Guidelines for the Article-Format Thesis

Guidelines for the Article-Format Thesis

1. Background

As an alternative to the traditional format for a thesis, it is permissible for DTech candidates to submit a thesis in the form of a series of published, co-published or “ready-for-publication” articles prepared during candidature. With regard to MTech candidates, HDC approval is first required, based upon an application from the supervisor/candidate on the merit of submitting an article-format thesis. Furthermore, the article-format thesis only applies to 100% master's or doctoral theses and excludes “case study” types of theses.

There are numerous advantages of incorporating publications into a thesis, namely:

1. Research students are increasingly advantaged in postdoctoral, academic and other professional employment applications if they have published or have prepared to publish during candidature.

2. Candidates write up their work only once, instead of once as a traditional thesis and later again as a publishable article.

3. In conjunction with proactive and appropriately planning, the envisioned articles set clear milestones for the candidate’s research.

4. The acceptance of articles for publication during candidature, gives candidates the confidence that their research is of an international standard.

5. If much of the thesis has already been accepted as refereed publications, an examiner is less likely to be over-critical.

6. Where articles that have been submitted at the time of thesis submission are subsequently accepted for publication, the candidate is in a much stronger position to rebut an examiner’s criticisms.

7. Having publications accepted at the time of submission significantly enhances the prospects of the candidate’s securing employment or a postdoctoral position.

2. General Guidelines

1. The overriding principle is that the thesis should remain an original contribution to the discipline or field by the candidate, irrespective of the format of the thesis.

2. Chapters containing the journal articles should form a coherent and integrated body of work, which could be focused on a single project or set of related questions or propositions. It is important that all journal articles form part of a sustained thesis with a coherent theme. It is not sufficient to merely reproduce a series of unrelated works, whether published or unpublished.

3. Inclusion of work published prior to commencement of candidature is not permissible.

4. The number of articles to be included depends on the content and length of each article and should take full account of the University’s requirements for the degree as well as the amount of research expected for the degree in that discipline.

Recommendations:

a. For a DTech thesis, the norm is that at least THREE journal articles, with the candidate as major contributor and of which at least two are already published, must be included. A third article “ready-for-publication” should also be included if not yet published.

b. For an MTech thesis, the norm is that at least ONE journal article, with the candidate as major contributor, must be included already published or “ready-for-publication”.

5. The thesis will be examined in the normal way and according to the normal requirements as set out by the “Guidelines for Examiners of Dissertations and Theses” (form HDC 1.7).

3. Proposed Outline of Theses in Article Format

MASTER’S THESIS: Chapter division

§ Title page (page 1)

§ Declaration (page 2)

§ Summary/Abstract (no longer than 2 pages)

§ Acknowledgements (no longer than 1 page)

§ (Optional) Dedication

§ (Optional) Biographical sketch (no longer than 1 page)

§ Preface (an explanation of the chapter division and that certain chapters are written in article form according to a specific writing style)

§ Table of contents (complete)

§ Chapter 1: Introduction

§ Chapter 2: Literature review

§ Chapter 3*: Research results (written according to the style of the journal in which it will be published)

Specific Article Format

Proposed subheadings/sections – e.g., Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Reference List

§ Chapter 4: General discussion and conclusions (stating the integrated conclusions for the manuscript as a whole)

§ (Optional) Chapter 5: Recommendations

§ References/Bibliography

*Chapter 3 is prepared in the form of an article and should be publishable in a reputable international/DoE-accredited journal. The norm is that a master’s thesis should produce at least one (or more) journal article(s) with the candidate as major contributor.

If there is any information (methods, material and results) that is normally not included in journal articles, but which is relevant to the thesis, this may be added after the final chapter as an Appendix.

DOCTORAL THESIS: Chapter division

§ Title page (page 1)

§ Declaration (page 2)

§ Summary/Abstract (no longer than 2 pages)

§ Acknowledgements (no longer than 1 page)

§ (Optional) Biographical sketch (no longer than 1 page)

§ (Optional) Dedication

§ Preface (an explanation of the chapter division and that certain chapters are written in article form according to a specific writing style)

§ Table of contents (complete)

§ Chapter 1: Introduction

§ Chapter 2: Literature review

§ Chapters 3-5*: Research results (written according to the style of the journal in which it will be published)

Specific Article Format

First Article

Proposed subheadings/sections – e.g., Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, Conclusions. Reference List (for article 1)

Second Article

Proposed subheadings/sections – e.g., Introduction, Review of Literature, Method, Results, Conclusions. Reference List (for article 2)

Third Article

Proposed subheadings/sections – e.g., Introduction, Review of Literature, Method, Results, Conclusions. Reference List (for article 3)

§ Chapter 6: General discussion and conclusions (stating the conclusions for the manuscript as a whole)

§ (Optional) Chapter 7: Recommendations

§ Bibliography/References

*Chapters 3-5 are prepared in the form of articles and should be published/publishable in a reputable international/DoE-accredited journal. The norm is that a Doctoral thesis should produce at least three journal articles, with the candidate as major contributor.

4. Specific Formatting Guidelines

1. Technical presentation of the thesis must still follow the guidelines as stipulated by the CPUT “Guide to postgraduate studies”.

2. The article format thesis requires that the text of the articles must be retyped for inclusion in the thesis according to CPUT standards. It is not acceptable to insert copies or offprints of published articles directly into the thesis.

3. Continuous pagination is required throughout the thesis manuscript.

4. References should follow the style of the journal to which the article was/will be submitted.

5. Co-authorship Guidelines

Journal articles may often have multiple authors. Nonetheless, a candidate signs off on the Thesis Declaration as follows:

“I, type your full first names and surname here, declare that the contents of this thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.”

Recommendations:

1. Any articles included in the candidate’s thesis that mainly describe work of other people in a team, would be inappropriate to include in the thesis.

2. With respect to joint authorship the candidate is expected to have made a significant and leading contribution to the work reported, equivalent to that expected for a traditional thesis.

3. Depending on the discipline, the position of the main author may differ, but it is recommended that the position of the main contributor be negotiated in the author list between the candidate and supervisor prior to the completion of the thesis.

4. The candidate must be in the first/main author position on the majority of articles submitted in the final thesis manuscript.

5. In cases where the candidate is not the first/main author of an article, it is essential to state explicitly who else contributed to the work and the nature and extent of their contribution in the Preface section of the thesis. The exact contribution of each co-authored article should be addressed in terms of:

Conception of the study, Design of the study, Collection of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Conclusions, Writing up of paper

The contribution of co-authors could also be specified in the thesis Acknowledgments and/or in relevant footnotes/endnotes.

6. If deemed necessary, the HDC could request additional evidence from the candidate where the thesis included journal articles with joint authorship. An example of such additional proof, could be a signed statement from the co-authors

Co-author statement in respect of the MTech or DTech thesis made by:

Paper/manuscript (authors, title, journal):

The undersigned who is:

□ corresponding author

□ co-author

on the paper/manuscript above, hereby confirms that _____________________has contributed to the work as stated below:

1. Intellectual input:

□ less than 25% □ 25 - 50 % □ 50 - 75% □ 75 - 100%

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________

2. Experimental results (indicate contribution to individual figures, tables and supplementary data):

□ less than 25% □ 25 - 50 % □ 50 - 75% □ 75 - 100%

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________

3. Writing process:

□ less than 25% □ 25 - 50 % □ 50 - 75% □ 75 - 100%

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________ ___________________________

Written Name Date

_______________________________________________

Signature