How to Write a PhD in Biological Sciences: a guide for the uninitiated is a guide to dissertation writing and research training written by John Measey. It is published online in bookdown format and marked with a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. It is closer to an open textbook that can be read online than to a conventional live course, recorded course, or 1-on-1 tutoring service.
The content is highly focused on the PhD stage in biological sciences. It covers the early stages of enrollment, choosing a supervisor, career planning, time management, mental health, research writing, literature searching, citation conventions, reference management, data management, and final thesis submission. The writing sections are especially detailed, with modules on building hypotheses, paragraph writing, logical argumentation, abstracts, introductions, methods, results, discussion, figures and tables, and supplementary materials. The teaching language is English, and there are dedicated chapters for PhD students who are not native English speakers. The text does not indicate any certificate, accreditation, assignment marking, or supervisor feedback mechanism.
The web version does not show any fee and uses an open license. The text also mentions that the print edition is published by CRC Press and can be purchased through CRC Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other channels, but no specific price is provided. As a result, the online version offers strong value for money, while the price and payment methods for the physical book need to be checked separately on third-party platforms.
Its strengths are its complete structure, coverage of the full PhD journey, and its connection between research writing and the real-life circumstances of doctoral students, such as supervisor relationships, academic integrity, AI use, plagiarism risks, preregistration, and transparent research. Its limitations are that it lacks interactive teaching features, does not provide certification, and is not suitable as a course for users who need Chinese-language explanations, writing feedback, or a structured check-in service. The content is mainly based on biological sciences and English academic writing, so users in other disciplines will need to select and adapt the material as appropriate.
It is suitable for PhD students in biological sciences, prospective PhD students, and graduate students who are writing English papers or dissertations. For users in China, the collected text does not show access restrictions or local payment information, so china_access can only be assessed as unknown. If access is unstable, alternatives include university library resources, graduate school writing centers, Manchester Academic Phrasebank, Purdue OWL, or academic writing courses on Nature Masterclasses, Coursera, and edX.
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