Thesis Preparation

The academic program rules and specifications for thesis outline the requirements for what needs to be included in your thesis and how it should be formatted. It is important to familiarise yourself with the requirements.

The declaration page for your thesis needs to include specific text. On occasion this text is updated so it is important that you ensure that the most recent version is used in your thesis.

All students are encouraged to publish their research during candidature. Publications both give you an advantage for future employment, and show your examiners that your research has been accepted through a peer review process already. It is very important that you read the guidelines for including publications and the associated FAQs to ensure that you are including a publication appropriately and consult with your supervisor regarding the structure of your thesis. You will also need the Statement of Authorship form for all publications you include. You can view an example statement of authorship.

Of course you are not required to include publications in your thesis, you can choose to submit a conventional thesis, a combination thesis with some publications and work written specifically for the thesis, or a thesis with a major work. Descriptions of the different thesis types are in the 'Thesis' section of the Research Student Handbook.

If needed, the register of external editors is a list of professional editors that have been recommended by University of Adelaide academic staff, or who have been accredited by the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd). Editors must comply with the guidelines for the editing of research theses by professional editors and the Australian standards for editing practice.

The University has a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism amongst researchers and research students. ‘Turnitin Originality Check’ is a course in MyUni which provides access to Turnitin for you to check and manage the originality of your written work. Instructions on how to use Turnitin and review and understand originality reports are within the course. Find out more in the 'Conduct of Research' section of the Research Student Handbook.

Information Technology and Digital Services provide online courses through MyUni on how to effectively use Word and other programs which can assist in creating your thesis.

You are required to submit a single PDF file to the Graduate Centre for examination. Multiple files will only be accepted in exceptional cases and where creative works are being submitted, ie: an exegesis and novel or exegesis and music compositions.