Journal format thesis submission

Submission of a thesis in journal format (formerly known as alternative format) may be appropriate for a PhD, MD or MPhil. It is an increasingly popular choice and provides students with experience of writing in journal paper formats.

If you think that your thesis would be appropriate for a journal format submission the first step is to discuss this with your supervisory team. You no longer need approval from the Doctoral Academy to submit in this format. 

A thesis in journal format comprises sections that are in a format suitable for publication or dissemination. These can be published or submitted papers of chapters that are written as journal papers but not yet or even ever to be submitted. Apart from the inclusion of such materials, the journal format thesis must conform to the same standards expected for a standard thesis.

Any work submitted within the journal format thesis must be substantially different from any work which may have previously been submitted for any degree at this or any other institution.

One of the major considerations for submitting in journal format is the level of contribution that you have made to the journal papers to be included in the thesis (where published or submitted papers are used). It would be expected that you will have taken the major role in ALL aspects of production of the papers including: data acquisition, analysis and writing the paper.

As with standard doctoral/MPhil thesis, examiners should satisfy themselves that the journal format thesis meets the requirement of the doctoral degree as prescribed in the appropriate regulations and policies. The fact that a thesis contains material that has been published or accepted for publication does not guarantee that the examiner will recommend the award for which the candidate is being examined.

Approval for submission in journal format

In order to submit a thesis in journal format you should have the approval of your supervisory team. It is not necessary to request approval from the Doctoral Academy. You will be asked to indicate the format of your thesis during the examination process when completing your Notice of Submission Form.

Structure

Your supervisory team is best placed to advise on how to structure a thesis in journal format.

The work must constitute a body of publication tending towards a coherent and continuous thesis, rather than a series of disconnected publications. As such, any publications should be adapted and integrated within the structure of the thesis. Any sections of the thesis which are published or in publishable format should be clearly identified.

You should use the introductory section of the thesis to explain and justify in full the nature and extent of your contribution and the contribution of co-authors and the other collaborators to the publications presented. A significant proportion of the researched materials should be derived from original research undertaken after the date you initially registered with this University.

The number of papers included in the journal format thesis may vary according to discipline and is not prescribed, but should reflect the quantity, quality and originality of research and analysis expected of a candidate submitting a standard thesis.

The Faculty Exams Team will be able to identify PhD theses in journal format that are available in the library for your reference. Please contact FBMH.doctoralacademy.exams@manchester.ac.uk if you require any further information.

Example structure

It is essential that the journal format thesis includes detailed and critical analysis of the work and methods used, since sections formatted for publication/dissemination may not already include this level of detail. The structure of the journal format thesis should include the following:

• rationale for submitting the thesis in an journal format and an account of how the thesis format has been constructed;
• context of the research¹ which should incorporate sections/chapters defining the rationale of the investigation and the strategy employed during the research as demonstrated in the thesis;
• review of previous research including sections summarising and synthesising previous research in the field of investigation;
• methodology detailing the methods employed during the research and a detailed critique analysis of those methods and the information they provide;
• presentation of results and their analysis in a format suitable for presentation in a peer-reviewed journal and/or in conventional thesis chapters as in the standard PhD thesis;
• summary/conclusion drawing together the various outcomes of the work into a coherent synthesis and indicating directions for future work;
• references and appendices should be included as in the standard PhD thesis.

Co-authored papers

Materials included in the journal format thesis may include those which are solely and/or partly authored by the student and may be already published, accepted for publication, or submitted for publication in externally refereed contexts such as journals and conference proceedings.

You should use the introductory section of the thesis to explain and justify in full the nature and extent of the candidate's own contribution and the contribution of co-authors and other collaborators to the publications presented.

Formatting issues

Students should ensure that they have read the guidance on the presentation of a thesis which outlines how to include offprints of published material.

Students can also ask the Exams Team in the Doctoral Academy office for guidance on presentation and formatting issues. Please contact FBMH.doctoralacademy.exams@manchester.ac.uk if you require further assistance.

Word count

The incorporation of publication-style chapters in the thesis will inevitably lead to some duplication since each publication-style chapter will have self-contained components that will overlap with parts of the other sections of the thesis. As a result, such a thesis might well be expected to be longer than a standard doctoral/MPhil thesis on the same topic.

The maximum length of the journal format doctoral thesis should not normally exceed 90,000 words of main text, including footnotes and endnotes.

The maximum length of the journal format MPhil thesis should not normally exceed 60,000 words, including footnotes and endnotes.

¹This is as expected for a standard thesis but it is essential that this format of thesis includes detailed and critical analysis of the previous work and methods used because the sections formatted for publication/dissemination may not cover these aspects in the depth expected of a PhD thesis.

Further information

• Journal Format Theses - Guiding Principles for Students and Staff (PDF, University login required).