significantly improve your professional and personal life. If you want to work in academia as a researcher or lecturer, you will likely need a PhD. If your goal is individual development and you are looking for a new challenge, a PhD can be a…

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A Complete Guide to PhD Applications

When applying to a PhD program, students face a large number of requirements and procedures, and it can be challenging to plot the course for applying to a program all by yourself. This guide aims to be a comprehensive description of what you can expect from the PhD application process, and how you can make…

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Seminal Presentations: How To Impress Reviewers

Presentation skills are crucial for all PhD students. Most universities expect you to present your intermediary doctoral dissertation results at least once per semester throughout your academic year. Additionally, the capability to impress your reviewers can largely determine the outcomes of your seminal presentation and affect your final grading. Unfortunately, most PhD students rarely get…

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How to Follow the Latest Developments in Your Field

As a PhD thesis writer, you are exposed to a variety of risks and contingencies hindering your academic journey or compromising your future success. On the one hand, your research topic must be novel and original to ensure that no similar studies are published within the 3-6 years of your doctoral programme. To make the…

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5 Key Ways to Present Tables and Figures in a PhD Thesis

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According to recent research, more than 65% of people are visual learners and predominantly use their visual channel to acquire and process information. Unfortunately, most students contacting us to use our writing services were not specifically informed by their supervisors about the influence of their tables and figures design on the readability of their doctoral dissertations. While most PhD thesis writing guides provided by universities focus on the formatting aspects such as numbering rules or preferred font sizes, few of them specify how practitioners can improve the quality of their visuals to better present the results of their hard work. Below, you will find five practical recommendations shared by our expert writers on how you can make your figures and tables more appealing and significantly improve your work readability.

1. Use Custom Templates

Few things annoy thesis reviewers as much as dissertation formatting problems. Even if you thoroughly proofread your PhD draft, there is always a chance that the fonts in your tables or figures may vary across different sections or get accidentally changed during the editing process. The best way to eliminate this problem is to tackle it at its source. Create a custom template for all your text editing software and make it your default one in your system (for Microsoft Office you may need to replace the Normal.dotm file). This will ensure that:

  • All of your tables and figures share the same font type, size, and interval by default.
  • The same formatting is applied to all in-text visuals.
  • You can instantly apply your default settings to any pasted materials.
  • The same style is applied to all created documents. This is highly convenient if you prefer to work with different chapters individually.
tables and figures

2. Learn from the Greats

While our specialists have been involved in thesis writing and the provision of PhD writing services for many years, most students lack this level of expertise. This means that any formatting solutions you can think of will probably be less effective and visually appealing than the ones used by professional writers.

The key here is to ‘learn from the greats’. Start exploring free and paid templates for tables and figures available online. You can browse through hundreds of options in the premium section on the Microsoft website or use specialised services such as Canva. Your main goal is to find inspiring examples and use these ideas in your own dissertation.

Here are some visual elements you may want to pay attention to:

  • Figure and table design.
  • The placement of individual elements.
  • Colours used for highlighting specific sections.
  • The style and position of captions.
  • Optimal table size and footnotes placement.

3. Think about Readability

The main mistake made by inexperienced academic writers is the lack of attention paid to their readers. This problem is evident at many levels.

  1. The use of original variable names such as VAR00001 provided by SPSS or similar software in your final draft.
  2. The lack of captions for the analysed statistical factors provided within tables or figures.
  3. Excessive abbreviations that cannot be deciphered without reading the dissertation text.
  4. The utilised font size and colours making the captions in the figure or table difficult to read.

The best way to eliminate these problems is to use a fresh pair of eyes. Ask your fellow student or even your family members to look at some printed figures and tables from your PhD thesis. Then, ask them whether they could fully understand all their contents and main ideas. Repeat this process until you are certain that any random reader finds the information provided in your visuals sufficient for determining their main purpose.

4. Follow the One-Page Rule

Another good practice in this sphere is the ‘one-page rule’. It relies on printing all materials related to your table that fit within a single page and submitting them to a random reader. In most student drafts edited by our writers, the data presented in such figures and tables was extremely difficult to understand.

Working with your supervisor may be a highly distracting experience in this aspect since you get accustomed to a specific reader having unlimited time to read your draft over and over again. In the thesis defence process, your work will probably be reviewed by less patient persons who will be ‘scanning’ or ‘skimming’ your text for key details.

If your individual tables and figures cannot be fit within the same page to facilitate readability, it may be a good idea to break them down into smaller manageable ‘chunks’ to ensure that every page containing your visual materials presentation works as a coherent and self-sufficient element of your overall thesis.

5. Avoid Repetitions and Redundancies

Finally, you need to understand why you are using specific tables and figures in the first place. While this may sound counter-intuitive, many students simply paste their visuals into their dissertation body while also discussing all their contents in the accompanying text. This approach creates unnecessary repetitions that wear down your readers’ attention. Unfortunately, this also means that they can miss some important parts of your discussion later on.

The best way to avoid this problem is to use your tables and figures as descriptive materials. At the same time, the accompanying text should focus on the critical discussion of your findings in the light of earlier studies. This way, you will avoid being descriptive in presenting your results while also reserving the valuable word count for comparing and contrasting them to the wider body of academic literature in your field of study.

Our Top 5 Viva Tips for Succeeding in Your PhD

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PhD thesis writing is a long road at the end of which you will have to enter for a viva examination. Just like every PhD thesis, every viva is different, depending on the requirements of your university and examination panel. Still, you need to prepare academically and mentally to make a good impression and pass your viva examination. Here, we provide the top five tips for succeeding in your PhD viva.

1. Know your thesis

To pass your PhD viva, you need to get a good understanding of what you have written in your thesis, so re-visiting and re-reading your work from cover to cover is a good way to refresh your memory and take a look at your thesis more critically. Re-reading is also an opportunity to make sure the format and content of your thesis meet the requirements and it is good to be presented to the examination panel. We would recommend you to take notes explaining the most significant parts of the thesis, such as its methodological design, aims and objectives, and key findings.

2. Plan your defence

Your defence line also plays a crucial role in the success of the PhD viva. Plan in advance what aspects of your study you will defend during the examination. In most cases, the central point of any PhD thesis is its originality and contribution to knowledge and practice. Hence, be prepared to explain why your thesis is original and how it contributes to knowledge to your examiners. Still, since no research project is perfect, it would be good to show that you have considered how you could improve your project were you to carry it out once more.

3. Keep your expectations realistic

Planning towards the viva exam is a good way to anticipate potential challenges you might face during the exam and minimise the risk of their occurrence. In most cases, the viva exam takes from an hour to three hours or even more. Hence, you must plan the steps you will take before and during the viva. Make sure you eat and sleep well the day before the exam and avoid any situations that might add to your stress level. Take a bottle of water, a pen, and a notebook in with you to make sure you have everything you need while defending your thesis.

4. Focus on your contribution to knowledge

Although the examiners will focus on various aspects of your PhD thesis, their attention will mainly be drawn to its contribution to knowledge, since it is what makes your thesis doctoral-level after all. Make sure you fully understand how your study contributes to the knowledge and practice and you can express and explain it concisely and clearly. Think about what makes your work different and unique. Remember about the notes we have previously mentioned as they can make your life much easier during the viva examination.

5. Feel positive

Finally yet importantly, try to enjoy your viva, though we perfectly understand that it can make you nervous. Sure, your examiners are likely to be the ideal professionals in the field of your interest but they are only humans after all. You could start with an icebreaker by introducing the examiners to your work and its key findings to calm down your nerves. Remember that the examiners are on your side and they want to see you do well.

The viva examination is a chance for you to discuss your thesis with experts and demonstrate your knowledge and contribution to the selected field of research. Approaching the viva as an opportunity rather than a challenge would help you successfully defend your PhD.

8 Tips for Structuring Your Relationship with Your Supervisor

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The relationship between a PhD student and a supervisor plays a crucial role in the doctoral studies process. A good relationship with supervisors provide students with much-needed support through the struggles of research, whereas a poorly developed relationship can result in the supervisor being overly controlling or totally uninvolved. Here are some useful tips on how to structure your relationship with the supervisor and make the most out of it.

1. Meet your potential supervisor before you begin a PhD

If you want your PhD thesis writing to be effective and successful, you need to select a supervisor who is an expert in their field. Before accepting a PhD programme, make sure to meet with your potential supervisor face to face to identify whether they seem interested in your project and open to new ideas. If not, switching to another supervisor would be a good idea.

relationship_with_supervisor

2. Establish expectations and ground rules

Although your rapport with the supervisor is important to the success of your PhD, supervision is still a formal process, meaning establishing expectations and ground rules should be considered in the first place. For example, if you expect a lot of guidance, you should let your supervisor know this and develop a supervision plan considering your expectations, as well as the supervisor’s working style and personality.

3. Early engagement

You should engage your supervisor in your PhD project as early as possible to make sure they provide all the help they can from the very beginning. Some supervisors may not insist on early meetings during the planning stages of your study, so it is your job to do! The earlier your supervisor will be involved in the planning process, the more relevant recommendations they can provide on your research aim and objectives, literature review, and methodology.

4. Regular communication

Delivering a complete dissertation chapter to your supervisor and being told to almost or completely rewrite it because of the flawed premise is disheartening. To avoid such situations, you should get into a habit of communicating with your supervisor as frequently as possible to discuss how your thesis is going to develop and get some valuable assistance from them.

5. Disagreement is not a bad thing

Disagreement is a natural aspect of academia since you and your supervisor are likely to have different views on certain research aspects. Moreover, most supervisors disagree with at least some points made by their students to further develop their critical thinking skills. You should not be afraid of arguing with your supervisor if you believe your arguments are strong.

6. Supervisors are busy

Supervisors may not be available when you need them because they have multiple responsibilities and other students to supervise. Schedule your meetings with the supervisor in advance and come prepared with ideas, requests, and questions. And don’t panic if the supervisor does not reply to your email immediately.

7. Honesty is key

Writing a PhD thesis is challenging and sometimes this process could be hampered by various factors. Be upfront and don’t be afraid to tell your supervisor about the aspects of your personal life that may influence your work. Your supervisor is most likely to support you and together you will be able to find the most effective way to deal with these issues.

8. Switching the supervisor is a last resort

Despite all your planning and communication, the relationship with your supervisor might still be detrimental to your PhD project. In this case, you have every right to ask the university for another supervisor. Contacting PhD writing services could also be a solution since most of them provide professional tutoring services, supervision and PhD proofreading assistance to make sure your doctoral project is on track.

5 Best Online Services for Keeping Track of Your References

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Both regular students and professional writers providing phd writing services have to manage hundreds of references during the thesis writing process. Manually keeping track of all these sources can be extremely tiresome and ineffective. Below, you will find the 5 best online services that will optimise your reference management and will boost your productivity as a result.

1. Mendeley

This award-winning software product is one of the most popular choices in the academic domain due to its freemium business model and good brand recognition. There are multiple versions of the product including the recently added Mendeley Reference Manager and Mendeley Cite that are fully compatible with Microsoft Office as well as mobile apps for all platforms, which provides a seamless research experience.

ProsCons
– Freemium model
– Easy to use
– Good integration with all platforms
– Servers are not always stable
– Information from websites is not always extracted properly

2. EasyBib

EasyBib is another freemium product that allows you to create citations for your PhD or scan your paper for grammar errors and plagiarism using embedded tools. The basic referencing and citation-saving functionality is embedded in the basic version that is sufficient for most students.

ProsCons
– Freemium model
– Intuitive interface
– Good integration with popular browsers
– Free version shows you distracting ads and videos

3. EndNote

EndNote is another powerful alternative to Mendeley that can be used for free by postgraduate students using their university credentials. It has a number of powerful features including embedded search tools for PubMed and other specialised databases as well as full integration with Microsoft Office. One of the unique elements of this software is its capability to export citations in multiple formats and to support the access of up to 14 platform users to the same citation list via cloud functionality, which is invaluable for group projects and writing co-authored PhD research papers.

ProsCons
– Free for university students
– Good synchronisation across multiple platforms
– Compatible with all popular browsers and text editing software
– Non-online desktop versions are rather expensive even with student discounts
– All future updates are also paid
– The learning curve is quite steep due to the complex software interface

4. Zotero

Zotero is another long-term player in the citation software market dating back to 2006. Right from its start, it has been 100% free and open-source. At the same time, it offers substantial functionality to be used for making high-quality bibliographies, which makes it a popular choice among both new researchers and their more experienced colleagues.

ProsCons
– 100% free
– A wide variety of import and export formats
– Supports more than 30 languages and had a well-developed online community
– No ‘official’ customer support
– Offers no embedded PDF editing tools
– Has no native mobile apps

5. RefWorks

With 20+ years of commercial success to date, RefWorks may represent the oldest and most powerful product of the five offerings analysed in this list. It is extremely easy to use and is fully cloud-based. However, it lacks some features present in its digital-native competitors such as official mobile apps.

ProsCons
– Has access to many quality databases
– Excellent support
– Easy-to-use interface
– Costs from $70 per year – No specialised mobile apps – May be unstable at times

Many clients ask our professional writers whether they should use any specific software for their thesis writing. While the aforementioned pros and cons may determine your short-term choices due to your operating costs preferences or desired product features, it is generally a matter of love and hate. Some of our experts successfully providing phd thesis writing services for years praise by RefWorks while others enjoy the features of its digital-native competitors. If you have the time, we would advise you to install several products as trial versions and work with each of them for 1-2 days. This will allow you to select the best tool for your specific preferences, which will pay off in the future over the course of your PhD project.

8 Key Points to Remember When Interpreting Data in a PhD Thesis

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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.

data analysis

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.

Weird PhD Topics

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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.

6 Biggest Viva Worries: Answered

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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.

Does Completing a PhD Really Increase Your Employability?

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In the modern knowledge driven 21st 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.

How to Stay Focused on Your PhD During Summer

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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.

Dealing With Stress and Anxiety as a PhD Student

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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.