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HDR Thesis Preparation
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Support to help you plan, write, and submit your thesis
Preparing your thesis is a major milestone in your HDR journey. This page brings together everything you need in one place from writing and structure to submission readiness and support services.
Your Thesis Preparation Journey
Follow these steps to plan and complete your thesis with confidence:
1. Plan Your Thesis
- Your thesis should be prepared in close consultation with your Advisory Panel. The best way to understand the requirements for a successful thesis is to study some examples of recently written theses in your own discipline. The Library has a website that includes a template, format instructions and examples of previous thesis examples.
- Understand thesis requirements and structure
- Review examples in your discipline
- In the three months prior to submission, you will need to undertake a Pre-Completion Evaluation and submit a draft of your thesis.
2. Formatting Your Thesis
Before submitting your thesis, it is important to ensure it meets both the University's requirements and the conventions of your discipline. Your thesis should be professionally presented, accurately referenced, and demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity.
- Suggested format and template: The Library provides thesis formatting guidelines, templates, and examples to help you prepare your final submission.
- Acknowledgement of Research Training Program (RTP) all domestic students must include the following statement in the Acknowledgement: This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship doi.org/10.82133/C42F-K220
- Traditional Thesis – a single, written research thesis.
- Thesis with Publications – incorporating published or publishable research papers.
- Creative or Discipline-Specific Thesis – where alternative formats are approved within the discipline.
Depending on your discipline and research project, your thesis may take different forms, including:
Tip: Discuss your intended thesis format with your advisory team early in your candidature to ensure it meets discipline and University requirements.
While requirements may vary by discipline, a thesis will typically include:
- Title page
- Surname and full given name(s) and degrees and/or professional qualifications already held by the candidate;
- Full title of the thesis;
- Degree for which the thesis is submitted;
- College(s) or equivalent in which the candidate submitted the work;
- Name of the University; and
- Date of submission of the thesis – month and year.
- Acknowledgements
- Statement of contribution of others
- Statement of the use of Generative AI
- Abstract
- Table of contents
- Main chapters, such as:
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Findings/Results
- Discussion and Conclusion
- References
- Appendices
Always check any specific requirements provided by your College or advisory team.
When preparing your thesis:
- Follow the formatting requirements for your degree and discipline.
- Use the appropriate referencing style for your field of study.
- Apply consistent formatting throughout the document.
- Ensure all required sections are included.
- Check that figures, tables, appendices, and captions are clearly labelled and numbered.
- Review the Library’s thesis formatting guidelines and examples before submission.
You are responsible for ensuring that all work presented in your thesis is your own and that the contributions of others are properly acknowledged.
- Fully cite all sources used in your thesis.
- Clearly acknowledge any ideas, findings, conclusions, data, or direct quotations from other authors.
- Appropriately reference your own previously published work when it is included in the thesis.
- Follow the referencing conventions required by your discipline.
- JCU Library LibGuides - Referencing
If your research has involved collaboration:
- Clearly identify work completed with others, by including statement of contribution of others.
- Explain your individual contribution and the contributions of other team members.
- Ensure any jointly authored publications or outputs are appropriately attributed.
One of the following two statements regarding the use of Generative AI in the thesis and the research contained within, must be set out at the beginning of the thesis:
During the preparation of this thesis, I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specify use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].
OR
Generative AI technology was not used in the preparation of any part of this thesis.
All HDR candidates must comply with the University's requirements for research integrity and responsible research conduct.
Key resources include:
- Research Ethics and Integrity
- Research Integrity
- Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
These resources provide guidance on ethical research practices, authorship, data management, plagiarism, and responsible conduct throughout your candidature.
Candidates can incorporate published work into Higher Degree by Research (PhD or MPhil) thesis if the work contributes to the argument of the thesis and was produced during candidature.
The candidate should appreciate that the examiner of a thesis will have different motivation from the reader of research paper. The examiner of a thesis is interested in the evidence that the candidate has met the requirements for the degree. Thus it is essential to outline the rationale for the approach taken. It may be desirable to include more methodological detail than in a publication, such as comprehensive descriptions of methodologies or statistical treatments, in a general methods chapter or appendices.
Peer reviewed papers may be incorporated into a thesis if each of the following conditions is met:
- The papers have been published, accepted for publication, or submitted for publication during candidature;
- The papers contribute to the argument of the thesis;
- The candidate is the first/principal author of at least 75%, but usually all, of the papers included in the thesis; and
- The research and written work is substantively the candidate’s.
Where the papers have been jointly authored, the nature and extent of the candidate's work must be precisely identified for each paper (e.g. to the extent of identifying which figures or passages of text represent the original work of the candidate).
Papers can be incorporated into a thesis in several ways:
- Passages from published papers can be transferred directly with appropriate acknowledgment of the source (or in an appropriately edited form and referenced) into one or more chapters of the thesis; or
- A published paper or an accepted manuscript can form a single chapter (or several papers may form successive chapters) without any editing. Candidates who elect to include published papers without any reformatting should note that examiners often find this arrangement ‘reader unfriendly’ and that a more acceptable and coherent format can usually be achieved with minimal editing (see below).
- Removing redundancy;
- Cross-referencing;
- Including brief explanatory statements as to how each component contributes to the whole thesis;
- Including a summary of the major findings at the end of each chapter (examiners typically interrupt their reading at the end of chapters and need to be able to pick up the story again quickly);
- Reformatting in a single format; and
- Producing a single list of references.
The readability of a thesis in which the data chapters have been written as papers can be facilitated by:
JCU recognises that some candidates may have already completed work towards their research project before commencing their candidature. For example, they may have transferred to JCU part-way through their HDR candidature. Candidates may include studies undertaken towards another research degree, provided that the work:
- Was completed after the candidate was qualified for entry to their current program at JCU;
- Has not been counted towards a completed award at JCU or elsewhere;
- Was conducted with adequate advisory oversight at an acceptable institution; and
- Is of a nature and quality appropriate to the current program at JCU.
Candidates may include publications in their thesis, so long as the work that led to that publication was carried out under the conditions given above. Conversely, work published, accepted for publication, or submitted for publication prior to meeting these conditions cannot be included in the thesis. When trying to determine whether previously published work can be included in the thesis, key factors to consider include:
- Was the research work supervised in a manner consistent with the University's advisory policies? If not, then it cannot be included.
- Did the research that led to the publication contribute, in part or in whole, to the candidate being awarded another degree? If yes, then it cannot be included.
- Is the research part of the candidate's basis of admission to candidature at the University? If yes, then it cannot be included.
- Is the research considered to be of Research Doctorate (or Research Masters, if appropriate) standard? If not, then it cannot be included.
- Was the research carried out with the required ethics approvals? If not, then it cannot be included.
If there is still any uncertainty or ambiguity about the appropriateness of including previously published work in the thesis, please request formal advice from the Dean, Graduate Research.
Any publications that cannot be included can be listed in a section detailing additional publications by the candidate relevant to the thesis but not forming part of it.
For detailed guidance on formatting, templates, and examples, visit the Library’s Thesis Formatting Guidelines and related HDR resources before preparing your final thesis for submission.
Intent and Scope: To outline how James Cook University Library receives and deposits theses into the University’s institutional repository, ResearchOnline@JCU and the conditions of access to online theses, including Candidate responsibilities throughout the process.
It is a requirement that James Cook University PhD, Professional Doctorate and Masters by Research theses are received by the Library for deposit to ResearchOnline@JCU
3. Thesis submission
- Finalise Pre-Completion Evaluation
- Confirm readiness with your advisory panel
- Finalise documentation and approvals
- Thesis submission form in MyStudent
- Submit via MyStudent portal
- Prepare for examination process
Before submitting your thesis, ensure you have:
- Received approval from your advisory panel to submit your thesis
- Completed all required documentation and forms
- Met thesis structure and formatting requirements
4. Thesis examination with Oral Component
The oral examination provides candidates with an opportunity to discuss their research directly with recognised experts who have been appointed as their examiners and helps them establish stronger ties and networks across their discipline of study.
Related Information
- Start preparing your thesis well before submission deadlines
- Stay in regular contact with your advisory team
- Allow time for revisions and feedback
- Do not leave formatting and final checks until the last minute
Before producing the final version of the thesis for submission for examination, the candidate should ensure that:
- All textual errors, including typographical and formatting errors, have been corrected;
- Spelling, grammar, punctuation and choice of language are of an appropriate standard; and
- The referencing is complete and exact.
Attention to textual detail is essential as mistakes are extremely irritating to examiners and divert them from the substance of the thesis. If a professional proof-reader or editor is used in preparing the final thesis, the candidate must declare that they have read and complied with the Guidelines for the Editing of Research Theses by Professional Editors.
The name of the editor and a brief description of the service rendered should be printed as part of the list of acknowledgements
Please contact your College ADRE for a list of recommended editors.
If you’re unsure about any aspect of thesis preparation:
- Speak with your advisory panel
- Contact your College ADRE
- Reach out to the Graduate Research School
5. Award of degree
1. Submitting for the award of degree
At this stage, you will also need to upload the following via the MyStudent Portal for your advisory panel and College Associate Dean, Research Education (ADRE) to check before the award of degree recommendation:
- your response to examiner comments
- your marked-up thesis showing the revisions made
- a clean version of your final thesis
If you continue to have difficulties uploading your thesis after reviewing this information, please contact the Graduate Research School.
Once you have completed all required revisions and the Dean of Graduate Research School has approved these, you will be able to upload your final thesis to the MyStudent Portal.
It is at this stage in the process that you, or your principal advisor, will need to decide on access to your thesis. In keeping with international academic practice, your thesis will be made publicly available once you have completed all the requirements for your degree.
The majority of theses are open access. Once you have completed all the requirements of your degree, your thesis will be freely available via ResearchOnline@JCU.
In some cases, it might be appropriate to restrict access to your thesis for a specific period (usually 12 months).
Reasons for embargoing a thesis might include:
- academic
- cultural
- ethical
- legal, or
- commercial reasons
If your degree has already been conferred, contact Graduate Research School to request an embargo or extend an embargo.
If you would like to lift an embargo early, please contact researchonline@jcu.edu.au
2. When you can be called a "Doctor"
Once your degree is conferred by the University Council, you can call yourself "Doctor", and you will receive your testamur (degree certificate), academic transcript and an Australian Higher Education Graduations Statement (AHEGS) from the Graduation - JCU Australia.
Please ensure that your mailing address is up to date in MyStudent Portal to avoid any delays in the delivery of your documents.
3. Access to your thesis in JCU Library
After your degree has been conferred, the final copy of your thesis will be lodged with the JCU Library ResearchOnline@JCU. The thesis will then be made Open Access or Embargoed for a 12-month period depending on the information already provided to the Graduate Research School via your final thesis upload in MyStudent Portal.
For more information:
Please refer to the Graduation - JCU Australia page for important information about degree documents and graduation ceremonies.