Writing PhD Dissertations

Forms of PhD theses:

• by-publication: two main types
  • re-editing of publications;
  • actual camera-ready copies of publications combined into 1 document
• monograph: may contain publications but is orthogonal to them

Especially in the first case, the thesis should be corrected according to the reading committee's comments, even if it concerns parts that have been peer-reviewed and published.

The following are general guidelines for by-publication theses. Of course each PhD student should tune these guidelines according to her/his individual thesis.

Before you Begin

Have a look at other dissertations and follow practices that you like. A recommended thesis from the group to use as a good structure and as an example is from Uwe van Heesch.

Bear in mind

• Define a title that is comprehensible by experts in the field of the dissertation without them having to read the thesis.
• The summary should be polished to perfection as it acts as the PR statement for the dissertation.

Recommended Process

1. The following order is advisable
   1. Introduction chapter (this takes by far the most effort);
   2. Conclusions and Future Work chapter;
   3. Content Chapters (including fixing the reference list);
   4. Appendices;
   5. Summary (English should be approved first and then move to the Dutch);
   6. Layout (this may require some effort as you will be moving papers from IEEE/Elsevier/Springer/ACM to a unified format);
   7. Sanity check;
   8. Title page and acknowledgements;
   9. A cover for the thesis book and the propositions.
2. Sanity check of the whole thesis includes the following:
   1. inconsistencies regarding cross-references (if used);
   2. size of tables and figures (e.g., should not go over the page size);
   3. number (level) of sections (e.g., Section 1.1 in the published paper should become Section 5.1.1 in the thesis); and
   4. inconsistencies regarding page headers and footers (e.g. due to inserting page breaks or section breaks).
3. Try to work iteratively with your supervisor(s). Share individual (sub-)sections to review while you work on the next item in your backlog.

Guidelines & Tips

Look at the LaTeX template for more information about:

• how to structure the thesis;
• the content of each chapter; and
• LaTeX instructions.

The easiest way to get started with the template is to create a blank project on Overleaf and upload a copy of this repository to it. That will provide out-of-the-box:

• version control;
• track change; and
• review support (comments and discussion);

If you are not used to LaTeX, take the time to get yourself acquainted and explore the template. The most time-consuming tasks (e.g. layout) are solved already. Adding your content should be fairly straightforward (maybe tables less so).

After Submitting your Thesis

Provide any feedback related to these guidelines and the template by:

• opening an issue in the repository;
• submitting a pull-request or
• messaging your supervisor.

License

The logo of the University of Groningen at figs/rugr_logoen_zwart_cmyk.eps is distributed in this repository for convenience but it is a trademark of and managed by the University of Groningen.

Unless otherwise noted, the remaining content in this repository is licensed under a Creative Commons Zero License, also known as Public Domain Dedication. That said, attribution is appreciated.