Writing your PhD theses

To narrow down your topic, we suggest the following:

• Review the bibliography recommended by your tutor.
• Explore the documentary resources provided by the UAB.
• Consult reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and Wikipedia.

This phase includes:

• Deciding on the type of thesis (compilation, observational, experimental, etc.)
• Creating an initial outline.
• Developing a work plan.

Consult specific documents on your chosen topic.

To write a thesis, it is essential to know how to search for relevant information for your topic. Identify search terms, combine them, and perform searches in databases, books, journals, etc., where you will find the necessary information. You can consult the following resources for your work:

• UAB Libraries Search Engine
• Subject guides
• UAB Document Collections
• Databases
• Other search engines: CCUC, REBIUN, Google Scholar

Once the relevant documentation has been collected, it is necessary to analyse and interpret it in order to draw conclusions. It is important to assess and be critical of the sources consulted.

Below, we present several resources that may be useful for evaluating the sources of information you have consulted:

• Publication evaluation.
• Author evaluation.
• Information evaluation (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Bibliotècnia). 
• Choosing reliable information: academic resources (Universitat de Vic. Library). 
• How to evaluate information resources (Universidad de Málaga. University Library) 
• Critical Evaluation of Resources (University of California, Berkeley Library) 

In this phase, you need to organise and write the main body of the thesis.

• You can find writing manuals in the UAB catalogue under the topics Art d’escriure, Escrits tècnics-redacció i Tesis i dissertacions acadèmiques -- Redacció.
• Interuniversity Style Guide.
• If you have vocabulary doubts, you can consult the following dictionaries: Merriam-Webster, Oxford dictionaries, Cambridge dictionaries,  Wordreference.
• Translation and proofreading (UAB Idiomes).
• Official UAB nomenclature.

Remember to use citations when necessary to avoid plagiarism. For bibliographic management and citations, the UAB offers support with the Mendeley Institutional and Zotero bibliographic managers.

For anything related to intellectual property rights and open access, we recommend:

• The specific section for doctoral theses on the Intellectual Property and Open Access UAB webpage.
• The virtual course Intellectual Property in Thesis Preparation, offered by the Library Service.

Format

Free, but most usual is DIN-A4 vertical (21 x 29.7 cm).

• Amount of text: the same is recommended on each page, 30 lines of 70 spaces each with a spacing of one space and a half for the main text and one for the rest of the text (notes, textual quotes and footnotes of illustrations or graphics).
• Margins: between 2.5 and 3 cm. It is recommended 3 cm in the upper and left margin, and 2.5 cm in the bottom and right margin. You can also include a header (with the job title or corresponding chapter) and a footer, both of 1.25 cm.
• Numbering of the pages: in the central or external part. All the pages count on the page, including the attachments, although the covers, dedications, slogans or blank separations between chapters do not carry the printed number.
• Justification and bleeding: the text must be justified and the paragraphs, without bleeding, must be separated by a blank line.
• Font: to facilitate the reading of the text; the most commonly used types are Arial, Times New Roman or Garamond. The main text should be in the round letter. Regarding size, use a body 14 for the titles, 11-12 for the body of the work and 8-9 for the footnotes, feet of the figures, etc.
• Chapters, paragraphs and sub-paragraphs: they must appear hierarchized by typography and with Arabic numerals subdivided by points. For example:

                      2. Chapter title
                      2.1. Heading title
                      2.1.1. Subsection title

Printing

Preferably double-sided, with good quality paper and with enough ink intensity.

Binding

The binding must be correct, without loose leaves; You can use the spiral but not the comb binding.
On the cover and on the back (in case the binding allows it) your name and the title of the thesis should appear.

More information:

• Edit & Present: let us help you with your presentation in English! (UAB Idiomes)
• Cómo presentar una tesis y trabajos de investigación / Antònia Rigo, Gabriel Genescà (SPA)
• Manual para la elaboración de trabajos académicos fin de título (TFG, TFM y Tesis doctoral) / Manuel  Baelo Álvarez (SPA)
• Survival Skills for Thesis and Dissertation Candidates / Robert S. Fleming, Michelle Kowalsky
• El Trabajo de investigación: el proceso de elaboración, la memoria escrita, la exposición oral y los recursos : guía del estudiante / Eusebi Coromina, Xavier Casacuberta, Dolors Quintana (SPA)

Cover (mandatory)

On the cover of each copy, you must specify:

• Type of work: PhD thesis.
• Title and subtitle (if any). If the thesis has a subtitle, it is recommended to separate it from the title with two points.
• Author: First and last name.
• Director and tutor (if you have one): Name and surname of the director/s and tutor of the thesis
• Department, Faculty, University and year.
• If the thesis has more than one volume, clearly indicate the volume number.
• If it includes annexes, clearly indicate that it is an annex and number it if there are more than one.

Acknowledgments (not mandatory)
The people and institutions with which the author wishes to express his gratitude are mentioned.

Summary (mandatory)
It is a list of the relation of contents of all the parts and chapters of the work by order of appearance with its page.
If there are two or more volumes, we must include a list of all volumes and summaries for each volume.
If illustrations and numbered pictures are included, we can choose to make a separate summary.

Introduction (mandatory)
Present briefly the reason, the objective, the methodology and the work hypothesis.

Body of the thesis (mandatory)
It is the fundamental part of the thesis, which explains the research that has been carried out.
Organize it in chapters, paragraphs and sub-paragraphs.
It ends with a chapter of conclusions.

Bibliography (mandatory)
It is the ordered list of the documents consulted to elaborate the work and that have been mentioned or not throughout the thesis. There are different quotation styles. You can find which one is the most used in your thematic field on the Citation and bibliography page.
The use of bibliographic references managers will facilitate the work; the UAB offers support in the bibliographic managers Mendeley Institutional and Zotero.

For administrative requirements at UAB, please refer to the instructions on the Doctoral Studies page, particularly in the Thesis section. There, you will find specific details about the deposit and defence of your thesis.

Regarding thesis submission, please note that all copies deposited at the School for Doctoral Studies, as well as those uploaded to digital repositories such as TESEO  and TDX, must be identical.

Be sure to check the specific requirements for theses by compendium.

If you need guidance to enhance your oral and written communication skills, visit the Oral Presentation page.

• UAB Libraries search engine
• DDD (doctoral theses)
• Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa (TDX)
• TESEO
• Dialnet (doctoral theses)
• Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
• DART-Europe
• ProQuest dissertations & theses global
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertation (NDLTD)
• EBSCO Open Dissertations

We recommend:

• Courses within the doctoral training programme.
• Personal advice: visit the UAB Libraries or contact your subject librarian.
• Writing: Scholarly Communication webpage.
• Research tools: a collection of guides on DDD.
• Author evaluation: Scholarly Communication webpage.
• How to prepare an academic paper (UPF).