Authoring a PhD Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Dissertation [Hardcover]

Patrick Dunleavy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403911916 | ISBN-13: 978-1403911919 | Publication Date: August 16, 2003

Authoring a PhD involves having creative ideas, working out how to organize them, writing up from plans, upgrading text, and finishing it speedily and to a good standard. It also involves being examined and getting work published. This book provides a huge range of ideas and suggestions to help PhD candidates cope with both the intellectual issues involved and the practical difficulties of organizing their work effectively.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dunleavy illuminates the management of text. Following his recommended disciplines, he has produced an elegant, witty and spare guide for the perplexed student."--Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia

"Authoring a PhD Thesis is superb. It is so in three ways: tone; nature of the advice offered; the fact that the book itself is an exemplary illustration of the principles it recommends. After reading it, it is hard to see how many PhD students ever managed to write an acceptable thesis without reading it."--John Peck, Cardiff University

"Pleasantly written, containing a lot of helpful suggestions, sound advice, and illuminating insights into the process of writing a thesis."--Giseline Kuipers, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

"...elegantly written and contains crisp and incisive insights. I will recommend this book widely to students because it will help them significantly with the successful completion of their PhD thesis...I have gained some good ideas from reading the text."--Wyn Grant, Warwick University

About the Author

Patrick Dunleavy is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, and a member of the Academy of the Social Sciences, London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403911916
• ISBN-13: 978-1403911919
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,157,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable!, January 6, 2006

By 

Gwen A Orel (Millburn, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Authoring a PhD Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)

I just defended successfully (yay!), after a serious revision, and this book was my guiding light. In all honesty I could have saved myself some serious time if I'd paid more attention to it sooner. It was particularly inspiring when I was first starting to get down on paper my first chapter... I think for anyone in that horrible phase where you have to much research and feel that you've lost your argument the book is an enormous blessing. It demonstrates how to structure a chapter, how to keep it readable, how to break down sections... It was truly my bible.

It also lays out the differences between British and US models, which is interesting to know for future reference.

Not a word that is merely psychobabble or self-help, but a straightforward and clear manual.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My map through the maze of academic writing!, November 9, 2004

By 

Jill Stuart (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Authoring a PhD Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)

This book is an excellent guide to an under-addressed aspect of the PhD process: writing, structuring, and developing your thesis. The text fills a niche amongst all of the other `how to get your PhD' books out there, because it goes so far in depth into the authoring process.

Beginning to write your thesis is a daunting thing, and there seems to be a presumption that PhD students will know how to go about the whole procedure. But of course the process is complicated, intimidating, and not always clear-but this books provides an invaluable road map. Indeed it even offers guidance for after the thesis is finished, when you want to move on to publishing. Suddenly the impossible and mysterious looks reasonable and understandable. The book is full of clear guidelines and advice, useful tips, and wit which makes it very readable too. The text is structured according to the methods being recommended, which makes it very easy to read--and that makes you appreciate the soundness of what you are learning!

A book you will want to sit down and read cover-to-cover, and then keep on your shelf for regular referral back to throughout the entire PhD process!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide, July 13, 2005

By 

Shannon McCabe (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Authoring a PhD Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)

This book is an excellent guide for anyone in the process of writing a dissertation. Although he is writing from a British point of view, he takes care to make his advice applicable to the dissertation writer in the US university system as well. He discusses structure, drafting, editing, as well as how to prepare the diss for eventual publication.

The main achievement of this book is the idea that the dissertation writer is taking on another role, moving from *student writer* to *writer*. The dissertation propels the student into the position of colleague in training, and the writing is the vehicle for doing that. For the first time, thanks to this book, I have begun to look at myself as a writer contributing to the body of knowledge on the subject, not just a student producing yet another required paper to please a professor.