#22 The 6 stages of a PhD

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I wish I had known what I would go through before doing my PhD.

All PhDs experiences are unique. But the following are the typical stages of a PhD:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹
This is where you define your research topic and objectives.

For me, these have changed a lot over time. I smile when I look at my initial research ideas.
Very interesting but also quite ambitious. And that’s fine.
There will be enough time to refine the subjects during your PhD.

This is also the stage where:
– I did my initial literature review. What’s already published about the subjects? What do you need to read?
– I structure a research outline with the main questions. This doesn’t have to be perfect.
– I define a supervision plan with my supervisors. This is an important element to set the expectations right for all parties
– I think about a personal development plan. Which courses/conferences are relevant to your research project(s)?

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮: 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵

Here, you get into details. Hands-on research. Time to do the research job.

In short:
– This is the stage where I refined the research questions
– Refine the methodology based on feedback from supervisors and colleagues
– Experiment

– Collect data
– Data analysis and interpretation
– Interpret, discuss the results and relate the findings to existing theories and literature

In my case, each study was kind of independent. Each study was a chapter or my dissertation.
So I went through these steps for each study.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯: 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

This is probably the most intimidating task if you are not used to writing.

Coming from Maths and Engineering, this was my case.

Doing a PhD means that you will learn how to write and present your work in a structured and scientific way.

I always edited my studies based on my supervisors feedbacks.
Sometimes, I would get up to 6 or 7 versions of a single study until it can be considered “complete”.

As mentioned earlier, my dissertation was article-based. 1 chapter for each study.

Like me, publishing in journals might not be a requirement from your institution.

But I feel that going through publication in good peer-reviewed journals improved the quality of my manuscripts. Because:

– I edited the studies based on the reviewers’ reports during the peer review process
– I formatted the manuscript, references and also worked on the overall coherence.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰: 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Like when writing a single article, it’s often good to write the introduction and conclusion or your dissertation when you have some results.
– This is where the literature review is important
– What are your research questions?
– What are the implications?
– Review and revise based on feedback from my advisors
– Organize all the content: general story, flow and writing quality

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟱: 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲
This depends on how the process works in your university.

At some point, you will have to submit the dissertation to an examining committee
At this stage, it’s also a good idea to pay attention to the organization, flow, and overall quality of your writing before submitting your dissertation.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟲: 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴

The committee might provide feedback to integrate in your dissertations. This can be related to your arguments, methodology, or interpretations as needed

– Complete all necessary revisions and edits based on feedback
– Prepare and format your dissertation or thesis according to university guidelines and the printing company
– And then it’s time for your PhD defense, ceremony or VIVA.

Of course, these stages may vary depending on the research project and PhD program requirements.

That’s it for this week. Let me know if I missed anything and if you have any tips to share.

As usual, if anything is unclear or if you need help with your research projects, please contact me and I will reply.

See you next Sunday!

Jamal

Any other typical PhD stage?

Let us know in the comments.

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