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Thesis guidelines

Our Thesis and Report Guidelines (full document) include information on:

• Components of a thesis
• Formatting your thesis
• Authorship, copyright, and publication
• Frequently asked questions

Writing your thesis/report

The purpose of writing a thesis is to fulfill your degree requirements but also to make your research accessible to others. The thesis will typically be the culmination of many years of research, and it is important to ensure that the thesis submitted for examination reflects well on the quality of your work and on the University.

It is the responsibility of all students and their supervisory team to be familiar with all relevant regulations of the School of Graduate Studies as well as the Academic Unit.

Doctoral Student Theses

All Doctoral students are required to submit a thesis that demonstrates original research that makes a significant contribution to knowledge in their field(s) of study.

Masters Student Theses

All Masters students are required to submit a thesis that demonstrates their ability to carry out research and to organize and analyze results.

Reports

Some Masters students are required to submit of a project report, paper folio, practicum, or internship report. These may be examined through the School of Graduate Studies and are subject to the same regulations as a thesis. The academic unit can confirm if a specific Masters program includes a report of this nature.

General Requirements of all Theses and Reports

• The thesis topic and thesis style will be discussed between the student and supervisory team as early as possible.
• There is an exception of a high degree of literacy, and all students are encouraged to ensure:
• Writing is clear and concise.
• Excessive use of jargon should be avoided to ensure that the document is accessible to a wide audience.
• Accessibility standards, such as ALT text for diagrams, is encouraged.
• The thesis needs to be free of typos as well as grammar and spelling errors.
• The thesis material must conform with ������Ƶ University’s Intellectual Property policy and Research Ethics policies.
• Research funded by external partners, including the Tri-Council, may have additional requirements that should be discussed between the student and supervisory team.

Thesis Style

There are three different styles of thesis accepted at ������Ƶ University. It is vital that students and their supervisory team agree on the most appropriate thesis style early in the degree as this will guide how the student approaches their thesis. It is important that the thesis style is noted in the introduction and is communicated to examiners by the Academic Lead when they are in the process of identifying appropriate and available examiners.

While it is possible for a student to change the style of thesis during the writing process, it is not recommended as this often requires significant reformatting of the thesis, however this may be recommended by a supervisory team for a range of reasons.

Traditional Style

This style of thesis presentation is sometimes called a monograph and is written as a single, unified document that could be revised into a book length publication. The Traditional Style thesis must have an Introduction, a series of linked and integrated chapters that address a central thesis statement and/or research question(s), and a Conclusion.

Manuscript Style

This style of thesis, sometimes called a “Thesis by Publication” presents several chapters that are intended to be published as individual research outputs (such as peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters). The chapters will include manuscripts that have already been published or are under review or will be submitted to peer-reviewed publications.

It should be noted that the number of manuscripts required for a thesis to be considered “complete”, and the status of the manuscripts (i.e. if a certain number must be under review/published) is determined by the Academic Unit. Generally, a minimum requirement is three manuscripts for Doctoral students, however it depends on the policy of the Academic Unit, as well as the manuscript’s scope, significance and the student’s independent contribution to any co-authorised manuscripts.

The Manuscript Style thesis must use a consistent citation style throughout no matter what the published version of some chapters might have used. The Manuscript Style also requires an Introduction or Overview section that provides all the following information:

• a comprehensive review of relevant literature.
• how the research fits into the larger context of the field(s) or discipline(s).
• the objectives of the research.
• a statement that makes clear the coherence of the chapters that follow.

The chapters of a Manuscript Style thesis are “stand-alone” in the sense that they have been prepared for separate publication to one or more peer-reviewed outlets. However, each chapter still requires the following:

• an introduction.
• a methodology section (if applicable).
• a discussion section.
• a concluding section.

It is expected that the student will be the principal/primary author for every chapter. Because each chapter is stand alone, a co-authorship statement is required for every chapter where the manuscript has more than one author.

At the end of the Manuscript Style thesis, the thesis must also include a Summary or Discussion/Conclusion that unites all the material presented in the chapters in a cohesive way

Students should keep in mind that the publication of manuscripts does not guarantee that the thesis will be passed by examiners.

Portfolio Style

The Portfolio Style allows students to engage in different or new ways of engaging diverse audiences for their work. Crucial to the Portfolio Style is early agreement between the student, supervisory team and the Academic Unit on the presentation, formatting, and general outline for your Portfolio thesis.

Students need to be prepared that a Portfolio Style thesis may require a student to be flexible to potentially unexpected challenges in compilation. The Portfolio Style requires an Introduction or Overview section that provides:

• a comprehensive review of relevant literature.
• a discussion of how the work fits into the larger context of the field(s) or discipline(s).
• the objectives of the thesis work; and
• a statement that makes clear the coherence of chapter or sections to follow.

At the end of the thesis the student must also include a Summary or Discussion/Conclusion section that unites all the material presented in a cohesive way.

A Portfolio style thesis can present a variety of research efforts, including (but not limited to): applied work(s), creative work(s), digital work(s), experiential work(s), entrepreneurial work(s), or any combination thereof.

Some examples of content (but these are not the only ones) include:

• Policy reports and/or papers
• Knowledge mobilization to the media, communities, or other groups standing to benefit from the research
• Publicly available resources (e.g., novels, comics, web tools, apps, music, art, documentaries)
• Inventions, prototypes, or business plans
• Patents or other technology licenses
• Educational programs, course materials, or assessment measures
• Translations
• Oral histories
• Cultural creations
• Creative work from festivals or exhibitions
• Digital artifacts (e.g. animations, webpages, interactive portals, software)
• Special issues that result from curating/managerial editing practice (e.g. oral history archives, literary magazines)
• Special issues resulting from original production of objects or events (e.g. performing arts, galleries, museums, archives)
• Traditional academic publications or works in progress toward publication
• Traditional style thesis chapters