what are thesis by publication

Thesis By Publication

A collection of resources for supporting doctoral researchers to publish during their candidature and include them in their thesis, AKA ‘Thesis by Publication’

What is a TBP?

What exactly is a Thesis by Publication? That’s actually a complicated answer, but here we try to demystify the TBP.

Ethnographic studies and blogs from doctoral researchers who adopted the TBP and came out the other side!

It is very common to co-author papers during a TBP, but there are potential risks that need to be considered

A collection of TBPs from a range of disciplinary and geographic contexts, for you to draw information and inspiration

Ins and outs of the TBP

Some resources to help you understand the ins and outs of the TBP (or otherwise publishing during candidature)

A collection of resources to help you to write articles during candidature and get them published in scholarly journals

Supervision

A selection of resources to help supervisors provide support tailored to the needs of the TBP candidate

Check out the policies and guidelines of different universities to get a closer look at the TBP in various contexts.

Choosing the TBP

Not sure whether the TBP or publishing is the best option for you? Some resources to help you to decide

Some ideas to help you integrate multiple publications and structure your TBP into a single and flowing submission

Examination

Resources to help you prepare for the evaluation process, whether a thesis evaluation, oral defense or viva voce.

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• Writing Tips

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Thesis Published in a Journal

7-minute read

• 25th February 2023

Writing your thesis and getting it published are huge accomplishments. However, publishing your thesis in an academic journal is another journey for scholars. Beyond how much hard work, time, and research you invest, having your findings published in a scholarly journal is vital for your reputation as a scholar and also advances research findings within your field.

This guide will walk you through how to make sure your thesis is ready for publication in a journal. We’ll go over how to prepare for pre-publication, how to submit your research, and what to do after acceptance.

Pre-Publication Preparations

Understanding the publishing process.

Ideally, you have already considered what type of publication outlet you want your thesis research to appear in. If not, it’s best to do this so you can tailor your writing and overall presentation to fit that publication outlet’s expectations. When selecting an outlet for your research, consider the following:

●  How well will my research fit the journal?

●  Are the reputation and quality of this journal high?

●  Who is this journal’s readership/audience?

●  How long does it take the journal to respond to a submission?

●  What’s the journal’s rejection rate?

Once you finish writing, revising, editing, and proofreading your work (which can take months or years), expect the publication process to be an additional three months or so.

Revising Your Thesis

Your thesis will need to be thoroughly revised, reworked, reorganized, and edited before a journal will accept it. Journals have specific requirements for all submissions, so read everything on a journal’s submission requirements page before you submit. Make a checklist of all the requirements to be sure you don’t overlook anything. Failing to meet the submission requirements could result in your paper being rejected.

Areas for Improvement

No doubt, the biggest challenge academics face in this journey is reducing the word count of their thesis to meet journal publication requirements. Remember that the average thesis is between 60,000 and 80,000 words, not including footnotes, appendices, and references. On the other hand, the average academic journal article is 4,000 to 7,000 words. Reducing the number of words this much may seem impossible when you are staring at the year or more of research your thesis required, but remember, many have done this before, and many will do it again. You can do it too. Be patient with the process.

Additional areas of improvement include>

·   having to reorganize your thesis to meet the section requirements of the journal you submit to ( abstract, intro , methods, results, and discussion).

·   Possibly changing your reference system to match the journal requirements or reducing the number of references.

·   Reformatting tables and figures.

·   Going through an extensive editing process to make sure everything is in place and ready.

Identifying Potential Publishers

Many options exist for publishing your academic research in a journal. However, along with the many credible and legitimate publishers available online, just as many predatory publishers are out there looking to take advantage of academics. Be sure to always check unfamiliar publishers’ credentials before commencing the process. If in doubt, ask your mentor or peer whether they think the publisher is legitimate, or you can use Think. Check. Submit .

If you need help identifying which journals your research is best suited to, there are many tools to help. Here’s a short list:

○  Elsevier JournalFinder

○  EndNote Matcher

○  Journal/Author Name Estimator (JANE)

○  Publish & Flourish Open Access

·   The topics the journal publishes and whether your research will be a good fit.

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·   The journal’s audience (whom you want to read your research).

·   The types of articles the journal publishes (e.g., reviews, case studies).

·   Your personal requirements (e.g., whether you’re willing to wait a long time to see your research published).

Submitting Your Thesis

Now that you have thoroughly prepared, it’s time to submit your thesis for publication. This can also be a long process, depending on peer review feedback.

Preparing Your Submission

Many publishers require you to write and submit a cover letter along with your research. The cover letter is your sales pitch to the journal’s editor. In the letter, you should not only introduce your work but also emphasize why it’s new, important, and worth the journal’s time to publish. Be sure to check the journal’s website to see whether submission requires you to include specific information in your cover letter, such as a list of reviewers.

Whenever you submit your thesis for publication in a journal article, it should be in its “final form” – that is, completely ready for publication. Do not submit your thesis if it has not been thoroughly edited, formatted, and proofread. Specifically, check that you’ve met all the journal-specific requirements to avoid rejection.

Navigating the Peer Review Process

Once you submit your thesis to the journal, it will undergo the peer review process. This process may vary among journals, but in general, peer reviews all address the same points. Once submitted, your paper will go through the relevant editors and offices at the journal, then one or more scholars will peer-review it. They will submit their reviews to the journal, which will use the information in its final decision (to accept or reject your submission).

While many academics wait for an acceptance letter that says “no revisions necessary,” this verdict does not appear very often. Instead, the publisher will likely give you a list of necessary revisions based on peer review feedback (these revisions could be major, minor, or a combination of the two). The purpose of the feedback is to verify and strengthen your research. When you respond to the feedback, keep these tips in mind:

●  Always be respectful and polite in your responses, even if you disagree.

●  If you do disagree, be prepared to provide supporting evidence.

●  Respond to all the comments, questions, and feedback in a clear and organized manner.

●  Make sure you have sufficient time to make any changes (e.g., whether you will need to conduct additional experiments).

After Publication

Once the journal accepts your article officially, with no further revisions needed, take a moment to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. After all, having your work appear in a distinguished journal is not an easy feat. Once you’ve finished celebrating, it’s time to promote your work. Here’s how you can do that:

●  Connect with other experts online (like their posts, follow them, and comment on their work).

●  Email your academic mentors.

●  Share your article on social media so others in your field may see your work.

●  Add the article to your LinkedIn publications.

●  Respond to any comments with a “Thank you.”

Getting your thesis research published in a journal is a long process that goes from reworking your thesis to promoting your article online. Be sure you take your time in the pre-publication process so you don’t have to make lots of revisions. You can do this by thoroughly revising, editing, formatting, and proofreading your article.

During this process, make sure you and your co-authors (if any) are going over one another’s work and having outsiders read it to make sure no comma is out of place.

What are the benefits of getting your thesis published?

Having your thesis published builds your reputation as a scholar in your field. It also means you are contributing to the body of work in your field by promoting research and communication with other scholars.

How long does it typically take to get a thesis published?

Once you have finished writing, revising, editing, formatting, and proofreading your thesis – processes that can add up to months or years of work – publication can take around three months. The exact length of time will depend on the journal you submit your work to and the peer review feedback timeline.

How can I ensure the quality of my thesis when attempting to get it published?

If you want to make sure your thesis is of the highest quality, consider having professionals proofread it before submission (some journals even require submissions to be professionally proofread). Proofed has helped thousands of researchers proofread their theses. Check out our free trial today.

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Research Guides

Submit and publish your thesis.

• The Graduate Thesis: What is it?
• Thesis Defences
• Deadlines and Fees
• Formatting in MS Word
• Formatting in LaTeX
• Making Thesis Accessible
• Thesis Embargo
• Review and Release
• Your Rights as an Author
• Re-using Third Party Materials
• Creative Commons Licenses for Theses
• Turning Thesis into an Article
• Turning Thesis into a Book
• Other Venues of Publication

Publishing from your thesis before or after graduation

"Will repository submission affect my publishing plans?"

... this is a common question for someone looking to publish from their thesis before or after graduation.

Most journals welcome submissions based on a thesis or dissertation. Some may have additional requirements, such as to:

• Let them know about the university’s requirement to make your thesis publicly available
• Submit a manuscript that is substantially different than the thesis content
• Embargo the thesis until after publication, etc.

Your steps will depend on the following scenarios:

Scenario 1 - you ARE NOT planning on publishing your thesis before or after graduation

In this case:

• You can submit your thesis without an embargo
• Your thesis will become publicly available in TSpace  and Library and Archives Canada after your convocation and will be widely indexed via search engines and indexes
• Use the TSpace-generated permanent URL to share and cite your thesis - see example of such citation below

Tajdaran, K. (2015). Enhancement of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration with Controlled Release of Glial Cell Line-derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) (Master’s Thesis, University of Toronto). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1807/74747

Scenario 2 - You ARE planning on publishing your thesis AFTER graduation

Most journals are interested in “original, previously unpublished” research. Some journals consider theses as a form of “prior publications”, others do not, and the majority does not have a clear definition. It will be best to check journal policy before you submit your thesis.

Nature Research will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis which has been published according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification.

►►►How to check journal policies:

• MIT Libraries' list of policy excerpts from major publishers
• Journal’s website - usually under Information for Authors or Copyright / Permissions or Editorial Policy; or in the publication agreement if available online
• If such information cannot be located online, contact the editors directly
• If the journal requires that you place an embargo on your thesis until after publication, see the SGS instructions on how to request an embargo on your thesis .

Scenario 3 - You ARE planning on publishing (or have already published) from your thesis BEFORE graduation

You may want or be expected to publish parts of your thesis before your thesis is submitted, such as with an integrated/publication-based/sandwich thesis. The most important thing to keep in mind here is copyright. You own copyright of your written materials, and a publisher may require copyright transfer of your manuscript.

You need to ensure you retain certain rights or obtain permission in order to satisfy the university’s requirement of making your thesis openly accessible via TSpace, ProQuest and Library and Archives Canada (LAC). For more details on these repositories, see the  Review and Release  section of this guide.

Check whether the journal requires prior notification about U of T’s open access requirement for theses. Some journals want to be notified of this mandate whether or not they restrict the re-use of articles in theses.

Check whether the publisher requires copyright transfer . This should be stated on their website, in the publication agreement, or you can inquire directly with the journal.

If the publisher does not require copyright transfer , i.e. author retains copyright, then you can reuse your article/chapter in your thesis; no permission needed.

If the publisher requires copyright transfer , follow these steps:

Check if the publisher has special provisions for reusing your published work in your thesis. They may permit the inclusion of a non-final version, such as your submitted or accepted manuscript. See more below on understanding different article versions for sharing .

►►►How to check journal policies:  See MIT Libraries' list of policy excerpts from major publishers or the journal/publisher website.

For example, Taylor and Francis policy allows to:

Include your article Author’s Original Manuscript (AOM) or Accepted Manuscript(AM) , depending on the embargo period in your thesis or dissertation. The Version of Record cannot be used. https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/copyright-and-you/

Check if the article is distributed under a Creative Commons license. This may allow re-use.

►►►How to check journal's CC license:  See the journal/publisher website or contact the journal directly.

If the publisher requires copyright transfer, has no special provisions and does not publish under a CC license, you will need to contact them to request permission to include your article in your thesis. You can:

• Negotiate making the article available as part of the thesis in TSpace, ProQuest, and LAC Theses Portal; 
• Request an embargo [link to Lisa’ section on embargo] if the publisher only permits open sharing after some time post-publication;
• If permission is denied you may include in place of the chapter an abstract and a link to the article on the journal website.

If you have specific questions about your situation, publisher policy or author rights, contact the Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office at [email protected] for a consultation (best before you publish!)

Understanding different versions of a published article

A publisher may distinguish between the versions of an article that you may be allowed to include in your thesis:

• Submitted manuscript / pre-print - version you initially send in (often permitted)
• Accepted manuscript / post-print - version after peer review but before copyediting, layout editing, formatting, etc. (sometimes permitted; publisher may require an embargo/access restriction for a period of time)
• Version of record / final publisher’s PDF - version that appears in the journal (many publishers do not permit sharing this version)

►►►How to check article versions permitted for sharing:

• MIT Libraries’s list of policy excerpts from major publishers
• Sherpa/RoMEO database of publisher policies
• Journal’s website - usually under Information for Authors or Copyright/Permissions or Editorial Policy; or in the publication agreement if available online
• << Previous: Creative Commons Licenses for Theses
• Next: Turning Thesis into an Article >>
• Last Updated: Oct 10, 2024 5:26 PM
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Theses including publications

• Originality
• Structuring your thesis

Literature reviews

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Under the Thesis and examinations higher degrees by research policy (pdf, 199KB) , a research thesis is a coherent and cohesive narrative describing a body of scholarly activity that adds to knowledge.

At the University a collection of published papers is not a thesis, neither is a publication on its own sufficient to warrant the award of a research degree.

However, you can, and should, include papers you have published in your thesis. A thesis including publications (also called a thesis with publications) is one where the core chapters of your thesis consist of papers you have submitted for publication, have been accepted for publication, or have already been published. See our information on preparing your thesis for how to indicate that your thesis contains material you have published as part of your candidature.

A thesis including publication is suited to certain disciplines where your study progresses in discrete stages or involves a sequence of related components; for example, a series of lab experiments or several artworks.

One of the benefits of doing a thesis including publications is that you’ll graduate with a number of publications to your credit. This will get your career as a researcher off to a good start.

You need to check with your faculty/school or department to see if a thesis including publications is possible and to find out their specific requirements. For more information see the Thesis and examination of higher degrees by research policy (pdf, 199KB) .

The following is a general guide to some common requirements for a thesis including publications.

Types of theses including publications

All chapters of your thesis can contain material previously published by you and need to be in a consistent format. Offprints are not considered chapters. These may be papers already published, submitted or accepted for publication, or not submitted.

Published papers need to be supplemented by an introduction (containing your aims and the context of the thesis) and a conclusion that synthesises the knowledge generated during your candidature. In some cases, thesis chapters are amended versions of published papers. The published papers are then put in the appendix.

Only papers researched and written during your candidature can be included in your thesis. Some faculties or schools allow you to include papers regardless of their stage of publication. In other cases, papers need to have been accepted for publication, not just submitted and awaiting acceptance. You need to check with your faculty/school or department regarding their requirements.

Papers need to be accepted by reputable, high-profile journals which require full peer review of contributions.

If you want your thesis to contain material you’ve published elsewhere, you need to get written permission from your publisher.

The University library has more information on copyright .

You should be the main contributor and/or lead author to the papers you include. This means you have been responsible for the key ideas, the development of the study and the writing of the paper. It’s possible to include papers co-written with other authors, as long as you have their permission (preferably in writing).

Find more information about authorship attribution statements and the format required.

A cohesive thesis

The papers you submit need to form a cohesive whole. They need to be linked thematically, having a consistent focus on a particular topic. They also need a cohesive structure, including an introduction, explanatory material between the chapters and a conclusion.

The introduction and conclusion are particularly important in tying your thesis together. Coherence can be made explicit throughout your thesis. You could link your chapters using:

• the list of publications, where you can note which publication corresponds to which chapter
• a concept map or a flowchart at the end of the introduction
• the literature review, where you refer to how the chapters fill in particular gaps in the literature
• a page or half-page introduction or 'bridging section' before each chapter of the body, or at the end of each chapter
• the discussion section, referring back to the various papers.

You don’t need all of these features, but the more links you can establish between the various parts of your thesis the more coherent it will be.

List of publications

You need to include a list of publications either before or after the table of contents. In this section, you can link the publications to the specific chapter in which they are found. Many theses also record the bibliographical details of the article on the title page of each chapter.

If you need to include a co-author contribution statement, this is usually put with the list of publications or before each chapter.

Find more information about authorship statements and the format required.

There are different ways you can give context for your research when you do the literature review for each paper. For example:

• paraphrasing rather than repeating the same information
• where you integrate reviews in the main literature review in the introduction and cut down the literature reviews in the articles
• making each literature review substantially different
• removing the article(s)’s literature review, but only if the published chapter is presented in manuscript form.

Discussion section

Your final discussion section draws together the main points from the discussion in each chapter into a single discussion. You need to avoid presenting or repeating in detail your ideas in the final discussion chapter by chapter or aim by aim, as this will not meet the requirements of a thesis. A way of doing this is to frame the discussion broadly, always in respect to ‘this thesis/research project’ or ‘this thesis’.

Reference lists

• When all articles are in journal format, their individual reference lists are included. This means the reference list at the end of the thesis contains only references from the introduction/literature review and discussion/conclusion.
• When all articles are in manuscript form, there is often no reference list attached to individual articles. Instead, all references are listed at the end of the thesis.
• Some theses have a separate reference list at the end of each chapter, including the introduction/conclusion.

Page numbers

Most theses show both the thesis page number and the journal article page numbers. However, you could omit the thesis page number.

This material was developed by the Learning Hub (Academic Language and Learning), which offers workshops, face-to-face consultations and resources to support your learning. Find out more about how they can help you develop your communication, research and study skills .

See our handout on Writing a thesis proposal (pdf, 341KB) .

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Thesis by Publication

This post is partially based on guidelines from the University of Western Australia, see: http://www.postgraduate.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2930217/ThesisByPapers_160916.pdf

While there’s no worldwide agreement on PhD or Master’s thesis format, increasing pressure to publish is resulting in a move in Australia towards submitting theses as a series of papers (otherwise known as a thesis by publication). Although there is substantial variation in how a thesis by publication should be formatted (you should check your university’s current policy), here we summarise a typical approach, along with some potential benefits of and considerations when choosing this method of completing your PhD thesis.

How should I format my thesis?

Some universities in Australia have specific guidelines that stipulate that a thesis by publication needs to contain a set amount of published work. However, typically, students have the freedom to format their thesis in whatever way is most appropriate for their project and discipline. This may be as a traditional monograph, a series of papers suitable for publication (either a research article in a scholarly journal, which is typical for those in STEM research, or a conference paper or book chapter, which might be more relevant for those in HASS disciplines) or a combination of more traditional research chapters and papers. You should discuss with your supervisors early in your candidature what the most appropriate model is for presenting your PhD thesis, and how many publications are typically expected in your discipline.

Advantages of a thesis by publication

There are a number of advantages to writing your thesis as a series of papers. First, submitting your thesis as a series of already published work usually reduces the time required at the end of your candidature to compile your thesis. A thesis that consists of a series of publications may require some minor formatting changes for consistency, but otherwise you can typically present the papers as they were published. The thesis by publication will also require a substantial literature review in the introduction and a discussion chapter at the end to link the separate papers into a cohesive narrative and to place the papers in the context of the established body of knowledge. Of course, the ease with which this can be done depends on the nature of the papers to be linked; however, for the most part, the hard work has already been done (although this is not to diminish the extra work publishing requires!).

Second, submitting your thesis as a series of papers is efficient if the ultimate goal is to publish. Rather than writing the thesis and then revising this work and separately writing papers for publication, the papers are written and then reproduced in your thesis.

A third advantage is the increased mentoring and advice received through the peer-review process, which is excellent for your development as a researcher. Preparing manuscripts for publication generally requires substantial feedback from supervisors, and the peer-review process, while arduous at the time, is a great opportunity to hone your research and writing skills, and will greatly improve the quality of each subsequent paper. A thesis by publication also has the benefit of providing direct evidence to examiners that your work is of publishable standard, which is one of the thesis examination criteria.

Finally, publishing work prior to submitting your thesis offers advantages to career progression. It provides the means to create a track record of publications during candidature, which is often required for competitive post-doctoral applications.

Is a thesis by publication right for me?

While there are numerous advantages to producing a thesis as a series of papers, some factors need to be considered. First, not all projects divide well into publishable papers. Research consisting of one main study and an extended data collection period, for example, may be better suited to a more traditionally formatted thesis. Another consideration is that examiners may not be familiar with the thesis by publication format. This may be particularly true in the HASS disciplines. In this case, make sure to determine what the rules of your university are and, if permitted by your university, indicate this in your thesis introduction.

Possibly the main consideration though is that the peer-review process is time-consuming (see a  Nature  feature article about this topic last year (2016), Does it take too long to publish research?), and it may be difficult to get all papers published prior to thesis submission. Although not all papers need to be published, most theses by publication should contain at least one published paper. Hence, the time-consuming process of waiting for feedback on submitted papers and the time taken to undertake sometimes major revisions is a sacrifice. In addition, despite one’s best efforts, journals may not publish a paper even though the research presented is high quality. For example, in the sciences, null results can be difficult to publish (although hopefully the tide will begin to change on this, which would save researchers some serious time; see Why it’s time to publish research “failures”). While previously, it was expected that a thesis by publication could only include published papers, many universities have updated their policies to reflect a more flexible format. Most theses by publication can now consist of work that is published, submitted for publication or in preparation for submission. So, in this case, papers that are difficult to publish can still be incorporated into a thesis and presented as manuscripts.

Ultimately, in the words of Professor David Pannell at UWA (see Prose, psychopaths and persistence: Personal perspectives on publishing), publishing in peer-reviewed journals requires, ‘fortitude, resilience and persistence’. Of course, it is the very nature of withstanding these knockbacks and the time-consuming revisions that are involved in the process of producing a thesis by publication that can both prepare you for future post-doctoral positions, and result in an outstanding thesis.

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