1

HOW TO
TURN YOUR
THESIS INTO
ASSOC.PROF.DR.
MOHD TAUFIQ BIN ISHAK
AN ARTICLE
SENIOR LECTURER/ RESEARCH
FELLOW CODRAT,
DEPT.OF ELECTRICAL AND
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
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Converting your
data/thesis
into journal
article does
not have to be
a stressful
experience
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THESIS AND JOURNAL
ARTICLE

PRESENTATION TIPS FOR CONVERTING

YOUR FINDING FOR
OUTLINE
JOURNAL PUBLICATION

GOLDEN RULES

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE
THESIS
• Examiners assess whether a
student’s work has fulfilled
program outcomes and
requirements, not whether it’s
ready for publication or even
widespread release.
• Examiners certifies the student’s
capabilities within the context of
the discipline and the institution.
(Hawkins AR, et al, The Journal of
Academic Librarianship)
4
ARTICLE
• Editors and reviewers of peer-
reviewed journals are experts in
their fields and well versed in
scholarly communication.
• Editors and reviewers will assess
whether papers and projects
further the knowledge and thus
should be published.
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• Can run up to a few 100 pages • Much shorter than a dissertation

and has around 20,000 words or thesis
• Requires a tighter framework and
a more compact style
• Each section of the manuscript
LENGTH

has to be shortened considerably

• Selecting and repurposing are
the key elements here: you need
to be extremely careful to
preserve the essence of the study
while leaving out the redundant
details
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• Usually around 350 words • Typically ranges anywhere

between 150-250 words

• Read the instructions of your

ABSTRACT

target journal carefully. Some

journals require a structured
abstract while others prefer an
unstructured one.

• Graphical abstracts and video

abstracts are also gaining
popularity and some journals
ask for these
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• More detailed introduction as • Literature review is more

students demonstrate their concise and should include
familiarity with the existing only as much as is required to
INTRODUCTION

literature through an understand the gap in

exhaustive literature review research that led to the study.

• If your thesis/dissertation
includes more than one
research question, make sure
you narrow down the focus to
just one research question for
your journal article
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• Usually includes an extensive • More controlled presentation

discussion of the research of methods
approach and methodology
• Describing only the details of
METHODS

the methodology used,

specifically, the experiments
conducted

• A comprehensive discussion
of the research approach is
not required here
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• Usually reports each and • Reports only the main findings

every result in considerable
details • Strict standards of reporting
should be followed, and you
RESULTS

should only report results that

are directly relevant to your
research question and backed
by strong evidence.

• Secondary findings may be

included as supplementary
information if you wish
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• More detailed, providing a • Clear and to-the-point.

thorough interpretation of all
the results with an aim to • Do not make the mistake of
DISCUSSION

show the student’s complete repeating your results in this

understanding of their data. section.

• Students need to demonstrate

their interest in future
research directions by
engaging in extensive
speculation.
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESIS AND
ARTICLE

THESIS ARTICLE

• Exhaustive list of citations, • Limited number of citations,

sometimes, even a and the reference section
bibliography includes only works that have
REFERENCES

been cited within the article.

• Some journals actually specify
the maximum number of
references that can be
included
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❶PLAN THE ARTICLE

A single paper in a journal should

TIPS FOR contain a central message that
CONVERTING YOUR you want to get across. This
FINDING FOR could be a novel aspect of
JOURNAL methodology that you have used
PUBLICATION in your PhD study, a new theory,
or an interesting modification you
have made to theory or a novel
set of findings. Decide what this
central focus is.
 ❷IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE 13
TARGET JOURNAL

 Read the aims and scope of the journal.

 Most journals’ websites provide information about the
recommended structure and reference style for articles
–Typical structure:
•Title page
TIPS FOR •Abstract
CONVERTING YOUR
•Keywords
FINDING FOR
•Main text introduction
JOURNAL
•Materials and methods
PUBLICATION
•Results
•Discussion
•Acknowledgments
•Declaration of interest statement
•References
•Appendices
•Table(s) and figure(s)
 ❷IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE TARGET
JOURNAL (cont) 14
Other alternatives
•Journal/Author Name Estimator (JANE) is a good
resource.

•Ask colleagues to read abstract and provide

TIPS FOR recommendations.
CONVERTING YOUR •Review journal website for
FINDING FOR –Impact Factor
JOURNAL –Cite Score
PUBLICATION
–Information for authors
–Journal metrics
–Journal announcements
–Special issues
–Examples of articles previously published
–Review process
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❸ SHORTEN THE LENGTH OF THESIS

Journal articles are much shorter than

theses/dissertations/capstones
–Require tighter framework and more compact
style.
TIPS FOR
CONVERTING YOUR
FINDING FOR –It is not a matter of copying and pasting
JOURNAL • Treat your thesis as a separate work.
PUBLICATION • Paraphrase and express the same
ideas in a different way.
• Select and repurpose parts of your thesis.
• Highlight the key points you want the
readers to understand.
 ❹ REFORMAT THE INTRODUCTION16
AS AN ABSTRACT

Abstracts in journal articles are typically

shorter (100-250 words) and likely
TIPS FOR formatted differently, but should contain all
CONVERTING YOUR
the key elements to hold the reader’s
FINDING FOR
JOURNAL attention.
PUBLICATION Using your introduction and discussion as
bases for the abstract can be a good
starting point.
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❺ MODIFY THE INTRODUCTION

 Your thesis may have more than one

research question or hypothesis, which
are not all relevant for your paper.
TIPS FOR Consider combining research questions
CONVERTING YOUR or focusing on one for the article.
FINDING FOR
JOURNAL  Unless otherwise suggested, keep the
PUBLICATION introduction short and straight to the
point.
 Use previously published papers (at
least three) from the target journal as
examples.
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❻ TIGHTEN THE METHODS SECTION

Keep the method section concise, there is

TIPS FOR no need for an extensive discussion about
CONVERTING YOUR
FINDING FOR your research approach.
JOURNAL  Use previously published papers (at
PUBLICATION least three) from the target journal as
examples.
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❼ REPORT MAIN FINDINGS IN

RESULTS

TIPS FOR
 Present the findings relevant to
CONVERTING YOUR
FINDING FOR the research question(s) in the
JOURNAL results section.
PUBLICATION  If you conducted exploratory
analyses, provide concise
statements of the
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❽ ENSURE DISCUSSION IS
CLEAR AND CONCISE

Begin by providing an interpretation of

TIPS FOR your results: What is it that we have
CONVERTING YOUR learned from your research?
FINDING FOR
JOURNAL  Do not repeat your results in the
PUBLICATION discussion section:
1. Situate the findings to the literature.
2. Discuss how your findings expand
our perspective.
3. Briefly present ways in which future
studies can build upon your work
and address limitations in your
study.
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❾LIMIT NUMBER OF
REFERENCES

 Journals limit the number of citations,

TIPS FOR
CONVERTING YOUR so make sure:
FINDING FOR 1. To choose the most relevant
JOURNAL (and recent) citations.
PUBLICATION
2. That the citations are formatted
correctly. • Consider using a
reference manager system (e.g.
Mendeley) to make your life
easier.
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ANY QUESTIONS?