newcastle university thesis guidelines

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Finding Theses

• Newcastle University Theses
• UK and Irish Theses

Print Theses

The Library holds copies of all Newcastle University PhD theses and copies of theses written for other research degrees such as DSc, MD, LLD, DEng, DBA, EdD, MPhil.

All theses held by the Library are listed in  LibrarySearch . Links are provided to the full text where this is available.

Electronic Theses

Our  repository of electronic theses  contains the full text of over 3,800 Newcastle University doctoral theses.

• EThOS Search the details of over 500,000 UK theses dating back to 1800. The full text of over half of these is available for immediate download to registered users, and in other cases, you may be able to request a copy in digital or other format (for which there may be a charge).

International Theses

There isn't one single source for finding non-UK theses, and access options will vary according to the institution, but the links below give the best starting points.

• Australian Theses Search almost a million Australian theses.
• DART Europe Access to over 600,000 open access research theses from 28 European countries.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations This database provides access to the full text of thousands of international theses and dissertations.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. OATD currently indexes over two million theses and dissertations from over 1,000 institutions worldwide.
• PQTD Open Search and read open access dissertations and theses from the USA.
• Proquest Dissertation Express (international) This link opens in a new window Over two million graduate works from graduate schools around the world including American and Canada. Theses and dissertations may be available to purchase direct from ProQuest using the order forms provided. Please consult the help section to see how you can order and pay for these dissertations yourself.
• Proquest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index A curated collection of multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses, offering over 5.5 million records representing dissertations and theses from thousands of universities around the world. Useful for all subjects.

Thesis production

The Student Progress Office provides information on Research Degree Examination Procedures and Forms, including the University's Guidelines for the Submission and Format of Theses  and Library Deposit Licence.  You may also wish to speak to your supervisor for advice on thesis presentation.

• Guidelines for the Submission and Format of Theses
• Last Updated: Jul 10, 2024 12:06 PM
• URL: https://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/theses

DSpace JSPUI

Dspace preserves and enables easy and open access to all types of digital content including text, images, moving images, mpegs and data sets.

• Newcastle University eTheses

Newcastle University Theses

Welcome to our digital collection of Newcastle University theses, which is continually growing. Direct links to theses are now also available in Library Search . Accessibility

Communities in DSpace

Choose a community to browse its collections.

Newcastle University

• 2 Almutairi, Saad
• 2 Alshehri, Mohammed Ali
• 2 Brennan, Mary
• 2 Clark, Sam
• 2 Diaz Silvarrey, Laura Salvia
• 2 Martin, Nicholas Charles
• 2 Martin, Tristan
• 2 Parker, Gemma Louise
• 1335 2020 - 2024
• 3286 2010 - 2019
• 588 2000 - 2009
• 380 1990 - 1999
• 156 1980 - 1989
• 107 1970 - 1979
• 19 1960 - 1969
• 2 1950 - 1959

What is the required format for my thesis?

Details on the specific formatting requirements including font size, page layout, format, number of copies, binding and referencing are contained in the Thesis Examination guidelines .

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Approval of Title and Nomination of Examiners

• Approximately three months prior to your thesis submission deadline, you and your supervisor need to complete the online Approval of Title and Nomination of Examiners forms.
• You need to provide your exact final title of your thesis (ensure your wordings and spellings are correct!). Please also provide a very short summary of your area of research (approximately 6 words), suitable for use in a graduation ceremony.
• You must upload an abstract for your thesis as part of your submission.
• Your supervisor will then complete their form, including nominating examiners and providing evidence of their suitability in relation to examining your thesis. Usually an internal and an external examiner will be appointed. For staff candidates, two external examiners must be appointed.
• It then goes to Head of School & PG Dean for approval; after which you will be notified. You can monitor progress via the ‘Summary’ tab when you view your form.

For more detailed information see the Student Progress page:  The Research Degree Examination Process

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Answered By: Matthew Armstrong Last Updated: Jul 05, 2023     Views: 1376

Theses held at newcastle university:.

You can search for a thesis held by Newcastle University at:

• LibrarySearch and
• theses.ncl.ac.uk .

Theses submitted to other UK institutions:

You can search for theses submitted to other UK institutions using:

• The British Library's EThOS service .

Theses submitted to overseas institutions:

You can search for theses submitted to overseas institutions using:

• The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database, available via Library Search .

For further guidance and information:

Guidance on finding and submitting dissertations and theses using these and other methods is also available at the LibGuide web page:

• Theses and Dissertations Libguide .

Searching for a thesis using Library Search

This is much like searching for books and other items. You can search for the name of the author and / or the title of the thesis - LibrarySearch will return theses in the search results.

Searching for theses either by thesis type or by subject is not as straightforward.

Firstly, select Advanced Search. From here, change the first search field from Any to Publisher. After that, enter M.D. or Ph.D into the Contains field, depending on whether you are searching for a medical doctoral thesis or a non-medical doctoral thesis. Finally, change Material Type from All Items to Theses.

To search for theses by subject, you can combine the above with an Any Field keyword search.

The search above would find all the PhD theses published by the School of Chemistry, or with the word 'chemistry' anywhere else in the record. You could be more specific and change the Any Field to Title. This would only return PhD theses with 'chemistry' in the title, and not necessarily all PhD theses on the subject of chemistry.

Searching for a thesis using theses.ncl.ac.uk

theses.ncl.ac.uk is Newcastle University's digital repository for M.D. and PhD. level theses. Only theses submitted to Newcastle University appear in this repository - theses from other universities are not included.

If you search 'PhD' in the search box at the top of the theses homepage, you can see all the PhD theses produced by Newcastle University that are available electronically. You can then add a filter to search for a word contained in the title.

In the example below, theses with the word 'communication' in the title will be returned in your results. Make sure to toggle the Equals search function to Contains.

To search theses by School:

Return to the theses.ncl.ac.uk homepage.

First, click on Newcastle University.

Then click on the faculty you would like to search.

Following this, click on the department, institute, or school you'd like to search.

Once you've done this, you'll be able to see the theses that have been produced by a particular school.

For further guidance on finding and submitting dissertations and theses using these and other methods you can consult the following LibGuide web page:

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• Theses and Dissertations Libguide
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FMS TEL Digital Skills

Tutorials for postgraduate researchers.

Document Management

This is the first of 4 document management sessions, where you will be using some of the features of Word to format the content and layout of a document in preparation for producing your First Year Report. 

In part 3 of the 4 part document management series, advanced techniques are covered, including non-numbered headings as found in a thesis (e.g Abstract, Dedication, Acknowledgements), page layout, references and bibliographic tools, and some revision of previously covered skills.

In the 2nd of 4 Document Management sessions, you will be using some of the features of Word to manage and format images and tables in a document, in preparation for producing your First Year Report. Document Management - Content and Layout, is an essential pre-requisite to this. 

This course the final in the series of document management courses available from Digital Skills. It is designed for postgraduate students embarking on writing their thesis. The document should be long enough to need to be written so that each chapter resides in a different document.

Data Analysis

This tutorial is designed to help you develop and practice a variety of Microsoft Excel skills useful to the management of data including using formulas, database functions, logic functions, and gantt charts.

This course provides an introduction to NVivo 12 qualitative analysis software. It is recommended for students using predominantly qualitative data in their research.

This course provides an introduction to Classifications and Attributes in Nvivo and is recommended as a follow on from Intro to Nvivo.

This course provides an introduction to NVivo 1.0 qualitative analysis software. It is recommended for students using predominantly qualitative data in their research.

Specialist Software

 This workshop will give participants hands-on practice using some of the most useful features of Matlab, including vectors and matrices, functions, scripts, programming, linear algebra, and basic plots.

This course is designed to support the use of SPSS for statistical analysis in medical and biosciences research.

Do you use a lot of equations in your dissertation or thesis?  LaTeX is an open-source mark-up language designed with mathematicians, scientists, and engineers in mind. It can handle equations, figures, and tables with aplomb, while getting around some of the restraints of WYSIWYG Word processors and allowing for greater flexibility.

Promoting Yourself & Your Research

This tutorial will give you the skills necessary to develop and deliver an effective PPT Presentation.

In this session, you will learn to make academic posters that convey just what you need them to, drawing in the audience while following any guidelines provided by your programme.

Update your research portfolio in MyImpact for the research excellence framework ( REF ).

Find out more information about this popular professional network for scientists with a document from the developers behind it.

Thesis Resources

Use this word template for double-sided printing.

Click here for the LaTeX online tutorial and look under Session Resources for the LaTeX Thesis Template.

Select Guidelines for the Submission and Format of Thesis 

A practical guidebook on formatting your thesis.

Other Tutorials

Images play a very important part in your document but come in all different sizes and formats.  This session provides support in creating and managing a wide range of images within your document.

Covers how to make the most of the Review and Correction tools in Microsoft Word to support written feedback.

Theses and Dissertations: Find University of Newcastle theses

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Find a University of Newcastle thesis

Electronic access.

Full text digital University of Newcastle Higher Degree theses from the beginning of 2012 are available in the University's digital repository, NOVA . Some exceptions apply

You can search for theses in NOVA by using author, title or keyword.

You can also use Library Search to find UON theses held in NOVA. Simply use author, title or keyword.

Print copies

Copies of all University of Newcastle PhD and Research Masters theses, as well as selected Honours theses relevant to the region, are held in Special Collections within Auchmuty Library.

For PhD and Masters theses completed at the Ourimbah Campus please see Ourimbah Library staff. 

You can use Library Search to find any hardcopy UON theses held in Special Collections. Simply use author, title or keyword.

N.b.  Copies of Honours and DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) theses are not held by the library. Please contact the appropriate School or College  for more information.

How to find a University of Newcastle thesis in NOVA

Use this link to access  NOVA  theses.

Help and Information

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• Last Updated: Aug 19, 2024 3:39 PM
• URL: https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/theses

Thesis and dissertation filing guidelines

Students who have enrolled in dissertation or thesis credits will prepare a manuscript to publish through ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing. You own and retain the copyright to your manuscript. The Graduate School collects the manuscript via electronic submissions only. All manuscripts are made available through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database (PQDT), in ProQuest/UMI’s Dissertation Abstracts International, and through the University’s institutional repository, ScholarWorks.

Getting started with campus resources:

• Office of Human Research Protection
• Campus computer Help Desk @One : (775) 682-5000
• ProQuest Help Line: (877) 408-5027 (8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET, or 5 a.m. - 2 p.m. PT)
• For specific questions, call the Graduate School Graduation staff at (775) 784-6869

Jump to a section

• Important dates and milestones for graduating students
• Electronic manuscript submission
• Checklist to complete your electronic submission
• Instructions for completing thesis/dissertation committee approval page
• Formatting your dissertation or thesis
• Templates, samples and forms for filing

1. Important dates and milestones for graduating students

• Contact your advisor to discuss department considerations and potential dates for your defense.
• Contact the Graduate School to ensure your progression paperwork has been approved.
• View important dates and purchase a graduation application through MyNevada for your graduation semester.
• Doctoral students must submit their dissertation title for the commencement program.
• Schedule defense date with the entire advisory committee in accordance with graduation deadlines.
• Submit all forms and final manuscripts to the Graduate School by established deadlines.

2. Electronic Manuscript submission

ProQuest electronic submission site

Set up an account with ProQuest and wait for a password sent via email. ProQuest offers email and phone support,   1-877-408-5027 , frequently asked questions, etc. Visit the site early to familiarize yourself with the submission process.

3. Checklist to complete your electronic submission

• Master's  Notice of Completion and Doctoral Notice of Completion Form  - This form includes all committee signatures AND the Graduate Program Director’s signature.
• Master's Final Review Approval and Doctoral Final Review Approval   Form - This form serves as the final approval from your advisor. The Graduate School will accept the dissertation/thesis after the date listed on the form. The approval date on the form indicates the student’s submission can be accepted.
• Committee Approval Page   - Use the online Word document template (NO SIGNATURES and no page number). This page will be merged into your manuscript to acknowledge committee members.
• Filing for Copyright Registration   (optional) - Students have the opportunity to register a copyright of their graduate work with the U.S. Copyright Office. It is strictly optional, and there is a $75.00 fee associated with the service, which is paid online with student submission.
• Processing fee  - $85 thesis / $95 dissertation.  Log into your Student Center in MyNEVADA . Under the Finances section, click on the link “Purchase Miscellaneous Items.” Select the applicable processing fee to pay (Dissertation or Thesis) and complete the transaction. You will receive a receipt that generates overnight.  Please keep this item as proof of payment for your records. Our office will automatically check for payment posted.
• NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates  – For  doctoral students only.

4. Instructions for completing thesis/dissertation committee approval page

• The Committee Approval Page (see forms links at bottom of page ): This interactive template has established borders.
• Use the accompanying template on page two of this handout to complete the Committee Approval form. Check spelling carefully and make sure that case (upper-case/capital and lower-case letters) and font style (regular or bold) follow the template. Spacing between lines will depend on how long your thesis/dissertation title is and how many committee members you have.
• Type the words as they appear on the template, i.e., on the first line “We recommend that the thesis/dissertation”, followed by the second line “prepared under our supervision by.”
• At brackets [1] enter your full name in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and BOLD-FACED.
• Type the word “entitled” all in lowercase letters.
• At brackets [2] enter the complete title of your thesis/dissertation. The title should be in both CAPITAL and lower-case letters and must be Bold-Faced. If the title is long, use two or more lines, breaking the lines at appropriate words in the title. Do not hyphenate between lines.
• Type the words “be accepted in partial fulfillment of the,” and then, on the next line, “requirements for the degree of.”
• At brackets [3] enter the name of the degree being awarded, e.g., for Ph.D. enter “Doctor of Philosophy,” for Ed.D. enter “Doctor of Education”. The degree should be in all CAPITAL LETTERS and Bold-Faced. DO NOT enter the name of the graduate program, such as anthropology or economics.
• At brackets [4] type the full name of your thesis/dissertation advisor followed by his/her degree, followed by the word “Advisor”. For example, “Sonia A. Skakich, Ph.D., Advisor”. Use both capital and lowercase letters.
• Enter the subsequent committee members and type the full names of the rest of your committee members followed by their degrees and their roles in the committee (Committee Member or Graduate School Rep.) under each one. Use one line for each member. The Graduate School Representative should be the last committee member listed. Use both capital and lowercase letters.
• The last entry is reserved for the Dean of the Graduate School (which is already entered on the form).
• At brackets [5] enter the month and year of official graduation. The month must be May, August, or December. Enter the appropriate four-digit designation of the year (e.g., 2018).

5. Formatting your dissertation or thesis

The Graduate School requires standardized formatting for the dissertation and thesis documents. Students will follow a style guide (APA, MLA, etc.) to prepare their document; however, the document must comply with University formatting requirements listed below.

Margins and spacing

• Left margin: 1.5” from the left edge of the page.
• Right margin: 1.0” from the right edge of the page.
• Top margin: 1.0” from the top edge of the page.
• Bottom margin: 1.25” from the bottom edge of the page.
• All text should be double-spaced with the exception of captions, footnotes, long quotations, bibliographic entries of more than one line, and materials in tables and appendices.

Recommended fonts

Fonts should be easy to read. Times New Roman, Arial, or a similarly clear font is preferred; type size must be 10, 11, or 12 points. Script and italic typefaces are not acceptable except where absolutely necessary i.e. in Latin designations of species, etc.

In preparing your dissertation or thesis for electronic submission, you must embed all fonts. In Microsoft Word 2013, this is done by accessing the FILE menu; selecting OPTIONS, select SAVE. From the SAVE menu check the box labeled, ”Embed fonts in the file.” If the file size is a concern, check the box next to “Do NOT embed common system fonts."

Large tables, charts, etc., may be reduced to conform to page size, but the print must remain clear enough to be readable. You can also attach a PDF for electronic submissions.

Page numbering

Every page, with the exception of the title page, the copyright page, and the committee approval page is numbered in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top of the page and one inch from the right edge of the page. Do not underline or place a period after the number. Do not use a running header.

• The prefatory materials (abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents, etc.) are numbered in lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv…). Insert a section break after the Roman numerals to create different page numbering styles.
• The first page of the main text and all subsequent pages are continuously numbered in Arabic numerals beginning with one until the final page number (1, 2, 3, 4…)
• Do NOT number appendices or pages of additional material with numbers such as 4a or A-1.

Tables and appendices

Tables and appendices are part of the document and must conform to the same margin and page numbering requirements.

Format and sequence of pages

Assemble pages in the following order:

• Title page *no page number* (create according to the example provided)
• Copyright Notice *no page number* (optional - see example)
• Committee Approval Page *no page number* (use the online template available on our   forms page – NO SIGNATURES on this page)
• Abstract (begins lowercase Roman numerals i, ii, iii…)
• Dedication (optional)
• Acknowledgments (optional)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Body of Manuscript (begins Arabic numbering 1, 2, 3…)
• Back Matter (appendices, notes, bibliography, etc.)
• Do not number the title page
• Center each line of type
• Use BOLD text type for the manuscript title
• The date listed is the month and year in which you will graduate. The only acceptable months are May, August, and December (graduation cycles).

Copyright page

No page number on this page. Although not required, we strongly recommend you insert a copyright notice in your manuscript following the title page. Essential components of the copyright notice include the copyright symbol, full legal name of the author, and year of first publication. Follow the format of the sample provided below.

Committee approval page

• No page number on this page
• Use the electronic PDF template provided below. This page will list the advisory committee members and graduate dean but will NOT include committee signatures.   Combine the PDF into your manuscript to form a single PDF file.  To do this in Adobe Pro, select "Organize pages," "Insert," and "From file."   
• A window will open and you can drag your separate PDF files into this window to combine them into a single file.
• Choose the PDF documents in order of page sequencing (title page, committee page, main manuscript) and then combine files into a single PDF.

(Lower case Roman numeral “i” page number)

Abstracts are required for all theses and dissertations. ProQuest no longer has a word limit on the abstract, “as this constrains your ability to describe your research in a section that is accessible to search engines, and therefore would constrain potential exposure of your work.” ProQuest does publish print indices that include citations and abstracts of all dissertations and theses published by ProQuest/UMI. These print indices require word limits of 350 words for doctoral dissertations and 150 words for master’s theses (only text will be included in the abstract). You may wish to limit the length of your abstract if this concerns you. The abstracts as you submit them will NOT be altered in your published manuscript.

Processing note

Each copy of your thesis or dissertation will be checked for margins, clarity of copy, and pagination. The Graduate School will run the manuscript through the Turn It In plagiarism tool.

Electronically submitted theses/dissertations are available in electronic format only; no hard copies will be produced. Students are responsible for binding any copies for personal use or for distribution to their advisor, department, or committee members.

Dissertation & Thesis Processing Fee

Mandatory processing fees are required for all theses ($85.00) and all dissertations ($95.00). Log into your Student Center in MyNEVADA. Under the Finances section, click on the link “Purchase Miscellaneous Items.” Select the applicable processing fee to pay (Dissertation or Thesis) and complete the transaction. You will receive a receipt that generates overnight.  Please keep this item as proof of payment for your records. Our office will automatically check for payment posted.

Using copyrighted materials

You must certify in ProQuest that any copyrighted material used in your work, beyond brief excerpts, is with the written permission of the copyright owner. Attach copies of permission letters to the agreement form.

Copyright registration (optional)

Students have the opportunity to register a copyright on their graduate work with the U.S. Copyright Office. It is strictly optional, and there is a $75.00 fee associated with the service. Students submitting electronically pay online. Paying for the claim to copyright is a voluntary action, which allows a court of law to award monetary damages if the copyright is infringed. You may file a Registration of Copyright yourself by sending a properly completed application form, a nonrefundable filing fee of $45.00 and a nonreturnable copy of your thesis or dissertation to the United States Copyright Office. Application materials and instructions are available from:

Register of Copyrights Copyright Office Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20559-6000 Information is also available at the Copyright Office’s website:   lcweb.loc.gov/copyright

ScholarWorks repository

ScholarWorks - the University's institutional repository - assists in collecting, preserving, and distributing the university's intellectual output accessible to end-users on local and global levels with few if any barriers. The repository will provide long-term access to the items deposited and can accept works from all the University faculty/staff/students. A wide variety of items including Articles, Datasets, Presentations, Technical Reports, Thesis and Dissertations, Posters, Conference Papers, etc. in all file formats can be deposited into the repository. The repository supports creative commons licensing and open-access publishing without any cost.

The discovery services and search engine optimizations ensure that major search engines easily discover the uploaded content. This increases the visibility, citations, and overall impact of the research. All items deposited in the repository receive a persistent URL that can be used for citations. Various statistics are collected with the built-in statistics module and Google Analytics modules. Information on monthly/yearly views, number of downloads, demographic information, etc. is available for each deposited item upon request.

All the ETDs uploaded into ProQuest are automatically deposited into the University's ScholarWorks repository. The embargo period set in ProQuest during deposit is carried over to the ScholarWorks repository. Any changes to the embargo period after deposit can be made by contacting ProQuest at 1-800-521-0600 as well as the ScholarWorks administrator at [email protected] .

Scholarworks FAQ

Do I need to upload my ETD into the ScholarWorks repository?

• No, ProQuest will automatically upload the ETD into ScholarWorks on approval from the Graduate School.

Can I extend the embargo period on my Thesis/Dissertation after uploading it to ProQuest?

• Yes, to change or extend the embargo period of your ETD you need to contact ProQuest at 1-800-521-0600 and the ScholarWorks administrator at [email protected] .

Can I make my ETD open access in the ScholarWorks repository?

• Yes, ScholarWorks supports open access with creative commons licensing. It is available as a free service to all the faculty/staff/students.

Alternative formatting for thesis or dissertation

These guidelines apply to those theses or dissertations which consist of a number of papers either previously published or being published concurrently with the submission of the thesis or dissertation. Acceptance and publication of the articles are not criteria for this alternative. Each of the papers should constitute a separate chapter of the overall work. Preceding the papers should be an introductory section. This section may be one or more chapters but should include:

• an overall introduction to the thesis/dissertation,
• a review of the appropriate literature, and
• a description of the methodology used in the study.

The student’s advisory committee should determine the format and specific content of this introductory section.

The number of individual papers constituting chapters of the thesis/dissertation is determined by the student’s advisory committee. These chapters may be formatted in the same style required by the journals to which they are to be submitted. However, the margins must conform to those of the overall thesis, i.e. left margin = 1.5"; right margin = 1"; top margin = 1"; bottom margin = 1.25". In addition, each page must be numbered consistent with the rest of the thesis/dissertation, that is, the first page of text is numbered 1 with each subsequent page numbered consecutively until the end, to include all appendices, indexes, etc.

Following the chapters consisting of individual papers, there must follow a summary, conclusions and recommendations section. This section may be formatted as one or more chapters.

Work reported in the articles should represent a major contribution by the student that is the review of the literature, the conceptual framework and/or research design for the reported work. The statistical analyses, summaries, conclusions, and recommendations should represent the student’s own work.

For publication purposes, other researchers may be named as additional authors. This would be especially appropriate when publication is dependent upon extensive revision of the initial manuscript submitted and the faculty involved assumes responsibility for the revisions, or when the student is using an existing database.

When a student chooses this option, the articles will be submitted to the journals agreed upon by the concerned academic unit. Responsibility for follow-up, revisions, etc., should be identified in a written document and agreed upon by the student and faculty member(s) involved.

6. Templates, samples and forms

Please be sure to read the above instructions before proceeding with documents.

Forms for filing a master's thesis   Forms for filing a doctoral dissertation

Thesis filing templates and samples

• Committee Approval page for 3-member committee (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page for 3-member committee with co-advisor (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page for 4-member committee (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page for 4-member committee with co-advisor (TEMPLATE)

Sample pages

• Thesis Title page (SAMPLE)
• Thesis Copyright page (SAMPLE)
• Thesis Committee approval page (SAMPLE)

Dissertation filing templates, samples and Survey of Earned Doctorates

• Committee Approval page  for 5-member committee (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page  for  5-member committee with co-advisor (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page  for 6-member committee (TEMPLATE)
• Committee Approval page  for 6 -member committee with co-advisor (TEMPLATE)
• Dissertation Title page (SAMPLE)
• Dissertation Copyright page (SAMPLE)
• Dissertation Committee approval page (SAMPLE)

Survey of Earned Doctorates

• Survey of Earned Doctorates  - The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an annual census conducted since 1957 of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by three other federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities. The SED collects information on the doctoral recipient's educational history, demographic characteristics, and postgraduation plans. Results are used to assess characteristics of the doctoral population and trends in doctoral education and degrees. Read more about the purpose and methods of the SED .

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• Dissertations and Extended Projects

A collection of resources to help you plan and succeed in a dissertation or extended project.

• Newcastle University
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This collection of resources provides you with a range of strategies and advice for tackling your extended project or dissertation, from first draft to final edits.

Planning your work

It’s important to have a clear plan of action when approaching your dissertation or extended project. Take a look at these resources to help make sure you hit the ground running.

Use our proposal planner

Explore your initial research ideas, identify your aims, highlight potential limitations, and plan how you'll manage your time.

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Finding and evaluating information

Knowing where to find the right information and being able to establish its quality is a crucial part of the dissertation or extended project process. Selecting the type of information needed for your purpose and the section of the project you are working on, will also help you to determine where and how to search. 

Plan your search

Make a start by creating a search plan for your topic, or watch our search planning video to learn more about the steps you need to take to be more methodical in your approach. 

Build your search strategy with our interactive Search Planner tool.

Perform your search

Once you have a basic plan, there are simple techniques you can use to perform an effective search and discover the most cutting edge research on your topic. 

Resources and study support

Visit the Library website to explore the most relevant information resources for your subject.

Search techniques

Discover how to perform a more successful information search.

Explore tools and techniques to help you find the most current information on your topic.

Evaluating information

A strong research project needs a strong evidence base, so assessing the quality and relevance of the sources you find and use is vital. You need to be selective and consider potential issues around the authority and accuracy of the information you find. 

Our video on evaluating information provides you with six critical questions to consider when making your judgements. 

Evaluating your search 

If you find that some or all of your search results are not relevant or appropriate to your needs, it’s important that you pause and extend your criticality from the material itself to the search that you carried out.  It may be that part of your search plan needs to be changed to improve your results.

Consider the following questions: 

• Are you searching on the right databases? Are there other databases you could try?
• Is a particular type of information missing from your plan? 
• What keywords and search techniques did you use? Are there alternative synonyms or search combinations you could try? 
• What has worked successfully with your search? Why did it work well?
• What lessons have you learned along the way? 

Remember literature searching is not a linear process and you need to be willing to review and adapt your search plan as you go to ensure you find all the information you need to successfully answer your search question.

Help from the Liaison Team

Get in touch with the Liaison Team for help with planning and finding information for your dissertation or extended project.

Critical reading

Engaging critically with the research in your field is a key challenge in academic assessments, and it's especially important for an extended piece of independent research. Take a look at these resources to help you ensure your writing showcases your critical and analytical skills.

Downloadable resources about critical reading

Three domains of critical reading.

A resource to guide your literature review reading that can help you discover links between resources and your research. **PDF Download**

Use a critical framework

The PMI tool offers a quick and easy way to get started with critical thinking and writing. **PDF Download**

Mapping the literature

An approach to help you gain an overview of your literature review reading. **PDF Download**

Building an argument

In an extended project or dissertation the markers will be looking at how you have drawn from the work of other scholars as your foundation, supporting each of your points with evidence.

Being able to combine different sources is an essential academic skill. It demonstrates that you have fully understood the materials you have read and how they impact on your work or research. You will need to weave your sources into your own writing so that it is clear what is your work, and what is the work of other scholars. Whilst also showing how their work relates to yours and helps you make your case. 

Using evidence

Explore advice on supporting your argument with evidence from your reading.

Integrating scholarship

Discover how to draw on the work of scholars to support your points.

The sections of an extended project

A dissertation or extended piece of writing can have several different sections making up its overall structure. For more information on the different types of writing you might use, and what to include in some of the key sections of your project, take a look at these resources.

Resources about dissertation sections

Modes of writing in a dissertation.

Discover the different types of writing you can use in your dissertation. **PDF Download**

The literature review

Explore advice about how to approach and structure your literature review. **PDF Download**

The methodology section

Explore SAGE Research Methods for useful information about your methodology section. **ONLINE RESOURCE**

Editing your work

Editing is something you can do throughout the writing process, not only at the end. These resources show you how to edit your work to improve structure, criticality and style, and demonstrate how to use features of Microsoft Word to support the editing process.

Download our study guide to help you edit your work.

Correcting your work in Word

Find out how to make the most of the review and corrections tools in Microsoft Word when editing your work.

Your wellbeing

Looking after yourself is vital when undertaking an extended piece of writing. We’ve got some useful resources to help support your wellbeing throughout this time.

Online resources for wellbeing

Be well @ncl.

Explore books recommended to help you manage your wellbeing. **WEBPAGE**

iNCLude - Newcastle University Apple

Download the app from the Apple Store. **APP**

iNCLude - Newcastle University Android

Download the app from Google Play. **APP**

Further support

We’ve also got lots of sessions and support to help you throughout the dissertation and extended project process. Check out our one- to- one sessions and our Your Skills programme.

Book a one-to-one

Request a 50-minute tutorial with the Academic Skills Team for bespoke support around academic and study skills challenges

Your Skills Programme

Sign up for our open programme of group sessions covering aspects of academic writing and research to support you as you study.