Welcome to The PhD Knowledge Base
Free tools to help you complete your thesis
We’ve got the perfect resources to help you deliver brilliance
Click on a section below to begin.
This is not a normal blog subscription
Each day we send a short, thought-provoking email that will make you think differently about what it means to be a PhD student. They're designed to be read in thirty seconds and thought about all day.
BECOME A BETTER WRITER
Writing a PhD is hard. Here we present advice and insight that can guide you through every step of the process.
How Moments of Mindfulness Can Thwart the PhD Blues — The Science of Mindfulness for Students
January 27, 2020PhD students are six times more prone to depression or anxiety than the general population. Here are some tips to stay mentally well.
What makes a good PhD supervisor? Top tips for managing the student-supervisor relationship.
January 8, 2020In this guide, I want to dig in a little more into what makes a good supervisor, before discussing what they should and shouldn't be doing, why you ne...
39 PhD Mindfulness Exercises To De-Stress Your PhD
August 16, 2019Research has shown how mindfulness exercises can be important in lowering PhD stress. Here we present 39 mindfulness exercises to help you towards a s...
Seven tips for clear and concise writing in your PhD
June 7, 2019At the heart of a PhD is a goal to make the examiner happy. Clear, concise writing is an important component of achieving that goal.
Infographic: Strategies for ESL PhD Students
May 21, 2019Writing a PhD when English is your second language is a challenge. We've put together an infographic that will help you to improve the way you underst...
Writing Your PhD For A Western Audience When English Is Your Second Language
May 6, 2019If you're a PhD student for whom English is a second language, you may not realise the importance of writing for a Western audience.
STRUCTURING YOUR THESIS
Our guides can show you the best way to structure every element of your thesis and give you the confidence to shine.
The Methods Chapter – How To Write A PhD
January 27, 2020Your methods chapter is likely the most descriptive chapter in your PhD thesis. As part of an ongoing of series explaining how to structure and write ...
The Theoretical Framework – How To Write A PhD
January 10, 2020This guide explains how to write a PhD literature review, which is a critical assessment of the literature related to your research topic.
The Literature Review – How To Write A PhD
December 11, 2019This guide explains how to write a PhD literature review, which is a critical assessment of the literature related to your research topic.
SUBMIT WITH CONFIDENCE
There's lots to do before you are able to submit your thesis. In this section, we make sure you've thought of everything.
How to deal with post-viva PhD thesis corrections
June 1, 2019We like to think that the viva is the end of the doctoral process; the final step in the long journey to a PhD. But, for most, it isn’t the final hurd...
There’s no place for struggle-porn in academia
May 17, 2019Ever slept under your desk? I have. I was proud of it. It was something to boast about the next day. People admired me because of the amount of work I...
How attached to your PhD thesis are you?
May 13, 2019If you’re anything like I was, your PhD thesis is like your baby. You’ve bought it into the world and you’ll die for it. It’s tested you, pushed you h...
Proofreading is cheating, isn’t it?
March 27, 2019Record numbers of PhD students are having their dissertations proofread. Should it be counted as cheating? Sometimes, yes.
Ten Reasons Why You Need Your PhD Proofread
February 26, 2019Deciding whether or not to hire a proofreader for you PhD is a big commitment. Whichever way you look at it, it’s expensive. Plus, you may think that ...
A Handy PhD Submission Checklist
February 10, 2019Your work isn’t finished when you’ve written your thesis and had it proofread. There is still a surprising amount of administrative work to do before ...