journal article based on thesis

Research Guides

Submit and publish your thesis.

The Graduate Thesis: What is it?
Thesis Defences
Deadlines and Fees
Formatting in MS Word
Formatting in LaTeX
Making Thesis Accessible
Thesis Embargo
Review and Release
Your Rights as an Author
Re-using Third Party Materials
Creative Commons Licenses for Theses
Turning Thesis into an Article
Turning Thesis into a Book
Other Venues of Publication

Turning Your Thesis into an Article

Creating an article from your thesis means more than just copying and pasting. The audience for the thesis is your committee whereas for an article it may be fellow researchers, professionals working in the field, policy makers, educators, or the general audience. Your article manuscript will need to be modified accordingly. This section is based on Extracting a journal article from your thesis from Taylor & Francis publishing tips for authors.

Plan the article

Identify the central message that you want to get across. This could be a new theory, novel methodology or original findings. Make sure that your article follows a coherent argument and targets the journal audience.

Decide on the kind of article you want to write - will it be a report, position paper, critique or review? What makes your argument or research interesting? How might it add value to the field?

Select a journal

Selecting the right journal means reaching the audience you intend for your article to speak to. To start identifying potential journals:

Look at your own bookshelf / reference list. Where have authors published on similar topics?
Search the library catalogue
Consult Ulrich’s Web serials database (subscription resource)
For open access journals specifically - search the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
For student journals - see the Directory of Student Journals at UofT
Talk to your advisor, colleagues or liaison librarians

Automatic journal finders can recommend a journal based on your manuscript title/abstract:

Jane: the Journal/Author Name Estimator
Enago Open Access Journal Finder
Elsevier journal finder

To further narrow down the list:

Study the “Aim and Scope” or similar section on editorial policies on the website to evaluate the fit and any specific content requirements;
Skim through past issues, abstracts, table of contents - are there similar papers that have been published?
How will your paper be reviewed? The journal’s website should mention the details of peer review process;
Check details of copyright / license agreements and whether publication before or after your thesis submission is allowed .

Is it a trusted journal or publisher?

How to identify a deceptive publisher? See the Deceptive Publishing Checklist created by U of T.

Identifying deceptive publishers - a checklist.

Write the article

You may choose to approach writing your thesis with an aim to publish it as an article or several articles, known as an integrated/publication-based/sandwich thesis. Alternatively, you can reformat and convert your completed thesis into an article to fit the scope and style of a journal article. In both cases it will be helpful to:

Carefully read and follow “Author Guidelines” for instructions on on preferred layout, word limits, reference style
Use the criteria the reviewers will use and make sure your article addresses them
Request and consider the input of your supervisor, colleagues, or other contributors to the research on which your thesis is based
Reach out to friends or colleagues to prood-read your manuscript prior to submission

Additional resources on converting your thesis into an article:

Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis Into a Journal Article by APA
Eight top tips to help you turn your PhD thesis into an article by Elsevier
Extracting a journal article from your thesis by Taylor & Francis
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Last Updated: Oct 10, 2024 5:26 PM
URL: https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/thesis

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