1. General requirements relating to PhD theses
Requirements relating to doctoral degrees follow from the three institutions’ PhD Regulations, respectively Section 10.1 for the University of Oslo, Section 10-1 for the University of Bergen and Section 19 for UiT The Arctic University of Norway. There are some nuances in terms of wording, but the contents of the requirements in the regulations are very similar:
- The thesis shall be an independent, scientific work that fulfils international standards.
- The thesis shall contribute to the development of new knowledge in the chosen field and must be of such quality as to qualify for publication as a part of the academic literature in the field.
- The thesis can be a monograph or a compilation of several smaller works. If the thesis consists of several smaller works, the correlation between these works shall be explained.
- The required quality level shall be the same regardless of whether the thesis is a monograph or consists of several smaller works (hereinafter referred to as articles).
2. General requirements relating to articles
Each individual article shall develop new academic knowledge.
The articles shall be of the quality required for publication in recognised professional journals with peer review.
Publication does not mean that the articles maintain a sufficiently high level for being awarded a PhD degree.
Published articles shall be assessed on independent grounds regardless of publication channel. Unpublished articles can also be included in the thesis, but these shall be of the same academic standards as publishable articles.
3. Scope of articles
Formal requirements relating to the scope of the thesis shall not exceed a level which allows for submission of the thesis and completion of the training element with research efforts corresponding to three work years.
An article-based PhD thesis will normally consist of 3-5 articles and a presentation linking these (“introductory chapter”). The number of articles should be determined based on size, the scope and complexity of the research question, co-authorship and degree of overlap.
The PhD candidate shall be the sole author of at least two articles.
The use of published works more than five (5) years old at the time of admission to the programme shall not normally be accepted.
Articles in different languages may be included in the same thesis. The articles may be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English or another language approved by the Faculty in each specific case.
4. Summary (“cover article”)
The summary of the thesis should not only summarise but also link and elaborate upon the questions, methods and conclusions presented in the articles from an overall perspective, thereby documenting the correlation within the thesis. This also includes summarising the thesis’s contribution to the research field across individual articles.
The summary shall also include academic updates and key new insights so that the thesis, as a whole, appears academically up-to-date. Alternatively, such updates should be included in connection with each article.
The cover article/summary should normally be between 50 and 100 pages. The more detailed scope of the summary must be viewed in the context of the scope of the articles. If the articles appear concentrated and therefore somewhat scarce with regard to methodology, philosophy of science discussions and scientific prerequisites, the cover article shall compensate for this.
The PhD candidate shall be the sole author of the summary.
5. Co-authorship
Rules relating to co-authorship can also be found in the three universities’ guidelines for PhD degrees, respectively Section 10.1 for the University of Oslo, Section 10-2 for the University of Bergen and Sections 19(3) and 19(4) for UiT Arctic University of Norway. The regulations require individual contributions to be identifiable and documented using written statements. Such statements shall be obtained from all co-authors and shall clarify the scope of co-authorship in individual works.
The regulations also require compliance with the standards set out by the research group and the university. The “Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Theology” issued by the National Committee for Research Ethics in Social Sciences and Humanities (NESH) cover the matters of co-authorship and the relationship between students and academic supervisors as separate items (Item 25 and 32 respectively).
The academic supervisor's role as participant in and contributor to the research project shall define the role played by the academic supervisor as a possible co-author of articles that form part of the PhD candidate's thesis. If an academic supervisor is to be a co-author, this should be clarified with the PhD candidate as early as possible.
Activities that are normally assigned to the academic supervisor role, such as providing feedback on draft texts and input on article ideas do not generally qualify as grounds for co-authorship. No gift authorship shall occur, cf. the NESH guidelines. If disagreements arise concerning co-authorship, the PhD candidate should contact the Department Management, Dean of Research or PhD Coordinator.