The Double Diamond for a PhD thesis

The discover phase seeks to understand the problem through engagement with people and processes that are directly affected by the issue.

Insights gathered during discovery support the definition of a specific research challenge that can be examined from a new perspective.

A clearly defined challenge may support several solutions, which can be developed collaboratively by engaging experts with complementary perspectives.

Potential solutions are validated before the best-performing approach is packaged and delivered to the users who need it most.

Oftentimes, we associate research with collecting data in laboratories and the field, and writing papers as preparation for future scientists.

These activities can reinforce a narrow stereotype of doctoral research that emphasizes long working hours and extensive data collection.

Many training resources are organised around these objectives, including laboratory training, programming workshops, and scientific-writing support provided by universities.

The academic environment rewards development through data collection and delivery through research papers, which can encourage incoming PhD students to prioritize laboratory work and publication.

PhD progression contains two divergent phases, covering discovery through literature review and development through experimental data collection.

During these phases, PhD students broaden their knowledge across topics and conduct experiments to generate relevant data.

Quantifiable results support project management, but they can also intensify concerns about insufficient progress that are associated with impostor syndrome.

Reading literature and conducting experiments can become “addictive” during divergent phases because many research directions and scientific methods appear worth pursuing.

PhD students can become lost in this garden maze of divergent activity and lose focus on the research questions or gaps they initially identified.

During the define phase, literature sources must be organised into themes to reveal patterns and opportunities for new research.

This iterative process requires repeated thinking and rethinking before a coherent and defensible research question can be established.

Defining the right research question is often the most challenging part of a PhD thesis because divergent activities create numerous distractions.

Convergence returns during delivery because manuscript writing requires researchers to analyse and synthesise study data into a coherent narrative with scientific significance.

In many applied fields, there is a fine line between a research article and a report of data.

A strong research article therefore requires deeper discussion and more critical analysis of the reported experimental data.