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Write-up and submission

Writing up your thesis

Your thesis is likely to be the largest document you ever write and it is a major challenge for all students. Deakin provides a considerable amount of support and advice to help you with the writing up of your thesis. There is also a wealth of information available from the internet and other avenues of support.

This website contains a number of resources that are available to assist in making the process of writing your thesis as pain-free as possible.

Additionally, past HDR theses are available in the library. Taking a look at these may help you decide how to structure your own thesis. The library also has a number of resources to assist research degree students.

The recommended model in the School of Psychology is that HDR training should emphasise peer-refereed journal publication and not centre exclusively on thesis preparation. To do this students should set the objective with their supervisor to consider the stages of their thesis research (e.g., literature review) that can be prepared for submission to relevant journals. Two important advantages of having publications at the point of submitting your PhD are (1) that it clearly indicates to reviewers that your research has already satisfied the peer evaluation criteria for a novel contribution to science and (2) your post doctoral career prospects will be advanced by having published. Students and supervisors should set realistic timetables and recognise that sound research will often be rejected by journals and require resubmission. Many students find it challenging to add journal papers completion to their PhD thesis preparation timelines.

HDR Submission

In addition to writing up your thesis, there are a couple of other things worth thinking about as you approach the submission of your thesis. First, although your supervisor ultimately nominates your markers, you may still have some ideas about individuals who may be well qualified to mark your thesis and it is worth discussing this with your supervisor.

Also, before you submit your thesis, you need to supply research services with an 'intention to submit' form around six weeks before you plan to hand in.

More information on the submission and marking process

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