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How difficult would it be to create a dissertation for a PHD? Does difficulty depend on field of study?

I am in college currently, hoping to pursue a PHD someday, just want to be prepared for when it happens. #college #professor #student #graduate-school #graduate #phd #college-student

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Ken’s Answer

Hi Charles!


Here are some tips.


https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/mar/21/how-to-plan-your-dissertation
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/mar/25/how-to-write-your-dissertation
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/dissertations/


Best of luck. Please keep me informed. i would like to follow your progress!
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Zahid’s Answer

I second Anna's response. That's pretty much what it comes down to. When I was doing my masters, the professors told us that what we are doing is the same as what they require of PhD candidates, with only difference being that we had to write 15 page papers where as PhD have a lot more than that to write. Biggest hurdle for us was finding enough material to reference and use in our papers to make it to 15 pages.
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Anna’s Answer

For me, the potential difficulty came from a few places:
* Department funding structure - in my PhD program, funding was pooled across professors, so I didn't have to worry about working on any grant proposals and could focus on my dissertation. It was touted as a plus at the school when I applied, so I don't think it's like that everywhere
* Your advisor - An advisor makes or brakes your experience, similar to having a teacher or boss. I had a bad advisor and almost dropped out of my PhD program midway through before I found a good advisor. A bad advisor does not have time to focus on you, doesn't guide you through the dissertation process, and doesn't provide the support and resources you need to succeed. A good advisor does the opposite - ready to answer your questions and give you next steps catered to what you want to explore.
* Your peers - Having people who you can work well with, similar to a job or class, can be really helpful. Although you can complete a dissertation in isolation, having people to commiserate with and work through problems with can be really helpful both from a mental health perspective and from a quality of work perspective.
* Your area of study - Some areas of research are really saturated and it's hard to find something novel to do, while others are unexplored and it can be hard to find good reference papers. You'll probably want something in the middle.
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