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How you can include published work in your thesis聽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:
- If using聽your previously聽published, accepted or submitted data (text or figures) in your final doctoral thesis, you must clearly reference the source, even if you own the copyright.聽This involves:
- an appropriate citation of the original source in the relevant Chapter; and
- 肠辞尘辫濒别迟颈苍驳听迟丑别 果冻影院 Research Paper Declaration form 鈥� 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 果冻影院 Copyright advice website).
- It ls expected that inclusion of any such material will:
- ensure the style matches that of the rest of the thesis, both in formatting and content,
- add additional information/context where beneficial, such as聽additional background/relevant literature, more detailed methods,
- offer additional data not included in the publication, such as聽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 果冻影院 Research Paper Declaration form.
Examples of including previously published work in your thesis
Acceptable
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 鈥淲e鈥� to 鈥淚鈥�, where appropriate) and that it is written in your voice (see bullet point on 鈥業nitial drafts of papers鈥� 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
Upgrade
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鈥�
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 果冻影院 Academic Manual describes self-plagiarism as:
鈥淭he reproduction or resubmission of a student鈥檚 own work which has been submitted for assessment at 果冻影院 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.鈥�
Read about this in more detail聽in Chapter 6, Section 9.2d of the 果冻影院 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 果冻影院 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 鈥渕aterial鈥�.
In effect, the upgrade report (and any other progression reviews) is a form of 鈥渢hesis draft鈥� 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 鈥榩ublished鈥� online, there are several rules you must follow.
For additonal detail, visit the .
Links to forms
果冻影院 Research Paper Declaration Form for including published material in your thesis (to be embedded after the Acknowledgements page).
- , thanks to David Sheard, Dept of Mathematics