Read someone else's PhD thesis and now feel awful about yours?
People told you it was a good idea to read other people’s published PhD theses, so you could see what doctoral research “looks like” when it’s written up.
It sounded like a sensible idea at the time, didn’t it?
Then you went and read a few PhD theses.
It didn’t take long before imposter syndrome appeared, like an annoying pop-up you thought you’d blocked on your browser. No such luck.
“You could never write something like this”
“This sounds so smart and articulate”
“This was clearly written by someone who can actually write like a proper academic”
Interestingly, when I recently asked PhD researchers when their analysis confidence usually collapses, the most common answer wasn't "when looking at messy data" or "when writing up themes". It was "when reading other people's research". Yeah.
So, stop right there. Before you spiral into an existential crisis, here’s what you need to know about reading other people’s work.
Cake mixture vs frosted cupcake
Okay, so their thesis looks good, it seems impressive when you read it, and that brings on a pang of, “My work is nothing like this”.
Well no, your work isn’t anything like this, because your work isn’t finished yet - theirs is.
That’s the first thing you need to keep in mind - you are comparing your work-in-progress to their polished end product. You are comparing your messy cake mixture that still has lumps in it to their finished cupcake with icing and sprinkles.
There was a point in time when their thesis was also a lumpy cake mixture. They probably did what you’re doing now. People who read your published thesis will do the same - they will look at your work in a few years time and have their own little meltdown.
What you’re not seeing
Whilst a published PhD thesis packs a lot in, it’s also worth bearing in mind what it doesn’t include. What ends up on those pages is only part of the picture.
It’s easy to imagine the author of the PhD thesis you’ve been reading as a cool intellectual, sitting in a wood-panelled library, sipping fashionable coffee and staring thoughtfully out of a long window onto a green, leafy square, where even the pigeons are educated to masters level.
In reality, they are very similar to you.
Their desks had more than one empty mug on them. They too had crumbs in their keyboard and smudges on their screens.
They grumbled in frustration at their supervisors’ requests for revisions - many of which appeared to be direct contradictions of what they were advised to do last time.
They rewrote their literature review three times (okay, four!).
They never really trusted their own judgement and imagined their examiner would metaphorically tear their analysis apart whilst rolling their eyes and tutting, “Urgh, this is nowhere near good enough!”.
They frequently thought they were getting everything wrong or had dropped the ball somewhere.
They had weird dreams in the days leading up to their viva examination.
None of this is visible on the neatly formatted pages of their published thesis. What you're seeing is not the process. You're seeing the polished outcome.
The thesis you're reading will not have looked like that for most of the PhD
Another thought you might have is that the thesis you’re reading was always as coherent as it now appears.
In reality, that coherence emerges late in the doctoral journey. Sometimes during a walk, a shower, or a conversation with a supervisor. Sometimes only weeks before submission.
In qualitative PhDs especially, arguments often become clearer near the end. No, not even clearer - sometimes this is the first time they come into view. You’ll realise, “Ah! Maybe this is what I’m arguing” and then proceed to retrospectively get your whole thesis into line with that. The argument is often discovered rather than executed.
Reverse-engineering happens more often that you might imagine, because connections become more obvious after months of thinking and you get clearer through writing - not before writing.
A thesis isn't a diary of what happened, it's a carefully constructed explanation of what happened. The finished document often gives the illusion of a smooth, logical progression that simply wasn't there at the time.
The final thesis reflects understanding that wasn't available at the beginning. It far from unusual for the thesis you started writing to end up arguing different points than the ones you anticipated.
Comparison happens - just don’t let it knock you off course
Very rarely do PhD researchers read other peoples theses and feel completely unaffected by it. In fact, I’d be more worried if you were as cool as a cucumber having read someone else’s work and came away saying, “Yeah, whatever”.
The fact you might feel a little unsettled isn’t a problem - especially when you’ve thought through everything we just covered.
What is important is that you don’t let this knock you off course. Don’t fall into the trap of comparison creating the very progress problem you're worried about.
Don’t stop writing. Don’t procrasti-read. Keep going. Keep writing messily and scrappily - because that’s how you’ll get to the good stuff, though thinking on the page.
Get clear on your takeaways
It’s also important not to forget the thesis you’ve just been looking at either, but instead of wondering, “Is mine as good as this?”, ask this question instead, “What can I learn from this?”
This move from judgment to observation is necessary, because otherwise, you’re trying to evaluate yourself against a finished example while still in the middle of the process.
Reading a thesis should give you ideas, not a reason to doubt yourself.
The goal isn't to write their thesis. The goal is to finish yours.
To take the next step towards finishing your thesis today, get my Discussion and Writing Up PhD Survival Guide, which helps you go from “what I found” to “what this means”, clearly and confidently.
Move from “What I found” to “What this means” - clearly and confidently.
This guide is for you if you’re a qualitative PhD researcher who needs to turn your findings into a clear, defensible argument.
If you’ve ever thought:
“What if this isn’t enough for a PhD?”
“Should I go back and change my literature review?”
“I don’t think I have a structure problem. I think I have a ‘what does this actually mean?’ problem.”
This is the stage where your thesis stops being a collection of chapters and starts becoming a coherent argument about what your research collectively means.
This guide helps you:
Connect your findings to literature, concepts and theory so all your chapters feel like they belong to the same thesis
Move from themes to a clear thesis-level argument
Articulate your contribution without overclaiming, panicking, or underselling your work
Write discussion and conclusion chapters that feel ready to submit
This is a digital download. You’ll receive immediate access to the full guide and worksheets after purchase.
Swipe through the preview images to explore the frameworks, worksheets, and guidance included in the guide
For a more streamlined and coherent approach, you can access all four PhD Survival Guides in the full series here.
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