Your PhD Companion: A Handy Mix of Practical Tips, Sound Advice and Helpful Commentary to See You Through Your PhD

What is a PhD A brief history of the PhD A PhD route map (and guide to this book) Embarking on a PhD Wanting to do a PhD Why another degree? Possible reasons for doing a PhD How long will it take? The part-time option Albert Einstein What topic? Some interesting PhD topics The Grand Academy of Lagado Funding Where to do it? Who to do it with? Ten bits of advice before you start You and Your Supervisor Your relationship with your superviso How to address your supervisor Expectations: you and your supervisor Supervisors: the good, the bad and the ugly Relating to your supervisor's research Ten questions to ask a prospective supervisor Supervisors: when things go wrong. Loss of a supervisor Disputes Intellectual property issues Cecilia Payne Finding Your Feet (and a Desk to Put Them Under) Your place in the department The academic food chain Your contribution Your space Office facilities Health and safety A fresh start Doing the Research p Originality and what it means Finding that someone else has 'done your thesis Searching the literature Information overload PhD as jigsaw Methodology: research as an iterative process Fieldwork and lab work Marie Curie Time management Time recording The upgrade report A PhD is like a maze Life as a PhD Student Long haul irritations PhD joys: being paid to do a hobby PhD progress Meeting people Surviving relationships When will you finish? Diminishing marginal overruns Working while you study (or, in search of cash and kudos) Academia p. Academic research Conferences Book reviews Lab demonstrations Lecturing and tutoring Being a supervisor Marking Invigilation Research employment Ludwig Wittgenstein Thesis Construction The big one What the thesis is Narrative structure Thesis components Examples of PhD titles Literature revisited Bibliographic by-ways Language and writing style Writing in English as a foreign language Holding a whole thesis in your head Writing processes Frankenstein's thesis Unwriting The obese thesis Dr Seuss Survival Climbing at altitude PhD completion and attrition Mission to Mars Plotting your course in PhD-space Working and writing up Unravelling purposes Unfinished business Magnum opus The Devil's bargain Dr Johnson The End Game Entering the end game Knowing the rules Playing the game Preparing for submission: final content check Formatting your thesis Keep a back-up Acknowledgements The late submission fee Final printing Theses! The person whose dinner guest spilled wine over the final printed version of the thesis Finishing Now you see it! The Examination Outcomes of the viva voce Choosing your examiners About the examiner Averting corrections Preparing for the exam Defending your thesis Rehearsing your defence The day of the viva Heisenberg's viva The Afterlife Making corrections after the viva Graduation Isaac Asimov Building on your doctoral research Turning your thesis into a book Top tips on doing a PhD Useful Websites Further Reading