Writing and defending PhD thesis if done following a systematic procedure will help you to achieve your goals successfully. PhD thesis also follows the basic five-chapter flow followed by bachelors and master’s level thesis. However, you can add a separate section for case study or maps. Five chapters if written with proper understanding and expected outcomes of the subject is enough to write a very good thesis. If you follow systematic procedure and apply rational associated with each chapter then not only writing gets easy but you can confidently defend your thesis in Viva.

Chapter 1 Tips 

Your defence must always be centred around “why questions” rather than focusing on “how” question. As focusing on why question will provide rational and clarify the purpose of your research. 

You should have a strong research background. In the research background, you should mention about the current research undertaken in the domain of your research. However, most importantly you need to justify why your research is important now or in today’s context. Identify and mention the research gap and they convince how your research will bridge this gap. The research question must be contextualized in a way that answers seem to emerge naturally to fill the gap you have identified in the research.

Chapter 2 Tips 

Majority of students struggle to write a literature review even though they spend a considerable amount of time reviewing the literature. Students read a wide variety of literature however they are unable to display the depth of reading they have undertaken in their literature review. While writing literature review always use a funnel approach. You should always go from general to specific. At least one of your objectives of the research should be met by the literature review. You should give the context of research done in your research topic as well as clearly establish a gap in the literature. 

Chapter 3 Tips

The methodology adopted is the key as here your decision-making plays a pivotal role. You should be able to justify the research method chosen and also how you collected data. This is the area where major questions are expected from the jury. 

Chapter 4 Tips

Data analysis is completely your own. Earlier three chapters involve knowledge and procedure set by other parties however this chapter displays your creativity, analysis and comprehension skills. Refer to research questions and objectives while analysing your data. In the discussion section, compare your data and observations with theories and other theatrical underpinnings discussed in chapter 2. Most of the students make mistake where they simply present the data but do not analyse the data. Representation as well as analysis of data is extremely important.

Chapter 5 Tips

This section should clearly state the answer to your research question. The conclusions should be strong and supported by valid reasoning as well as data from your research. Make recommendations based on your research and last but not the least display the new knowledge that your research has contributed.