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The way you put it, it sounds like you can do what ever you'd like so long as you come up with something a little extra. Are there sample "this is what a thesi

The way you put it, it sounds like you can do what ever you'd like so long as you come up with something a little extra. Are there sample "this is what a thesis for a PhD should look like" papers? Where is the standardization?

chrisseaton 10y ago
It needs to be more than 'a little extra'. It needs to advance the state of the art. It needs to have a new idea in it. It can't just be a better implementation of something we already know how to do. There is no standardisation. The level you are assessed against is set by your examiner. Don't focus on the thesis or the software - those are just ways to express your novel idea, which is what is being assessed. But yes you can do whatever you want, as long as you have a good idea and can show it works.
- BellsOnSunday 10y ago
  When it comes to being examined there are also the prerequisites to advancing the state of the art, which include demonstrating you've learned how to do research and have deep critical knowledge of the field you're working in (so you know what needs to be done to move it forward).
light_hue_1 10y ago
The contribution has to be pretty substantial. And it can't be just one piece of work. The standards around these parts are something like 4+ papers (around 1 paper per year for 5-6 years) preferably including one or two solid journal papers all in top-tier venues. Of course not everyone meets this standard but basically everyone gets close. That's a lot work. It's your full time effort for those 5-6 years, 6+ days per week, 10+ hours per day. What might not be clear above is that once you can do research on your own you're close to done, but to get there you have to do a lot of work. Sure. Best way to get an idea is to just look up previous theses. They're basically all available online. "phd thesis cs" on google is a good place to start and just filter out the non-top-tier departments. Although these days many people just take their publications, reformat them, and that's their thesis (this is more common in the US and much less common in Europe). This saves a lot of time and makes people a lot more productive.

chrisseaton 10y ago

It needs to be more than 'a little extra'. It needs to advance the state of the art. It needs to have a new idea in it. It can't just be a better implementation of something we already know how to do. There is no standardisation. The level you are assessed against is set by your examiner. Don't focus on the thesis or the software - those are just ways to express your novel idea, which is what is being assessed. But yes you can do whatever you want, as long as you have a good idea and can show it works.

BellsOnSunday 10y ago
When it comes to being examined there are also the prerequisites to advancing the state of the art, which include demonstrating you've learned how to do research and have deep critical knowledge of the field you're working in (so you know what needs to be done to move it forward).

light_hue_1 10y ago

The contribution has to be pretty substantial. And it can't be just one piece of work. The standards around these parts are something like 4+ papers (around 1 paper per year for 5-6 years) preferably including one or two solid journal papers all in top-tier venues. Of course not everyone meets this standard but basically everyone gets close. That's a lot work. It's your full time effort for those 5-6 years, 6+ days per week, 10+ hours per day. What might not be clear above is that once you can do research on your own you're close to done, but to get there you have to do a lot of work. Sure. Best way to get an idea is to just look up previous theses. They're basically all available online. "phd thesis cs" on google is a good place to start and just filter out the non-top-tier departments. Although these days many people just take their publications, reformat them, and that's their thesis (this is more common in the US and much less common in Europe). This saves a lot of time and makes people a lot more productive.