Guide to Theses and Dissertations - The University of Auckland

4.12 Elements of a thesis or dissertation
Theses may take different forms:
Monograph
The thesis or dissertation may be written as a traditional monograph.
You may include published or unpublished research papers and/or case studies within your thesis,
provided that you are the lead or sole author of each paper or case study and wrote the text. If you are
not the sole author of any of the papers or case studies, a Co-Authorship Form must be completed.
In the case of published or unpublished research papers and/or case studies that you have contributed
to but are not the sole or lead author of, you may report in your thesis your contribution to the research
with due reference to the original paper and/or case study. These research papers and/or case studies
should be listed in the bibliography and a Co-Authorship Form completed for each co-authored work
referred to. The Co-Authorship Forms should then be included in each copy of the thesis.
In both cases, the thesis must be presented in a consistent format, citation style and typeface.
Thesis with publications
PhD candidates registered under the 2011 Statute may choose to write a thesis with publications. In this
form some of the chapters may be exact or partial reproductions of published or submitted papers.
Where a thesis includes published or unpublished research papers and/or case studies, these must have
been conducted under supervision for this degree; you must be the lead or sole author of each paper or
case study and have written the text. The thesis must be presented in a consistent format, citation style
and typeface.
If the core of the thesis comprises submitted papers or work published during PhD enrolment, you must
provide a contextual framework and concluding discussion that will normally amount to 20,000–30,000
words. The range and focus of this material shall generally correspond with the introductory and
concluding chapters of a thesis.
When writing a thesis with publications that involves co-authorship candidates must complete a
Co-Authorship Form signed by all authors. These are best completed as soon as the paper is submitted.
An example of a Co-Authorship form is included on page 20 and can also be accessed at the following
link: www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/cs-pg-doctoral-forms.
Thesis with creative practice
PhD candidates registered under the 2011 Statute may apply to undertake a thesis with creative
practice. If the application is successful, the final thesis may not exceed 60,000 words in total plus a
corpus of creative work. The thesis should be accompanied by a Co-Production Form signed by all those
involved in each creative practice aspect of the thesis. These are best completed as soon as the work is
produced. An example of a Co-Production Form is included on page 21 and can also be accessed at the
following link: www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/cs-pg-doctoral-forms.
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