Hi I was just wondering if some of you have published or plan to publish before you submit the thesis? If so how did/do you go about it? Do you write your chapters first and then write another shorter version for a paper based on the chapter or do you write the papers first and then extend them into chapters? Or do most people publish after they've submitted the thesis?

At the start of my PhD my supervisor talked about how it'd be good to publish before I finish the PhD, but I'm in my 4th year now and there's still no plan of it actually happening. I am not sure if I should try to publish or just focus on getting the thesis done and submit it. I guess it depends on how much time I'd need to produce the papers?

Hello Montezuma. If I were you I would definitely publish before you submit your PhD. If you want to do a post-doc, already having publications increases your chances of being successful. Plus, it can be argued that publishing papers is a part of the PhD process, and it will certainly help you in the viva as it'll indicate that your research is of a publishable standard.

Hi Montezuma,

depends on what you want. If you think the results of your research are publishable I would do that. Be aware that this can be a long process. Also be aware that research data go out of date quite quickly, hence waiting to get the PhD first, then submitting etc. may not be that fruitful.

If you you want to get through the whole PhD process as quickly as possible, perhaps better to focus on the thesis only.

I think both approaches can be justified, although personally I prefer to try and publish at least some of my work.

Hi Montezuma

There are pros and cons of waiting to publish or publishing during your thesis. Publishing during your thesis can be time consuming and take you away from thesis work, thereby making your candidature a longer process. But publishing is good for your cv as others have said. I went to a seminar just today and the speaker said that increasingly, PhD students are expected to have published before they finish. This can be a little easier if you write with your supervisor and are second author - they then do the most and hardest part of the work! I also know of PhD students who haven't been given job interviews on the basis that they didn't have any publications.

But as Rick has mentioned, it takes a long time - a year is fast, and the writing can be time consuming. My first sole authored article took me literally hundreds of hours to do, as I had to completely rewrite twice for editors. I've done a couple of articles, and wrote these first, then made these into a chapter. It's a tedious, torturous process, but one we need to do.

I have decided to focus completely on publishing. I just write each study I do up for publication and am ignoring the thesis so far. I find it much easier to write for publicatio because the intro leads on to what you are doing so much easier, than a kind of stand alone lit review that is supposed to lead on to all your studies. I think my sup says she prefers it anyway as she sees it as better for getting a job afterwards. She also said there is a possibility of handing it in as a publication thesis i.e. 3-4 publications tied together with an overall lit review and discussion.

I have just started 2nd year and am also planning to publish as I go along. I have had my first paper published and am now working on my second- my supervisor and I have worked out a publication plan (lit reviews, results papers, discussion paper etc) so I know roughly how many papers I need to aim for and what they will consist of. Of course, this might not go to plan (it probably won't!), but that is what I am aiming for. Then apparently the thesis can basically consist of these publications, although I am sure some extra written work will be required to put them in context or link them up or whatever. There is some research saying that doing the phd by publication takes on average 4 months longer than doing the phd without publishing, but given how competitive the post-doc positions are, I wouldn't want to finish my PhD with no publications. I guess you could just get your thesis done and think about publishing afterwards- I know a few people who have done it that way...swings and roundabouts I guess! KB

I would also say to publish before you submit. I have three papers published so far, and my supervisor tells me having these will make my viva a lot easier - less to defend if peer reviewed journals think your research is publishable.

My first was a review article which I then used to structure my lit review, and the other two are on pieces of my research (e.g. my pilot study).

It takes a while to get published - the process can be lengthy so I'd recommend, if you're planning on publishing before submission, to get started ASAP. Even if the article hasn't come out by the time you submit, you can still reference it... just getting the acceptance is enough.