How to write a good PhD thesis

Hanwang Zhang 张含望hanwangzhang@gmail.com

Research FellowComputer Science Dept.

What will you know?

• Myself

• Thesis is sacred

• What is a bad/good thesis like?

• How to write a good one

About me

• Background• 7 years of experience in computer

vision/multimedia research• Pro in Matlab but C++/Java is totally forgotten

• Research• Image Understanding, Social Media Analysis,

Deep Learning Architecture.

May, 1987Zhengzhou, China

Sep, 2005~ Jun, 2009Hangzhou, China

July, 2009~nowNUS, Singapore

Why do I want an academic life?• Why dislike a well-paying industrial job?

•Money is good but it is not my motivation in life•Hate repetition

• Why research life is good?•Like to be a teacher•Solving new problems every day

What is a Ph.D?

What is a Ph.D?

• Significant and substantial work• Your own hypothesis and theory• Fast getting started to unknown area• Independent research

• abstraction, survey, formulation, experimental design, writing, and presentation

What’s a Ph.D thesis?

• It is a comprehensive academic write-up showing off you ARE a PhD.

• It is sacred• highest-level academic paper• it is a totem of your strong mentality

So,Don’t play it around. It is YOURSELF in academic world.

Ancient Spanish Ceremony of bestowing Ph.D degree

What is a BAD thesis

• Gluing published papers !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE you an IDIOT?• No respects to readers and yourself.

• Like a journal/conference paper.• should be as self-complete as possible

• Not beautiful• nice figures, tables and formulations

Good papers != Good Phd

Good thesis = Good Phd

Where to start?

• Talk with your supervisor• Read high-quality papers

• premium (NOT top) journals, best-paper award conference papers

• supervisor’s thesis, committee members’ theses

• Start NOW!!!!

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Table of Contents

• Very, very, ……. very important• Deserves a whole month to think about

• Anyone (above B.S.) should understand• Logically smooth• Use exciting words for your peers• May stop at x.x.x (third cascade)

MULTIMEDIA SEARCH BY SELF, EXTERNAL, AND CROWDSOURCING KNOWLEDGE

Modeling Context for Image Understanding:When, For What, and How?

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Abstract

• Cannot cover all details as in your paper• So, it does not rely on the whole thesis, it

is independent. You’d better finish it ASAP• Most examiners will give overall judgment

by reading it as the thesis is too long

• It is the face

Abstract

• What is the problem?

• Why is it hard?

• What is your approach&result?

• What is its impact?

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Title

• Think of what you would want others to “google” your thesis

• Highlight your contribution in no more than 7-8 words.

• Usually, “Catchy word+approach+task”

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Introduction

• Tell a story, and tell it well• start from scratch, don’t assume they know your stuff• examples, figures as many as possible• be patient to tell why it is important.

• Be professional, it is a science: formalize your story

• After reading Intro., examiners may close the case with curiosity

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Related Work

• You should contribute a lot efforts on it• It is a technical “Introduction”• Don’t write it as in your paper, write it like a

history

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Body

• Modify your published papers accordingly

Effort Distribution

• Table of Content 20%• Abstract 5%• Title 5%• Introduction 30%• Related Work 30%• Body 5%• Conclusion/Future Work 5%

Conclusions/Future Work

• Conclusion• Reflective summary• Insights!!!!• How much you contribute to the community?

• Future Work:• If you have an extra year, what will you do?• Be serious!

Language

Summary

•Cordial•Confidence•Concise•Clear•Complete