Category: PhD Thesis

PhD in A Top South Indian University – A Guide For Post Graduate Students

Over the years, South Indian universities have reached a new pinnacle of success in academia with their research faculty, infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation. Several of these universities have now metamorphosed into global hubs for research. If you are looking to get your PhD from a good university in South India, this is a guide that … Continue reading “PhD in A Top South Indian University – A Guide For Post Graduate Students”

Over the years, South Indian universities have reached a new pinnacle of success in academia with their research faculty, infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation. Several of these universities have now metamorphosed into global hubs for research.

If you are looking to get your PhD from a good university in South India, this is a guide that is tailor-made for you. Get all details about the top South Indian universities so that you can make an educated choice as to where you’d want to pursue your PhD from.

BHARATHIYAR UNIVERSITY

One of the most noted South Indian University, Bharathiyar University has 13 schools and 37 Research Departments on its campus.
Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Eligibility assistants / Project Fellows / Research associates / appointed in the research projects funded by recognized agencies / Government / industries are eligible to register for Ph.D. Any professional with minimum period of two years of experience after obtaining their professional qualification is eligible for Part-time Ph.D. registration
  2. Subjects like Engineering, Medicine, Law and Agriculture are not eligible to register under Bharathiar University.
  3. A candidate must have a minimum 55% (5% relaxation for SC/ST candidates in the minimum eligibility) marks in the qualifying examinations.
  4. Candidate working as a Guest Lecturer in a Govt. College or a Govt. Aided College in Tamil Nadu is allowed to register after producing a NOC from their employer.
  5. Those who are going to register Ph.D. without fellowship must have appeared the Common Eligibility Test (CET) conducted by the Bharathiar University.
  1. Candidates from outside Tamil Nadu will be allowed to register for Part time Ph.D. subject to production of NOC from HOD/Head of the Employer.

GITAM UNIVERSITY

Tucked away in the beautiful port city of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management is one of the top most South Indian Universities for PhD. With excellent infrastructure and an unfettered dedication to research, GITAM has branches in Hyderabad and Bangalore too.

Eligibility Criteria: (Full/Part time)

  1. The admissions are based on merit in the qualifying examination and entrance examination.
  2. Admission for the following categories will be taken up during any time of the year. (i) Candidates with JRF (CSIR/UGC/NET qualification). (ii) Candidates selected as project fellows in the projects sanctioned by national funding agencies. (iii) Candidates under FIP program. (iv) Candidates under extramural category.
  3. A candidate must secure prescribed marks in the entrance examination and personal interview.
  4. Candidates admitted to full-time Ph.D. should not undertake any assignment / employment or shall not pursue any other full-time program of study simultaneously.

Find out more at http://www.gitam.edu/

VIT UNIVERSITY

Located in the serene town of Vellore, Tamil Nadu, VIT has a mammoth campus with world-class infrastructure and research facilities.

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. To apply for Ph.D. in Engineering, Candidates must have Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology / Business Administration with a first class (min 60% or 6.5 CGPA) or equivalent M.Sc/M.S.
  2. To apply for Ph.D. in Sciences / Humanities / Languages, Candidates must have Master’s degree in Science (min 60%) / Humanities (55%) / Social Sciences / Languages.
  3. All the staff members of the institute having the requisite minimum qualifications can work on a part time basis for Ph.D degree.
  4. Teachers working in other colleges and candidates sponsored by R & D organisations, National laboratories and Industries having R & D facilities recognized by DSIR, with requisite minimum qualifications can also work on part time basis for Ph.D degree

Selection Procedure:

School will short-list the candidates to be called for written and test / interview. Selection will be based on the overall merit index of the candidate which calculated on the candidate’s performance in the previous university examinations at Bachelor’s (20%) and Master’s level (20%) and the performance in the written test and / the interview (60%).

Candidates qualified in CSIR-UGC NET for JRF may be exempted from the written test requirement.

Duration Of the Programme:

All full-time Research Scholars should submit the thesis within five years from the date of registration. The Doctoral Committee may extend the period of submission of thesis by one year on valid reasons.

 All part-time Research Scholars should submit their thesis within six years from the date of their registration.

The Doctoral Committee may extend the period of submission of thesis by one year on valid reasons.

Find out more at http://www.vit.ac.in/

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Located in Karnataka, Visvesvaraya Technological University has Ph.D. in Engineering, Science, Architecture and Management studies

Eligibility:

Course work details, rules & regulations pertaining to Ph.D./M.Sc.(Engg.) by Research is available on website https://vtu.ac.in/

Research Methodology:

Module 1: Meaning, Objectives and Characteristics of research – Research methods Vs Methodology – Types of research – Descriptive Vs. Analytical, Applied Vs. Fundamental, Quantitative Vs. Qualitative, Conceptual Vs. Empirical – Research process – Criteria of good research – Developing a research plan.

Module 2: Defining the research problem – Selecting the problem – Necessity of defining the problem – Techniques involved in defining the problem – Importance of literature review in defining a problem – Survey of literature – Primary and secondary sources – Reviews, treatise, monograph spatents – web as a source – searching the web – Identifying gap areas from literature review – Development of working hypothesis.

Module 3: Research design and methods – Research design – Basic Principles- Need of research design –– Features of good design – Important concepts relating to research design – Observation and Facts, Laws and Theories, Prediction and explanation, Induction, Deduction, Development of Models – Developing a research plan – Exploration, Description, Diagnosis, and Experimentation – Determining experimental and sample designs.

Module 4: Sampling design – Steps in sampling design – Characteristics of a good sample design – Types of sample designs – Measurement and scaling techniques – Methods of data collection – Collection of primary data – Data collection instruments

Module 5: Testing of hypotheses – Basic concepts – Procedure for hypotheses testing flow diagram for hypotheses testing – Data analysis with Statistical Packages – Correlation and Regression – Important parametric test – Chi-square test – Analysis of variance and Covariance

Module 6: IPRs- Invention and Creativity- Intellectual Property-Importance and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).A brief summary of: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Industrial Designs- Integrated Circuits-Geographical Indications-Establishment of WIPO-Application and Procedures.

Module 7: Interpretation and report writing – Techniques of interpretation – Structure and components of scientific reports – Different steps in the preparation – Layout, structure and language of the report – Illustrations and tables – Types of report – Technical reports and thesis

SRM UNIVERSITY

SRM University is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu with a boastful infrastructure and a dedicated staff that makes it a paradise for any research student.

Eligibility

Minimum academic qualification required for admission is that the candidate should possess a PG Degree / PG Diploma of two years duration recognized by the respective statutory bodies for pursuing research.

Guides

All Ph.D. candidates are required to work under the guidance of a recognized guide from the University.

The part time (external) candidates shall be required to have, in addition to a Research Guide from the respective faculty of this University, a recognized Co-guide/Research coordinator.

25 proven tips for completing your PhD thesis

Documenting the results of years of PhD research into a single thesis can be a challenge for most PhD students. As a PhD research student, you want to quickly prepare and submit your thesis at the earliest. This article focusses on 25 proven tips that you can use to complete your thesis at the earliest: … Continue reading “25 proven tips for completing your PhD thesis”

Documenting the results of years of PhD research into a single thesis can be a challenge for most PhD students. As a PhD research student, you want to quickly prepare and submit your thesis at the earliest.

This article focusses on 25 proven tips that you can use to complete your thesis at the earliest:

  1. Get the exact requirements of your thesis from your supervisor. You don’t want to exceed the word or page count, and then spend time editing the content.
  2. Prepare an outline or structure for your thesis.
  3. Do not delay the start of your thesis writing. Delay in thesis writing can increase your stress.
  4. Work on your thesis each day. Keep adding content to your thesis. On days when you don’t feel like writing, spend time on reading research material and jotting down useful notes.
  5. Focus on the content of your thesis and do not bother much about spellings and sentence construction in your first draft.
  6. Rework is an integral part of your thesis writing, so do not spend time trying to avoid it.
  7. You do not need to complete the chapter introduction first before moving to the body.
  8. Work on the easier sections of your thesis first.
  9. You do not need to complete a particular section before moving on to the next. Switch between sections to avoid getting stuck at any point.
  10. Develop a weekly plan for your thesis and break it down to manageable daily activities.
  11. Plan more time for the difficult part of your thesis than the easier parts.
  12. Even when writing on your thesis, ensure that you keep reading research material for fresh ideas and concepts.
  13. In addition to your thesis writing, you also need to prepare for your viva or thesis defense.
  14. Write the introduction section of your thesis last in order to include all your ideas.
  15. Do not neglect your sleep and physical well-being during thesis writing.
  16. Don’t spend more than a couple of hours each day on your thesis.
  17. Discuss your research ideas with your peers and friends.
  18. Maintain a checklist of important tasks and tick them off when completed.
  19. Remember that your Phd thesis must be rich in content, not in page count.
  20. Don’t treat your PhD thesis as your most important submission.
  21. Use a notepad or journal to jot down your research ideas.
  22. Maintain good relations with your supervisor.
  23. Remember it is your research project, so take ownership of your thesis.
  24. Develop your own style of writing.
  25. Focus more on completion than on perfection.

When to quit a PhD programme? Would taking a break help?

Are you thinking of quitting your PhD programme?  Is it too stressing for you to handle? Don’t take a harsh decision, and first try to take a leave of absence. This break would help you to try and put your life back on the track, and explore options and opportunities you see outside the academia.  The … Continue reading “When to quit a PhD programme? Would taking a break help?”

Are you thinking of quitting your PhD programme?  Is it too stressing for you to handle? Don’t take a harsh decision, and first try to take a leave of absence. This break would help you to try and put your life back on the track, and explore options and opportunities you see outside the academia.  The break can be as long as one year to help you take a firm and calculated decision of whether you want to come back, or you are happy outside the world of doctoral studies.  If you decide to apply for leave of absence, ensure these few things:

  1. Never leave on a sour note and burn bridges with your supervisor or the university. You must always leave on convincing personal issues as a reason which have not much to do with the institute or your course
  2. Study the guidelines of the university thoroughly so that your absence from the course falls within the norms
  3. Utilise the break to evaluate your decision in a pragmatic way. Do not come back to the course half-heartedly. Come back only if you know it is your calling in life.

It is natural and expected to have ups and downs in the PhD programme, and one should be prepared for it. But, if you have some serious concerns, then it should be surely a decision to quit and not let your research life take over your personal success

  1. If you feel that you are becoming a victim of a psychological disorder that is going out of control, and lasting over a few weeks. There is no point to let things go out of control. It is always better to call it quits
  1. The demands from the programme, in context to finances, time and resources are challenging for you, and the kind of returns you see it bringing for you is not very exciting
  1. There are health issues that are increasing affecting your wellbeing. No achievement is worth enough to compromise with health, surely.

If you have so decided to quit the programme, make it your own individual decision and not something that is under the influence of n your family or friends. If you do so, again you would be dissatisfied, and feel difficulty accepting the life then after. So, be careful when you make your decision.

Why should you stay away from plagiarism completely?

Visualise that you have toiled on writing something with all you constructive input, and by the end it looks like something you wanted, and you feel very proud of the outcome because a lot of sweat and blood has gone into creating this. But, soon you find out that, what is actually your hard work … Continue reading “Why should you stay away from plagiarism completely?”

Visualise that you have toiled on writing something with all you constructive input, and by the end it looks like something you wanted, and you feel very proud of the outcome because a lot of sweat and blood has gone into creating this. But, soon you find out that, what is actually your hard work and effort is being used by someone else in their name. How would you feel? Undoubtedly, you would get angry and annoyed apart from being disheartened. This is the story of plagiarism and it isn’t anything different from stealing something that belongs to someone else, and then calling it as your own. There are a lot of researchers who tend to indulge in plagiarism, intentionally or unintentionally in their project.  It is not right, and one needs to be very careful. Here is why:

  1. It is in contradiction with the law: This is very important to know, if you are not aware that by getting into plagiarism of content you are pushing yourself on the other side of the law. The law does not permit to use someone else’s content as your own. If you happen to copy work for which the writer has a copyright, you are eligible to be dragged to court and maybe even pushed into paying a hefty amount for stealing someone else’s work, and calling it as your own.
  2. It is against ethics: It is ethically not right to use others content in your name. When you are tempted to do that, first, you must ask yourself, if someone else would do it to you, how would you feel? Your principles and value system would stop you from doing an act that is degrading.
  3. You aren’t making any new contribution: When you create something new for your dissertation, you are enriching your own knowledge and at the same time contributing constructively in the academia. When you pick up something and show as your own, there isn’t any new knowledge created and it isn’t any different from cheating. Perhaps, just a refined form of cheating.
  4. You may lose your degree: Your supervisor or evaluating committee may find out about the copied content. Most of the time, an expert eye can easily distinguish between original and unoriginal content. In case they decide to take a stringent action, you may end up losing your degree. A risk, surely not worth taking.

How important are regular supervisor meetings?

You are bound to have a PhD supervisor as a scholar. Sometimes you may even have two supervisors who are in charge of monitoring our progress and extending you support throughout your PhD journey. A supervisor is assigned with the duty to keep a track of the progress that you make and have your schedule … Continue reading “How important are regular supervisor meetings?”

You are bound to have a PhD supervisor as a scholar. Sometimes you may even have two supervisors who are in charge of monitoring our progress and extending you support throughout your PhD journey. A supervisor is assigned with the duty to keep a track of the progress that you make and have your schedule reports ready with him. This responsibility to monitor your progress is important for your benefit as well as it ensures that you do not lag behind in your research process and you are able to complete your PhD in a timely fashion with the regular guidance and support that has been extended by your supervisor. Supervisors have the calibre and discretion to extend this support to the supervisor in long distance also but however, some amount of meeting regularly is important to cope up with the intellectual and emotional demands that a PhD raises. The question that should be discussed here is, how often should the supervisor and scholar be meeting?

The first thing that is important here is that the frequency of the meeting between both the scholar as well as the researcher should be mutually agreed upon by negotiation.  No one party should be dictating terms to the other party in terms of relationships. Too many meetings some time feel like an apt solution to pace up the work but that may not be necessarily true as if the meetings are too frequent , it can get counterproductive and become more like a burden or a chore rather than a practical and useful chance which could be used productively to guide or to learn.

There isn’t a thumb rule that says, it is the right frequency to meet.  How often you meet your supervisor should be determined by the kind of support you think you need for your work. You subject knowledge, prior research experience and exposure to statistical techniques will determine how much of learning and support would be required by you. Usually scholars find it important to meet often in the initial stages of their PhD till they get on track and know exactly what is to be done, same thing in the end of your programme when you need to finalise your thesis. During the interim period, often people tend to meet less as most of the time scholars are busy with the allotted writing or research work quite independently.

How often you meet may not be as important as how much of time when you meet is used up productively. Try to maximise the productivity of how much ever opportunity that you get to meet your supervisor.