Research, Writing and Thesis Requirements

MA by Research, MPhil and PhD degrees are examined solely on the basis of a piece of research presented in the form of a thesis submitted within the prescribed period of study. The production of that thesis is, therefore, your main task. In order to undertake this work you will need a well-focused research topic, a knowledge of the existing secondary literature on the subject, a well thought out methodology for tackling the research, access to the necessary primary sources required, and the ability to produce a well-structured argument in lucid and well-presented prose. Many ancillary skills may be required to do this, e.g. knowledge of languages, palaeography, information technology, the latest theoretical and methodological approaches in your discipline, interview techniques and questionnaires to name but a few. 

Successful research students understand the task in hand, plan their work carefully, acquire the training and skills required, and take a systematic approach to research and writing, always keeping their deadline for submission clearly in view. They are helped in this task by supervisors, with whom they work closely. A thesis needs to conform to accepted academic conventions, to avoid plagiarism and to follow the ethical guidelines laid down for research. 

Students must work within strict deadlines laid down for completion, which vary according to the type of degree being taken and the registration status of each student. The progress of each student is monitored by the PGR Support team, which decides on any changes to a student’s status.

Research Council Funded Students

Research Councils assess the University on submission rates for its funded students. Students are expected to submit their thesis for examination, if possible by the end of the period of funding, but no later than one year from the end of the studentship if they are a full-time student.

You need to know what you have to achieve in your research in order to obtain your degree. A thesis must conform to standards laid down by the University and to follow proper academic conventions. The PhD demands a higher standard than the MPhil or MA by Research.

The University’s full regulations on the MA by Research can be found at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/policies/calendar/part1/regulations/r2-5/ 

Regulations for the MPhil can be found at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/policies/calendar/part1/regulations/r2-1/

And regulations for the PhD can be found at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/policies/calendar/part1/regulations/r2-2/ 

The University’s regulations state that an MA by Research and an MPhil should demonstrate:

a) evidence that it extends the knowledge of the subject,

b) evidence of the candidate's ability to relate the subject matter of the dissertation to the existing body of knowledge within the field,

c) a satisfactory level of literary presentation. 

According to the University’s definition, a PhD should show:

a) evidence that it forms a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject,

b) evidence of originality,

c) evidence of the candidate's ability to relate the subject matter of the thesis to the existing body of knowledge within the field,

d) a satisfactory level of literary presentation.

The University’s general regulations concerning the format and presentation of the thesis must be closely followed. These provide information on all aspects of the overall layout of a thesis, including word length (up to 100,000 for a PhD, 60,000 for an MPhil and 40,000 for an MA by Research), division into chapters, the scholarly apparatus, how it should be bound and the number of copies you need to produce. If you would like to see an example of a successful thesis please ask your supervisor to show you one. 

In addition to the general formatting rules, research and writing in the Humanities normally follow particular conventions and in part your thesis will be judged upon its adherence to them. 

  1. You should write clearly and concisely. Avoid unnecessary jargon and technical language: the best writing is simple, direct and straightforward. The aim of academic writing is to convey complex ideas and arguments in an accessible manner, not to confuse the reader.

  2. Spellings and usage should conform to UK English standards (including the layout of dates, numbers, capitalisation etc.). If you are unsure of these please refer to a suitable dictionary, style sheet or consult your supervisors. Text quoted in other languages should be provided accurately in translation, according to a suitable translation guide. 

  3. You need to provide references. The point of references is to guide readers to the evidence you have used in formulating your judgements or to indicate where you are drawing upon the words or ideas of others. Do not use them to ‘pad’ the text: if the information they contain is important, it should be in the main body of the thesis, otherwise it should be discarded.
     
  4. References should be laid out in a clear, consistent pattern according to the nature of your research and writing, and you should ensure that you keep to one consistent referencing system throughout your thesis. A number of systems exist, details of which can be found in the Modern Humanities Research Association Style Book (MHRA). Be aware, however, that no set system is complete. In particular, references to archival material, internet sources (which should be dated), interviews etc. will often require you to make a judgement as to the best format. You need to provide enough information that your sources can be located. The most important thing to bear in mind is that a reader of your thesis should be able, via your references, to go directly to where you have drawn your information in order to check that what you say is valid or to follow up an interesting idea that you have put forward. Consult your supervisors about an appropriate layout for your thesis and the appropriate method of referencing to use.

    You may also wish to consult the referencing guidance provided to taught students in the Subject Handbooks for your discipline as follows:  

  5. The bibliography should also be laid out consistently. It should include all the material that you have consulted for the thesis. It is normal in the Humanities to divide bibliographies into sections for primary and secondary materials. You may also choose to use subdivisions for further clarity: archival, printed primary, newspapers, official publications, memoirs, interviews etc. Again, you should arrange the bibliography in a way that is appropriate to the nature of your research and writing.

  6. If included, appendices, maps, diagrams, photographs and tables, if included, should only contain material directly referred to in the main text of your thesis. They should not be used as ‘padding’ or additional information. They may include raw data, the results of interviews, filmographies or other kinds of material vital to the reader’s understanding of the findings of your research. Consult your supervisors for advice on these matters.

MPhil

Performance Practice

At least one piece of practice, evidenced in filmed documentation. The examiners will also see this performed live, if possible. Candidates will also provide a critical commentary which, with an extended introduction covering the matters specified in 3.6 of the Procedure and a conclusion, shall total between 20,000 -30,000 words.

 

Area

Artefact

Critical Commentary

Film

20 mins

18-24,000 word critical commentary, which must include an extended introduction, covering the matters specified in 3.6 of the Procedure.  For the MA by Research this would be 12,000-16,000 words.

Installations

As agreed with discipline DPGR.

Poetry

60 pages

Prose/life writing

 

50,000 words

 

Screenplay/script

90minutes/pages

 

A student may fail to upgrade, meaning that they remain on an MPhil programme. In that case the upgrade committee must make a specific recommendation to the discipline DPGR with regards to what must be submitted for the MPhil, if not otherwise specified above.

Please see ‘Variations to Submission Requirements’ below where specific submission criteria is not specified in this table.

 

Where the artefact takes a written form and the overall dissertation word limit would apply limitations inappropriate to the form of the artefact, the discipline DPGR may confirm approval of an extension to the word limit. This approval must be specific, confirmed in writing and appended to the thesis submission.

 

PhD

Performance Practice – 

3 pieces of practice with a contextual chapter of up to 10,000 words about each piece.

In total, with the extended introduction covering the matters specified in 3.6 of the Procedureand a conclusion, 40,000 – 60,000 words. Exceptions to this word limit must be approved by the discipline DPGR in writing, with a rationale for the exception, no thesis submitted where the artefact does not take a written form should exceed the maximum thesis word limit.

Evidence of the three pieces of practice is provided by submission of filmed documentation. Examiners will also see two of these pieces live, if possible. 

Area

Artefact

Critical Commentary

Film

Film that totals 1 hour made up of one film or a series of shorter films 

30-40,000 word critical commentary, which must include an extended introduction, covering the matters specified in 3.6 of the Procedure.

Installations

As agreed with discipline DPGR.

Poetry

90 pages

Prose/life writing 

75,000 words 

Screenplay/script

120 minutes/pages 

Please see ‘Variations to Submission Requirements’ below where specific submission criteria is not specified in this table. 

Where the artefact takes a written form and the overall thesis word limit would apply limitations inappropriate to the form of the artefact, the discipline DPGR may confirm approval of an extension to the word limit for the artefact. This approval must be specific, confirmed in writing and appended to the thesis submission. 

               

Film

Written work, in standard temporary binding.

Plus submission of a film or films, usually by DVD.

Installations

Written work, in standard temporary binding.

Plus DVDs, or other evidence of installations as agreed with discipline DPGR.

Performance Practice

Written work, in standard temporary binding + DVDs of the three pieces of practice. 

Where this has been previously agreed, you may also be able to submit a website or other form of digital submission, but this should be supplementary to the main body of your work, see ‘variations to submission requirements’ below.

Poetry/ prose/life writing/screenplay/script 

Written work, in standard temporary binding.

Your work must be in a format accessible to all examiners. You should discuss the format of your submission in advance with your supervisory team to ensure that you have given consideration to the feasibility of your format of submission. 

For more information see Section 12 – Submission and examination processes in this handbook, below.

The University expects its staff and students to maintain the highest standards for the conduct of research. As such the University has procedures in place that govern academic/research conduct for graduate research students. ‘Research Misconduct – Procedure for Graduate Research Students Suspected of Research Misconduct’ is specific to postgraduate research students, and defines research conduct in the context of the range of activities undertaken by those doing research. 

You are expected to review this procedure and ensure that you understand your responsibilities under it, and that you understand the definitions of misconduct. You should also be aware that any work submitted to a member of your supervision team either in full, in part, or as a draft will fall under the provisions of this procedure, as will any work handed to a member of staff. 

Please consult the University's Procedure for Graduate Research Students Suspected of Research Misconduct for full details. 

If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes research misconduct and how to avoid it please talk to your supervisor or the DPGR for your discipline. 

The Researcher Development Programme also provides a number of relevant courses that may be of interest to you in this context. For a live list of upcoming courses and to book on a course please go to http://as.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/postgraduateresearchers/pgr-exeter/.

There are a number of benefits to making your research and thesis available via Open Access:

  • Increases citations and the visibility of your research
  • Helps to build your research career
  • Increases chances of further funding opportunities and collaborations
  • Meets the agenda for transparency and openness 

The key points of the University’s Open Research Policy are as follows: 

E-Theses

  • A copy of your final thesis/dissertation will need to be submitted to the institutional repository Open Research Exeter (ORE), prior to the award of your degree.
  • According to funder requirements and as soon as publisher restrictions will allow, PGR students should make the published peer-reviewed research papers and conference proceedings that they produce whilst they are affiliated with the University available on Open Access.
  • PGR research papers should be made available on Open Access, by depositing a copy of the paper in Open Research Exeter (ORE).
  • Published research papers should include a short statement describing how and on what terms any supporting research data may be accessed.
  • PGR students should always comply with funder policy on research data management.
  • The lead supervisor is responsible for advising the student on good practice in research data management.
  • PGR students and their supervisors should discuss and review research data management issues annually – they should address issues of the capture, management, integrity, confidentiality, security, selection, preservation and disposal, commercialisation, costs, sharing and publication of research data and the production of descriptive metadata to aid discovery and re-use when relevant.
  • checklist to support PGR students and their supervisors in the annual research data review is available.
  • At the end of their degree, PGR students should register selected research data in Open Research Exeter (ORE). Information about the data should be included as a statement in the thesis record using the ‘Description’ field. When legally, commercially and ethically appropriate, the selected research data should also be made available on Open Access in an appropriate repository.
  • PGR students will be able to embargo their research data for a standard period of up to 18 months initially in order to have a period of privileged use of the data that they have created or collected. An extended embargo may be required if your thesis contains any of the following:
    • unprotected intellectual property which you, your sponsor or any other third party has the intention to use
    • sensitive information that may need to be withheld from public view
    • commercially sensitive material that may belong to your project sponsor
  • Please contact pgradmin@exeter.ac.uk if you require any further advice.

Research Papers

  • According to funder requirements and as soon as publisher restrictions will allow, PGR students should make the published peer-reviewed research papers and conference proceedings that they produce whilst they are affiliated with the University available on Open Access.
  • PGR research papers should be made available on Open Access, by depositing a copy of the paper in Open Research Exeter (ORE).

Research Data 

  • PGR students should always comply with funder policy on research data management.
  • The lead supervisor is responsible for advising the student on good practice in research data management.
  • PGR students and their supervisors should discuss and review research data management issues annually – they should address issues of the capture, management, integrity, confidentiality, security, selection, preservation and disposal, commercialisation, costs, sharing and publication of research data and the production of descriptive metadata to aid discovery and re-use when relevant.
  • checklist to support PGR students and their supervisors in the annual research data review is available.
  • At the end of their degree, PGR students should register selected research data in Open Research Exeter (ORE). Information about the data should be included as a statement in the thesis record using the ‘Description’ field. When legally, commercially and ethically appropriate, the selected research data should also be made available on Open Access in an appropriate repository.
  • PGR students will be able to embargo their research data for a standard period of up to 18 months initially in order to have a period of privileged use of the data that they have created or collected. An extended embargo may be required if your thesis contains any of the following:
    • unprotected intellectual property which you, your sponsor or any other third party has the intention to use
    • sensitive information that may need to be withheld from public view
    • commercially sensitive material that may belong to your project sponsor
  • Please contact pgradmin@exeter.ac.uk if you require any further advice.

Research Data Management Guidance

In order to save time and effort later on in your degree, before you start collecting or creating research data or materials research students should consider the following:

Managing References

Using a reference manager such as EndNote or Mendeley helps with the organisation and citation of journal articles and any notes you make about them.

Data Storage

Where will you store your research data/materials? Research students are allocated up to 20GB of storage space on the University's U drive which is regularly backed up and can be retrieved if you accidentally delete a file or it gets corrupted. If your data is confidential and/or sensitive, do not use cloud storage such as Dropbox or share the data using email. Confidential and/or sensitive data should be encrypted and stored according to ethical approval.

Backing Up Your Data

Make sure you regularly back-ups your files to avoid data loss, especially if you store your data on a memory stick or a portable hard drive.

Organising Your Files and Folders

Create a logical file storage system to find files easily, for example, with separate folders for reports, presentations, projects etc., and sub-folders separating raw data, tools, and analysed data. You should also develop a naming system for your files so that you know which version has included revisions or use a document control table on the front page.

Document your Data Creation/Collection

It is easier to document data when you start creating or collecting your research materials, rather than doing so retrospectively. Think about what information you need about the data/materials so that you or somebody else can reuse and understand the data in the long-term. Information could include how data was created or digitised, what hardware/software was used, how the data was analysed, what the content and structure is and any manipulation that may have taken place.

Know Your Funder's Policy on Open Access to Research Data and Research Publications

The University and your funder normally expect you to put your research data and publications on Open Access when appropriate.  There are exceptions for commercial, confidential and copyright reasons. See the Digital Curation Centre's page for an overview of funders' policies and the University of Exeter PGR policy.

Further Information

The following links provide further help and guidance on Open Access and research data management:

There are also training sessions on OA and RDM as part of the RDP programme.