Writing your thesis

Thesis writing will vary from discipline to discipline, and talking with your supervisors is the best way to plan and structure your thesis.

Requirements on presentation, content and copyright of a thesis are the responsibility of the HDR student (as per the Higher Degree Research Student Supervision Policy RES 4.4.3). Formatting guidelines and how to address all the Table of Contents headings required for theses is provided in detail in the HDR Handbook.

You may also find the following links useful to search the library collection for:

• Academic writing guides
• Dissertation writing guides
• Research writing guides

Check the Bond HDR Handbook (available in the iLearn HDR Community site) for detailed information on: 

• Copyright
• Formatting
• Data management
• Intellectual property
• Inclusion of publications 
• Plagiarism

The HDR Community site in iLearn contains a copy of the HDR Handbook and several helpful guides and resources.

Go to > iLearn > HDR Student Community > HDR Handbook and Policies

A thesis may include one or a series of papers that have been prepared, submitted, or accepted for publication in a book or journal.

The student should normally be the principal author (that is, responsible for the intellectual content and most of the writing of the text) of any work included in the body of the thesis. Where any work has been jointly authored, a signature from the corresponding author is required to include the material in the body of the thesis. Co-authored work in which the student is a minor author (50% or less contribution) can only be used and referenced in the way common to any other research publication cited in the thesis.

When submitting your thesis, you will be required to confirm that:

(a) the work in the incorporated publications is your own, and
(b) your co-authors verify this and give permission for the nominated article to be included in the thesis.

Consult the Reproducing your own published articles in your thesis page for further information.

The Bond University Authorship Agreement Form 

The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research provides clear guidelines regarding the attribution of authorship. The Authorship Agreement Form is provided to assist Researchers in capturing authorship decisions around intended publications arising from joint work. It does not replace copyright or certification forms required by publishers.

Use the form to reflect all discussions, and to plan and record the authorship of research outputs with contributors.

Refer to the NHMRC and ARC guide on Authorship and access the Authorship Agreement Form below:

• Writing and Presenting Your Dissertation or Thesis: detailed outline of proposal, writing and thesis presentation.
• How to Organise Your Thesis: a succinct coverage of the postgraduate thesis process.
• How to Write a PhD Thesis: practical advice on the problems of getting started, getting organized and dividing the task into less formidable pieces.
• Grammar and Writing Resources: a guide to grammar and writing resources from the Capital Community College Foundation.
• Writing a Proposal: PhD dissertation or thesis development stages