Types of Thesis

The monographic thesis is the classic thesis that structures the research work in a series of essential and fixed sections that are incorporated into the index: summary, introduction, objectives, methodology, results, conclusions, bibliography.

However, if you include publications derived from your research in your thesis, you must take into account a series of additional requirements when writing your thesis and ordering the previous sections, since the exploitation rights of the publications will be subject to editorial contracts, and those of authorship can be shared with the person/s who co-wrote the article.

In the following sections we review the different types of theses based on these particularities derived from the intellectual property of scientific work.

If you reproduce totally or partially in any chapter of your thesis any content (text, tables or figures) of one or more publications made during the thesis stage, you must include in the copy of the thesis:

Note: The list of publications and the authorisation of the journal/publisher to include them in your thesis (points a. And b.) must be presented in an Annex at the end of your thesis.

1. A list of the publications included in your thesis, with an indication of how many quality indexes you can contribute (impact factor and relative position in the category to which the journal belongs at least), in addition to the year of publication.
    
2. The authorisation of the journal/publisher for the use of the publication in your thesis. If you do not have this authorisation, you must provide a publishable version of the thesis in the Institutional Repository without the content that lacks the stated authorisation.
    
3. When there are more co-authors in the publications, a specification of what your contribution has been to the published work.
    
4. In the specific chapter of your thesis in which you reproduce the contents of the publication, you must indicate the names and affiliation of all the co-authors and their order, as well as the complete reference of the publication or publications, the publisher and the ISSN or ISBN. In the case of articles with definitive acceptance for publication and which were not yet published at the time of the thesis presentation, their identification code (or DOI in digital publications) will be added.
    

Specific forms and templates:

• Doc.1 - Co-author authorisation for monographic thesis with reproduction
• Doc.2 - Author Responsibility Statement for monographic thesis with reproduction

The thesis by compendium of publications is the one that includes at least three research contributions that you have prepared during the stage of completion of your thesis which must be adjusted to the project included in your research plan. In addition, it is essential that these publications:

1. Have the final acceptance or are already published in publications of international scope and prestige with anonymous peer review. In this sense, none of the articles included in the thesis may be prior to the date on which you enrolled in the doctorate at the USC.
    
2. Regarding the accreditation of the quality of publications:
    
   1. The articles must be published in journals of recognised impact in the corresponding scientific field, preferably included in the Journal Citation Reports or Scopus. In areas where this criterion is not applicable, it may be replaced by the databases related by the CNAAI for these areas.
       
   2. At least one of these journals must be in the first or second quartile of their category.
       
   3. In the major areas of Art and Humanities and Social and legal Sciences books or book chapters contributions will be allowed, with a quality seal in academic publishing or included in Scholarly Publishers lndicators in Humanities and Social Sciences.
       

The compendium thesis itself must have coherence, regardless of further development through published works. Given its particular structure, its sections are as follows:

1. An introduction in which a presentation is made of the theoretical framework in which the subject of the thesis is inscribed and that will specifically have a reasoned justification of the unit and thematic and methodological coherence.
    
2. Hypothesis and general and specific objectives to be achieved, indicating in which publication or publications they are addressed.
    
3. A brief description of the methodological tools used.
    
4. A general discussion that provides coherence and unity to the different works included in the thesis, which will have a minimum length of 5,000 words (mandatory requirement from January 1 2021 by agreement of the Executive Committee of November 20, 2020).
    
5. The thesis conclusions.
    
6. The referenced sources.
    
7. A full copy of the publications. The contributions of the compendium will be listed below, either as part of the body of the thesis itself or as an annex, under the heading «Published or accepted works». Only the post-print of the articles can be included. 
    

For each included publication, you must indicate and/or attach:

1. Quality indications of the publication: impact factor of the journal(s) in which it is or are in the year of publication, the relative position in the category to which it/they belong(s), and/or other quality indexes.
    
2. Your specific contribution in case there are more co-authors.
    
3. Authorisation from the journal/publisher for the use of the publication in your doctoral thesis. If you do not have this authorisation, you must provide a version that can be published in the repository without the content that lacks such authorisation.
    
4. Essential data: your name and affiliation, as well as the names and affiliation of all the co-authors and their order; the full reference of the publication (publisher, ISSN or ISBN, year of publication). In the case of articles with definitive acceptance for publication and that at the time of the thesis presentation were not yet published, their identification code (the DOI in digital publications) will be added.
    

At the time of making your request through the Virtual Secretary, you must upload the declaration of the PhD/ non-PhD co-authors in which they accept that you use the publications in your thesis and confirm the originality of your contribution to the publications. In the same way, with their signature they confirm that the publications have not been used in a previous thesis.

Forms and specific models:

• Doc.1 - Co-author authorisation for thesis by compendium of publications
• Doc.2 - Author Responsibility Statement for thesis by compendoum of publications

They are those theses affected by confidentiality clauses with companies, or those that may generate industrial and intellectual property rights, so they cannot be disseminated before their content is duly protected.

1. Before depositing the thesis

   To grant this protection to your thesis, you must process an application addressed to the EDIUS through the Electronic Office, using the confidentiality model available at the bottom of this page. In the application, enter as subject, “Thesis with protection of rights”.

   After receiving the application, we will ask you to provide us with a PDF with the complete copy of the thesis. The person in charge of the Doctoral School will sign a Safe-keeing Commitment, based on the information in the submitted application, which will be delivered to the PhD student. All documentation submitted by the PhD student will be kept at the EDIUS.

2. Presentation to the CAPD and additional documentation

   In addition to the documentation related to the presentation of the theses, if you have requested for your thesis to be protected, you must present additional documentation:

   • A copy of the custody commitment signed by the school director.
      
   • An unprotected PDF of the reduced version, and the rest of the PDF documents requested for the presentation of the thesis.

3. Thesis defence

   If at the time of the thesis defence, the examining committee wishes to ask questions to the PhD student about the protected content, these interventions will be made in a private session, before or after the public one.

4. Publication of the thesis in the Theseus institutional repository

   Once the thesis has been approved, the reduced copy will be the one published in the Minerva and Theseus institutional repositories.

   Once the protection period has ended, the PDF will be replaced by the full copy.

   In the event that the PhD student does not indicate the duration of the protection in their application, they undertake to communicate its termination in order to proceed with the replacement of the copies.

Specific forms and models:

• Request for thesis confidentiality