Thesis requirements

At least half of the research articles of a compilation thesis must have appeared or be unconditionally accepted for publication in peer reviewed scientific series, when the thesis is submitted to pre-examination; if the number of research articles is one or two, the articles must be accepted. The other articles must be submitted to peer review. If the number of research articles is four or more and if there are particularly well-justified and strong reasons, one article may be an almost ready manuscript, the format and scope of which qualifies submission to a scientific series. If the relative portion of the accepted manuscripts is less than half, the right solution is typically to prepare a monograph.

• As to the joint publications and manuscripts, it is important that the author has had an independent contribution. The doctoral researcher is typically the first or main author, whose contribution to the article is the most significant; this is usually the case at least for half of the articles. Being the second or secondary author is often well justified. In some cases, there may be a need to include also further articles with a smaller contribution from the doctoral researcher. In such cases, the total number of articles is usually larger than the possible field-specific minimum, but the primary criterion is the evaluation of the overall contribution performed by the doctoral thesis experts.
• If the number of articles is smaller than typical in the field, they shall be of high scientific quality and accepted for publication or be in a peer review processed (passed the possible pre-screening) in series of the highest third of the field. The quality can be estimated based on bibliometric criteria (such as the impact factor) or The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV) Publication Forum (JUFO) rankings.
• If the number of research articles is less than the common practice in the field, the nomination of pre-examiners form must be appended with a written justification of the sufficiency of the contribution by the doctoral researcher and the principal supervisor. Those must also be presented to the follow-up-group in its last meeting.
• The manuscript must go through an appropriate peer review process. Articles published in series with no indexing or predatory journals will not be accepted as research articles in a thesis. Typical for predatory journals are suspicious background of the publisher, no real peer review and aggressive email campaigning for academics, no JUFO or IF grading, and no Scopus or Directory of Open Access Journals indexing. A journal is to be considered suspicious if it is listed in the list of predatory journals.

In case the Doctoral Programme Committee wants to do so, it is entitled to give field-specific guidelines on the usual range of numbers or research articles in a typical compilation-based thesis.

Generally, a research article may only be used only as a part of one compilation thesis or reported in one monograph . The following additional guidelines are given:

• If the contribution of two doctoral researchers in the research is significant, a thesis can include – with well-justified reasons –research articles, which have been or will be used as original articles of another dissertation. The same research article can be used in a maximum of two dissertations, unless it is an exceptionally significant publication with a large working group cooperation. The cooperation and the reasoning for the usage of the publication in two dissertations must be detailed by the doctoral researcher and the principal supervisor as an appendix to the permission to defend.
• The first (or primary) author has the priority to use the article in their dissertation. If someone else wishes to use the research article in question as a part of their dissertation, they must have a written permission from all the authors and supervisor of the research (in case of an international multicentre study or other similar large set of authors, only signatures for the first author, last author (if they are not the supervisor) and corresponding author are needed.).
• The number of such joint publications, which are used in multiple theses, may comprise no more than half of the number of research articles of a dissertation.
• In all cases in which the same publication is used in multiple theses, all University of Oulu doctoral researchers must report the plan to their Doctoral Programme Committee as soon as the plan is known and at the latest as an appendix to the permission to defend application. The research plan approval and follow-up-group meeting report are also included. The Doctoral Programme Committee's chair can grant a permission for special arrangements.
• The doctoral researcher must submit a written statement on their contribution in each of the research articles. The statement and the other appendices are appended to the permission to defend application.

Doctoral Programme Committee for Health and Biosciences

Deviations from the principles described here may be made for justified reasons. A request must be addressed to the Chair of the Doctoral Programme Committee at the earliest opportunity prior to the submission of the doctoral thesis for pre-examination. This should not be done just before the pre-examination process as the request may need to be discussed at the doctoral training committee meeting.

• The typical number of research articles included in a compilation thesis is three (3).

• If there are less than three, the article(s) must be extensive and published in highest level scientific publication series.

• Before the pre-examination process is initiated, at least half of the research articles to be included in the thesis must be already published or accepted for publication in publication series using a peer review system. Unpublished manuscript with regards to both content and extent must be ready for submission into an international journal that uses a peer review system.

• When there are at least three articles included in a compilation thesis, one of these can be a systematic review comparable to an original article.

• The first author has priority to use the article in their thesis. With well-reasoned justification, thesis may include an article that has been used as a part of another thesis.

• No more than half of the articles of a thesis can be included in other theses.

• Author Contribution Form must be completed if the thesis 1) includes an unpublished manuscript, 2) includes an article or data that has been/will be used in another thesis, or 3) is a monograph.

• Doctoral researcher must be the sole first author in at least one article. Doctoral researcher must also have an independent contribution to all articles included in the thesis.

• Article must have gone through a true peer review process. Articles published in non-indexed series or in predatory journals are not accepted as articles in a doctoral thesis.

• For including conference papers in a thesis, please see the instructions.

Documents

• Instructions for doctoral researchers on monograph thesis in the Doctoral Programme Committee for Health and Biosciences
• Instructions for pre-examiners on monograph thesis in the Doctoral Programme Committee for Health and Biosciences
• Author Contribution Form for presenting the contribution of doctoral researcher in articles and monographs (Doctoral researcher must attach this to the nomination of pre-examiners form in eForms)

The Doctoral Programme Committee for Human Sciences has given general guidelines for the integrative chapter in a compilation thesis.

Additional requirements for a compilation thesis in the doctoral degree programme in Educational Sciences and Psychology

Doctoral degree programme in Educational Sciences and Psychology supplements the guidelines given by the Graduate School regarding compilation theses:

• The compilation thesis consists of at least three (3) scientific, peer reviewed articles, which are accepted for publication (one can be in review) and a summary.
• The articles may be in Finnish or English.
• If two articles are published or accepted for publication in a peer reviewed scientific journal:
  • The third may be a manuscript accepted for review (in review, submitted is not enough) OR
  • The third may be published in a peer reviewed edited book. If the article is published in a book, the publisher should be recognised in JUFO. Conference proceedings are not accepted.
• The doctoral researcher is the first author in at least two articles. In the summary of the compilation thesis the independent contribution of the doctoral researcher must be described.