Create an Article from a Thesis Draft
You cannot simply publish your thesis research as a journal paper, despite the fact that both have comparable portions. The process of transforming it into a journal paper entails a number of distinct processes. When writing an article, it’s crucial to keep in mind that it’s considerably shorter than the actual thesis. As a result, it will not be easy to adapt your thesis into a journal article. The data in your thesis will serve as the basis for your piece.
Related: What are you hoping to achieve by submitting your Ph.D. study to a reputable journal? Now is the time to review the criteria for selecting a journal.
For starters, here are some key distinctions between thesis research and journal articles:
There are two types of articles: those that are scholarly and those that are journalistic. In contrast to a thesis, an article’s abstract is usually not as long.
It is in the introduction of a thesis that you demonstrate your knowledge of the literature in the area in which you have decided to specialize. When writing an introduction for a research paper, you can assume that your audience already has the essential background knowledge to understand your work, thus your introduction can be considerably shorter. The opening of your article will consequently focus more on setting the stage for the data/research output that you are going to provide.
The outcomes part of a thesis contains all of your findings. This is too much information to include in a paper. In this part, you should only provide data that is relevant to your study question or hypothesis. In some cases, the results in the previous may be derived from two to three separate studies.
Your paper’s discussion will be far more concentrated than your thesis’ discussion. The findings in the report will serve as a guide for this project. Finally, the references section will only include citations for articles that are cited in your work.
Creating a Journal Article Out of Your Thesis Research
To develop your career and make a difference in the field of study, you must publish your findings. How do you really write one now that the distinctions have been described?
Identify an Appropriate Journal First
You could begin by choosing a journal to read from. Consult your list of references. Many of the articles you’ve read have been published in journals with a similar focus to your own. When you choose a journal, you have the option of customizing your work to meet the standards of that journal. Make sure your research article fits the journal’s purpose and scope. Get familiar with the journal’s standards, preferred manuscript structure, and citation style before submitting your manuscript
Shorten Your Thesis to Remove Duplicate Information
An important part of writing a journal paper based on your thesis research is focusing on the word count without omitting important details. Extract only the data that relates to a single research question in order to limit the number of words in your paper. As a result, you should have data that is more relevant to your thesis research. The purpose of your article is to present your findings in the context of your problem statement. It is critical to use clear language and a logical framework – If your work is difficult to understand, even if it contains useful information, it may be rejected. Avoid drawing sweeping conclusions from your data by using it to construct a consistent story instead. Make certain that the title of your paper accurately describes the content. Don’t distort the meaning by rephrasing what was said.
The introduction can be repurposed as an abstract by reducing it to between 100 and 150 words. To keep the reader’s attention, remember to keep the essential elements of the beginning. Prepare an abstract for a journal article by writing the introduction and discussion of your thesis. Additionally, if you’re writing an article for a journal, you might want to combine or narrow your research topics.
Concentrate Your Attention on the Essentials
In a journal article, the discussion, techniques and methodology, and results portions of your thesis should be reduced to a minimum because they provide a detailed explanation of your research. Read and comprehend prior published works in the target journal to familiarize yourself with its standards. In the results section, it is critical to present a succinct explanation or table of the most important findings. Make sure you don’t duplicate your findings in the comments area. Discuss, however, how your findings add to and complement prior study ideas. Finally, discuss how future research can build on your findings and overcome the study’s shortcomings.
The number of citations should be kept to a minimum
As a long-term project, your thesis necessitates a great deal of research. It is necessary, however, to include just those references that are relevant to the research topic addressed in the journal article when converting your thesis into a piece for a journal.
It is a requirement of academics to publish their findings for the benefit of other researchers. Since a journal article is structured differently from a thesis, the process of changing a thesis into an article must be done in accordance with the procedures indicated above.
Have you ever had to turn in a thesis as an article for a journal? How did you organize it? What methods did you employ to reduce the word count of your thesis? What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the space below. Our Q&A forum contains frequently asked questions about many elements of research writing and publication, which are answered by our team of subject-matter experts, eminent researchers, and publication professionals.
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