Doctoral thesis

A doctoral thesis is an original research paper carried out and presented by a student, the doctoral candidate, to obtain a doctoral degree from an academic institution. For its approval, the thesis must be defended orally before a panel of doctors.

Definition

According to the now classic definition of Umberto Eco, it is “a typed work of an average length that varies between one hundred and four hundred pages, in which the student deals with a problem related to the studies in which he wants to obtain a doctorate ». However, the length required for doctoral theses depends a lot on the area of knowledge in which it is registered, as well as the country in which it is developed. Thus, for example, in the case of scientific studies the extension is usually much smaller than in the Humanities, and in Anglo-Saxon countries generally less than in Latin countries. The estimated time for writing a thesis also varies, although it is usually between three and five years, depending once again on the country and the topic.

Process

To create a doctoral thesis, it is usual to follow the following steps:

• Choice of the tutor or director: Any doctoral thesis must have at least one director, who must be a doctor. The choice of the tutor usually depends on criteria, in addition to closeness or relationship, of the subject chosen for the investigation.
• Choice of the topic: This should be broad enough to allow for extensive research, but not so much as to make it unviable; it should offer un studied aspects that allow original research; and it must be a relevant topic for the scientific or academic field in which it is registered.
• Establishment of a work plan: Since the doctoral thesis is a long-term work, long-term planning is required, indicating the time frames for each of the research tasks.
• Exhaustive documentation: One of the initial steps of a doctoral thesis is the establishment of the "state of art" of the subject, i.e., research on the background of the chosen topic. This status of the issue should be as updated as possible, for which resources such as bibliographic databases are often used.
• Data collection and filing: The initial part of an investigation (either humanistic or scientific) consists of the collection and organization of data. In both cases bibliographical sheets are of great use, including essential information about the books consulted.
• Experimental part: In scientific research, experiments must be done on many occasions to check and demonstrate whether the initial hypothesis is valid.
• Analysis of the data: Once the necessary data is collected, be bibliographical or experimental, the researcher must organize and analyse them to draw from them the relevant conclusions (which will ultimately be the conclusions of his research).
• Drafting: It is recommended that the drafting process final report be simultaneous with the previous steps, although in some cases most are usually concentrated in the final section of the investigation, where the data has been extracted and analyzed. The wording will depend on the extent required, but it must always preserve the style of scientific texts.
• Public Defense: After depositing the completed doctoral thesis, and following the relevant bureaucratic steps, the doctorate must overcome an act of public defense, in which an examining tribunal evaluates and criticizes his investigation; the doctoral candidate must, for his part, defend the validity of his project and his method, after which the thesis receives his qualification, and of being this positive, the doctorate becomes a doctorate.

It is very common that doctoral theses follow their path of preparation for publication after the defense, thus becoming a monograph or several articles if it is very extensive or if a more significant part is to be highlighted.

Thesis content

Regarding the final disposition of the thesis report, a more or less standard pattern should be followed. In general, the work, once written, should be divided into the following sections:

• Introduction: Its functions are to contextualize work in the scientific field in which it is situated and to present the general approaches to its objectives and methodology.
• Body of work: It is the core of the research, where the information about the thesis defended is contained, and its usefulness is demonstrated by the presentation and analysis of the data. Usually, the "body" in turn is subdivided into:
  • State of art: First, the scientific background before the investigation itself must be presented, critically valued.
  • Methodology: This section details the methods used during the investigation, thus locating the work within a given epistemological current.
  • Presentation of the data: The real center of the doctoral thesis constitutes a clear and structured presentation of the data, which must also be prior to and different from its interpretation by the researcher.
  • Analysis and discussion: The data presentation section is usually the most extensive of the doctoral thesis; however, the fundamental section is the one dedicated to the analysis and discussion of such data, since it is where the researcher must justify how the information obtained support his initial thesis.
• Conclusions: It is the final section of all research, and it summarizes the main points that have been reached after the analysis of the data. This section should not introduce new information, but only a reformulation of the one already given in previous paragraphs.
• Bibliography: The sources of any scientific research should appear explicitly in the text, cited in a systematic way, either using the author-date dating system (Harvard or "anglosaxon") or the numbered note-quoting system (Vancouver or "continental").
• Index: To facilitate the reading of the thesis and the location of the information, it is useful to include thematic indices, of personal names employed or abbreviations.

If necessary, other sections can also be included to attach content such as tables, graphs and annexes. For example, the content of a thesis usually includes the following order:

• Content index
• Dedicatory
• Acknowledgements
• Summary
• Content index
• Tables and figures index
• General Introduction
• Background and theoretical foundation
• Development of the topic in a variable number of chapters
  • General description: approach to the problem or research question
  • Subjects and groups of subjects involved
  • Expected benefits
  • General objectives
  • Specific objectives
  • Justification
• Methodology
  • Data collection method
  • Instruments used (questionaries, measurement scales, interviews, observation)
• Results
  • Presentation of results (tables, charts)
  • Analysis
• Conclusions and recommendations
  • Limitations of the investigation
• Bibliographical references
• Appendices (graphics and additional data)

Collection of Articles

A thesis as a collection of articles, also known as a thesis for published work or thesis article is a doctoral thesis that, Unlike a coherent monograph, it is a collection of research papers with an introductory section consisting of summary chapters. Also called "stapler thesis". It consists of previously published journal articles, conference papers and book chapters, and occasional unpublished manuscripts. A publication thesis is a form of compilation thesis (a term used in the Nordic countries). Another form of compilation thesis is an essay thesis, comprising unpublished independent essays. Today, article dissertations are the standard format in the natural, medical, and engineering sciences, while in the social and cultural sciences. there is a strong but diminishing tradition of producing coherent monographs, that is, theses as a series of linked chapters. Other times, PhD students may choose between writing a monograph or a compilation thesis.

The thesis by published work format is chosen in cases where the student intends to first publish the thesis in parts in international journals. It often results in a higher number of publications during doctoral studies than a monograph and can generate a higher number of citations in other research publications; something that can be advantageous from the point of view of research funding and can facilitate the appointment of readers after the thesis. Another reason to write a compilation thesis is that some of the articles can be co-written with other authors, which can be especially helpful for new PhD students. Most of the articles must be reviewed by referees outside the student's own department, complementing the audit carried out by the supervisory staff and the opponent of the thesis, thus ensuring international standards.