publishing from thesis

• Publication Process

How to Write a Journal Article from a Thesis

• 3 minute read
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You are almost done with your PhD thesis and want to convert it into a journal article. Or, you’re initiating a career as a journal writer and intend to use your thesis as a starting point for an article. Whatever your situation, turning a thesis into a journal article is a logical step and a process that eventually every researcher completes. But…how to start?

The first thing to know about converting a thesis into a journal article is how different they are:

Thesis Characteristics:

• Meets academic requirements
• Reviewed by select committee members
• Contains chapters
• Lengthy, no word limits
• Table of contents
• Lengthy research of literature
• IRB approval described in detail
• Description and copies of tools used
• All findings presented
• Verb tenses may vary

Journal Article Characteristics:

• Meets journalistic standards
• Reviewed by a panel of “blind” reviewers
• Word limits
• Manuscript format
• Succinct research of literature
• IRB described in 1 to 3 sentences
• Essential and succinct tool information
• Selected findings presented
• Verb tenses are fairly consistent

Converting your thesis to a journal article may be complex, but it’s not impossible.

A thesis is a document of academic nature, so it’s more detailed in content. A journal article, however, is shorter, highlighting key points in a more succinct format. Adapting a thesis for conversion into a journal article is a time-consuming and intricate process that can take you away from other important work. In that case, Elsevier’s Language Editing services may help you focus on important matters and provide a high-quality text for submission in no time at all.

If you are going to convert a thesis into a journal article, with or without professional help, here is a list of some of the steps you will likely have to go through:

1. Identify the best journal for your work

• Ensure that your article is within the journal’s aim and scope. How to find the right journal? Find out more .
• Check the journal’s recommended structure and reference style

2. Shorten the length of your thesis

• Treat your thesis as a separate work
• Paraphrase but do not distort meaning
• Select and repurpose parts of your thesis

3. Reformat the introduction as an abstract

• Shorten the introduction to 100-150 words, but maintain key topics to hold the reader’s attention.
• Use the introduction and discussion as basis for the abstract

4. Modify the introduction

• If your thesis has more than one research question or hypothesis, which are not all relevant for your paper, consider combining your research questions or focusing on just one for the article
• Use previously published papers (at least three) from the target journal as examples

5. Tighten the methods section

• Keep the discussion about your research approach short

6. Report main findings in the results

• Expose your main findings in the results section in concise statements

7. Discussion must be clear and concise

• Begin by providing an interpretation of your results: “What is it that we have learned from your research?”
• Situate the findings to the literature
• Discuss how your findings expand known or previous perspectives
• Briefly present ways in which future studies can build upon your work and address limitations in your study

8. Limit the number of references

• To choose the most relevant and recent
• To format them correctly
• Consider using a reference manager system (e.g. Mendeley ) to make your life easier

If you are not a proficient English speaker, the task of converting a thesis into a journal article might make it even more difficult. At Elsevier’s Language Editing services we ensure that your manuscript is written in correct scientific English before submission. Our professional proofers and editors check your manuscript in detail, taking your text as our own and with the guarantee of maximum text quality.

Language editing services by Elsevier Author Services:

• Research Process

How to Choose a Journal to Submit an Article

• Publication Recognition

How to Submit a Paper for Publication in a Journal

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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: Sep 15, 2023 3:23 PM
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• Preparing your thesis

Publishing material from your thesis

Your rights to publish.

You retain the copyright in your thesis unless:

• your research is sponsored or funded by a funder with a claim on the intellectual property
• your research builds upon existing intellectual property generated by, or jointly invented with, Imperial employees or associates
• you are concurrently an employee of Imperial College London during your period of study

For details see Intellectual property

In principle, you may reproduce, or give others permission to reproduce, parts or the whole of your thesis but you must consider:

• third party works and the permission you have been given to use them - if  your permission does not extend to the intended use, send a second permission request to the owner of the third party copyright work
• any plans to apply for a patent application, meaning that you must postpone communication of your research through an embargo

Discuss any of the above issues with your supervisor.

Publishing in a journal

Journals generally accept papers based on work already written up in a thesis. Individual journal polices on what a journal considers to be prior publication can be found within the ‘information for authors’ section of the journal website. The United Kingdom Council of Research Repositories (UKCoRR) have produced this  Thesis prior publications spreadsheet on some of the publisher policies that you can use as guidance. If a publisher is concerned that your thesis has already been published online, you may apply for an embargo .

Your paper should be a reworking of the material in your thesis and written to conform to the journal's style guide. The course (publication section), offered by the Graduate School, offers helps and tips.

When quoting from your thesis or reusing figures, avoid self-plagiarism by citing and referencing any extracts copied or adapted from your thesis appropriately.

Publishing your whole thesis

If you intend to publish your thesis or are approached by a publisher, request a copy of the publishing agreement before signing it - make sure that publication is in your best interests and will not restrict your future use of the content.

Get Published

• About this guide
• Publishing strategy
• Selecting a journal
• Evaluating journals
• Open Access publishing
• Choose a conference

Publishing from your thesis

Examples of publisher's policies, got invited to publish a book.

• Publishing processes
• Author rights & copyright
• Publishing guidelines

Worried your open access thesis will compromise your article publishing? 

Some researchers may have been questioned or refused acceptance for self-plagiarism. Many publishers use plagiarism checkers like Turnitin on the initial submission and this will find postgraduate theses on Tuwhera.

Consider the following before you submit your articles:

• Check the publisher's policy on their website.
• Check publisher's policy -  this document  lists some key publishers' statements regarding pre-publication and open access theses.
• Whether you are writing a book or an article from your thesis, make sure you have rewritten your research substantially.
• Negotiate an agreement with your publisher to ensure that you are able to use your research in your thesis for your article or book.
• Make sure that you have gained permissions for using any 3rd party copyright materials in your publications.
• Turning your PhD into a successful book Taylor and Francis
• Converting your PhD Thesis into a Book in Five Steps Elsevier Author Services

Some postgraduates may be contacted by "Print on Demand" (POD) publishers offering to publish their research as a book. POD publishers publish theses in a PDF format with an ISBN number. Theses are then listed on Amazon and other bookseller sites. A hard copy is printed when someone makes a request. Typically such emails come from a publisher called VDM (Verlag Dr. Mueller) or any publishing units associated with LAP (Lambert Academic Publishing).

While you own the copyright in your work and are therefore free to decide what to do with it, we advise that you consider these points before proceeding:

• Unlike traditional publishing, the works are not vetted, peer reviewed or professionally edited.
• Your research is already available on Tuwhera, without cost or restriction, for other researchers and students around the world to read.
• You may be asked to sign away the copyright in your own work. Look at the terms and conditions very carefully and consider seeking legal advice before signing.
• Publishing in this way is very likely to harm your chances of publishing your research with a traditional and often more reputable publisher.

In addition to requesting a copy of their author-publisher agreement, here are some things you should try to ascertain before making a decision:

• What is the quality of the printed books (jackets, binding, etc)?
• What is the royalty share you will receive? With POD, as with vanity publishing, you have very little certainty as to the number of books that will be sold.
• What will the publisher do to market/promote your work?
• Will people be able to obtain your thesis only through this publisher from now on? Will they require that your thesis be removed from Tuwhera ?

Vanity Press

The difference between predatory publishers and vanity press. "Predatory publishers claim to have a working peer review, but actually it’s either not present or it’s substantially flawed. Vanity press, on the other hand, never claim to have a peer review process – therefore they are usually perfectly legal businesses." From Bealll's List . Be careful about sending your work to these publishers.

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• Next: Publishing processes >>
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Publishing a Master’s Thesis: A Guide for Novice Authors

Robert g. resta.

1 Swedish Cancer Institute, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA USA

Patricia McCarthy Veach

2 Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA

Sarah Charles

3 Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA USA

Kristen Vogel

4 Center for Medical Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA

Terri Blase

5 Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL USA

Christina G. S. Palmer

6 Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA

7 Department of Human Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA

8 UCLA Semel Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room 47-422, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA

Publication of original research, clinical experiences, and critical reviews of literature are vital to the growth of the genetic counseling field, delivery of genetic counseling services, and professional development of genetic counselors. Busy clinical schedules, lack of time and funding, and training that emphasizes clinical skills over research skills may make it difficult for new genetic counselors to turn their thesis projects into publications. This paper summarizes and elaborates upon a presentation aimed at de-mystifying the publishing process given at the 2008 National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Education Conference. Specific topics include familiarizing prospective authors, particularly genetic counseling students, with the basics of the publication process and related ethical considerations. Former students’ experiences with publishing master’s theses also are described in hopes of encouraging new genetic counselors to submit for publication papers based on their thesis projects.

Introduction

Scholarship is important for growth of a profession and for clinical care. For these reasons, the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) endorses scholarly activities through Practice Based Competency IV.5 (American Board of Genetic Counseling 2009 ). Boyer ( 1990 ) describes four types of scholarship (Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Integration, Scholarship of Application, and Scholarship of Teaching), all of which are endorsed by ABGC and required of accredited genetic counseling training programs. The first three types of scholarship, which involve generating new knowledge or applying existing knowledge to an important problem, are the basis of the ABGC’s requirement that students in accredited programs engage in scholarship and complete a scholarly product. The ABGC defines a scholarly product to include: a master’s thesis, an independent research project, a literature review/case report, a formal needs assessment, design and implementation of an innovative patient, professional, or community educational program, and/or preparation of a grant proposal.

The purpose of this article is to encourage students to disseminate their scholarly work (except grant proposals) through a journal publication. This article was developed from an Educational Breakout Session (EBS) at the 2008 National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Annual Education Conference and draws upon the experiences of a past editor and current assistant editor of the Journal of Genetic Counseling ( JOGC ), a student mentor, and recent genetic counseling graduates who successfully turned their student thesis projects into peer-reviewed publications.

Engaging in scholarship is important for increasing genetic counselors’ self-knowledge, but dissemination of scholarship is essential for the growth of the genetic counseling field. McGaghie and Webster ( 2009 ) identify a wide range of types of scholarly products that promote broad dissemination of information, including peer-reviewed journal articles (e.g., original research, case reports, review articles), book chapters, books or monographs, edited books, essays, editorials, book reviews, letters, conference reports, educational materials, reports of teaching practices, curriculum description, videos, simulations, simulators, and web-based tutorials. As evidence of the importance of disseminating scholarship to the field of genetic counseling, dissemination of scholarly products is actively promoted by the NSGC, the major professional organization for the genetic counseling profession. A prominent example of NSGC’s commitment to dissemination is the JOGC , a professional journal devoted to disseminating peer-reviewed information relevant to the practice of genetic counseling. The success of this journal over nearly two decades is a strong indicator of the value genetic counselors place on publishing journal articles as an essential product of scholarship.

Individuals who have completed a master’s thesis or equivalent should consider publication. This “call to publish” student work is based on evidence that a large proportion of students engage in a scholarly activity with publication potential. A recent survey of 531 genetic counselors suggests that 75% of respondents fulfilled their scholarly activity requirement via a master’s thesis (Clark et al. 2006 ). Among this group, 21% classified their thesis as “hypothesis driven” and 20% classified it as a “descriptive study.” Although the research may be relatively small scale given the time and resource constraints of short training programs (≤2 years), it nonetheless offers a rich and varied source of information about the practice of genetic counseling that could be shared with the broader community through publication. Yet Clark et al. ( 2006 ) found that only 21.6% of respondents who completed a master’s thesis had submitted a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. It appears that many students do not submit their research for professional publication, perhaps due to a combination of time constraints, lack of mentoring and support, unfamiliarity with the publication process, lack of professional confidence, and fear of rejection (Clark et al. 2006 ; Cohen et al. 2008 ; Driscoll and Driscoll 2002 ; Keen 2006 ). Because this is one aspect of scholarship that has received limited attention, guidance regarding the details and vicissitudes of the publication process, and acknowledgement that master’s theses can be successfully published, are needed.

Of course, one might question why students should or would publish the results of their graduate work. The answer is complex, without a “one size fits all,” because scholarship can be intrinsically and/or extrinsically motivated. McGaghie and Webster ( 2009 ) describe intrinsic motives as including sharing knowledge, career advancement, status improvement, collegial approval, personal pleasure, and response to challenge; extrinsic motives include academic pressure, commitment to patient care, practice improvement, and promoting the use of new technologies. Although the reasons genetic counselors publish articles have not been empirically evaluated, Clark et al. ( 2006 ) (i) concluded that a substantial number of genetic counselors consider active involvement in research (a form of scholarship and precursor to publication) to be a core role, and (ii) found that respondents endorsed a range of intrinsic and extrinsic motives for their involvement in research. These reasons included interest in the subject, contributing to the field, personal development/satisfaction, diversifying job responsibilities, job requirements, lack of existing research on a particular topic, and career advancement. It is reasonable to infer that these reasons would extend to publication as well.

The work that culminates in a master’s thesis provides the basis for a professional journal article. However, writing a professional journal article differs from writing a master’s thesis. This article, therefore, provides practical ideas and considerations about the process for developing a master’s thesis into a peer-reviewed journal article and describes successful case examples. Research and publication occur in stages and include many important topics. Previous genetic counseling professional development articles have partially or comprehensively addressed the topics of developing and conducting a research project (Beeson 1997 ), writing a manuscript (Bowen 2003 ), and the peer-review process (Weil 2004 ). This paper expands on previous articles by describing the publication process and discussing publication ethics, with emphasis on aspects pertinent to publishing a master’s thesis. It is hoped that this article will encourage genetic counselors to publish their research.

The primary audience for this article is genetic counselors who are conducting a master’s thesis or equivalent or who completed a thesis in the last few years which remains unpublished. The secondary audience is other novice authors and affiliated faculty of genetic counseling training programs. Although the focus of this paper is on journal publications which are subject to a peer-review process (e.g., original research, clinical reports, and reviews), some of the basic information applies to a variety of publishing forms.

The Publication Process

Publish before it perishes.

Like produce and dairy products, data have a limited shelf life. Research results may be rendered marginal by new research, social changes, and shifts in research trends. For example, a study of patient reluctance to undergo genetic testing due to concerns about health insurance discrimination conducted in December 2007 would have been obsolete when the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (Pub.L. 110–233, 122 Stat. 881, enacted May 21, 2008) was enacted 5 months later. Or studies of whether patients think they might undergo testing if a gene for a particular condition were identified become less relevant once the gene is actually mapped and sequenced.

The hardest part about writing is actually writing. Making the time to sit down and compose a report of research findings is a very difficult first step. As noted in the three case examples, this is particularly true for a recent graduate whose time is occupied with searching for a new job, moving to a new city, and learning the details of a new job. However, the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes, and the greater the risk that your data will grow stale. If you do not write it, the paper will likely not get written. The three case examples identify strong mentorship, ongoing communication with co-authors, constructive criticism, and commitment to publication by every author as key elements for successfully preparing a manuscript. The following sections describe basic processes for preparing a paper. See also Table  1 for helpful references about technical aspects of manuscript preparation.

Table 1

Selected Resources For Manuscript Preparation

Choosing a Journal

Research delivered to an inappropriate audience is ignored. Many journals publish genetic counseling research—as demonstrated by the three case examples—and therefore, choosing the right journal is critical (Thompson 2007 ). The first step is to decide who the audience should be. Is it important to reach genetic counselors? Medical geneticists? Or is the audience outside of the genetic counseling community? Some genetic counseling research is of interest to researchers in patient education, decision-making, or the social sciences. Clinicians such as surgeons, radiology technicians, psychologists, and family practice physicians might benefit from a greater understanding of genetic counseling and how it interfaces with their specialties.

The next step is to decide whether the journal is interested in the type of research conducted. For example, does the journal publish articles mostly on medical and clinical issues? Does it publish qualitative research? A description of the scope, aims, and types of research that are published is located in the “Instructions to Contributors” section on the web page of most journals. A look at the journal’s editorial board might also provide a good idea of a journal’s theoretical approaches, philosophical orientation, and research interests. Another strategy is to contact the journal’s editor or a member of the editorial board prior to submitting a manuscript to discuss the appropriateness of the manuscript for the journal. Many editors welcome such pre-submission contact since it reduces their workload of reading inappropriate manuscripts.

A journal’s “impact factor” may be important to some authors when considering where to publish a manuscript. The impact factor is a—perhaps imperfect—statistical measure of a journal’s importance. The impact factor was developed in the early 1960s by Eugene Garfield and Irving Sher and is technically defined as A/B, where A = the number of times articles published in that journal were cited and B = the number of citable articles published by the journal (letters and editorials are not usually citable articles) (Garfield 1994 ). An impact factor of one indicates that on average, articles published in the journal were cited once by other authors.

A journal’s impact factor can vary greatly from year to year, and its practical utility is widely debated (Andersen et al. 2006 ; Chew et al. 2006 ; Greenwood 2007 ; Ha et al. 2006 ; The PLoS Medicine Editors 2006 ). Genetic counselors often publish small studies and case reports. The journals that might publish such papers usually have impact factors of ten or less. Thus the impact factor may be a less important consideration for many genetic counselors when deciding where to publish.

A publisher’s copyright policy may also influence the choice of where to publish. The majority of publishers own the copyright (United States Copyright Office 2008 ) and authors do not have the right to copy, re-use, or distribute their own publications without buying reprints, which can be a significant source of income for publishers. Some journals, like the Public Library of Science (PLoS), are completely Open Access and make all articles fully available online. Other journals have Delayed Open Access, which makes articles publicly available after a specified period of time, often a year or two. Many journals, such as the JOGC , promote Hybrid Open Access in which authors, for a fee, can make their articles publicly available. Some journals will make select articles publicly available, usually those that attract media attention. For grant-funded research, consider the requirements of the funding source; some granting agencies require that the research results be made publicly available at some point.

Peer Review

Peer review is the process in which two or three experts evaluate a manuscript to determine whether it is worthy of publication. Peer review is the backbone of scholarly publishing; no research manuscript gets published until a team of reviewers and journal editors vets it. Ideally, reviewers are objective, constructively critical, open-minded, fair, and insightful. Some journals blind the reviewer to the author’s identity, in hopes that the authors’ reputations or professional relationships will not influence the review. Some journals will let authors suggest reviewers or request that certain people not review a manuscript. A journal’s peer review policies may be another important consideration in choosing where to submit a manuscript.

In practice, peer review is not always ideal (Benose et al. 2007 ; Curfman et al. 2008 ; Hames 2007 ; Wager et al. 2006 ). Nonetheless, no better or viable alternative has been proposed. Reviews may sometimes appear to be arbitrary, unfair, and poorly performed. Reading such reviews can be very difficult and frustrating, even for experienced authors. However, it is a reviewer’s job to be critical, and there may be elements of truth in even the most negative reviews. Some editors may be willing to send a manuscript to another reviewer if an original reviewer produces a harshly critical or poorly thought out critique. Some journals have a formal appeals process if a manuscript is rejected or an author feels a review is inaccurate, inappropriate, or biased. However, sometimes it is simply easier to submit the manuscript to a different journal. Case # 2 describes a successful example where submitting a manuscript to a different journal led to publication.

The manuscript rejection rate varies widely across journals, but about half of all manuscripts are rejected or require significant revisions (Armstrong et al. 2008 ; Hall and Wilcox 2007 ; Liesegang et al. 2007 ). About half of rejected manuscripts are published in other journals (Armstrong et al. 2008 ; Hall and Wilcox 2007 ; Liesegang et al. 2007 ). Even among articles that are accepted for publication, the vast majority will require significant revisions. All three case examples describe manuscripts that underwent significant revision. Thus, prospective authors should not be disheartened if a manuscript is rejected or needs extensive re-writing; this is the rule rather than the exception . Many editors are willing to work with authors who have questions about specific comments or how best to incorporate the reviewers’ suggestions. Busy journal editors would rather answer questions up front than have to laboriously edit a revised manuscript and send it back for further revisions.

Peer review, and the subsequent manuscript revisions, along with the number of manuscripts submitted to the journal, are probably the most critical bottlenecks in determining how long it takes before a manuscript appears in print. Typically, a year or more may pass from the time of submission to the publication date. The three case examples include their timeframes to highlight the need for perseverance and patience with the publication process.

The clearest way for authors to respond to editors’ and reviewers’ comments is to prepare a table that lists each comment and how the authors addressed them, item by item. Some reviewers’ comments may be inaccurate or simply unrealistic (e.g. “The authors should re-do the entire research study...”); these can be discussed in the table or in the cover letter that accompanies the table. Additional information about the peer-review process can be found in Weil ( 2004 ).

Acceptance!

Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, the publisher or the journal editor will send a copyright transfer statement that spells out ownership of the article. This statement must be signed and returned in short order before the manuscript will be published. The corresponding author will receive page proofs, usually electronically, which must be read by the author for accuracy and returned fairly quickly (usually 2–3 days). Many publishers are reluctant to make significant changes in the page proofs, and they may charge for substantial revisions. Thus, the version of the manuscript that is submitted to the journal before the page proofs are generated should be very close to what the author wishes to see in print. Usually at this time publishers will offer the author the option to purchase reprints to allow the author to share the publication with other researchers, co-authors, and colleagues. Some journals will provide a limited number of free reprints or a complimentary copy of the issue of the journal in which the paper appears. The steps in the publication process are summarized in Table  2 .

Table 2

Steps in the Publication Process

a ∼50% of manuscripts are rejected or require significant revision before being accepted for publication

Ethics of Publishing

“Scholarship (like life) is not always fair or precise.” (Thompson 1994 )

Manuscript preparation and submission for publication can be complicated by ethical issues. Many authors may not be aware of these ethical conundrums, let alone have a plan for addressing them. Ethics is not a stagnant concept. As research methodologies and research questions evolve, new ethical issues in publishing arise. This section contains a description of several issues broadly relevant to the publishing practice of genetic counselors, particularly as students or recent graduates. However, it is important for genetic counselors-as-authors to keep abreast of ethical issues relevant to their own work.

“Ethics” are principles that govern the behavior of individuals or groups (Merriam-Webster 1974 ). Ethical codes of conduct exist in order to preserve the integrity of a profession, ensure the public’s welfare, and protect scholars. Ethical issues particularly relevant to writing for publication, include: (1) authorship determination, (2) disclosure and conflicts of interest, (3) plagiarism, (4) subject confidentiality, (5) accuracy of information, and (6) publishing in multiple sources.

Authorship Determination

Consider the following situation: A student conducted an excellent study for her master’s thesis project. At the beginning of the project, her supervisor promised her that she would have first authorship on any manuscripts based on the project. However, when the time came to write the paper, the student procrastinated. Finally, after the supervisor repeatedly “nagged” her, she submitted a draft to her, but it was very poorly written. The supervisor decided the only way to salvage the paper was to totally rewrite it herself. Now the supervisor thinks that she deserves to be the first author. Is this ethical? Does it matter if the project was the student’s master’s thesis rather than a project in which she was voluntarily involved? Are there guidelines that might be implemented in advance to handle this kind of situation?

This complex situation may be all too familiar for many supervisors and students. It raises issues about valuing contributions to the publication process, the power differential between supervisors and students, determining when renegotiation of authorship is warranted, and setting expectations and priorities up front. Whenever manuscripts are authored by more than one individual, order of authorship should be negotiated as early in the process as possible. Only individuals who have actually contributed to the work should be listed as authors. Their order should indicate “...the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status” (Shadish 1994 ) (p. 1096). In the sciences, the first and last authors typically are the individuals that made the greatest contributions to the project (Laflin et al. 2005 ). Many journals require a listing of each author’s contribution to the manuscript in order to make sure each person meets the journal’s requirements to be listed as an author.

Student authors pose a special situation. Doctoral students usually are the first authors of papers based on their dissertation research (Nguyen and Nguyen 2006 ). Authorship order is less clear for masters’ projects because masters’ students may lack sufficient knowledge and skills to conduct a project and prepare a manuscript of publishable quality without considerable input from their supervisor (Shadish 1994 ). Thompson ( 1994 ) recommends that when there is any question as to who made the primary contribution, the student should receive higher authorship. His recommendation helps to protect the person who has less power in the situation. Often students are involved in studies that are not based on their own master’s or doctoral research, but rather are connected to an existing research program, such as case examples 1 and 2. In those situations, some authors contend that their involvement should be creative and intellectual in order to warrant authorship; otherwise, student input can be credited in an acknowledgement section (Fine and Kurdek 1993 ; Holaday and Yost 1995 ; Thompson 1994 ).

Negotiating authorship is an important step that should begin in the initial stages of a project. This step usually involves assessing and agreeing upon each person’s tasks, contributions, and efforts. The amount of supervision required for an individual’s contributions is usually considered as well (Fine and Kurdek 1993 ). Sometimes renegotiation of authorship order is necessary due to unexpected changes and/or substantial revision of the manuscript. The key is to remember that authorship is negotiated. Questions to consider throughout this negotiation process include: Who had the original idea for the basis of the publication? Who designed and conducted the study that generated the data? Who will write most of the first draft of the paper? Is the study part of someone’s research lab? Students should maintain early and on-going communication with their co-authors about their investment of time and efforts and the outcomes of those efforts (Sandler and Russell 2005 ). However, scholarly contribution is more important than actual time and effort expended when determining authorship. For more information regarding authorship determination, it may be useful to review guidelines for discussing and clarifying authorship order (Gibelman and Gelman 1999 ) or developing individualized contracts for research collaboration (Stith et al. 1992 ). These guidelines also may be useful for initiating discussion of authorship as part of the curriculum in genetic counseling training programs.

Take another look at the authorship scenario. At the time of the original negotiation of authorship, it is likely that the supervisor (and other parties) believed the student warranted first authorship due to her creative contributions and time allotted to the study. In most authors’ minds, first authorship is equated with substantial contribution to writing the manuscript, usually the first draft, so it is important the student understand this is part of the responsibilities of being first author. Typically students have no experience writing a journal article, and so some procrastination is likely. In this scenario, the authorship dilemma may have been averted by having in place a plan to mentor the student, providing support, and delineating a specific process for writing the first draft of the manuscript.

Manuscripts invariably undergo substantial revision as co-authors and reviewers weigh in, so it is not unusual that the supervisor would revise the student’s first draft. This activity does not prima facie warrant a change in authorship order. However, by developing a specific plan to support the student’s writing, it may minimize the extent of the supervisor’s revisions. It is possible, though, that the student’s procrastination and poor writing should initiate a renegotiation of authorship order because the level and nature of her contributions to the work may be changing. The supervisor and student should discuss the reasons for changing authorship order; the supervisor should not unilaterally make this change without discussion. Keep in mind that the bar for changing authorship should be much higher if the paper is based on the student’s master’s thesis than if it is based on a project in which she was voluntarily involved. It is also important to inform students early in the process that most research is a collaborative effort, requiring time, energy, and sometimes funding, and therefore their collaborators have expectations that their contributions will be rewarded through publication. Developing an a priori policy for renegotiation may often reduce misunderstandings and minimize conflict.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Consider the following situation: A student conducted a study to evaluate a new program that her clinic is offering to its patients. She interviewed ten patients who participated in the program about their experience. Nine of these patients were in general agreement about the value of the program, while the 10th patient was quite negative about her experience. The student’s impression of this patient is that she is a generally negative person. The student believes that the patient came into the program expecting not to like it. Furthermore, the student is concerned her clinic will lose funding for this program if she reports this patient’s responses. The student decides to exclude her data from the paper. Is this decision ethical? Why or why not?

One ethical issue raised in this scenario involves determining when it is appropriate to exclude data points. Data collected from research can be messy, and it is not unusual for some data points to be excluded from analyses. However, there must be an explicit methodology for excluding data points or subjects, and this information usually is reported in the manuscript. Examples for exclusions include: missing data (e.g., a participant did not complete a majority of the items on a questionnaire); measurement error (e.g., the recorded measurement of a biological process or part of the anatomy is simply impossible); small sample sizes (e.g., an insufficient number of individuals from a minority group participated in the research resulting in numbers too small for meaningful analysis). In the scenario described above, the rationale provided for excluding the 10th patient’s experience is not sufficient to warrant exclusion. Instead, it appears that exclusion of this individual is based on a desire to promote the new program in the student’s clinic. In order to eliminate this form of conflict of interest, one could consider involving a clinic outsider in the analysis and interpretation of the data. By including a clinic outsider in the project, editor and reviewer concerns about the integrity of the data, analyses, and conclusions will be allayed.

Most journals provide another “safeguard,” by requiring a statement about possible conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest statement requires the author to acknowledge in writing the nature of any circumstances that might bias the process and/or outcome of their work. For example, any project and published report that might result in direct financial gains for an author(s) should be disclosed to a journal’s editor and to the readership. Examples of possible conflicts of interest include conducting a study of the effectiveness of a genetic test funded by the company that developed and is marketing the test, or a program evaluation study whose outcome would determine the continuation of the investigators/authors’ jobs.

Plagiarism is a familiar concept to most people. Everyone generally understands the importance of “giving credit where credit is due.” Yet, the National Science Foundation estimates that the prevalence of plagiarism may be as high as 50% (Roig 2001 ). Probably many of these incidents are unintentional and/or occur because the authors were unaware of some of the nuances regarding plagiarism. Although there is some variability within and across disciplines about the specific behaviors that constitute plagiarism, there is general agreement about two broad types (Roig 2001 ): cryptamnesia -an individual thinks their idea is original when it actually was presented by someone else previously; and inappropriate paraphrasing —an individual uses another person’s published text without properly citing that use, and/or using their statements with little or no modification. Specific examples of inappropriate paraphrasing include: (1) publishing another person’s work as one’s own; (2) copying part of another author’s paper and claiming it as one’s own; (3) copying text from another source without using quotations marks and without citing that source in the text; (4) paraphrasing text from another source without providing an in-text citation; (5) summarizing material from another source without clearly connecting the summary to that source; and (6) using copyrighted materials without author/publisher permission (East 2006 ; Lester and Lester Jr. 1992 ).

Additional types of plagiarism include ambiguous use of citations. For instance, an individual includes a citation in a paragraph but does not clearly indicate which content in the paragraph is from the cited work. Another type of plagiarism is self-plagiarism . Self-plagiarism occurs when an individual includes published work of their own for which they do not own the copyright (e.g., reprinting a table from one of their previously published papers); repeating verbatim text from a previously published article. Permission to reprint material from the publisher must be obtained.

Plagiarism is a serious ethical breach which can result in a legal penalty. Strategies for avoiding plagiarism include limiting the use of direct quotes; avoiding the use of secondary sources—it is always better to read and cite an original source when available; and restating ideas in one’s own words while providing in-text citation of the work that contains the original ideas (East 2006 ; Lambie et al. 2008 ; Lester and Lester Jr. 1992 ). When in doubt regarding the originality of one’s words, it is best to cite the source(s) on which they are based. In this regard, it may help to bear in mind that readers will assume all words in the paper are the author’s unless the source(s) are cited.

Subject Confidentiality

Published papers must be written in a way that no subjects can be recognized by others without their written consent (Gavey and Braun 1997 ). Given the unique nature of genetics, family members may also need to provide written consent (McCarthy Veach et al. 2001 ). When possible, identifying information should be removed or disguised (e.g., use of pseudonyms) and data based on multiple subjects should be reported in aggregate (group) form. Institutional review boards (IRBs) play a critical role in assuring protection of subject confidentiality. Many journals require authors to indicate either in the paper or a cover letter that they have obtained institutional review board approval to conduct their animal or human subjects study. In some cases, an ethics board may have been consulted regarding ethical dilemmas reported in a clinical paper and this should be acknowledged in the paper.

Accuracy of Information

Authors are responsible for rigorously checking the accuracy of their facts, data, and conclusions. However, despite one’s best efforts, substantial errors sometimes are not discovered until after a paper is published. In that case, the corresponding author should contact the journal immediately and ask that an erratum be published. On a related note, authors have a professional responsibility to make data sets reported in published papers available to other professionals. This practice allows for verification of the findings and conclusions, and it also makes possible research replications and extensions of the original study. The length of time for retaining research records depends on institutional policy and sponsor policy, so it is important to be aware of how these policies apply to the research generated by a master’s thesis. Often institutional review boards require researchers to state how long they will maintain a data set, and the researchers must adhere to that time frame.

Another accuracy issue concerns modifying and reporting the use of published material (e.g., an interview protocol, psychological instrument, curriculum) without clearly describing the precise nature of the modifications. Interpretation of findings and their comparison to other studies using the “same” instrumentation may be severely compromised when an author fails to report modifications. Further, professional courtesy suggests that permission be sought from the author before changing her or his material. Also, use of published material requires crediting the author(s) of that material by including relevant citations.

Publishing in Multiple Sources

In the sciences, a manuscript should not be under review by more than one journal at a time. It is, however, acceptable to submit material for presentation at a conference prior to its actual publication in a journal, as the authors in case examples 1 and 3 did. Some conferences publish proceedings , and some journals will not publish work that is already published in a Proceedings unless the two papers differ substantially. When in doubt, it is good practice to contact a journal’s editor to determine the journal’s policy. Journals typically only publish original work, but on occasion there may be interest in reprinting an article. Reprinting a previously published paper requires written permission from the owner of the publication copyright. As a matter of courtesy, one should also seek the corresponding author’s permission, even if the author does not own the copyright.

Examples of Success

The benefits of sharing knowledge within the medical community and with the public via publication have been delineated. The publication of original work contributes to the advancement of the genetic counseling field overall, and at the individual level, authorship establishes a level of professional credibility, enhancing opportunities for future employability, funding and job satisfaction. The opportunity to develop a genetic counseling master’s thesis into a manuscript should therefore not be overlooked. Below are the personal accounts of three recent graduates who successfully transformed their individual master’s theses into published manuscripts. These examples were not systematically ascertained, and as such, do not necessarily represent all experiences with trying to publish a master’s thesis. These stories provide “first-hand accounts” of the authors’ experiences and, while acknowledging the challenges, demonstrate commitment to publishing their own projects throughout their careers. Table  3 contains a list of helpful hints gleaned from these cases.

Table 3

Helpful Hints for First Time Authors

Case 1: Consider Writing Your Thesis and Journal Article Concurrently

As a result of personal determination, and above all, strong mentorship, I was able to turn my master’s thesis work into a manuscript published in Patient Education and Counseling , titled “Satisfaction with genetic counseling for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations among African American women” (Charles et al. 2006 ). My work was a small component of an existing research project being conducted within a university academically affiliated with my genetic counseling training program. The project was an evaluation of the overall effects of “Culturally Tailored vs. Standard Genetic Counseling Protocol” among African American women.

I started by reviewing previous publications this group of researchers had produced and using these as a guide for my first draft, followed by multiple revisions. Approximately 17 months elapsed between first submission and publication. We submitted the manuscript in its original form in May 2005. We received the reviewers’ comments later that summer, and submitted revisions five months later. The article was accepted in that same month, published online five months later and in print seven months after the online version appeared. Shortly after graduating from my program I submitted an abstract of the work to NSGC for presentation at the 2005 Annual Education Conference, and subsequently learned that it was selected for the NSGC Beth Fine Student Abstract award.

My experience may be unusual because I worked on the manuscript and thesis project concurrently. Composing separate but related documents while still juggling second year genetic counseling student responsibilities was certainly a challenge. Preparing a comprehensive thesis project is a very different task than manuscript composition, the latter of which is more focused and narrow in scope. Challenges posed by this concurrent approach included ensuring that text requirements and deadlines specific to each document were met, as well as incorporating and addressing the reviews of both the training program and peer-reviewers. The main benefits of this approach were that I was still in school and therefore geographically close to my mentors, which facilitated ongoing communication throughout the process, and that the manuscript was under review by a journal before I started my new job.

Factors contributing to the successful publication of this project include mentorship, accountability, and commitment to publication by every author. Supportive, constructively critical, and well published, my mentors had high standards and knew the process. Frankly, I did not want to disappoint them. I found setting deadlines and meeting them, along with the accountability of in-person meetings (as opposed to email), to be effective approaches. Finally, publishing the project was a stated goal of the authors at the initiation of the project. I will not claim that the process was easy, but the goal is certainly attainable and worthwhile.

Case 2: You Need Not Publish Every Thesis Finding—Pick The Most Interesting and Relevant

As is the case for many graduate students, the first time I attempted to publish was after I completed my thesis. My thesis concerned the development of a minority research recruitment database and was the result of my graduate research on underserved populations.

Following graduation, I started my first job as a genetic counselor in a new city. During the overwhelming process of adjusting to “my new life,” my thesis advisor asked me to submit a manuscript to the American Journal of Public Health in response to a call for abstracts on genetics topics. Unfortunately, the deadline was only one week away. I scrambled to cut down my lengthy thesis to a reasonable length and submitted it, knowing that it was not my best work given the time constraint. Needless to say, it was rejected.

I decided that before resubmitting the manuscript to a different journal, I would need to take a different approach to the paper, more or less starting over. While my research results were interesting, they were limited in their application. I decided to publish instead on the success of our research initiative, as other researchers could learn from our process. Since I was changing the focus of the manuscript, I had to do an additional literature search and produce much of the writing from scratch. Most of this work had to be completed in my free time. While it was difficult to stay motivated, working on my manuscript when first starting a job was manageable as my caseload was lightest in the beginning. After several weeks of hard work, I submitted the manuscript to Health Promotion Practice .

About one month later, the editor contacted me and asked me to resubmit my manuscript with revisions. Three different reviewers provided feedback. Initially, it was overwhelming to read through their comments and frustrating, particularly when the reviewers contradicted each other. Despite my frustration, with my co-authors’ guidance I forged ahead and resubmitted, only to have the editor and reviewers ask for additional revisions. There were comments from the same three reviewers, however, far fewer in number. Still, I was beginning to think they would never accept the manuscript. I once again called upon my co-authors for guidance and was able to address the reviewers’ comments and resubmit the manuscript once again.

This time when I heard from the editor, the manuscript was finally accepted. What started out as a 120 page thesis ended up being published as an eight page paper (Vogel et al. 2007 ). It took approximately 8 months of writing and revising before the manuscript was finally accepted and an additional year before it came out in print. While the entire process was a true test of patience and determination, it was ultimately worth it. The experience gave me the foundation to carry on my research career and continue to publish successfully.

Case 3: Expectations and Mentorship are Crucial

I defended my thesis, received my Master’s degree, and was about to move back to the Midwest to start my new job as a genetic counselor, but my long “To-Do” list had one remaining item: Publish master’s thesis. I started the initial master’s thesis process with the expectation from one of my thesis advisors, and now a co-author, that research is not “put down and set aside” until published. I never questioned the process; if I was going to work with this advisor, I would be publishing. I was excited to undertake this challenge and impressed by my thesis advisor’s dedication, mentorship, and desire to see our hard work recognized. Nearly two years later, I could proudly say that this expectation, held by all of my thesis advisors and me, was accomplished. The manuscript, published in the JOGC , describes qualitative research regarding communication of genetic test results within a family (Blase et al. 2007 ).

In the beginning, I was unfamiliar with the publication process, but because of the support and guidance of my advisors, I began to learn the process, and so the frustrations and uncertainties were minimal. I also had a great working relationship with my co-authors that included communicating regularly and setting and meeting deadlines. After deciding the JOGC was the most appropriate venue for my research, I spent a good deal of time reducing and reformatting the 80 page thesis to a 20–25 page manuscript to meet the journal’s guidelines. Given the page constraints, this process necessitated determining which data to focus on and re-framing some information to appropriately fit the readers of my selected journal. Conversations with my advisors were instrumental in this phase.

There was nothing quick about publishing my master’s thesis. I graduated in June 2005, received an email shortly thereafter from one of my advisors about how to begin constructing a first draft of a manuscript, and began working on the manuscript in July 2005. I submitted the manuscript to JOGC in May 2006 and subsequently was informed by the editor that based on the reviews, revisions were required before the manuscript could be considered for publication. In September 2006, after two rounds of revisions, my manuscript was accepted, and by June 2007 it was published in the journal.

Although ultimately I was successful in publishing my master’s thesis, the process had its moments of frustration. I remember getting my first round of comments from the reviewers; I thought I was never going to get to the point of publication. My co-authors supported and encouraged me by explaining that revisions are truly part of the process. I was overwhelmed by the reviewers’ list of questions and changes after my initial submission, followed by additional reviews and revisions. Not only did I have to figure out how to keep the manuscript a priority in light of my new job, but I had to weed through and address the reviewers’ comments, and the suggestions of each co-author. The guidance of my thesis advisors, now co-authors, helped me navigate this process.

I have gained much through this experience. The process has opened doors for me including opportunities to work with other professionals with impressive publishing experiences, as well as speaking and poster presentation opportunities at national conferences. I also have greater confidence about the publishing process. What seemed like such a daunting and impossible task is now an attainable outcome. Although my master’s thesis was my most recent publication, the thought of taking on the publication process again is not nearly as intimidating as I once thought.

Publication of original research, clinical experience, and literature reviews are vital to the growth of the genetic counseling field and to the delivery of genetic counseling services. Publishing also promotes personal growth by counting toward maintenance of ABGC-certification as well as establishing the author as a credible and respected authority both within and outside the genetic counseling field. This professional recognition in turn can lead to employment opportunities, speaking engagements, research funding, and career advancement.

Submitting a manuscript for publication also can be an intellectually challenging, emotionally trying, and time-consuming task. But similar to life’s other difficult tasks, the rewards and satisfaction are commensurately great—to see your name in print, have your work cited by other authors, and know that you have contributed in a meaningful way to the practice and understanding of genetic counseling. Transforming a master’s thesis into a journal article is an obvious first step in developing and sustaining a commitment to publishing for our genetic counseling profession. Common themes in the three success experiences include the importance of mentorship and clear expectations for publishing, recognition of the length of the process and concomitant need for perseverance in the face of revisions, awareness of personal and professional benefits in terms of presentations at national meetings, awards, and motivation to continue publishing. Hopefully the information provided in this article will help to de-mystify the publishing process, promote consideration of ethical issues in publishing, and stimulate genetic counseling students and new graduates to embrace a “Publish for Success” philosophy.

Acknowledgments

This paper was developed from an Educational Breakout Session (EBS) sponsored by the Jane Engelberg Memorial Fellowship Advisory Group at the 2008 NSGC Annual Education Conference.

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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How to create a journal article from a thesis

Affiliation.

• 1 School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Queensland, Australia. [email protected]
• PMID: 22866554
• DOI: 10.7748/nr2012.07.19.4.21.c9220

Aim: To identify strategies to assist in the publication of research arising from a postgraduate thesis or dissertation.

Background: There are many benefits to publishing a journal article from a completed thesis, including contributing knowledge to the writer's chosen field, career enhancement and personal satisfaction. However, there are also numerous obstacles for the newly graduated student in crafting an article fit for a specialist publication from a thesis.

Data sources: The author conducted a search of the title, abstract and keywords of the Cinahl, Scopus and Proquest databases, from 1990 to 2010: The author searched for the words: 'journal article' or 'manuscript; 'thesis' or 'dissertation'.

Review methods: The author excluded papers if: they pertained to allocation of authorship to someone other than the academic adviser; related to undergraduate issues rather than graduate dissertations; were discussions of the merits of a PhD by 'publication' instead of 'by thesis'; were not published in a peer-reviewed journal; or were not in English.

Conclusion: The relationship between adviser and student changes as the student becomes a graduate, and new roles for the student and adviser need to be negotiated.

Implications for research/practice: Students need to realise that writing a paper from a thesis is usually going to be more difficult than they anticipate, but the application of strategies discussed in this paper should make the task manageable. Furthermore, universities might wish to consider alternatives in which published papers emerge before the examination of a thesis, such as requiring students to write a paper as part of their coursework.

• Academic Dissertations as Topic*
• Nursing Research*
• Periodicals as Topic*
• Publishing*

MIT Libraries logo MIT Libraries

Thesis content and article publishing

Journal publishers usually acquire the copyright to scholarly articles through a publication agreement with the author. Their policies then determine what authors can do with their work.

Below are publisher policies regarding graduate students’ reuse of their previously published articles in their theses, and policies on accepting journal submissions that first appeared in an author’s previously released thesis.

If an article is co-authored with a member of the MIT faculty, or if you have opted-in to an OA license , the MIT open access policy  is likely to apply to the article, which allows for the extension of additional rights to graduate student authors through MIT for reuse.  Short excerpts of published works may also be available for reuse under the MIT Libraries license agreements .

See this page for information about who owns the copyright to your thesis (generally, it’s either MIT or you).

Please contact [email protected] with questions or if you need information that does not yet appear below.

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Reuse of author’s previously published article in author’s thesis

Check the terms of your publication agreement .

Submission of new article by author that first appeared as part of author’s thesis

Allows :  “ We do not regard dissertations/theses as prior publications.”

American Chemical Society

Allows : “Authors may reuse all or part of the Submitted, Accepted or Published Work in a thesis or dissertation that the author writes and is required to submit to satisfy the criteria of degree-granting institutions…. Appropriate citation of the Published Work must be made as follows “Reprinted with permission from [COMPLETE REFERENCE CITATION]. Copyright [YEAR] American Chemical Society.”

“If the thesis or dissertation to be published is in electronic format, a direct link to the Published Work must be included using the  ACS Articles on Request link.”

See also this FAQ for thesis info.

Each ACS journal has a specific policy on prior publication that is determined by the respective ACS Editor-in-Chief. Authors should consult these policies and/or contact the appropriate journal editorial office to ensure they understand the policy before submitting material for consideration.

American Geophysical Union

Allows : “If you wish to reuse your own article (or an amended version of it) in a new publication of which you are the author, editor or co-editor, prior permission is not required (with the usual acknowledgements). However, a formal grant of license can be downloaded free of charge from RightsLink by selecting “Author of this Wiley article” as your requestor type.”

Allows : “Previously published explicitly does not include oral or poster presentations, meeting abstracts or student theses/dissertations.”

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Allows : “ Upon publication of an article or paper in an AIAA journal or conference proceeding, authors can use in their own theses/dissertations (with permission of AIAA if required by copyright).”

From here : “In most cases when AIAA is the copyright holder of a work, authors will be automatically granted permission by AIAA to reprint their own material in subsequent works, to include figures, tables, and verbatim portions of text, upon request. Explicit permission should be sought from AIAA through Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) ; all reprinted material must be acknowledged and the original source cited in full.” 

American Institute of Physics

Allows : “A uthors do not need permission from AIP Publishing to reuse your own AIP Publishing article in your thesis or dissertation (please format your credit line: “Reproduced from [FULL CITATION], with the permission of AIP Publishing”)” Author agreement says the version of record can be used . 

Allows : Publishing the work in a thesis is not considered prior publication according to author warranties in the publication agreement.

American Physical Society

Allows , “ provided the bibliographic citation and the APS copyright credit line are given on the appropriate pages.”

Allows Language from Physical Review journals page: “Publication of material in a master’s or doctoral thesis does not preclude publication of that material in the Physical Review journals.”

American Society for Clinical Investigation

After Jan 4, 2022 : “Effective with the January 4, 2022 issue of JCI, authors retain copyright on all articles, which are published with a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).”

Prior to Jan 4, 2022 : “ Permission can be obtained via Copyright Clearance Center . Copyright or license information is noted on each article.”

Likely allows : D oesn’t explicitly call out theses but says posting on preprints isn’t prior publication. 

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

Allows : “Authors can include partial or complete papers of their own (and no fee is expected) in a dissertation as long as citations and DOI pointers to the Versions of Record in the ACM Digital Library are included. Authors can use any portion of their own work in presentations and in the classroom (and no fee is expected).”

Likely allows . Prior publication rules apply to “peer reviewed” publications.  

Cambridge University Press

Allows : “Permissions requests are waived if t he author of the work wishes to reproduce a single chapter (not exceeding 20 per cent of their work), journal article or shorter extract in a subsequent work (i.e. with a later publication date) of which he or she is to be the author, co-author or editor.”

Policies set by individual journals.

Allows : “ ​​ Use and share their works for scholarly purposes (with full acknowledgement of the original article): Include in a thesis or dissertation (provided this is not published commercially).”

Allows : “ Elsevier does not count publication of an academic thesis as prior publication.”

Emerald Publishing

Allows . Authors should use the submitted version or accepted manuscript version.  Use of the final published version is permitted in print, but not electronic versions of theses.

Allows : “We are happy for submissions to Emerald to include work that has previously formed part of your PhD or other academic thesis. Please submit your paper in the usual way but declare the existence of the uploaded thesis to the Editor of the journal. If the Editor wished to consider the paper further, the paper would go through our standard anonymised peer-review process.”

Allows , with some requirements

Theses not specifically addressed , but permitted subject to editorial discretion. Individual journals may have their own policies.

Institute of Physics

Allows. A uthor may use the final published version or figures/text, and should include citation and a link to the version of record. “When you transfer the copyright in your article to IOP, we grant back to you certain rights, including the right to include all or part of the Final Published Version of the article within any thesis or dissertation.”

Inter-Research Science Center

Reuse of published content is “generally free of charge,” but you must get permission. Email: [email protected]

Not addressed , except to say, “ Permission to re-use any previously published material must have been obtained by the authors from the copyright holders.”

International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) INTERSPEECH conference

Allows , with citation. “ISCA grants each author permission to use the article in that author’s dissertation….”

Mathematical Sciences Publishers

Allows , with citation. “The Author may use part or all of this Work or its image in any future works of his/her/their own.”

Unclear, but the author agreement says , “The Author warrants that the Work has not been published before, in any form except as a preprint.” We suggest asking your editor.

National Academy of Sciences

Allows , with citation. “ PNAS authors do not need to obtain permission in the following cases: …to include their articles as part of their dissertations.”

Not addressed . “ What constitutes prior publication…will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Allows , with citation. “ Authors have the right to reuse their article’s Version of Record, in whole or in part, in their own thesis.”

Allows . “ Nature Portfolio 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.”

Oxford University Press

Journals have their own policies . OUP uses the Copyright Clearance Center for permissions . Contact your editor.

Royal Society of Chemistry

Allows , but says, “ Excerpts or material from your dissertation that have not been through peer review will generally be eligible for publication. However, if the excerpt from the dissertation included in your manuscript is the same or substantially the same as any previously published work, the editor may determine that it is not suitable for publication in the journal.”

Allows — in addition, a special agreement with Springer for MIT authors allows for reuse for scholarly and educational purposes.

Policy varies by journal but according to Springer: “There are no overriding ethical issues as long as the dual publication is transparent and cross referenced. Transparency is key, though a few journals might reject such an article for the reason of non-originality.”

Taylor & Francis

Allows — authors retain the right 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.”

Allows : “ Y ou may share any version of your article with individual colleagues and students… as submission of thesis, or doctorate.”

Allows : “ The following types of “prior publication” do not present cause for concerns about duplicate or redundant publication: Dissertations and theses in university archives.”

Page last updated: February 8, 2024

Thesis Information: Publishing

• Introduction
• Reviewing Literature
• Supervisors
• Māori Postgraduates

Getting Started

Considering publishing papers as you go, as part of your thesis, or after your thesis is completed?

Wanting to publish your thesis now that you've finished?

Publishing is an important part of communicating your research, and vital if you want to continue in academia. Consider:

• talking with your supervisor, they may recommend best approaches and relevant places to start
• considering options for including your own published articles in your thesis, including University guidelines and copyright permissions
• creating a conference poster to share your research findings
• looking for Calls for Papers (CFPs) for relevant conferences and journals to get a sense of in-demand research topics
• reading academic publishing and higher education blogs for publishing tips
• applying for a University of Otago Postgraduate Publishing Bursary (once you have submitted your thesis for examination).
• Research Publishing and Impact This Library guide has strategic tips and links on getting published, setting up your researcher profile and networking, and tracking your impact.
• Guidelines for the Inclusion of Material from a Research Candidate's Publications in their Thesis University of Otago guidelines for PhD and Professional doctorate students, supervisors and other staff about candidates including their own published material in a graduate research thesis.
• Postgraduate Publishing Bursaries University of Otago Publishing Bursaries are available to support postgraduate candidates to complete papers arising from their research, during the examination period.
• The Guardian : How to get published in an academic journal [article] Ten helpful tips from academic journal editors for both writing and submitting your papers for publication - posted January 2015
• The Scholarly Kitchen [blog] A moderated, multi-author blog on scholarly publishing matters, including OA.
• PhD On Track: Share and Publish [online module] An online learning module examining why and where to publish, submitting articles, co-authorship, copyright and Open Access.

Where to Publish?

• Choosing the Right Journal
• Identifying Journals & Measuring their Impact

Think - Check - Submit

Identifying a relevant journal to submit your work can be challenging but will help to get your work accepted, and then read by the right audience. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself when considering a journal:

• Is it peer-reviewed ?
• What is the subject area of the journal?
• Is it aimed at the audience you want to write for?
• Do you read articles from this journal?
• Are the editor and the members of the editorial board respected researchers in your field?
• How does the journal compare to others in its field for quality and impact?
• How long does it take between an article being accepted and it being published?
• Is it Open Access ?
• What are the copyright policies ?
• What are the journal’s ethical profile and aims?
• Does the publisher belong to the Open Access Scholarly Publishers’ Association (OASPA) ?
• Do the publisher belong to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) or another trade association?

Adapted from : PhD On Track - CC BY-NC-SA

• Journal finding tools From Otago's Research Publishing & Impact guide; includes conference tools

Here are some tools to help you identify journals in your subject area and to get a sense of their impact in comparison to other journals in the field:

• Journal Citation Reports Uses a variety of metrics (e.g. total citations, 2- and 5-year Journal Impact Factor, immediacy, cited half -life, Eigenfactor) to rank journals within a subject category.
• SCImago Journal & Country Rank Find SJR (journal rankings) for a wide number of journals. Citation data sourced from Scopus.
• Publish or Perish Free software that analyses GoogleScholar citation data. May be especially useful to researchers with publications in social science journals. More robust than the MyCitations feature in GoogleScholar.
• Scopus - Compare Journals This tool enables you to compare up to 10 journals for a range of journal metrics based on Scopus data, including SCImago Journal Rank and Source-Normalized Impact per Paper.

Open Access Publishing & OUR Archive

• Australian Open Access Support Group: So you want people to read your thesis? [blogpost] Explores options for communication your thesis findings, including Open Access. Also includes advice about handling rogue publishers like Lambert Academic Press.
• OUR Archive University of Otago's Institutional Research Repository, which includes our e-theses.

Predatory and Deceptive Publishing

Predatory or deceptive publishers seek to take advantage of researchers. Some claim to be Open Access in order to collect payments from prospective authors for journal articles, others may approach you when you submit or deposit your thesis.

Check what you should be aware of with publishing offers .

• Chronicle of Higher Education : Dissertation for sale - A cautionary tale US-based advice about paying close attention to third party publishing options
• Slate : I sold my Undergraduate Thesis to a print content farm [article] Article about rogue publisher, Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP), which offer to 'publish' and sell theses without peer review.
• College & Research Library News : Beyond Beall’s List - Better understanding predatory publishers [article]

Books about getting published

Sharing Your Data

Arguments in favour of data sharing include maximising transparency, enabling scrutiny, increasing the impact of research, and reducing the cost of duplication.

Research funding agencies, academic institutions, and publishers may require researchers to provide access to data for the wider scientific community.

Ways to share research data include:

• Deposit with a discipline-specific or institutional repository
• Formal exchange of data with other researchers (peer-to-peer)
• Submission of data to a journal to accompany a publication
• Thesis Whisperer : Ever thought about publishing your data? [blogpost]
• << Previous: Submitting
• Next: Supervisors >>
• Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024 5:53 PM
• URL: https://otago.libguides.com/thesisinformation

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Tress Academic

#123: Publishing papers from a PhD thesis

May 17, 2022 by Tress Academic

If you have completed your PhD with a monograph, AKA a thesis, you might wonder if you can convert your thesis into journal papers. Are you allowed to do this, and what is the best way to do it? Here, we describe the steps you should consider when you convert your PhD thesis into papers.

Converting a monograph PhD thesis into papers is a great idea, particularly if you want a career in academia. Papers are the current currency in academic career development. You want to show others that you’ve done good work. And if you have not written papers alongside the monograph, it seems obvious to consider writing papers  based on your PhD project after the monograph is completed. Journal papers will help spread the results of your PhD study in your community; papers have a better reach and are easier to consume by your peers than a monograph thesis. So there are very good reasons to publish papers from a PhD thesis! 

Of course you could have written papers from the start, but if your PhD ended with a monograph, it is pointless starting such a discussion now. There are often many practical reasons why you published a monograph and not papers. For more details on this discussion, see our post #6, Dissertation dilemma? Hand in a monograph or papers?  

What counts now is that you’re considering getting more out of your thesis by turning some of your thesis work into papers. We want to help you with these 10 steps that you can follow: 

1. Answer these essential questions first

Successfully completed PhD researchers often ask the question: “Can I publish papers from my monograph?” In general, we say: “Yes, you can, but … you first must determine whether you’re allowed to publish your work with regard to permissions, copyright, ethics, originality, plagiarism, and foreign language versions.” If you’re unsure on these issues, please have a critical look at the 7 questions that we’ve prepared for you in the free worksheet “Key questions before you start.” Once you’ve checked this and you know you’re allowed to publish your work, follow the remaining steps outlined below. 

2. Select content from your thesis

The structure and extent of detail vary between PhD monographs and journal papers. Don’t aim to include all of your thesis in one paper—this will likely result in a too long, too broad, and less interesting paper. Readers of journal papers often look for answers and input on specific problems, and your thesis encompasses too many problems and topics. Select one of the topics from your thesis for one paper, and another one for another paper, if you like. Of course, you can write several papers from your thesis, and also several paper types. Have a look at post #28 about What type of journal paper to write?

3. Don’t copy and paste but rewrite and update 

You might feel tempted to copy whole sections, if not chapters, from your thesis and paste them into your paper.Don’t do it! A journal paper is less wordy and has a different internal logic than a monograph chapter. It is much better to rewrite what you wrote in the monograph and update it with new references or information where necessary and possible. Doing so will strengthen the originality of this new paper compared to your monograph!  

4. What is original in your work?

Space in the journal paper is very limited, and so you should  try to fill it with your most original work. In a monograph, you typically give the reader the big picture of a problem, including its historical development. Cut this down in your paper and focus on your work. You can assume that the readers of your paper are from your field, and they will know a lot about the background already. They are more interested in the new stuff that you’re contributing to the field. 

5. Start with the most important work

You may plan to write at least 3, 4, or even 5 papers from your PhD work. If you can do this, you should definitely go for it, but sometimes life moves on and there isn’t enough time to follow through on all the plans we have. Most likely, you will only manage to write 1 or 2  papers from your monograph because you are working on a new project or a new position and there’s a lot of work to do there. To prevent running out of time to write up the really cool stuff from your PhD study, start writing the first paper on this stuff first. Pick your most important work from your PhD study and make sure it gets published. If something else comes up afterwards, you at least got this important work out there! 

6. Transfer your introduction into a review paper

An obvious paper to write from your PhD monograph is a review paper. You have most likely done a detailed literature study on your PhD topic in a separate chapter of your thesis. This would be a great starting point for a literature review on the topic as you’ve done most of the work already. You would need to focus on a specific aspect for your review, report how you selected the literature in the first place, and look for recent updates to the literature since you did the review for your thesis. Then, identify a journal that could be interested in a review on this topic and go for it. Check our two posts #50, Mastering the literature review during the Corona lockdown , and #91, Find the right journal for your paper following these 8 steps for further help. 

7. Tell the journal 

In your cover letter, tell the journal editors that your submitted paper is based on your (un-)published PhD thesis and include the reference to it. Be very clear and open about it and don’t try to hide it, but also make it clear to the journal that you consider your paper a valuable and original contribution to the wider readership of the journal. Journals are not against publishing work from PhD theses in general as they would not consider a thesis a formal publication.  

8. Cite your thesis

It’s not enough to tell the editors that your work is derived from your PhD monograph–make this clear to your readers and actively cite your PhD monograph. No need to cite it all the time in the paper–either pick a prominent place within your paper to cite it or add it to the acknowledgment section. 

9. Limit the number of references

A PhD monograph is often a reference work where interested readers can find all the important literature that has been published on the topic so far. That’s not needed in a journal paper. Here, you’ll write for readers who are experts in the field, just like you. Of course you should refer to the most recent relevant studies and give credit to all the work you used, but don’t provide any additional references.

10. Keep your text short

How many pages is your monograph? About 100, 200, or more? However long, it is far longer than the paper you’re going to write and this can make it difficult to pare down. You’ll probably think that your paper is too short and then you’ll add one more paragraph and another because there’s plenty of material to take from the monograph. Don’t be afraid when your paper looks skinny next to your monograph–if all relevant, and not all available information is included, it’s the right length!

For any academic career you might pursue, having a selection of papers that detail your work is indispensable! Therefore, seriously consider turning some of the material from your PhD monograph into journal papers—only the material you’re most proud of. You’ll need to check first that you’re not running into any ethical or legal conflict by doing so, and you’ll also need to consider the specific rules within your academic field. A great source for help is the website of the Imperial College London (2022), and our worksheet Key questions before you start will help you double-check, but for most cases, it won’t be a problem to turn your thesis into papers. In fact we think it is a great idea, and encourage you to do so! 

Resources: 

• Free worksheet: Key questions before you start
• Smart Academics Blog #6: Dissertation dilemma? Hand in a monograph or papers?
• Smart Academics Blog #28: What type of journal paper to write?
• Smart Academics Blog #50: Mastering the literature review during the Corona lockdown
• Smart Academics Blog #91: Find the right journal for your paper following these 8 steps
• Imperial College London, 2022. Publishing material from your thesis . Accessed 9 May 2022.

More information:

Do you want to successfully write and publish a journal paper? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides.

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• Planning to Write

Q: How can I publish a research paper based on an already published thesis?

I submitted my thesis to a standard paper repository, now I want to publish a research paper from the same thesis. But it shows high similarity. The Editor of the Journal doesn’t care about self-plagiarism. So how I can proceed?

Asked on 21 Feb, 2019

Converting a thesis or dissertation into one or more journal articles is an acceptable practice. This is not considered self-plagiarism and most journals will not have any issues with this as long as you are transparent. However, in your case, since the thesis has already been published in a public repository, it is best to inform the Editor about this at the outset. The best way to proceed would be to explain in your cover letter that your paper is based on your thesis and that your thesis is already published in a repository. Provide a link to the thesis if possible. Also, make sure that you cite the thesis in your manuscript.  

Additionally, you must keep in mind that a thesis and a journal article are two completely different sub-genres of academic writing. Each caters to a different audience and sets different expectations. A thesis is a lengthy discourse written to show how much you know about your research topic while a journal article is written for busy scholars who are looking for specific and evidence-based practical ideas. Hence, the journal article that you repurpose from your thesis should be more concise and it must highlight the important findings of your study.  Also, make sure you rewrite the content using the style and format recommended by the journal. 

For more tips to rewriting your thesis as a journal article, you can refer to these articles:

• Tips on rewriting your thesis as a journal article
• The basics of converting your PhD thesis into journal articles
• 9 Differences between a thesis and a journal article

Answered by Editage Insights on 12 Mar, 2019

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How to Get Your Thesis Published

Writing a thesis is tough. Current or recent graduate students understand the time and effort required to successfully complete their research program. Indeed, graduate training involves extensive amounts of research that often reflects years of failures and successes. This research often leads to some type of novel insight, which is organized into either a t hesis paper or dissertation.

When writing a dissertation or a thesis , there is much to consider. Both require extensive amounts of work and reflect the years of research conducted by the student. Some universities require that students publish this final research in peer-reviewed journals prior to being considered eligible to graduate. Meanwhile, others do not require the thesis to be officially published. Ultimately, regardless of the graduation requirements, certain career tracks for PhDs or Master’s students require publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Graduate Writing

The type of graduate writing that is required by a student’s university depends upon where the graduate student has studied. In Europe, a doctoral thesis reflects original research, whereas, in the USA, a thesis is often a shorter document associated with a Master’s degree.

Whatever the title, extensive research projects are organized into a final document. Some of these written documents can be formatted into a book. Before publishing, a graduate student should consider several factors prior to publishing. Namely, the student should ask, is my research

• Rigorous: Is it methodical, scholarly work?
• Significant: Why does it matter to your potential audience?
• Original: Is it novel and unique?
• Marketable: Are there potential customers?

When to Publish?

In the past, universities have published theses graduation research summaries in only a hard copy format, such as a bound book. Now, some theses or dissertations are available online, often with a Creative Commons license. This can be a problem due to the requirement by journals that manuscripts contain only unpublished and original data. However, generally, a thesis or dissertation consisting of original, previously unpublished research that has been made available by your home institution does not prevent you from publishing. Rather, journals will consider these theses and dissertations that were published by universities as, understandably, still sufficiently novel data. Furthermore, peer review is an integral component of publication. To pass the muster of peer review, it is important to consider the feedback of dissertation or thesis committee. The critiques of your committee will often mirror the potential concerns of your peer reviewers.

Related: Planning to publish your Ph.D. research in a good journal?  Check these journal selection guidelines now!

Tips and Common Concerns

When going to publish your dissertation, there are generally some common errors made by graduate students.

First, it is generally a good practice to reference or acknowledge the thesis. Since the dissertation may be available publicly, it is important to be transparent about the source of the data.  Similarly, always inform journals that some research contained within a thesis or dissertation was published either in a print-only version or in an online repository.

You can publish your thesis as a monograph or a series of articles. It can depend on the type of thesis.

• Traditional thesis: It is usually in the form of chapters and is an original work written by an individual student.
• Thesis by publication: It consists of papers that have already been published in a journal.

According to COPE guidelines , when thesis contains original unpublished work, it should not be considered as prior publication. Therefore, it is acceptable to be published as a manuscript or a monograph in a journal, even if it is available freely in university repositories and Creative Common license may or may not apply.  However, if the thesis is of the second type, then the papers will be considered as prior publication and are not acceptable as original works for publication. As a research lab hosts student’s work, it is important to first review the policies of your host university. Similarly, since fields transform rapidly, don’t wait too long before publishing. If you do, you run the risk of your literature review or methodology becoming outdated.

I have my dissertation i want to published

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Scholarly Communications

• Publishing Your Thesis as a Monograph
• What is Scholarly Communications?
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Things to Consider

Publishing your thesis as a book can be an alternative or an accompaniment to publishing an article in a journal. If you are considering publishing your thesis as a book or monograph, here are some things to consider: 

• You will first need to edit or restructure your thesis to make it suitable for publication. When adapting your thesis for publication, consider the expectations of publishers and your potential audience. 
• Your book should be published by a commercial or academic publisher, rather than a print-on-demand or vanity press. For help finding an appropriate publisher in your subject area, consider consulting your supervisor or a librarian. Self-publishing is not considered reputable for academic careers. 
• You will need to submit a book proposal to potential publishers. For more information on this, consult the Book Proposals tab. 
• Most publishers do not consider a thesis to be prior publication. Consult with the publisher for their policies on this. 

Selected Video Resources

• “From Dissertation to Book: Navigating the Publication Process” A panel talk of academic publishing experts hosted by UC Berkeley.
• “How to Turn Your Dissertation Into a Book” A panel talk of publishing professionals hosted by Yale University.
• “The Monograph Publishing Process” A short video from Cambridge University.
• “From Thesis to Monograph” A short video from Cambridge University.

Selected Library Resources

• << Previous: Publishing a Book
• Next: Book Proposals >>
• Last Updated: Nov 27, 2023 9:20 AM
• URL: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/ScholarlyCommunications

PublishingState.com

How to Turn Your Thesis into a Book

Table of contents, introduction, understanding your audience, adapting thesis content for a book, crafting a compelling narrative, writing style and tone, exploring publishing options, understanding literary agents and academic presses, preparing your manuscript for publication, creating a book proposal, marketing and promotion.

The transition from researcher to author can seem daunting, but turning a thesis into a book offers significant rewards. Publishing a book allows you to share your research with a broader audience beyond academia. It also helps establish your authority and expertise in your field.

Books have more longevity than journal articles, enabling you to tell a richer, more in-depth story. As an author, you can reach practitioners who can apply your insights and educate the general public. The process of adapting your thesis helps strengthen your writing and communication abilities.

A book enhances your brand and opens speaking opportunities, consulting engagements, and career options. However, writing a book requires reevaluating how to convey your ideas to non-specialist readers best. You must shift to a more accessible writing style and think creatively about crafting a compelling narrative arc.

This involves restructuring content, integrating anecdotes, choosing an engaging voice, and mastering storytelling techniques focused on keeping readers’ attention. The publishing process also brings new complexities concerning agents, editors, guidelines, and marketing. Yet, with careful planning and persistence, it is possible to navigate these hurdles successfully.

For academic researchers, the thesis often represents the culmination of years of study in a specialized field. However, researchers can turn their thesis into a published book rather than let it collect dust. This allows them to reach a much wider audience with their ideas and establish themselves as authorities in their subject.

Books have a permanence and legitimacy that other mediums lack. While journal articles may have more prestige in academia, books make research accessible to mainstream readers. They have the potential to educate the public, shape dialogues in a discipline, inspire future scholarship and impact real-world practice. By publishing a book , researchers greatly amplify the influence of their thesis.

Yet, transitioning from researcher to author involves more than copy-pasting a thesis. It requires adapting to a completely different style of writing. Academic writing prioritizes precision, empirical rigor, complex language, and speaking to a niche audience. Books aimed at general readers use clearer prose, compelling narratives, and real-world stories and structure content more thematically.

Researchers must shift their mindset accordingly. The publishing process also brings new challenges concerning agents, editors , guidelines, publicity, and marketing. With commitment and perseverance, this obstacle course can be successfully navigated.

Beyond making an original contribution to academic literature, publishing a book version of your thesis can provide career advantages and personal satisfaction. Turning a thesis into a book dramatically expands your audience and visibility. While only committee members may have read your thesis, a published book makes your ideas accessible to students, practitioners in your field, policymakers, journalists, and interested lay readers. This establishes your reputation as an authority on the topic.

With an academic book on your resume, opportunities for speaking engagements, consulting jobs, teaching roles, and media commentary will likely arise. Your work may even influence legislation or real-world applications of your research. On a personal level, adapting your writing style, finding your narrative voice, and connecting with readers can be deeply fulfilling. After spending years on specialized research, being able to articulate your insights to the public is incredibly rewarding.

Finally, a successfully published book represents a seminal career achievement. As an academic book author, you join the ranks of thought leaders pushing disciplines forward and changing conversations through their writings. Few accomplishments are gratifying than seeing your name and ideas preserved between book covers for posterity.

When transitioning from writing a thesis to writing a book, it is crucial to recognize that the audiences differ significantly. Academic writing is geared towards a specialized scholarly community familiar with theory, methodology , and disciplinary conventions. In contrast, writing a trade book targets a more mainstream readership looking for an accessible and engaging narrative. As an author, you must identify who your new readers are and what kind of content would appeal to them.

Academic writing utilizes discipline-specific jargon, an impersonal tone, extensive literature reviews, and a rigid structure to establish authority on a narrow topic. Trade writing uses plain language, anecdotes, humor, and a flexible narrative style to captivate nonspecialist readers on a more universal theme.

Determine if your book will speak to students, professionals, policymakers, or the general public interested in your field. Analyze comparable titles to discern what resonated. Shape chapter content and style to align with readers’ interests and background knowledge levels. Weave in examples and analogies rooted in their contexts to increase relevance.

Becoming an adept storyteller enables your specialized material to crossover to mainstream audiences. Master cliffhangers, plot twists, character development, and other devices to immerse readers. Share amusing anecdotes and clever turns of phrase to add flair. Stimulate imagination through vivid scenic descriptions. Pose thoughtful discussion questions to encourage critical reflection. Building rapport with readers amplifies the book’s real-world influence.

Transforming a thesis into a book requires re-evaluating and restructuring the content for a more narrative-driven approach. Academic writing tends to be dense and technical, while general readers expect an engaging story and relatable concepts. As an author, you must balance retaining scholarly rigor and making the ideas accessible.

Identify your thesis research’s key themes, arguments, and findings. Break these down into logical chapters and subsections. Consider which topics would benefit from additional examples or backstories to embed within the analysis. You may need to condense detailed statistical analyses into summarized findings and then expand on the practical implications. The goal is to convert technical content into an intriguing narrative that draws readers in.

While academic texts impress with jargon and complex concepts, the general public loses interest quickly. As an author, focus on explaining ideas using everyday language. Define terminology and provide illustrative examples wherever possible. Break down complex arguments into step-by-step logic that is easy to follow. Quote outside experts to reinforce your points. Include stories and anecdotes to humanize the research. However, it upholds standards of intellectual rigor by substantiating claims and highlighting study limitations.

Personal perspectives allow readers to connect with the author and material more deeply. Share what motivated your research questions and discuss memorable moments from collecting or analyzing data. Describe conversations with study participants that illuminated key insights. Use examples from your own life to illustrate broader concepts. Occasional touches of humor also help. Such anecdotes breathe life into academic subjects. However, ensure that any personal information shared is appropriate and relevant to the discussion.

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can breathe new life into academic material. Researchers can make their work more engaging and memorable for general audiences by incorporating narrative elements like plot, characters, and setting.

Academic writing often focuses solely on facts, theories, and data analysis. While important, this approach rarely captivates readers outside one’s field. Storytelling techniques offer a solution—they provide structure, conflict, and resolution to make the content more compelling. For instance, case studies allow researchers to frame their work around a specific person or organization, adding a human element. Techniques like foreshadowing, flashbacks, and cliffhangers also heighten narrative tension. Applying story arcs to research gives readers a reason to care beyond factual accuracy.

Weaving in real-world examples brings sterile academic concepts to life. For example, an economic treatise could profile a small business owner grappling with rising inflation. This puts a human face on monetary policy debates. Case studies also showcase how theories operate in specific organizational contexts. Infographics, photos, diagrams, and other illustrations make complex ideas more understandable. Using relatable examples and visuals helps concretize abstract arguments for non-specialist readers.

A disjointed narrative quickly loses readers’ interest. Compelling storytelling strategically sequences events, balancing scene-setting, rising action, climax, and resolution. Transitions should smoothly guide readers between ideas. Maintaining narrative momentum also means limiting digressions and cutting content that distracts from the core story arc. Like fiction, academic writing succeeds when readers feel transported into an immersive world brimming with possibilities. Careful narrative construction makes scholarly work impossible to put down.

The shift from formal academic writing to a more conversational and engaging tone is key when adapting a thesis into a book for a general audience. Academic writing is often dense, technical, and aimed at a narrow group of experts. In contrast, trade nonfiction requires an accessible writing style that feels like a conversation with an intelligent friend sharing hard-won knowledge.

When academics write books for general readers, they must consciously work to transform their formal thesis prose into a more relaxed yet authoritative style. Sentences should generally be shorter and less complex. Technical jargon should give way to clear explanations and vivid examples. The text may directly address the reader through second-person narration and rhetorical questions.

At the paragraph level, variety in sentence structure and length helps carry the reader along. An occasional humorously phrased insight makes the text more enjoyable. Using active voice and strong action verbs injects energy into the narrative.

While academic writing seeks an objective, impersonal tone, trade nonfiction benefits from revealing glimpses into the author’s experiences, passions, and personality. The strategic use of anecdotes about the writer’s intellectual journey in a candid first-person voice makes the book more approachable and involving for readers.

That said, professional decorum must be maintained while allowing one’s voice to emerge. Too much informality risks undermining the writer’s scholarly credibility. A thoughtful, nuanced take on the subject matter, with careful qualifying statements where needed, reminds readers that this is still an expert guiding them through complex terrain.

For scholar-writers seeking to engage general readers, the central challenge lies in balancing academic rigor with accessibility. This means not watering down complex scholarly ideas but taking the time to contextualize and explain them clearly to intelligent non-specialists. Using vivid examples and metaphors to illustrate abstractions can aid understanding.

Occasionally, the author might consciously decide to retain some technical terminology where no equivalent plain language substitute exists or adequately conveys the precise meaning. In such cases, clear definitions should be supplied the first time such a term is introduced. The glossary can also be utilized for convenient reference.

By emphasizing quality over quantity of information and spotlighting the most critical insights from the thesis, scholarly authors can craft books that inform and enlighten readers without overwhelming them. The art lies in judicious simplification without distortion of meaning.

How to Turn Your Thesis into a Book: Navigating the Publishing Process

Understanding the publishing industry landscape is crucial for academics looking to turn their thesis into a published book. There are two main paths to publication – traditional publishing through an established publisher or self-publishing your work independently. Both have their own merits and considerations.

The traditional publishing route involves signing with an academic or trade publisher. This option benefits the publisher’s distribution networks, marketing capabilities, editorial services, and imprint credibility. However, competition is fierce, with low acceptance rates.

Self-publishing offers greater control and faster time-to-market, enabled by print-on-demand technology. Platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing make self-publishing accessible. The downside is that marketing and distribution remain the author’s responsibility.

For the traditional route, securing a literary agent can be invaluable for getting your book noticed by publishers. Literary agents have established relationships with publishers and can help negotiate book deals and navigate the publishing process. On the other hand, academic presses specialize in publishing scholarly works and may be more interested in publishing academic theses. Researching and identifying potential literary agents and academic presses that align with your book’s subject matter and target audience is important.

Before submitting your manuscript to publishers or self-publishing, it is crucial to ensure it is polished and ready for publication. This involves careful editing and proofreading to eliminate any errors or inconsistencies. It is also important to format your manuscript according to the publisher’s guidelines or industry standards. Creating a visually appealing and well-structured book will enhance its professionalism and appeal to readers.

When submitting your manuscript to publishers, it is common practice to include a book proposal. This document provides an overview of your book, including its subject matter, target audience, market potential, and competition analysis. It is also important to highlight your qualifications and expertise as the author. A well-crafted book proposal can help publishers understand the value and marketability of your book.

Regardless of your publishing route, marketing and promotion are essential for getting your book noticed and reaching your target audience. This involves creating an author platform, including a website and social media presence, and engaging with your readers through blog posts or public speaking events. Utilizing online platforms such as Goodreads, Amazon, or book review websites can also help generate buzz and attract readers to your book.

Navigating the publishing process can be challenging, but with careful planning and consideration, turning your thesis into a book can be a rewarding experience. By understanding the publishing industry landscape, preparing your manuscript effectively, and implementing effective marketing strategies, you can increase the chances of your book reaching a wide readership and making a meaningful impact in your field.

We have delved into how to turn your thesis into a book that melds creative storytelling with scholarly acumen. It is a transformative act that extends the reach of your rigorous academic efforts to inform, engage, and inspire a general audience. The endeavor presents an opportunity to refine your ideas, solidify your expertise, and broaden the dialogue within and beyond your field. The thesis-to-book transition requires critical adjustments in writing style, narrative construction, and audience engagement. It demands that complex ideas be distilled without diluting their significance, enabling readers from various backgrounds to glean insights and appreciate the depths of your research. At once a scholarly and creative pursuit, reshaping a thesis into a book offers academics a wider platform for influence. It allows a work that might otherwise remain within the confines of academic circles to educate, affect public discourse, and potentially guide policy and practice. Upon successful publication, seeing your work in book form is not simply an act of personal accomplishment but a contribution to the collective repository of knowledge that charts new paths for understanding and innovation. Whether navigating traditional publishing avenues or embracing the autonomy of self-publishing, the meticulous effort to produce and promote a book is an adventure with unique challenges and rewards. The act of persevering through these stages is a testament to the importance you place on the dissemination of knowledge. Ultimately, transitioning your thesis into a book is more than a mere reformatting of academic work; it is a sharing of passion, a conversation extended to curious minds, and a beacon for those seeking to delve into your study’s essence.

As a newly minted author, you offer a window into a world shaped by your expertise, inviting readers to explore, question, and apply the knowledge within. The book that ensues carries the weight of your scholarly dedication and serves as a dynamic vessel for ideas to be encountered, contemplated, and utilized in the ever-evolving tapestry of intellectual pursuit.

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Francesco Lelli

Should i publish my thesis the good, the bad, the ugly.

The question “should I publish my thesis” is a bit too generic and requires some clarification. We may want to start from understanding what do you mean by “publish” and continue with “where”, “when”, “with who” and “how much it costs”.

First of all, publishing a thesis is not synonymous with releasing the thesis in open access . Open access refers to the idea to make your thesis publicly available on the web. Publish a thesis refers to use the content of your thesis for building a scientific publication and submit it to a peer-review journal or conference.

In the case you are considering making an article in a blog or in LinkedIn, that does not still goes in the category of publishing. However, it deserves special attention and I will write an article about that later.

As you may already understood that this activity will require extra work, sometimes a lot of extra work. Consequently, we may want to understand what are the benefits (if any) in your particular case. What follows are a set of generic suggestions/ considerations, however you should be aware that each case is different and you may want to think critically before taking on board these suggestions.

What are the benefits of publishing a thesis?

Lets see them point per point, a publication may:

• Differentiate you from the crowd
• Position you as a (young) expert
• Shows that you are capable of think critically and scientifically
• Good addition to have in your CV
• Improve your chances of passing a selection for a PhD fellowship

Some of these benefits may be interesting you. If that is the case you may want to consider the extra efforts and decide accordingly.

Is the work that I have done publishable?

Let’s be very honest and direct. If you are doing a bachelor thesis, the chances are very low. If you are doing a master thesis you may have a few more possibilities. You may want to be very open and direct with your supervisor and have their opinion on board. If this was your intention since the beginning (see make the most of your thesis ) you may want to make it clear during one of your first meetings. If you are maturing this idea while writing the thesis you may want to ask their opinion during one of your sessions. My suggestion is to be humble and consider the fact that building a publication will take an extensive amount of time. At the same time, maybe you are working on an existing thesis and/or your supervisor has existing material that could be combined with your work. This is one more reason for speaking freely.

Also, be aware that some thesis are just not designed for been published. Maybe you are doing it in conjunction with an internship, maybe the work that you are doing is just at the beginning or simply it will require too much additional work for making all the additional extra attentions that you need for publishing. If that is the case, just move forward to your next adventure. The alternative will be to publish it alone and the chances that you have all the expertise required are very low. Probably it will result in a lot of work for you and a rejection by a publisher in the end.

When should you publish the thesis?

This is a easy one. Strictly after the submission of the thesis. Your main goal should be obtaining a master degree and not to publish a scientific article. You are going to have limited resources at your disposal so, use them wisely and focus on what should be your main priority: graduate, possibly with a good grade.

Where should I publish the thesis?

Ask your supervisor. If your plans are not to continue to study you want to limit the additional work required to the minimum and focus on a venue of acceptable quality but not too thought. After-all there is never a guarantee when you will submit your work. Been rejected is part of the game.

With who should I publish the thesis?

As already mentioned, clearly with your supervisor as you have been mentored the all time. Your supervisor may also have additional work that could be combined with what you are doing and may have a few colleagues that could contribute to that work. In other words you may want to ask to your supervisor to take the lead of this task. In general authorship or co-authorship, position of author is an intricate topic and each community of scientist have a different approach to the question. I will probably write a dedicated post about that and you can consider this answer as the short version.

How much does it costs to publish and article?

It is relatively expensive. Conferences require a participation fee and your presence. Journal may be free (unless open access) but may require considerable additional amount of time. In general, this is yet another reason for involving your supervisor. The university usually have funds allocated to publications and, if this is the case, you do not have to worry about these aspects.

Summary: Should I Publish My Thesis?

I do not think that a general answer to this question exist. However I hope that you will use this article for reflecting about your particular case and been able to figure out your specific answer. Independently to what you will decide, focus on your thesis first and keep your supervisor in the loop and ask for his opinion and support on this task.

This article (Should I Publish My Thesis? The Good, the Bad, the Ugly) is part of the miniseries on how to do a good thesis, you can see the full list of post at the following links:

How to Do a Good Thesis: the Miniseries

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Publication-based doctorate: is it for me?

Potential research higher degree candidates from academia or industry will need to decide between a doctorate by thesis or by publication. Here are key questions to ask before embarking on the doctoral journey

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Prospective doctoral candidates have much less understanding of the process and requirements for a publication-based doctorate than they do for the more popular thesis-based route. Completing a doctorate, thesis- or publication-based, takes time and effort. Selecting the right mode is important before starting a research higher degree (RHD), so that the prospective doctoral candidate can be confident of completing it.

Here, I discuss the questions that future doctoral candidates should ask if they are considering a publication-based doctorate.

• Why get a PhD by publication (and other career tips)
• Why getting a PhD is like building a Lego duck
• Don’t jettison traditional academic writing just yet

What is my goal in completing a doctorate?

A thesis-based doctorate helps the candidate to explore a subtopic of a research field as deeply as possible, based on few theoretical variables and within a limited practical context (for example, a limited dataset from a single socio-economic setting). A publication-based doctorate could explore a topic with more variables and contexts (for example, different publications on same topic would have different variables and datasets). It gives a publication-based doctorate a little more flexibility to explore a topic more widely. Therefore, the goal of exploring a subtopic area as widely as possible could fit better for a publication-based doctorate.

What is my thesis?

Yes, even for a publication-based doctorate, candidates need to produce a thesis, a theory or a proposition on a single topic, in combination with the overall contributions of published papers. As a result, the candidates need to think about how they can draw together the relevant findings from published papers to produce new knowledge on a single topic.

Are my publications cohesive?

For a publication-based doctorate, the publications you may already have and the outputs you plan to produce within an agreed time frame should focus on and contribute to a single subtopic. So ask yourself: how unified are my existing and planned publications? Designing the research aim, research question, methodology and contribution of your intended publications in relation to these sections among your existing publications is instrumental to ensuring that your publications are cohesive.

Where am I publishing?

Understanding where you publish should be a key consideration, as not all publications will be eligible for inclusion in your submission. All fields of studies have their own benchmark publications. For example, in business, the journal lists of the Association of Business Schools in the UK and the Australian Business Deans’ Council are often used to indicate a publication’s quality. In general, a publication-based doctorate could consist of journal papers, book chapters or published conference proceedings. Industry-based publications could be considered as well in some instances (for example, if you have an article published by a reputable chamber of commerce). Articles in predatory journals and publications such as brief op-ed articles or blogs might not be considered for a doctorate by publication.

Will the findings and contributions of my publications stand the test of time?

Doctoral candidates may already have publications, perhaps even in good academic journals, but they may be 10 years old. The knowledge produced perhaps made a contribution to your field of study, but the subsequent progress of the field may have surpassed your work or made it obsolete over time. So considering the potential significance of publications during the projected time of a doctoral submission is important. Comparing your work with existing publications in your field is a good way to understand the significance of the work you produce.

What is the extent of my theoretical and practical contribution?  

All doctorates should make significant contribution of theoretical knowledge and practical implication. But we know that the extent of theoretical and practical contribution of a RHD can differ based on the type of doctorate someone would undertake. For example, a doctor of philosophy needs to produce significant theoretical knowledge, whereas a professional doctorate would need more practical implications. Therefore, the candidate needs to consider the extent of theoretical and practical implications of their publications, in order to decide whether a doctor of philosophy or a professional doctorate would be more relevant.

Am I publishing as a sole author or a co-author?

Often, we work in a team and publish with our co-authors. Therefore, if you are planning to include one or several co-authored publications in a publication-based doctorate, securing permission from co-authors to include the relevant sections (that you have contributed to those co-authored publications) into a publication-based doctoral thesis will be helpful in avoiding any future conflict of interest among co-authors.

What is my career stage?

Career stage would have an influence on whether to opt for a doctorate by publication. For example, a candidate may already have five or 10 years of academic teaching or industry experience but has perhaps produced few academic or industry-based publications. In general, working to publish more papers in next two years, and combining them with existing publications to produce a new knowledge, would be useful to submit a thesis by publication. Mid-career candidates from either academia or industry might be considering a publication-based doctorate alongside other commitments but find that their work-life balance is unsustainable. In this case, a doctor of philosophy would be more appropriate for academic candidates, while a professional doctorate would be more relevant for candidates from industry.

How do I find a PhD supervisor?

Irrespective of whether the doctorate is by thesis or publication, RHD supervisors play a significant role in training their candidates to become independent researchers. So looking at the prospective supervisors’ profile, comparing your topic with their research area, emailing them to share your draft proposal, and requesting an appointment to talk about it further will be valuable for prospective candidates. It will help them to develop their topic of research, understand research procedures and requirements, and secure a supervisor.

These questions will help an academic or an industry professional considering a doctorate by publication to weigh their options carefully.

Riad Shams is assistant professor and head of the PhD programme at the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK. He is a board member of the Northern Advanced Research Training Initiative, a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the EuroMed Academy of Business, and associate editor of the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship .

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What is a thesis statement.

A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea of your paper. It is not just a statement of fact, but a statement of position. What argument are you making about your topic? Your thesis should answer that question.

How long should my thesis statement be?

Thesis statements are often just one sentence. Keep thesis statements concise, without extra words or information. If you are having trouble keeping your thesis statement to one sentence, consider the following:

• Is your thesis is specific enough?
• Does your thesis directly supports your paper?
• Does your thesis accurately describes your purpose or argue your claim?

Can I see some example thesis statements?

The following websites have examples of thesis statements:

• Thesis Statements This link opens in a new window (UNC)
• Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements This link opens in a new window (OWL at Purdue)
• Writing an Effective Thesis Statement This link opens in a new window (Indiana River State College)

These web resources may be helpful if you are looking for examples. However, be sure to evaluate any sources you use! The Shapiro Library cannot vouch for the accuracy of information provided on external websites.

Where can I find more information?

Video tutorials.

• The Persuasive Thesis: How to Write an Argument This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Research and Citation Playlist This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Planning a Paper series: Drafting a Thesis Statement This link opens in a new window ( Infobase Learning Cloud - SNHU Login Required)

More Information

• Build a Critical Analysis Thesis This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a Compare & Contrast Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a History Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a Persuasive Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please speak to your instructor about the appropriate way to craft thesis statements for your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

Online Students

To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:

• Academic Support Overview: Getting Help with your Schoolwork This link opens in a new window

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > How AI can help you improve your thesis statement

How AI can help you improve your thesis statement

Creating a thesis statement can be a challenging undertaking. Thankfully, today’s writers can use AI to assist in the creation process. While writing with AI can feel intimidating, the right tools and knowing how to use them can enhance your thesis statement and guide you through the creation process. From generating ideas to polishing your final draft, here’s how to use AI to create a quality thesis.

Selecting a topic

AI-powered tools have access to vast databases of academic papers, journals, and other scholarly materials. If you’re trying to choose a thesis topic or questioning the viability of your current topic, AI can assist by brainstorming ideas and highlighting relevant research you can use as evidence for your claims.

Creating an initial draft

AI tools can help you create a preliminary draft of your thesis statement, which you can continue to build on as your argument and research evolve. You can request a fresh draft at any stage in the writing process, as AI only requires basic information about your topic and area of research to get started. Based on your input, the AI tool will utilize its database of knowledge to generate a thesis statement.

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Refining your thesis with AI feedback

Once you have a solid draft, utilize AI feedback to refine your writing. Ask for an analysis of your thesis statement for clarity, coherence, grammar, and more. By highlighting areas for improvement, AI can help refine your thesis statement so it accurately conveys your research focus and argument. There are a few ways this process not only improves the quality of your statement but also enhances your understanding of what makes an effective thesis:

• Efficiency. AI tools can significantly speed up the brainstorming and drafting phases, giving you more time to focus on researching and outlining your thesis. This is especially useful for tight deadlines.
• Objectivity. AI feedback is based on data and algorithms that can provide a largely unbiased perspective on the quality of your thesis statement. This objective analysis can help you improve your thesis and overall writing.
• Consistency. AI tools can help you align the rest of your paper with your initial thesis statement to ensure consistency throughout your work.

Choosing the right AI tool for academic writing

When seeking an AI assistant for thesis drafting, choose AI tools, including GPTs, designed for professional or academic writing . AI applications that are familiar with academia can offer feedback and suggestions tailored to fit the conventions of scholarly writing.

AI has revolutionized academic writing, offering powerful tools for creating and refining thesis statements. By leveraging AI tools, you can achieve a higher level of clarity and persuasiveness in your work, so try them out the next time you need to write an academic paper!

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