3 paper dissertation

Getting all sorts of confusing advice, and not knowing how to move on? Let us help you out of the dilemma! There are two main types of dissertations. One is the monograph, and the other is the paper-based dissertation:. But, with the growing importance of academic papers peer-reviewed articles and the simultaneous declining importance of scholarly works published as a book monograph in many disciplines, this has shifted. So one determining factor is the research area in which you work.

6: Dissertation dilemma? Hand in a monograph or papers?

A few weeks before this I had presented a talk at our Graduate School Seminar series in which I produced a single PowerPoint slide listing the pros and cons of completing a three-paper thesis versus a traditional thesis.

Most recently, I have been getting to grips with the infuriating process of converting thesis chapters in to papers for publication, which I need if I want to get any kind of postdoctoral position. What is a three paper thesis and how does it differ from a traditional thesis? Well, a traditional thesis tends to have a chapter structure a bit like this:. So what is the principle difference and the reason for doing a three-paper thesis instead of a conventional thesis?

Your work is already divided into nicely bundled modules of output, all complete with their own introduction, methods, results and discussion, which are then relatively easily converted in papers suitable for publication.

The pyramid of academia narrows alarmingly the further you go up, meaning you may very well apply to 30 odd positions before you secure a job. And what do you lose by not doing a traditional thesis? Not much, really. It is a challenge to write coherently and fluently to a sum of 75, words, and the three-paper thesis, with its disparate sections, offers no such challenge. But then who actually reads your thesis? You, your supervisor, your co-supervisor, the internal examiner and the external examiner.

Maybe your Mum or Dad if they love you very much. Five or six people. Then it gets put on a shelf in a dusty storage room, probably never to be looked at again. But papers? They may be read by hundreds, and the kind of people you want to read them too — the experts in the field, your luminaries and colleagues. So at least discuss doing a three-paper thesis with your supervisor. It might, ultimately, not be right for you, but at least talk it over; it could save you a lot of energy in the long run.

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Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. The Geography and Environment postgraduate blog. Musings from Southampton's finest geographical postgraduates. Well, a traditional thesis tends to have a chapter structure a bit like this: 1. Introduction and outline of the problem 2.

Literature review of subject area 3. Background area 4. Methodological chapter s Results chapters usually 2 or 3 8. Introduction and background to the general topic area. First paper. Second paper.

Third paper. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Tags: academia , advice , phd , postgraduate , publication , research , supervisor , thesis , traditional. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:.

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How does it differ from traditional dissertation format? Simone Griesser (Warwick Business School), who chose the three-paper route to thesis. This short guide introduces the idea of a PhD thesis consisting of 'three papers' as an alternative format for writing-up the results of three years' PhD research.

Much of that described below is taken with permission from the School of Social Work at the University of Texas 1. The papers may not merely represent minor tweaks of a work that would be more appropriately reported in just one or two papers. The papers should be of normal journal article length say, between 5, and 10, words.

The traditional format — divided into introduction, literature review, methods, results and discussion — is not the only option for presenting your research. In some fields of study and at some universities students can opt for the three or triple article dissertation TAD format, also known as the journal article format.

I wrote a traditional, book-style PhD dissertation, mostly because I actually knew nothing about the three-papers model, and when my advisor saw how far ahead I already was, he decided to just keep my thesis as a book. In hindsight, I wish I could have reformatted it as a three-papers thesis and publish it in advance. As I have already written about, a PhD is an original contribution to the knowledge.

The Pros and Cons of Writing the Three Article Dissertation (TAD)

A few weeks before this I had presented a talk at our Graduate School Seminar series in which I produced a single PowerPoint slide listing the pros and cons of completing a three-paper thesis versus a traditional thesis. Most recently, I have been getting to grips with the infuriating process of converting thesis chapters in to papers for publication, which I need if I want to get any kind of postdoctoral position. What is a three paper thesis and how does it differ from a traditional thesis? Well, a traditional thesis tends to have a chapter structure a bit like this:. So what is the principle difference and the reason for doing a three-paper thesis instead of a conventional thesis? Your work is already divided into nicely bundled modules of output, all complete with their own introduction, methods, results and discussion, which are then relatively easily converted in papers suitable for publication.

Why I should have done a three-paper thesis

Through August , Boston University has moved to remote teaching and learning, canceled on-campus activities, and minimized lab research activities. By Dr. David Ozonoff December 6, The pressure to publish begins even before the degree is handed out, and more and more often successful publication and degrees are linked. Most students today think three papers are easier to do; this option jump starts them on their careers they start with three publications instead of none and is a safer, surer choice. Their thesis advisers subtly encourage this. Advisers are not co-authors of the monograph and often not co-authors on derivative manuscripts written a year or more after leaving the institution. As an adviser, I usually urged my graduate students to choose the monograph format.

A thesis or dissertation [1] is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.

This is an interesting idea. I have more or less been actually publishing chapters of my dissertation though of course they were not written in a handy encapsulated format and maybe a structure like this to begin with would have helped that process and maybe even have sped up review. I will say that one article the more involved one did take 1.

Important Announcement

Monograph dissertations are still the norm for many PhD students, but some disciplines allow a collection of papers to be submitted instead. We talked to a PhD student taking this route to learn more about it…. But how does it work in practice? How does it differ from traditional dissertation format? Simone Griesser Warwick Business School , who chose the three-paper route to thesis, kindly agreed to share her experience. Our conversation made me realise how little I really knew about this thesis format. Here are some misconceptions I had…. This depends on your supervisor and the nature of your research approach. Sometimes the decision is made prior to the entry in the PhD program, sometimes in the first year, after considering the. If you are unsure, your supervisors and senior colleagues might offer some guidance. Ideally yes, because it will be easier to present them as a thesis, and explain how they relate.