I don't know if anyone else has heard this but I read somewhere (can't remember where) that you should aim to have an odd number of chapters in your thesis because it improves the structure. It was implied that it's something to do with the way that our brains work that makes an odd number of chapter (or sections) seem right. I may not be explaining this very well but I was wondering if anyone else had ever heard about this. I've got an even number of chapters so you can understand my concern.

I have heard of this. I'm writing up now but I'm still not sure how many chapters I'm going to have:p

I would not worry about it! I have heard of this theory before but to be honest I think its a load of rubbish. You have enough to deal with and do not need to worry about odd and even chapter numbers. If your thesis has good data in it then thats all that matters!

The only advice I've seen on numbers of chapters is on pages 48-49 of Patrick Dunleavy's "Authoring a PhD" book where he comments on likely numbers of chapters compared with thesis length. Based on an 80,000 word thesis he suggests that 8 chapters is a good option, so he obviously doesn't go in for worrying about even numbers! Personally I'm going to have 7 chapters in my thesis. Well that's the current plan. 6 mostly written, conclusions still to do.

this is from last year: http://www.postgraduateforum.com/threadViewer.aspx?TID=7224

I have 10, and people seem to express shock and horror at this!

surprising but one page on the UCL website actually says it should have an odd number of chapters, between 5 to 9..

http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/C.Clack/phd.html

just googled for these terms "odd number chapters thesis phd" and this page came as a hit...

Me too. Same reaction. From sheer shock to pure horror. But why? Is it like having 13 people sitting on a table, some sort of superstition? Or what would be a rational argument for an odd number? Does it make any difference at all?

The general rule for science PhDs (the thing that everyone seems to aim for) is introduction, methods, 3 results chapters, and discussion. That makes 6.

Apologies for my ignorance, but how do science PhDs demonstrate their knowledge of the field of study? Is there no lit review element?

I have heard that too, from that UCL page... Seems like a load of old you-know-what to me! They suggest that it makes your thesis appear 'balanced' - so I guess it doesn't matter what you put in the chapters then, just how many you have. Ridiculous :-)

Jouri I think in science they tend to have a longer introduction which includes the background theory from literature - as far as I know!

Well I've never head of this odd number of chapters theory, and after doing a little Googling it appears it's only recommended on the UCL Computer Science site. Maybe someone should contact UCL to see what the theory behind this odd number requirement is.

I have 8 chapters...it may go to 9 chapters. My thesis is 95-100k. I wouldn't like to go over the 10 chapter mark, but as for the odd number requirement...it sounds a load of...

The introduction is your Lit review in Science PhDs.

I've never heard of it before either, and I've got 10 now. I had 9 previously, but my supervisors and I decided to divide one chapter into two, to improve the balance of the discussion and the overall readability. I seriously hope that the actual content in its entirety would be far more important to a reader than the number of chapters listed in the contents page....

That not always true - my Department tends to promote a seperate literature review that is quite targeted and specific, once the subject has been introduced in the introduction.