If you are in the middle of your MD, MS, or DNB programme and the word 'thesis' fills you with dread, you are not alone. Across India, thousands of PG medical students face the same challenge every year: a mandatory thesis requirement, minimal formal training in research writing, and a clinical schedule that leaves almost no time to think.

The good news? Writing a PG medical thesis in India is completely manageable — if you follow a structured process and know what your university and the NMC actually expect.

This guide breaks it down step by step, from choosing your topic all the way to final submission. Whether you are at the very beginning or stuck midway, this article will show you exactly what to do next.

1. Why the Thesis Feels So Hard — And Why It Does Not Have To Be

The PG medical thesis in India is not designed to produce groundbreaking research. It is designed to teach you the basics of scientific enquiry. Most examiners are not looking for an original clinical trial — they are looking for a well-structured, methodologically sound study that demonstrates you understand how to ask a question and answer it systematically.

The problem is that most PG programmes in India provide very little formal training in how to actually do this. You are expected to produce a thesis while managing your ward duties, outpatient clinics, on-calls, and exam preparation. The result is that many students either rush the thesis in the final months — or find it paralysing from the start.

Understanding that the thesis is a structured, learnable process — not a creative or academic feat — is the first and most important mindset shift.

2. Choosing the Right Research Topic

Your topic choice will determine how smoothly the rest of your thesis goes. A poorly chosen topic — one that is too broad, requires unavailable equipment, or depends on data you cannot realistically collect — will haunt you for the rest of your programme.

How to choose a good topic:

• It must be feasible within your setting. You need to be able to collect the data you need from your own hospital or department.
• It should be relevant to your speciality and something your guide has some familiarity with.
• The sample size must be achievable. If a meaningful study requires 500 patients and your department sees 50 per year, that topic is not feasible for you.
• There should be a gap in existing Indian literature. A brief review of PubMed and Google Scholar will usually show you where the gaps are.
• It should interest you, at least minimally — you will spend a year on it.

Talk to your guide, look at previous thesis titles from your department, and identify a question that is specific, measurable, and answerable within your constraints.

3. Writing the Protocol / Synopsis

The protocol (also called the synopsis in many universities) is the formal plan for your research. It must be submitted and approved before you begin data collection. A well-written protocol makes everything that follows significantly easier.

What a good protocol includes:

1. Title — specific and descriptive. Avoid vague titles like 'A study of diabetes in adults'. Instead: 'Prevalence of diabetic nephropathy among Type 2 diabetic patients attending a tertiary care hospital in [City]: a cross-sectional study'.
2. Background and rationale — why this study needs to be done. What does existing literature say, and where is the gap your study fills?
3. Objectives — one primary objective and 2–3 secondary objectives, written as measurable statements.
4. Study design — clearly state whether your study is observational or experimental, prospective or retrospective, cross-sectional or longitudinal.
5. Inclusion and exclusion criteria — who qualifies to be in your study and who does not.
6. Sample size calculation — show the formula, the values you used, and the calculated n.
7. Methodology — how you will collect data, what tools you will use, and how you will measure outcomes.
8. Statistical plan — which statistical tests you will use and how you will analyse your data.
9. Ethical considerations — including informed consent process.
10. Timeline — a realistic month-by-month plan from protocol approval to thesis submission.

Most delays in thesis completion start with a poorly written protocol that gets sent back for revisions. Invest time in getting this right.

4. Getting Ethical Clearance

In India, all research involving human subjects requires ethical approval from your Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) before data collection begins. This is a non-negotiable requirement under ICMR guidelines and NMC regulations.

What you need to know:

• Submit your protocol to the IEC along with the required application form, consent forms, and patient information sheets.
• Allow 4–8 weeks for the IEC to review and respond. Plan your timeline accordingly.
• The IEC may ask for revisions. Respond promptly and clearly.
• Keep a copy of your ethical clearance certificate — your university will require it at submission.
• Retrospective studies using anonymised records may qualify for waiver of consent — check with your IEC.

Do not begin data collection before ethics clearance. Theses submitted without valid ethical clearance can be rejected outright by universities and examination boards.

5. Data Collection

Once your protocol is approved and ethical clearance is obtained, data collection begins. The key to smooth data collection is a well-designed data collection form (also called a proforma) developed before you start.

Best practices for data collection:

• Design your proforma based exactly on your study objectives. Collect only what you need — do not add variables you do not intend to analyse.
• Pilot test your proforma with 5–10 patients before starting formal collection.
• Enter data into a spreadsheet simultaneously, not at the end. This prevents loss of information and makes analysis easier.
• Keep a recruitment log — tracking how many patients were screened, how many were eligible, and how many were enrolled. This goes into your flowchart.
• Maintain patient confidentiality at every step — use patient ID codes instead of names in your dataset.

6. Statistical Analysis — What You Actually Need to Know

Statistical analysis is where most PG students feel completely lost. The important thing to understand is that you do not need to be a statistician to complete your thesis. You need to understand your data well enough to apply the right tests and interpret the results correctly.

The most common statistical tests in PG theses:

• Descriptive statistics — mean, median, standard deviation, frequencies, percentages. Used in every study.
• Chi-square test — for comparing proportions between groups.
• Student's t-test / Mann-Whitney U — for comparing means between two groups.
• ANOVA / Kruskal-Wallis — for comparing means across three or more groups.
• Pearson's / Spearman's correlation — for assessing relationships between two continuous variables.
• Logistic regression — for identifying predictors of a binary outcome.

Use SPSS, R, or MedCalc for your analysis. If you are unsure which test to use, share your study design and variable types with a statistician or biostatistics expert — a single consultation can prevent significant errors.

7. Writing the Thesis — Chapter by Chapter

Most PG theses in India follow a standard structure. Here is what goes in each chapter:

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter sets the context for your study. Begin with the broader clinical or public health significance of your topic, narrow down to the specific gap in knowledge your study addresses, and end with a clear statement of your research question. Aim for 1,500–2,500 words.

Chapter 2: Review of Literature

Summarise the existing research on your topic — not paper by paper, but thematically. Group studies by what they found, not by who wrote them. Include Indian and international literature. End with a paragraph identifying what is missing from the existing evidence — this justifies your study. Aim for 3,000–5,000 words.

Chapter 3: Methodology

This is your protocol, expanded into prose. Write it in sufficient detail that another researcher could replicate your study exactly. Include your study design, setting, population, sample size calculation, inclusion/exclusion criteria, data collection process, tools used, and statistical analysis plan. Aim for 1,500–2,500 words.

Chapter 4: Results

Present your findings systematically, in the same order as your objectives. Use tables and figures to display data clearly. Do not interpret in this chapter — simply report what you found. Every table and figure must have a number and a descriptive caption. Aim for 2,000–3,500 words.

Chapter 5: Discussion

This is the most intellectually demanding chapter. Compare your findings with existing literature — what is similar, what is different, and why? Discuss the clinical implications of your results. Acknowledge your study's limitations honestly. End with your conclusions. Aim for 2,500–4,000 words.

Chapter 6: Summary and Conclusion

A brief, structured summary of your entire study — aims, methods, key findings, and conclusions — in 500–800 words. This is often read by examiners first.

Bibliography and Appendices

Use Vancouver referencing style (most Indian universities require this). Your appendices include the proforma, consent form, ethical clearance certificate, and any scoring tools you used.

8. NMC and University Format Requirements

The National Medical Commission (NMC) mandates that all PG medical theses in India meet specific requirements. Beyond NMC norms, each university has its own formatting rules — always download your university's official thesis guideline document before you begin writing.

Common requirements across most universities:

• Font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12pt for body text
• Line spacing: 1.5 or double spacing
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides (some universities require 1.5 inch on the left for binding)
• Page numbering: Roman numerals for preliminary pages, Arabic numerals from Chapter 1
• Referencing: Vancouver style in most cases
• Plagiarism: Must be checked using Turnitin or iThenticate — most universities require less than 10% similarity
• Word count: Typically 8,000–15,000 words excluding references and appendices

Non-compliance with format requirements is one of the most common reasons for thesis rejection at the pre-viva stage. Verify every formatting requirement before you submit.

9. Common Mistakes That Delay Thesis Acceptance

After years of working with PG students across India, these are the mistakes that cause the most delays:

1. Vague or unfocused research objectives. Each objective must be specific and measurable.
2. Sample size that is not justified. Show the formula and the source of the values you used.
3. Starting data collection before ethics clearance. This is grounds for rejection.
4. Using the wrong statistical test. Match your test to your data type and study design.
5. A discussion chapter that only describes findings without comparing them to literature.
6. Inconsistency between the protocol and the thesis — especially in the methodology.
7. Formatting errors — wrong referencing style, missing pages, incorrect margins.
8. High plagiarism score — run a check before submission and paraphrase where necessary.
9. Missing or incorrect appendices — proforma, consent form, and ethics clearance must all be included.
10. Submitting without a guide review. Your guide's feedback before submission is essential.

10. When to Seek Professional Writing Support

Writing support for academic work is standard practice at universities across the UK, USA, and Australia. In India, it is becoming increasingly common among PG students — and for good reason.

Professional medical writing support is appropriate when:

• You understand your study and your data, but you struggle to write clearly and coherently in academic English.
• You are not sure how to structure your literature review or discussion chapter.
• Your thesis has been returned for revisions and you need help understanding and addressing the examiner's comments.
• You have a tight timeline and need structured, efficient support to complete the write-up.
• You are a practising consultant who wants to write a thought paper or research article but cannot find the time.

Professional support is not ghostwriting. A good medical writing consultant works with you — helping you structure your ideas, write clearly, and meet your university's requirements — while the work, the authorship, and the intellectual contribution remain entirely yours.

Final Thoughts

Your MD or DNB thesis does not need to be the most groundbreaking study of the year. It needs to be well-designed, clearly written, and properly submitted — and with the right approach, every PG student in India can achieve exactly that.

Start early. Follow the process step by step. Get your protocol right before you begin data collection. Write as you go — a thesis written in small chunks over twelve months is far less painful than one written in a two-month panic.

And if you find yourself stuck at any stage — whether it is choosing a topic, structuring a chapter, understanding your statistics, or simply not knowing where to begin — professional support is available.