德斯蒙德·托马斯著的《博士生写作手册(英文版)/学术研究方法指导手册》针对如何写作博士论文提出了系统而细致的指导意见，突出以“写”为中心的研究方法，从确定研究主题、探索关键概念、搭建理论框架、完成全稿，再到形成自己的学术风格，逐一给出解释和建议。

List of Illustrative Materials
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Stages of PhD Thesis Writing
The traditional model of the PhD
Alternative models of the PhD
Making a start
2 Developing a Research Topic through Writing
Choosing a topic
Finding and developing a topic that is feasible
Finding and developing a topic that is specific and significant
Developing an updated rationale for the research
3 Managing Research Reading
Reading aims
Problem areas associated with reading
Notetaking: From reading into writing
4 Producing a Literature Review
The literature review as a process and a product
The purposes of a literature review
Alternative approaches to the literature review as product
Literature review problem areas
5 Exploring Key Concepts
The importance of concept development within a research project
The starting point for concept exploration
The process of concept exploration: the next steps
Other ways of exploring concepts through lateral thinking
Exploring concepts in writing
Building a Structured Chapter Framework
Producing an overall framework
Types of chapters within the structural framework
Chapter introductions and conclusions
Establishing Productive Writing Routines
Goals, schedules and routines
When will you write? How will you allocate time?
Setting goals and targets
Where and how will you write?
Feedback on writing
Writing Clearly, Concisely and Coherently
Clarity and coherence
The nature of coherence
Coherence at chapter level
9 Developing Academic Style
Expectations of academic style
Expectations of difficulty
Classifying 'difficult texts'
10 Completing a First Draft
The basic writing cycle
Managing reader expectations
Drafting and redrafting
Monitoring progress Writing and editing
11 Motivating Yourself to Write
Writing is more than just a technical exercise
The nature of writer's block
In which situations does writer's block occur?
What are the causes of writer's block?
What kind of strategies or solutions can we use for writer's block?
Coping with rejection
12 Reporting and Analysing Research Findings
Structuring your data report
Reporting quantitative data
Reporting qualitative data
Drawing conclusions
13 Completing Your PhD Thesis
Writing the final version
Oral presentations and writing
The viva
14 Writing throughout an Academic Career
Appendix 1: Useful Websites
Appendix 2: Suggested Answers for Task 2. I
Appendix 3: Research Rationale Template
References
Index