Policy for the Presentation of Research Theses

The following policy relates to the presentation of Research Degree theses at Liverpool John Moores University and applies to full-time and part-time Postgraduate Research Students of the following degrees:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
• PhD by Published Work

It is a requirement of the university that candidates for all Research Degrees produce a thesis or other appropriate form of submitted material which embodies their research for examination at the end of the degree. The term ‘thesis’ is used hereafter to describe all submitted material.

It is university policy that every research thesis submitted for examination will follow these instructions. Approval of the final version of the thesis, including its presentation, rests with the examination team.

If any part of the following policy is unclear, or there are matters that are not covered, please contact the Doctoral Academy for advice before submitting the thesis. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the Doctoral Academy rejecting the thesis for examination.

Language

All theses must be written in English; quotations, however, may be given in the language in which they were written.

Formal Submission for Examination

Candidates are required to submit a single final electronic version (PDF) of their thesis via eDoc (irrespective of the number of volumes). A plain-text description needs to be supplied for non-digital materials and digital materials that are unsuitable for electronic submission such as in the case of practice-based theses.

Examiners may request, by exception, hard copies of a thesis. In these instances, hard copies can be supplied by the Doctoral Academy in consultation with the candidate. If the candidate chooses to prepare these print copies, they should be submitted directly to the Doctoral Academy office (1 copy per examiner).

Print Copy Requirements

If requested by the examiners, print copies must be produced on paper of international standard size A4 (210 x 297mm).

The form of binding must be such that the pages of the thesis are securely held together: ‘Velo’ binding, or similar, is recommended; spring-back binders are not suitable.

Word count

Theses submitted for PhD must not normally exceed 80,000 words of main text, including footnotes, and endnotes. Similarly, MPhil theses must not normally exceed 40,000 words of main text, including footnotes and endnotes.

The bibliography or list of works cited, any appendices or acknowledgements, declaration and copyright statements are excluded from the word count.

Where quotations/data in other languages for the purpose of translation is included in the thesis only one version (not both) are included in the word count.

Authorship

Any work submitted for the PhD degree must be substantially different from any work that may have previously been submitted by the PGR for any degree at this or any other institution.

It is the PGR’s responsibility to ensure that the thesis is checked for typographical errors. Any person involved with professionally proof-reading a thesis should solely be checking for grammatical/spelling errors.

Inclusion of published work in the thesis

Candidates who intend to include material they have already published (for example, journal articles) will need to check if the publisher will permit inclusion of this it in the thesis.

Third-party material

Material that is authored by a third-party that is used in a thesis must be free of any copyright restrictions and/or the PGR must have obtained a licence or permission to use these materials. Any such licence/permission must extend to the use of the materials by The University for administrative purposes, including examination and preservation via the LJMU E-Theses Collection.

The following requirements shall be adhered to in the format of the thesis submitted for examination:

• Theses shall normally be in A4 format
• For the main text, double or 1.5 spacing in a font type and size which ensures readability must be used (for example 10 point in a font such as Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Trebuchet or 12 point in Calibri, Times, Times New Roman, Palatino and Garamond); single spacing may be used for quotations, footnotes, references and preliminary pages.
• The style of bibliographic citations and references may be chosen by the candidate but must be consistent throughout the thesis; general guidance can be obtained from the candidate’s Lead Supervisor.
• To allow for binding, the margin at the binding edge of any page must be not less than 40mm; other margins must be not less than 15mm.
• Page numbering must consist of one single sequence of Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etcetera) throughout the thesis, starting with the title page as page number 1.
• Page numbers must be displayed on all pages except the title page.
• Where headers are used they must be consistently applied throughout the thesis and should not include the name of the Candidate.
• Figures or images used in the thesis must be of sufficient size and clarity.

Required pages

The following items must be included as preliminary pages of the thesis in the order given:

Title page

Your title page must include:

• the full title of the thesis
• the full name of the author
• that the degree is awarded by the University
• the award for which the thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of its requirements
• the Collaborating Establishment(s), if any
• the month and year of submission (a thesis which is referred for revisions or re-examination must bear the month/year of resubmission on and not the date of the original submission)

Where a thesis consists of more than one volume, each volume must contain a title page in the form set out above and also include the appropriate volume number, and the total number of volumes, e.g. Volume I of III.

List of contents

A list of contents, giving all relevant sub-divisions of the thesis and a page number for each item.

In a multi-volume thesis the contents page in the first volume must show the complete contents of the thesis, volume-by-volume, and each subsequent volume must have a contents page giving the contents of that volume.

Abstract

A short abstract of approximately 300 words shall provide a synopsis of the thesis stating the nature and scope of the work undertaken and of the contribution made to the knowledge of the subject treated.

Declaration

A declaration stating:

• That no portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning 

Or

• What portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. This should include reference to joint authorship of published materials which might have been included in a thesis submitted by another student to this university or any other university or other institute of learning.

Where a Candidate’s research programme is part of a collaborative group project, the thesis shall indicate clearly the Candidate’s individual contribution and the extent of the collaboration.

Other pages (not compulsory)

The preliminary pages may also include a Dedication or Acknowledgement. These must appear after the compulsory pages listed above.

Lists of tables, figures, diagrams, photographs, abbreviations etc. If a thesis contains such lists it is required that a separate list of each item, as appropriate, is provided immediately after the contents page(s). Such lists must give the page number of each item on the list.

There are three formats in which the thesis may be presented for assessment:

• Monograph
• Thesis by Published Papers
• Thesis by Practice

Early in the candidature, and before confirmation, PGRs should discuss with the supervisory team the most appropriate model for presenting their PhD thesis. The Thesis by Published Paper model may be more suitable for PGRs who have previous publication success, or who have components to the overall research study and can publish as they go. For Postgraduate Research Students with one main study and an extended data collection period, the standard Monograph may be more appropriate.

The thesis, regardless of its form, should meet the requirements of Section 4 of The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (October 2014).

The text of the thesis should not normally exceed the following length (excluding ancillary data and other appendices):

Standard Monograph in Science/Engineering

• MPhil: 20,000 words
• PhD: 40,000 words
• Prof Doc: 40,000 words

Standard Monograph in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• MPhil: 40,000 words
• PhD: 80,000 words
• Prof Doc: 80,000 words

Thesis by Published Papers

• MPhil: 20,000 words
• PhD: 40,000 words

Practice-Based Thesis

• MPhil: 20,000 words
• PhD: 40,000 words

Please note
In some areas of science the norm is for a longer thesis. In these cases PGRs should consult their supervisors on the usual length of theses in their subject area.

Monograph

Candidates submitting a standard monograph may include published work within the appendices of the thesis.

A PhD may be awarded on the basis of the submission of published papers, sometimes known as ‘Journal Format’ Thesis. The university permits the presentation of theses where such papers have been published, or accepted during the candidate’s registration period; and where the quality of such papers is approved by the Faculty Research Degrees Committee to be appropriate to PhD-level research.

Candidates may submit their thesis in journal format by incorporating papers already published (or accepted, with an assigned DOI) in peer-reviewed journal or conference proceedings. The Postgraduate Research Student must declare their intention on thesis format on the Notice of Intent to Submit form.

Acceptable published work to be included in the thesis should be derived from original research undertaken after the date the Postgraduate Research Student initially registered for the award. Any published work submitted within the journal format thesis must be substantially different from any work which may have previously been submitted by the Postgraduate Research Student for any degree at this or any other institution.

There is no upper limit, but a minimum of three first or second author papers is required.  The papers will constitute a coherent set of works related to the thesis topic and will be published (or accepted for publication) in source journals recognised by the subject discipline. Postgraduate Research Students should also speak to their Lead Supervisor for advice in the first instance and gain agreement of their FRDC.

Apart from the inclusion of published materials, the journal format thesis must conform to the same standards expected for a standard thesis and candidates should follow the guidance detailed in this document. The structure of the journal format thesis should include the following:

• A justification in the introductory section of their thesis to explain in full the nature and extent of the candidate's own contribution and the contribution of co-authors and other collaborators to the publications presented.
• Rationale for submitting the thesis in a journal format and an account of how the thesis format has been constructed.
• In the abstract, literature review, linking sections and conclusion, the candidate must argue for the cumulative effect of the papers in demonstrating their significant and original contribution to knowledge.
• Review of previous research including sections summarising and synthesising previous research in the field of investigation.
• Methodology detailing the methods employed during the research and a detailed critical analysis of those methods and the information they provided
• The conclusion for a thesis by published papers establishes the cumulative effect of the papers, the significance of the findings and the knowledge claim in the thesis.
  • References and appendices should be included as in the standard PhD thesis.

Published (accepted) papers must be included in the thesis, after the conclusion section (and prior to references and appendices). The pagination sequence should flow throughout the thesis rather than inserting pre-prints.

Examiners should satisfy themselves that the journal format thesis meets the requirements of the doctoral degree as prescribed in the regulations and policies. The assessment of the thesis involves deliberations that will differ from those of reviewers of the individual published papers. The fact that a thesis contains material that has been published or accepted for publication does not guarantee that the examiner will recommend the award for which the candidate is being examined.

Practice-based inquiry may result in a thesis presented by creative or practical work and exegesis. A major element of the submission will be an original creative work or words, which has been created by the candidate specifically for the submission of the award. The creative or practical work should be the research outcome, while the exegesis may reflect on the research process and elaborate, elucidate and place in context the artistic practice undertaken. A candidate will normally submit the following:

• a substantial body of practical work, visual or written, or the preparation of a scholarly edition; 
• an accompanying thesis comprising a critical commentary on the research, of no more than 40,000 words.

Apart from the inclusion of creative materials, the practice-based thesis must conform to the same standards expected for a standard PhD thesis and candidates should follow the guidance detailed in this policy. The written outcome will normally contextualize the project and include a retrospective analysis of the process and outcomes, reflecting on chosen research methodologies and production processes and the relation between them.  The creative work and the exegesis will not be examined separately but as an integrated whole constituting the original and substantial contribution to knowledge required from doctoral candidates.

The following are required for the practice-based MPhil/PhD:

• The Postgraduate Research Student should use the introductory section of their thesis to explain and justify in full the nature and extent of the Candidate's own contribution and the contribution of co-authors and other collaborators to the research presented.
• The Postgraduate Research Student will demonstrate the link between their theoretical and practical investigations and conclusions throughout their submission.
• In order to allow the examiners to properly consider the submission as a whole, the practical component will be submitted to the examiners at the same time that the written thesis is submitted. Models, sketchbooks or other exhibition materials too bulky to be included in the permanent record should be presented to the examiners immediately prior to the viva voce examination. The status of such submissions in the process of examination needs to be clearly understood in advance by all concerned.
• It may be necessary to appoint examiners earlier than is customary for monograph PhDs if any process or product is to be examined in advance of the written submission (such as performance or exhibition). In the event of a post-presentation discussion of an examined practical outcome, the examiners should confine their questions to points of clarification about the process leading to the outcome and issues concerning the practice itself, reserving more challenging conceptual questions for the final viva voce.
• As with a standard PhD, an oral examination of the whole submission will be required.
• If necessary, the examiners can require the correction or revision and resubmission of either the practical element or the written element or both, in accordance with university regulations.

All researchers must maintain the highest standards of academic integrity enshrined in the university Research Code of Practice.

Generative (AI) tools may support but they must not replace scholarship. Researchers must not become passive in their pursuit of knowledge.

Responsible use of generative (AI) tools should not diminish the credibility and reliability of academic knowledge and PGRs must adhere to the principles outlined here, by:

• Being transparent – ensure that the use of generative (AI) tools is disclosed in research methodology and highlight any limitations or assumptions that are made when using them.
• Understanding limitations – generative (AI) tools have limitations and biases. They must be used as a tool to augment, rather than replace, a PGR’s critical thinking and analysis.
• Avoiding plagiarism – do not use generative (AI) tools to reproduce someone else's work or ideas for the purpose of presenting it as your own.
• Verifying information – generative (AI) tools can produce plausible but inaccurate text and bibliographic citations. PGRs should verify any information that is presented, corroborate sources, and ensure credit is given to the cited author(s) of any ideas or content that is used.
• Considering ethical implications – be aware of how generative (AI) tools can impact research participants.
• Respecting individual’s rights – personal information must not be shared without the explicit consent by individuals and/or anonymising data.
• Adhering to regulations - ensuring use of (AI) tools does not contravene any relevant data protection laws, institutional regulations or codes.

Following the award of the degree, the successful candidate must complete and submit the E-Thesis Access Declaration and Deposit Agreement Form to the Doctoral Academy. 

Submission

All candidates must lodge an electronic copy of the final, approved version of their thesis in the LJMU E-Thesis Collection, within one month of the conferment of the award.

Third Party clearance

Before submitting their electronic copy to the E-Theses Collection, candidates should ensure that they have permission to use any third-party material included in the thesis. Further information about how to seek permission, and what to do if permission is not obtained is available on the Library’s E-Theses Copyright webpages.

Restrictions

If candidates need to restrict access to their thesis they can request an exemption on the E-Theses Access Declaration and Deposit Agreement Form. An exemption (or ‘embargo’) needs to be agreed by the supervisor. It is usually granted for a limited period of time, but can be considered for renewal on request. Candidates still need to submit an electronic copy of their thesis but this will not be made public during the embargo.

Copyright

The rights granted to the LJMU E-Theses Collection when depositing the thesis are entirely non-exclusive and royalty free. Candidates are free to publish the thesis or future versions of the thesis elsewhere. The repository administrators or any third party with whom the repository has an agreement to do so may, without changing content, translate the work to any medium or format for the purpose of future preservation and accessibility. 

Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available on the Library’s E-Theses Copyright webpages.

The university’s policy and guidance documents relating to the Electronic Thesis Collection can be found online, together with the e-Thesis Access Declaration and Deposit Agreement Form.