The Final Year: Countdown to Your Thesis Defence

Abstract

You’re nearly there. One or more articles are already in print, and another one is in the publishing pipeline. Moreover, you have masses of promising data that still need to be analysed. It is not yet clear, however, how these analyses might be integrated to create a cohesive body of work. Finally, there is one last project your thesis advisor wants you to work on. Altogether, there are several bits and pieces that fit into your thesis, and other things that don’t seem to have a logical place. You feel confident that you will be able to pull everything together within a year’s time. But at the back of your mind a lingering question arises: how do I get there? This chapter provides you with a framework to help support you in the crucial last months of your doctoral work.

There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.

– Henry Ford