self citation in phd thesis

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Last Updated: Aug 14, 2024 Views: 205178

If you want to re-use portions of a paper you wrote for a previous assignment or course, you need to take care to avoid self-plagiarism. The APA Manual (7th edition, p. 21) defines self-plagiarism as “the act of presenting one's own previously published work as original." This includes entire papers, and also slightly altered work. Self-plagiarism is a violation of SNHU’s Academic Honesty Policy ( Online Student Academic Integrity Policy This link opens in a new window ,  Campus Student Academic Integrity Policy This link opens in a new window ). To avoid self-plagiarism, you should request approval from your instructor to use portions of your prior work, and you also need to provide a proper citation within your paper.

If you are citing your own writing from a paper submitted for a previous course, then you would generally cite it as an unpublished manuscript. Here are specific examples of how it works in the three major citation styles:

Please check with your instructor to verify if you can use a previous work as it may violate academic integrity, honor codes, etc. If you are permitted to quote or paraphrase from earlier work, students should cite the work, following the unpublished work template (Section 10.8, p. 336). You can change “Unpublished manuscript” to “Unpublished paper” or another phrase.

Reference Page General Format

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work [Unpublished paper]. Department Name, University Name.

Reference Page Example

Fisher, J. D. (2021). This is the title of my paper [Unpublished paper]. English Department, Southern New Hampshire University.

In-Text Example

(Fisher, 2021)

According to the MLA Style site, authors should cite their work the same way they would cite any other source (book, article, etc.). In the text you can refer to yourself (e.g. "In my work...").

Works Cited General Format

Author Last name, Author First Name. "Title of Your Paper: Subtitle of Your Paper." Date. Name of the Course, Institution, Type of Work.

Works Cited Example

Lee, Cody. "My Student Paper: Why I Like This Subject a Lot." 9 Sept. 2021. New Media: Writing and Publishing, Southern New Hampshire University, student paper.

In-Text Citation Example

See the MLA Style pages Citing Your Own Work This link opens in a new window and How do I cite an unpublished student paper? This link opens in a new window for more information.

Chicago Style

Per the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition), unpublished works such as theses and dissertations are cited like books, with the exception that titles of unpublished works appear in quotations, not italics. Also, the type of paper, the academic institution, and the date follow the title.

For published works, please consult the Chicago Style Table of Contents This link opens in a new window for the type of source and follow the formatting guidelines associated.

Bibliography General Format

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Paper." Essay, Southern New Hampshire University, Year.

Bibliography Example

Wendell, Richard. "This Is the Title of My Paper." Essay, Southern New Hampshire University, 2021.

Note Example

2. Richard Wendell, "This Is the Title of My Paper" (essay, Southern New Hampshire University, 2021), 4.

More Information

• Citing Your Sources  (Shapiro Library) research guide.  

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This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.

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Self-citation and self-plagiarism

Referencing your own previously published work is known as self-citation. It is important to give citations when ideas, data, etc have been discussed in your previous publications. Correct self-citation conveys the level of originality in a publication accurately and enables readers to understand the development of ideas over time.

Avoiding self-plagiarism

Academic publication takes many different forms. Researchers will often write up their findings for more than one publication, for example in a thesis and a journal article, or a blog post and book chapter. This is not necessarily a problem, but researchers need to consider their choices carefully. Reusing text word-for-word in multiple pieces of writing is known as self-plagiarism. This may seem like a contradiction because a researcher cannot ‘steal’ their own ideas. Citations, however, are not just about giving credit for ideas, they also enable readers to trace the development of an idea over time and honestly represent the originality in a piece of writing.

Norms about what is an acceptable way of acknowledging that you have previously published research have changed significantly, even in the past decade. It is important that researchers are aware of what is considered good practice in their disciplines. A supervisor, mentor, or peers may be able to offer advice.

There is no definitive rule about when it is acceptable for a researcher to re-use text word-for-word. You should consider this carefully on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration:

• the norms of your discipline
• the conventions of the genre you are writing in (e.g. journal article, blog, thesis etc)
• the expectations of editors, publishers, examiners, and readers
• copyright regulations and authorship.

There are three key questions you should ask yourself:

• does the piece of writing represent its own level of originality accurately?
• is that level of originality appropriate to the type of publication?
• who has the right – ethically (authorship) and legally (copyright) – to reproduce?

Many journals have a specific policy about reusing text, such as from a PhD thesis, in the ‘Instructions to Authors’ section (or similar) of their webpage. You should contact editorial staff of any publication to clarify any questions before submitting.

The La Trobe guide, Interpreting iThenticate Reports: a Guide for Researchers [DOC 711KB] , includes a discussion of the expectations of different genres of writing, and suggestions on how iThenticate can help manage self-citation and avoid self-plagiarism.

Discipline approaches to self-plagiarism

Some style guides have a statement and/or guidelines relating to self-citation or self-plagiarism which may be helpful:

From the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publication. Modern Language Association of America: New York, 2008. Third edition. pp. 166-167.(Humanities) :

'Whereas reprinting one’s published work, such as having a journal article appear in a subsequent book of essays, is professionally acceptable […] professionals generally disapprove if previously published work is reissued, whether verbatim or slightly revised, under another title or in some other manner that gives the impression it is a new work. Although not the same as plagiarizing someone else’s writing, self-plagiarism is another type of unethical activity. If your current work draws on your own previously published work, you must give full bibliographic information about the earlier publication.'

From the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association: Washington, D.C., 2010. Sixth edition. p. 16.(Social Sciences):

'Just as researchers do not present the work of others as their own (plagiarism), they do not present their own previously published work as new scholarship (self-plagiarism). There are, however, limited circumstances […] under which authors may wish to duplicate without attribution (citation) their previously used words, feeling that extensive self-referencing is undesirable or awkward. […] The general view is that the core of the new document must constitute an original contribution to knowledge, and only the amount of previously published material necessary to understand that contribution should be included, primarily in the discussion of theory and methodology.'

Reusing published material in Masters and PhD theses

Including previously published material (text, ideas, data, even a whole publication) in a Master's or PhD thesis is very common. You should consider the key questions about self-citation above when doing so, and ensure compliance with La Trobe requirements . Every thesis should clearly state what material has been previously published and where.

If you paraphrase or quote short sections of your own text, you should reference it as you would the work of another scholar.

You may insert a whole publication or publications into your thesis if appropriate to the argument and structure. You should discuss this with a supervisor as early as possible. If a thesis chapter is substantially based on research reported in a previous publication, full citation details should be included in the preface or each relevant chapter. The full reference should also appear in the bibliography of the thesis.

Publications may form the majority of your thesis. In this case framing material should also be included to show how the different publications are thematically linked.

You must have written permission from the copyright holder to include previously published material. In many cases the publisher, not the author, is the copyright holder and permission must be sought.

If a co-authored publication is included in a thesis you must:

• have made a leading and significant contribution to the publication
• provide details of your contribution to each publication in the thesis
• provide verification of your contribution from co-authors.

The Schedule for Presentation of Theses for Higher Degree by Research offers a guide to what you must do if previous publications are included in your thesis.

For examples of La Trobe theses written to the highest standard see the Nancy Millis Award page.

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation

Standard Format

Formatting rules, various examples.

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Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

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Theses & Dissertations

Citing a published thesis, citing an unpublished thesis, citing a thesis in online database or repository.

• CMS 14.224: Theses and dissertations

Titles of unpublished works appear in "quotation marks"—not in italics . This treatment extends to theses and dissertations, which are otherwise cited like books.

The kind of thesis, the academic institution, and the date follow the title. Like the publication data of a book, these are enclosed in parentheses in a note but not in a bibliography.

If the document was consulted online, include a URL or, for documents retrieved from a commercial database, give the name of the database and, in parentheses, any identification number supplied or recommended by the database.

For dissertations issued on microfilm, see 14.120 . For published abstracts of dissertations, see 14.197 .

Note-Bibliography

First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," (Publisher, Year).

      Mihwa Choi, “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty,” PhD diss., (University of Chicago, 2008).

Short Note:

Last-name, "Title of Thesis."

Choi. “Contesting Imaginaires ."

Bibliography Entry:

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Year.

Choi, Mihwa. “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.” PhD diss. University      of Chicago, 2008.

Author-Date

Text Citation:

(Last-name Year)

(Mihwa 2008)

Reference Entry:

Last-name, First-name. Year. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle."

Choi, Mihwa. 2008. “Contesting  Imaginaires  in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.”  PhD diss.       University of Chicago.

Note -Bibliography

Note #. First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," Unpublished thesis type, University. Year.

Barry C. Hosking, "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand," PhD diss., (Ghent University, 2010).

Note #. Last-name,"Title of Thesis."

Barry C. Hosking, "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes."

Bibliography:

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Unpublished thesis type. University. Year.

Hosking, Barry C. "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand." PhD diss., Ghent University, 2010.

(Hosking 2010)

Last-name, First-name.  Year.  "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Unpublished thesis type. University.

Hosking, Barry C.    2010.  "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand." PhD diss., Ghent University.

Note #. First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," Database Name (Identifier if given), Year, Internet address.

      12. Meredith Stewart, "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus, " Australasian Digital Theses Program (WMU2005.1222), 2005, http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

Note #. Last-name, "Title of Thesis."

21. Stewart, "An Investigation into Aspects."

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Database Name (Identifier if given), Year. Internet address.

Stewart, Meredith. "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus ." Australasian Digital Theses Program (WMU2005.1222),  2005. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

(Stewart 2005)

Last-name, First-name. Year. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle."  Database Name  (Identifier if given), Internet address.

Stewart, Meredith. 2005. "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus ." Australasian Digital Theses Program  (WMU2005.1222),    http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

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What is self-citation and what does it have to do with academic integrity?

Emerging trends series

In a world filled with "memes," we have to learn how to cite them properly if we want to use them in our work.

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When it comes to a researcher’s own work, attribution is necessary to avoid self-plagiarism or duplicate plagiarism . Such attribution is called self-citation . Self-citation is an act of academic integrity when expanding on previous research or referring to previously published work. There are legitimate reasons to self-cite; work is largely, especially in scientific research, cumulative and it’s important to attribute prior foundational work.

But when the calculation of impact factor becomes a primary driving factor, self-citation may venture into the murky territory of self-promotion. This behavior has become a burgeoning concern within the research community.

For many researchers and research journals, a critical indicator for academic reputation is impact factor , a score based on the number of citations an article garners.

Excessive self-citation with the intention of raising one's impact factor is considered unethical and falls under the subset of citation manipulation . In a 2019 study, COPE explicitly states, “When any of the above parties, editors, board members, reviewers, or authors add or request to add citations where the motivations are merely self-promotional this aim violates publication ethics and is unethical. Additionally, whether or not they are requested, citations to the editor’s work should not be added in the belief that this will increase the likelihood of the publication being accepted” ( 2019 ).

The scientific community has called out egregious examples of excessive self-citation. According to a study in PLoS Biology this month , Nature stated one example of a computer scientist who “received 94% of his citations from himself or his co-authors up to 2017." He is not alone. The data set, which lists around 100,000 researchers , shows that at least 250 scientists have amassed more than 50% of their citations from themselves or their co-authors, while the median self-citation rate is 12.7%” ( Van Noorden & Chawla, 2019 ).

Excessive self-citation, simply put, is very easy to spot.

On the part of the researcher, self-citation may be motivated by a desire for publication and an increase in impact factor, which in turn, expands future opportunities for publication. And it may be motivated, on the part of the journal, to raise its journal impact factor (JIF)—or it may be that the journal is highly specific in its topic choices ( Sanfilippo et al., 2021 ).

The link between self-citation and academic integrity is explicit: citations, and thus self-citations, raise the academic reputation of a researcher or journal in the form of the impact factor score, which is a very visible indicator of reputation.

But excessive self-citation can backfire, as many community members become more aware of this form of abuse—because the number of citations is also a very visible indication of whether or not self-promotion occurs.

What isn’t as transparent is the motivation behind self-citation that defines self-promotion. And what number—if any—of citations then accurately correlates between legitimate self-citation and self-promotion.

Researchers are working to define what the threshold for excessive self-citation may be. The line between legitimate and excessive self-citation can vary, even according to academic disciplines. But researchers are now examining the balance between building on prior work and recognizing others’ influence ( Szomszor, Pendelbury, & Adams 2020 ).

There have been multiple proposed solutions to unethical and excessive self-citation. Justin Flatt proposed publishing a self-citation index to raise transparency into such behavior ( 2017 ). He expanded with 2020 research that further urged tracking of self-citation with defined goals, clarifying, “Instead of curation, we should adopt methods that utilize all the citation data, but in a way that carefully accounts for factors such as self-citation, collaboration, and ‘citation farms.’ Only then can we begin to fully appreciate authors’ behavior and performance in relation to citation records: ( Kacem, Flatt, & Mayr, 2020 ).

“But the idea of publicly listing individuals’ self-citation rates, or evaluating them on the basis of metrics corrected for self-citation, is highly contentious,” according to an article in Nature . “COPE argued against excluding self-citations from metrics because, it said, this ‘doesn’t permit a nuanced understanding of when self-citation makes good scholarly sense’” ( Van Noorden & Chawla 2019 ).

That said, Switzerland expanded its Code of Conduct to include “citation-farming,” or excessive self-citation as scientific misconduct with sanctions in May 2021.

Rising awareness of self-citation abuse is part of the solution— just as with many academic integrity concerns, awareness is the fundamental driver for mitigating misconduct. And the world of research is both working on policies as well as objective measurements to mitigate excessive self-citation and uphold academic integrity.

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• Author. The surname is followed by the first initials.
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UCL Doctoral School

• Self-Plagiarism

Guidance on incorporating published work in your thesis

How you can include published work in your thesis and avoid self-plagiarism

Doctoral candidates who are worried about what they can include in their thesis can follow this guidance. It covers the inclusion of previously published papers and how to integrate them properly.

Publishing first, then submitting thesis for examination

If you've published before submitting your thesis:

• an appropriate citation of the original source in the relevant Chapter; and
• completing the UCL Research Paper Declaration form – this should be embedded after the Acknowledgments page in the thesis.
• Before using figures, table sheets, or parts of the text, find out from the editor of the journal if you transferred the copyrights when you submitted the paper.
• When in doubt, when you do not own copyright, get formal approval from copyright owners to re-use the material (this is frequently done for previously published data and figures to be included in a doctoral thesis; please see more information on the UCL Copyright advice website ).
• ensure the style matches that of the rest of the thesis, both in formatting and content,
• add additional information/context where beneficial, such as additional background/relevant literature, more detailed methods,
• offer additional data not included in the publication, such as preliminary data, null findings, anything included in supplementary materials.
• If you worked together with co-authors, your (and their) contributions to the publication should be specified in the UCL Research Paper Declaration form.

Examples of including previously published work in your thesis

After gaining approval from the copyright holder, you would be allowed to copy and paste sections from the published paper into your thesis.

You might make minor edits to the text to ensure that it fits the overall style of your thesis (e.g. changing “We” to “I”, where appropriate) and that it is written in your voice (see bullet point on ‘Initial drafts of papers’ below).

You might also incorporate additional text/figures/Tables that did not appear in the original publication.

Unacceptable

You cannot embed the unedited pdf of the published paper into your thesis.

You also cannot copy and paste the entire paper without making any attempt to match the style to the rest of the thesis.

Submitting thesis first (and the degree is successfully awarded) and published after

If your thesis is published first, then this must be declared to a journal publisher so that you can check with the editor about the acceptability of including part of your thesis.

You must make sure that you have cited the original source correctly (your thesis for example) and acknowledged yourself as author. Where possible, you could also provide a link.

This applies not just to reproducing your own material but also to ideas which you have previously published elsewhere.

Tips for reusing material in final thesis

We strongly recommend you write your upgrade document (and/or any progression documents) in the same style and format as you would your final thesis. This will help you plan the format of your final thesis early and you can then reuse as much of your upgrade material in your final thesis as makes sense.

Initial drafts of papers

We strongly recommend you keep your initial drafts of papers for use in your final thesis; this way it is written in your voice (not that of your supervisors, co-authors, or journal editor) and will be less likely to affect any copyright issues with the publisher. This does not mean you cannot incorporate supervisor corrections; however, all text should be written by you and not subject to vast rewriting/editing by others as is often the case with journal publications. You should still cite your published work where relevant.

Plan your thesis structure and project timings carefully from the start

This means considering thesis structure, time of upgrade/progression reviews, and, if appropriate, which chapters might be turned into publications and when.

Prioritise the thesis over any other priorities

Furthermore, as you approach the final months before your submission deadline (which you should check carefully with your supervisory team and funder as expectations may vary), we strongly encourage you to prioritise the thesis over any other conflicting priorities, e.g. internships, publications, etc…

Remember to follow these guidelines to ensure the appropriate use of published work in your doctoral thesis while avoiding self-plagiarism.

What is Self-Plagiarism

The UCL Academic Manual describes self-plagiarism as:

“The reproduction or resubmission of a student’s own work which has been submitted for assessment at UCL or any other institution. This does not include earlier formative drafts of the particular assessment, or instances where the department has explicitly permitted the re-use of formative assessments but does include all other formative work except where permitted.”

Read about this in more detail in Chapter 6, Section 9.2d of the UCL Academic Manual page .

How self-plagiarism applies to Doctoral Students

Re-use of material already used for a previous degree.

A research student commits self-plagiarism if they incorporate material (text, data, ideas) from a previous academic degree (e.g., Master's of Undergraduate) submission, whether at UCL or another institution, into their final these without explicit declaration.

Note on Upgrades

The upgrade report is not published nor is it used to confer a degree, and is therefore excluded from the above definition of “material”.

In effect, the upgrade report (and any other progression reviews) is a form of “thesis draft” owned by the student and we encourage the reuse of material in the upgrade report in the final thesis where relevant.

As a result, material written by yourself can be used both in publications and your final thesis, and the self-plagiarism rule does not apply here. However, since your final thesis will be ‘published’ online, there are several rules you must follow.

For additonal detail, visit the UCL Discovery web page .

Links to forms

UCL Research Paper Declaration Form for including published material in your thesis (to be embedded after the Acknowledgements page).

• Form in MS Word format (DOCX)
• Form in LaTeX format (TEX) , thanks to David Sheard, Dept of Mathematics
• Form in PDF preview (PDF)

Helpful resources

• Step-by-step guide and FAQs on publishing doctoral work
• Information about your own copyright
• Information on online copy of your thesis

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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a PhD thesis in APA

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To cite a PhD thesis in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
• Title of the PhD thesis: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• URL: Give the full URL where the document can be retrieved from.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (PhD thesis). Retrieved from URL

If the thesis is available from a database, archive or any online platform use the following template:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Publication number: Give the identification number of the thesis, if available.
• Name of the degree awarding institution: Give the name of the institution.
• Name of Platform: Give the name of the database, archive or any platform that holds the thesis.
• URL: If the thesis was found on a database, omit this element.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis ( Publication number ) [PhD thesis, Name of the degree awarding institution ]. Name of Platform . URL

If the thesis has not been published or is available from a database use the following template:

• Location: Give the location of the institution. If outside the United States also include the country name.

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (Unpublished PhD thesis). Name of the degree awarding institution , Location .

If the thesis is not published, use the following template:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis [Unpublished PhD thesis]. Name of the degree awarding institution .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a PhD thesis citation in action:

A PhD thesis found in an online platform

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PhD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles ( PhD thesis ). Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PHD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles [ PhD thesis , Edith Cowan University ]. Edith Cowan Online Repository . Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

An unpublished PhD thesis

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains ( Unpublished PhD thesis ). University of Oxford , London, UK .

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains [ Unpublished PhD thesis ]. University of Oxford .

This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

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What is a thesis?

What is a dissertation, getting started, staying on track.

A thesis is a long-term project that you work on over the course of a semester or a year. Theses have a very wide variety of styles and content, so we encourage you to look at prior examples and work closely with faculty to develop yours. 

Before you begin, make sure that you are familiar with the dissertation genre—what it is for and what it looks like.

Generally speaking, a dissertation’s purpose is to prove that you have the expertise necessary to fulfill your doctoral-degree requirements by showing depth of knowledge and independent thinking.

The form of a dissertation may vary by discipline. Be sure to follow the specific guidelines of your department.

• PhD This site directs candidates to the GSAS website about dissertations , with links to checklists,  planning, formatting, acknowledgments, submission, and publishing options. There is also a link to guidelines for the prospectus . Consult with your committee chair about specific requirements and standards for your dissertation.
• DDES This document covers planning, patent filing, submission guidelines, publishing options, formatting guidelines, sample pages, citation guidelines, and a list of common errors to avoid. There is also a link to guidelines for the prospectus .
• Scholarly Pursuits (GSAS) This searchable booklet from Harvard GSAS is a comprehensive guide to writing dissertations, dissertation-fellowship applications, academic journal articles, and academic job documents.

Finding an original topic can be a daunting and overwhelming task. These key concepts can help you focus and save time.

Finding a topic for your thesis or dissertation should start with a research question that excites or at least interests you. A rigorous, engaging, and original project will require continuous curiosity about your topic, about your own thoughts on the topic, and about what other scholars have said on your topic. Avoid getting boxed in by thinking you know what you want to say from the beginning; let your research and your writing evolve as you explore and fine-tune your focus through constant questioning and exploration.

Get a sense of the broader picture before you narrow your focus and attempt to frame an argument. Read, skim, and otherwise familiarize yourself with what other scholars have done in areas related to your proposed topic. Briefly explore topics tangentially related to yours to broaden your perspective and increase your chance of finding a unique angle to pursue.

Critical Reading

Critical reading is the opposite of passive reading. Instead of merely reading for information to absorb, critical reading also involves careful, sustained thinking about what you are reading. This process may include analyzing the author’s motives and assumptions, asking what might be left out of the discussion, considering what you agree with or disagree with in the author’s statements and why you agree or disagree, and exploring connections or contradictions between scholarly arguments. Here is a resource to help hone your critical-reading skills:

http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/criticalread.pdf

Conversation

Your thesis or dissertation will incorporate some ideas from other scholars whose work you researched. By reading critically and following your curiosity, you will develop your own ideas and claims, and these contributions are the core of your project. You will also acknowledge the work of scholars who came before you, and you must accurately and fairly attribute this work and define your place within the larger discussion. Make sure that you know how to quote, summarize, paraphrase ,  integrate , and cite secondary sources to avoid plagiarism and to show the depth and breadth of your knowledge.

A thesis is a long-term, large project that involves both research and writing; it is easy to lose focus, motivation, and momentum. Here are suggestions for achieving the result you want in the time you have.

The dissertation is probably the largest project you have undertaken, and a lot of the work is self-directed. The project can feel daunting or even overwhelming unless you break it down into manageable pieces and create a timeline for completing each smaller task. Be realistic but also challenge yourself, and be forgiving of yourself if you miss a self-imposed deadline here and there.

Your program will also have specific deadlines for different requirements, including establishing a committee, submitting a prospectus, completing the dissertation, defending the dissertation, and submitting your work. Consult your department’s website for these dates and incorporate them into the timeline for your work.

Accountability

Sometimes self-imposed deadlines do not feel urgent unless there is accountability to someone beyond yourself. To increase your motivation to complete tasks on schedule, set dates with your committee chair to submit pre-determined pieces of a chapter. You can also arrange with a fellow doctoral student to check on each other’s progress. Research and writing can be lonely, so it is also nice to share that journey with someone and support each other through the process.

Common Pitfalls

The most common challenges for students writing a dissertation are writer’s block, information-overload, and the compulsion to keep researching forever.

There are many strategies for avoiding writer’s block, such as freewriting, outlining, taking a walk, starting in the middle, and creating an ideal work environment for your particular learning style. Pay attention to what helps you and try different things until you find what works.

Efficient researching techniques are essential to avoiding information-overload. Here are a couple of resources about strategies for finding sources and quickly obtaining essential information from them.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_in_literature_detailed_discussion/reading_criticism.html

https://students.dartmouth.edu/academic-skills/learning-resources/learning-strategies/reading-techniques

Finally, remember that there is always more to learn and your dissertation cannot incorporate everything. Follow your curiosity but also set limits on the scope of your work. It helps to create a folder entitled “future projects” for topics and sources that interest you but that do not fit neatly into the dissertation. Also remember that future scholars will build off of your work, so leave something for them to do.

Browsing through theses and dissertations of the past can help to get a sense of your options and gain inspiration but be careful to use current guidelines and refer to your committee instead of relying on these examples for form or formatting.

DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard.

HOLLIS Harvard Library’s catalog provides access to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global .

MIT Architecture has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

Rhode Island School of Design has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

University of South Florida has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

Harvard GSD has a list of projects, including theses and professors’ research.

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Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis References

This page contains a reference example for an unpublished dissertation or thesis.

Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.

• Parenthetical citation : (Harris, 2014)
• Narrative citation : Harris (2014)
• When a dissertation or thesis is unpublished, include the description “[Unpublished doctoral dissertation]” or “[Unpublished master’s thesis]” in square brackets after the dissertation or thesis title.
• In the source element of the reference, provide the name of the institution that awarded the degree.
• The same format can be adapted for other unpublished theses, including undergraduate theses, by changing the wording of the bracketed description as appropriate.
• If you find the dissertation or thesis in a database or in a repository or archive, follow the published dissertation or thesis reference examples .

Unpublished dissertation or thesis references are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.6 and the Concise Guide Section 10.5

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: testing and evaluation of large language models: correctness, non-toxicity, and fairness.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, have rapidly penetrated into people's work and daily lives over the past few years, due to their extraordinary conversational skills and intelligence. ChatGPT has become the fastest-growing software in terms of user numbers in human history and become an important foundational model for the next generation of artificial intelligence applications. However, the generations of LLMs are not entirely reliable, often producing content with factual errors, biases, and toxicity. Given their vast number of users and wide range of application scenarios, these unreliable responses can lead to many serious negative impacts. This thesis introduces the exploratory works in the field of language model reliability during the PhD study, focusing on the correctness, non-toxicity, and fairness of LLMs from both software testing and natural language processing perspectives. First, to measure the correctness of LLMs, we introduce two testing frameworks, FactChecker and LogicAsker, to evaluate factual knowledge and logical reasoning accuracy, respectively. Second, for the non-toxicity of LLMs, we introduce two works for red-teaming LLMs. Third, to evaluate the fairness of LLMs, we introduce two evaluation frameworks, BiasAsker and XCulturalBench, to measure the social bias and cultural bias of LLMs, respectively.

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Recycling published papers in thesis [closed]

So, I'm close to the final stretch of my PhD. I have two published works and one work in progress. I've been told that I can't recycle (or I guess, simply copy/paste) the work that I've done in each of the papers in my thesis. Is this right? One of my papers has a lot of boilerplate-style introduction to a model for unfamiliar readers. So I will need to re-introduce the model in my final thesis without using the same wording (I've already used the most succinct phrasing I can come up with in the paper)?

• self-plagiarism

• 1 Who told you that? –  Arno Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 11:45
• By other PhD students –  stevew Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:22
• 6 First thing to do then is check what your advisor says about this. The claim certainly doesnt reflect a general consensus on what proper behaviour is (I personally would consider any such rule utterly stupid.) –  Arno Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:25
• 1 I do not think that you can expect a good answer here. It very much depends on the regulations and customs at your university/in your group. –  Snijderfrey Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:56
• 1 where in the world are you based? –  EarlGrey Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 13:45

4 Answers 4

The only valid answer for this is a local answer. Your advisor/supervisor is probably the best source. But let me mention the range of possibilities, which go from forbidden to required. It differs by both place and field.

At the required end of the scale there is the notion of the "stapled thesis" which is little more than a collection of previously published work with a bit of connective tissue to bring the body of work together. The faculty that requires this is depending on the publishing system itself to "vet" the work.

At the forbidden end (maybe too strong a term) is the notion that the thesis is a "new" work and that it treats all previous work by the author in the same way that it treats any other published work: quote judiciously and cite. Such works are often longer than typical published papers in the field, but that isn't likely to be a requirement. But they are longer since they tend to require less background from the reader and are more complete than the normal published paper.

Note that the purpose of the dissertation is to demonstrate to the faculty, and perhaps the world, that the candidate can do meaningful research in the field and can present it properly. Both the "stapled" and the "new work" versions work for this, but each faculty may have its own rules and regulation.

In the middle, there is the notion that a thesis may be considered as "something distinct" from a normal publication and the rules of scholarship might be relaxed somewhat. But how much is a matter of local custom and rules, as well as what is acceptable to the advisor.

Plagiarism notes: If you include ideas of your own from previously published work you need to cite it. This is independent of whether you copy large parts of it or not. Plagiarism is about ideas, not words. So, even when it is allowed to "include" early work, you need to cite it.

Copyright notes: Since the work is previously published you may not hold copyright anymore. This means that you need to adhere to the normal copyright rules as amended by any license you have been given by the copyright holder. It is typical, but I doubt universal, for a publisher to grant the author a license for certain uses, especially for use in a dissertation. But, there are rules and you need to adhere. It is likely that you can quote more extensively from your own published work than another person could (with citation and clear indications of what is being quoted), but there may be limitations. Look at old agreements from when the work was published or ask an editor.

And note that paraphrasing isn't an absolute guard against copyright claims. And, even paraphrasing requires citation.

• -1 If "the only valid answer is a local answer" then you should vote to close the question for strongly depending on individual factors rather than answering it. –  astronat supports the strike Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 15:31
• @astronat, people come here for help. Sorry you're upset. Sorry that you think this "isn't useful". –  Buffy Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 15:49
• Thanks @Buffy. My university will run our thesis against published papers (including our own) for plagiarism. Now that you've pointed out, maybe this is to do with copyright because, as you said, we don't hold the rights to our papers anymore –  stevew Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 11:22
• I've accepted this answer but will report back once I had a chat with my supervisors –  stevew Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 11:25
• I’ve seen (had a copy, probably still do somewhere) an actual ‘stapled thesis’ - it was a cover sheet with the required university title page, followed by reprints of papers with the candidate as an author, all stapled in the top left corner. This was from a Scandanavian university in the 1980s… Of course harder to do now without actual reprints (easy in pdf form). I was envious since I wasn’t allowed to do that at my institution. –  Jon Custer Commented Dec 2, 2021 at 2:06

At least in Spain, when you join a Ph.D. program you are subject to the regulations of that university. I don't know if in your University there is such a thing as a "doctoral administration department" (i.e. a department that is dedicated to managing the issues related to the enrollment to a Ph.D., including the rules concerning the supervision, the deposit, and defense of your thesis, etc.). If such a body exists, you could raise your issue with them.

If there is no such body, ask someone in your Department or even your supervisor. I think it unlikely that anyone on the forum knows the rules you are bound by.

Ask your advisors, thesis readers, and the department chair/program director who oversee everything.

In general, if you are in a reputable US university, you can simply combine your three papers and graduate, provided that those three papers are in good quality.

"I've already used the most succinct phrasing I can come up with in the paper" there you go: as far as I know, PhD thesis having a limit on the pages number are not a common thing.

So you are good to go, you just need to be a-succinct.

Can you include the papers as chapters of the thesis (1 paper = 1 chapter)? especially in Germany it is quite common, by transparently declaring it.

• Sorry, I do not understand what you mean with a-succinct. Can you explain? –  Snijderfrey Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:17
• I assume you mean re-writing each paper as a chapter right? –  stevew Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:22
• 2 Sorry, but this is dangerous advice. You have no way to know the rules the OP is bound by. –  Buffy Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 12:38
• 2 Why do you assume your rules apply? Why Switzerland? I don't claim it is never allowed, but you imply it is always permitted. Bad advice. Sorry. –  Buffy Commented Nov 30, 2021 at 13:04
• 2 Getting a bit heated there! Thanks everyone for offering to help! –  stevew Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 11:25

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged thesis self-plagiarism .

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