Alternative thesis formats

A thesis can be structured in a number of ways. The style you choose should be appropriate for your discipline. Your supervisor can guide you on which of the following formats best suits you:

• conventional structure
• theses based on publishable works
• creative work plus exegesis
• folio format in Arts and Education

Not all of these structures are available in all faculties. The table below shows which structures are available in the various faculties at Deakin.

You should discuss the length, composition and format with your supervisor, but you are responsible for its production and for ensuring that it conforms to the specifications. You may find it helpful to look at other theses from your discipline held by the University Library. If there are special reasons for a different format, these should be discussed with your supervisor at an early stage and approval must be obtained from the Research and Research Training Committee.

Examiners object when a thesis is too long. It is written for experts and should be as short as is consistent with the proper development of the subject for such readers.

The upper limits for theses, including the bibliography, appendices and any notes, are:

• 50,000 words for masters theses
• 100,000 words for doctoral theses

The final copy of your thesis must be free of errors – typographical and spelling errors in particular are a source of irritation to examiners and suggest a lack of care and attention. Use the spelling checker, but remember that this is no substitute for careful proof-reading of the text.

Conventional thesis structure

The conventional thesis is a monolithic text rather like a book. It tends to be structured as follows:

• an abstract
• an introductory chapter
• a review of the literature in the field, possibly accompanied by an outline of the objectives of the research project
• a chapter discussing the methods used in the research
• a series of substantive chapters presenting the research findings
• possibly a general discussion drawing the findings together
• a conclusion that summarises your contribution to knowledge, and may also reflect on future research questions that follow from your project.

Published work may be incorporated in a conventional thesis. Higher degree by research candidates have always been encouraged to publish during candidature because the comments of reviewers can provide very useful feedback and thesis examiners will in general be impressed by material that has already been peer-reviewed. With a conventional thesis model, it makes sense to base chapters around these publications. The chapter tends to be a more detailed version of the publication. In some disciplines, it has been common practice to turn a thesis into one or more publications after the examination.

Thesis by publication

Thesis based on a series of publishable works

An alternative model, sometimes called "thesis by publications", is one in which the thesis comprises a series of papers, some or all of which may have been published by the time of submission.

There are two subcategories:

• Thesis by prior publication - A candidate with a substantial publication record prior to candidature may be permitted to submit a thesis based primarily on this work. This is possible only if the work was not carried out as part of another program for which a degree was awarded. Candidates in this category normally enrol for a period of about one year during which time they write a text which incorporates the published work into a coherent whole. Earlier submission may be appropriate in some cases.
• Thesis by publication during candidature - The candidate enrols for a normal period of candidature during which they undertake a research project ab initio. They produce a number of publications which become the basis for the thesis, together with appropriate linking sections or chapters.

The latter is the most common and has been gaining in popularity during recent years. The advice which follows is written primarily from the perspective of this model, but much of it is also appropriate for the thesis by prior publication model.

The thesis by publication model is perceived to have advantages for some candidates because it minimises the tension between preparing papers for publication and preparing the thesis for examination. It also has the significant advantage that examiners tend to be impressed by work that has already been peer-reviewed, as previously published papers would have been.

It is important that you discuss the proposed structure of your thesis with your supervisor early in candidature. If you decide to structure your thesis as a series of publications rather than a more conventional document, there are a number of important considerations.

1. Ultimately, the material you present for examination needs to be equivalent to that which would be presented in a conventional thesis. You need to demonstrate to the examiners that you have made a substantial original contribution to knowledge.
2. Where to publish? You should only publish in refereed scholarly media. Journals with a high impact factor are more likely to impress examiners (and potential employers).
3. How many publications? There is no fixed answer, and expectations may depend on your discipline. This also needs to be balanced with the quality of the journals. As mentioned above, the requirement is for a substantial original contribution to knowledge.
4. The length of the publication process - the review process of some journals can be lengthy which could delay thesis submission. This is an important consideration given that you should be aiming to complete your PhD in three years (masters candidates should be aiming at two years).
5. What is the extent of your contribution? If there are co-authors, it is very important that you specify your individual contribution to each of the publications and, as stated above, that needs to constitute a substantial original contribution to knowledge. You need to be able to demonstrate your ability to perform independent research.
6. The thesis must be an integrated and coherent whole. It is not just a collection of papers. You need to consider your most important readers, the examiners. The thesis must include a critical introduction, a section which describes how all the publications are linked (possibly more than one such section), and a conclusion which provides a synthesis of all the material. The conclusion is important and needs to be of a very high standard. It is not just a summary of the thesis. This is your chance to really tell the examiners about the significance of your work, how it all fits together as a coherent body, how it demonstrates originality, and how it can lead to future research.
7. Journal papers tend not to include a thorough discussion of the literature. This may limit your ability to demonstrate a detailed understanding of the theoretical issues relating to your topic. The introduction to your series of publications is the best place to do this. Alternatively, the inclusion of theoretical or other appendices may be appropriate in such cases.
8. Journal papers generally do not include detailed evidence for all the methods or analytical procedures used, which means that you may not be able to show the examiners the full scope of your mastery of the topic. Technical appendices can address this issue.
9. Journal papers tend to exclude the things which did not work. In the sciences this could be the experiments which failed. In the social sciences it could be a poorly-designed questionnaire or an over-ambitious sample size. Examiners like to see the intellectual journey you have undertaken in which you have developed into an independent researcher with a mature appreciation of the breadth of your field and an understanding of how your research fits within it. There is another reason for including a description of methods that did not work, which is that this can be of tremendous assistance to future researchers in your field (including subsequent PhD or Masters students). If they know, from reading your thesis, some of the things NOT to do, they will be saved from wasting time attempting to follow unproductive methods.
10. In many cases papers include duplicated material which can be tedious for the examiners. The thesis should be structured to avoid or at least minimise repetition.
11. There is a risk that by focusing on publication rather than research, you may be tempted to publish sections of your work prematurely and miss opportunities to fully capitalize on the significance of the work. Being conscious of this risk can help you and your supervisor avoid the pitfalls.
12. It is the University's expectation that all completed theses be made available online. This should be raised with the journal at an early stage, seeking their approval. If the journal is unwilling to approve the paper being made available online in the thesis, it may be appropriate to approach another journal. Alternatively, you could consider structuring the chapter on which the paper is based in such a way that you do not have to reproduce the actual article.

Despite these cautions, the thesis by publication format does have the significant advantages stated above, that most examiners will be impressed by a collection of peer-reviewed works, and it may save work by not having to reformat publications into thesis chapters. This is weighed against the extra work in writing additional "glue" sections (the introductory and concluding chapters that describe how the publications constitute a coherent body of work and a substantial contribution to knowledge).

Creative work plus exegesis

Theses in the creative arts (visual arts, media arts, performing arts and creative and professional writing) may be presented in one of two forms: a conventional written thesis, or a thesis comprising creative work and a supporting written exegesis. In the creative work plus exegesis model, both components are examined. Together they need to demonstrate a substantial original contribution to knowledge.

The purpose of the exegesis is to elucidate the creative work's themes and/or place it in a disciplinary context and/or explore the creative processes involved. In the latter case, it may provide guidance to the examiner regarding the sequence of development in the creative work.

Further information relating to each area of the creative arts is provided in the relevant Advice to Examiners document.

Folio format in the faculty of Arts and Education

Doctoral candidates in Arts and Education may produce a thesis which takes the form of a folio that includes a substantial dissertation, together with reports, papers and publications in media appropriate for the professional context. Candidates are required in their dissertation to present, develop and argue a position that they support by empirical study and locate in a clearly expressed understanding of the relevant literature and the relevant issues in applicable theory, policy and/or professional practice.

The folio should be a coherent selection of work carried out by the candidate, not simply a collection of unrelated pieces. It will normally include original evidence, a critical account of the methodology, a selective and critical review of relevant published research, and evidence of relevance to professional practice in the field. It may consist of one document or several, consisting of a selection of the products of research that establish the candidate's claim to have carried out research of doctoral standard.

In the field of education, for example, the folio will normally consist of two elements: a dissertation, and a selection of reports, papers and/or publications that constitute scholarly communication to educational professionals and/or workplaces. The different parts of the folio should be integrated through a commentary (either within the dissertation or as a separate document) that explains the relationship between the components. The reports, papers and publications may be papers delivered at conferences or published in academic or professional journals; they may be reports on discrete projects relevant to the thesis; they may be exemplars, evaluation reports or critical policy documents; they may be produced collaboratively with others, providing due acknowledgement of the contributions of others is made.

Further information about this model is provided in the relevant Advice to Examiners document.