Your thesis is a position or proposition that a person as a candidate for scholastic honors advances and offers to maintain by argument. I looked at how people play chess is not a thesis people adapt memories of old games to play new games is. Similarly, i wrote a program to play chess is not a thesis playing chess requires a database of actual games is. Besides being a proposition, a thesis has to have another property: it must say something new. Understanding natural language requires context is not a thesis except maybe in a linguistics department process x is a feasible mechanism for adding context sensitivity to natural language understanders is, as is context is not required for visual understanding. What kind of evidence is apprpropriate depends on what kind of thesis is being defended.

thesis: process x is a feasible way to do task y one defense for this kind of claim is an analysis of the complexity, or completeness, or whatever, of the theoretical algorithm. In computer science, the more common defense is based on empirical results from running an experiment. A good defense here means more than one example, and answers to questions such as the following. Can your result do the same examples the previous results did, or can you make them do yours? can you prove they couldn't do your examples? if you claim to be more efficient, what are you measuring? thesis: task y requires process x this is usually defended by a logical argument.

It is usually very tough to do, even if the argument doesn't have to be formalized. thesis: people use process x to do task y many students make the mistake of picking this kind of thesis to defend. It requires serious experimental evidence to defend, unless your real thesis is of the previous form, i.e. Selected excerpts from protocols and surveys of your officemates are not psychological evidence, no matter how much they might have inspired your work. thesis: process x is a terrible way to do y, or people don't use process x this is a reasonable thesis if process x is a serious contender. Things it can't do, or things it does wrong, along with evidence that those things matter.

If you think you have a lot of theses, you probably just have a bunch of undefended claims. One good thesis, or two so so theses, with adequate description and defense, is more than enough to fill up a dissertation. If you're bright, educated, and have worked hard on a topic for more than a year, you must have learned something no one else knew before. the first mistake that students make is to think that a thesis has to be grander than the theory of relativity. a thesis should be new and interesting, but it doesn't have to change the foundations of all we believe and hold dear. Among your accomplishments and experience, there will be several good candidate theses.

Is it a claim that you can describe clearly and briefly? is it a claim that anyone cares about? is it a claim that people don't find perfectly obvious, or if they do find it obvious, can you convince them that it could easily be false. Once you've refined your claim into a good thesis, now you can determine what kind of defense is appropriate for it and what more you need to do. This is where the hard part comes, psychologically, because to create a defense for your thesis, you're going to have to attack it harder than anyone else. What happens if the thesis fails? negate it and defend that! in a year or so of focused research, you should be ready for a real thesis defense.

See how easy it is, once you know how? the last task of achieving a doctoral degree, or phd, is the dissertation defense. According to mary renck jalongo, phd at the university of texas, austin, the term 'defense' implies the student is under attack, however in the case of the doctoral defense, this is a misnomer. Thinking of your defense as a professional presentation of your research rather than a personal attack can ease the fear of completing the process.

Choose the faculty members of your doctoral committee carefully before writing your dissertation. If possible, work with faculty members whom you trust will keep in regular contact with you throughout the writing process. Faculty members who are willing to work with you and support your academic endeavors are more likely to help you adequately prepare for a successful defense. Ask your faculty committee to informally pre approve your dissertation before your scheduled defense.

Dissertation Program Evaluation

A supportive committee will guide a student to correct any glaring mistakes or other elements in the dissertation that would prevent the defense from being accepted. This doesn't guarantee that your defense will be accepted, but it will reduce the chances of defense rejection. Make sure departmental requirements are completed and all necessary paperwork is filed with your school. Many schools require this to be done before the defense is scheduled, but it is a good idea to double check that all needed materials have been submitted. Practice your defense presentation in front of peers who will give can give you helpful feedback on your public speaking skills and clarity of the information you are providing. This can ease the pressure of standing before your faculty committee on the day of the defense, helping you feel more confident and prepared.

For example, draw statements and figures from each section and present them to your committee consecutively. Remember that a doctoral defense is a presentation of the research you have conducted, rather than a plea for graduation. Continue with background information, research methods, analysis and finish with the outcome. Having a powerpoint presentation or slide show will not only exemplify your preparedness for the defense, it will help committee members follow along with your presentation.

More importantly, offering a visual aide removes the presenter as the focal point for the audience. This can ease your nerves and help keep you on track throughout your presentation. Such questions may include limitations to your present research, and directions for future research. I don't know, is an acceptable response to questions that do not pertain to the research you conducted or the surrounding topics. Photo by flickr/cc user suran2007 congratulations: its a book! your 273 page volumethe weighty, serious, mighty tomeis sitting in the center of my cluttered desk.