Your thesis

Below you will find descriptive text and links to some orientation videos to provide more context for the key requirements new students need to think about in their first year. These videos are intended for you as a reference, but if you want more clarification or have other questions be sure to ask. Click on the videos below or find them in the \\FRST-IRSStor\Root\ByProject\Orientation\Orientation_Videos folder. Other helpful resources on writing can be found at \\FRST-IRSStor\Root\ByProject\__LABFORMS\Scientific writing.

Important resources for writing your thesis

Within the first few months of starting your degree, you’ll need to write a mini proposal, which will be sent to potential committee members. The mini proposal will then be enhanced into a full proposal after getting feedback from your committee during your first committee meeting.

Developing a mini proposal

You’ll likely get the first comments back about your writing from Nicholas. They may come across quite strongly (perhaps even brash) - don’t take it personally, this is a learning curve for most new grad students, and Nicholas just tries to be clear and concise.
After your mini-proposal is sent to your committee, you will need to have your first committee meeting.

Establishing and preparing for your first committee meeting

Nicholas will help you to find potential committee members.
Committee meetings happen once per year, with your first meeting ideally 6 months after you start.
Committee meeting forms can be found in \\FRST-IRSStor\Root\ByProject\__LABFORMS\Ctee-Mtg-Forms.

Adaptation of the mini proposal to a full proposal after that first committee meeting

Use feedback from your first committee meeting.
Every section will become more detailed and expanded.
From 8 — 20 for MSc; 30 for PhD.
Update your timeline and plans based on progress to date.
Text is used in the development of the bookends in the final thesis.

Writing a literature review

Getting published in peer reviewed literature

Part 1:

Part 2:

Details about the publication process including:

Thoughts to consider before starting to write
How to write effective science
Things to know about the publication process
The importance of peer-review

Thoughts around TAing

In addition to working on their thesis, some students also decide to become teaching assistants for undergraduate and graduate classes. Here are some things to consider about TAing.

TAing looks great on your resume and can help to expose you to new ideas and learn different software.
TAing does not replace research, it is done in addition to your research.

The last 3 months of your program

The last few months of your program can be hectic. A lot of things can be happening at once, so its important to know what to expect!

Getting ready to defend your thesis.
Timetable and considerations during your last months prior to defense.
Transforming papers to a submitted thesis.
Committee feedback and selecting examiners.

These videos and other resources can be found in \\FRST-IRSStor\Root\ByProject\Orientation. Check it out to familiarize yourself with the components and expectations of your thesis, as well as example proposals and committee meeting presentations.

Thesis structure

Your thesis is the most important document that you will produce in your time in the lab. Below you will find the general structure and main components of the thesis, as well as links to the graduate studies website and previous theses.

Section	Specifics
Administrative	Title Page
	Certification Page
	Abstract
	Lay Summary
	Preface
	Table of Contents
	List of Tables
	List of Figures
	List of Abbreviations
	Acknowledgements
	Dedication
Chapter 1	Introduction - based on proposal & parts of introduction of your papers
Chapter 2	Study area (and in some cases also Data if consistent across chapters)
Chapter 3 & 4 (also 5 & 6 for PhD)	Methods (for each question/paper)
	Results (for each question/paper)
	Discussion (for each question/paper)
Chapter 5 (7 for PhD)	Conclusion - ‘big picture’ parts taken from the discussion of your papers
	Overview addressing main research goals
	Significance of research and key findings
	Implications
	Limitations
	Future work

Nitty gritty details from UBC Graduate Studies.
Search previous students’ theses here

Completion timeline

Funding availability is the primary driver of your completion timeline. This can vary from student to student so it’s important to talk with Nicholas about your funding situation. MSc students typically get two years of funding; the goal is to complete your degree in that time, but this is not a ‘hard’ rule. Around the two year mark, Nicholas will have a conversation about when you are going to finish. If it takes you an extra month or two Nicholas will continue paying your stipend, given you have shown consistent efforts to finish. PhD students get four years of funding. The goal is to complete your comprehensive exam before you finish your second year, and defend in your fourth year. Again, Nicholas will likely have a conversation with you when you get close to the fourth year mark.

Figure 28: Agatha immediately after her recent successful defence. Congrats, Agatha!

Publishing

Nicholas encourages you to write academic papers about the components of your thesis project - these will basically become your thesis chapters (& parts of other sections). The goal is 2 for MSc and 4 for PhD.

More often than not students defend before they have published their 2nd or 4th paper. Nicholas addresses writing papers in the mini-proposal and mini-to-full proposal videos.

Co-Authorship

Co-authorship should be discussed before writing a manuscript. It’s a good idea to determine your key authors (usually yourself and Nicholas) and invite people on as co-authors as required to fill knowledge or skill gaps or to provide deep discussion and contributions.

In all the terms and categories of contributions of authorship, the key is significant contributions. This is usually a contribution to more than two categories - or perhaps 20% - to provide their expertise (particularly to the discussion section of the paper), revise the manuscript before submission and overall improve the quality of your paper. Using the CRediT author statement system is a good way to guide you.

If someone aids you in any part of your project (enough to be considered as co-author), that person must also agree to review the document for contributions in interpretations, and implications (particularly in areas of their contributions) and general comments and feedback. As stated by ESA: “Researchers will not include as coauthor(s) any individual who has not agreed to the content of the final version of the manuscript”

Note that order of co-authorship is something to consider. Normally the first author provides the greatest contribution. Often in natural science, the remaining order is often by effort/contribution. (For this reason, Coops is often listed as second to a grad student’s publication). In ecology, by contrast, the last author is the principal investigator regardless of contribution. (For this reason, Cole Burton and Peter Arcese are listed last on their students’ publications)

Awareness is key; small acts of collaboration do not guarantee co-authorship, though it could be worse to accidentally exclude someone from co-authorship than to invite them as one and have them decline. If you’re unsure whether or not someone’s co-authorship is warranted, ask Nicholas or the person in question.

Other resources:

Conferences

Nicholas typically funds 1 conference for MSc students and 2 conferences for PhD students. Examples include:

These conferences are a great opportunity to meet other scientists in your field, learn about their work, present your own, and make opportunities for collaboration.

Figure 29: Francois speaking at Silvilaser 2019 in Foz de Iguazu.

Figure 30: Annie speaking about her work at the Remote Sensing for Forest Practitioners workshop in Edmonton.

Figure 31: Sights to see at different conferences - Foz de Iguazu, Silvilaser 2019.

During these conferences, you are typically eligible for a per diem (up to $100 CAD or $80 USD per day). You should track the days you are away and submit an expense report to get reimbursed. To do so, visit the workday portal. From there, click on ‘Expenses’ in the main menu, and submit a report. If you have any other questions, you can email Gladys Tecson (gladys.tecson@ubc.ca). It takes a little while to be processed, but you will be reimbursed.