Because a thesis is like a buffalo:1
A rough guide to publishing your MSc/MA/PhD thesis
Josée G. Lavoie, PhD
Manitoba First Nations - Centre for Aboriginal Health Research,
April 2014
Why publish: So you passed your defense. Congratulations. Heaven knows it was hard work to finish the
thesis. And after looking at this for so long, you are looking forward to using your thesis as a nut cracker,
a door jam, and resuming relationships, flossing, sleeping… so why, oh why, should you even consider
publishing? The following are things to think about:
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Your thesis is great, but to be honest, few people will ever read it. Theses are not written for
easy dissemination. They are long and detailed, generally 80-100 page long, or more. Journal
articles are 8-15 pages long. If you had a choice and limited time, which one would you pick?
Your thesis is now at the university library, sitting neatly on a shelf. Hum. Journals are in the
business of selling subscription, and dissemination of information. Libraries are repositories.
One of the most difficult task to accomplish as a scholar is to let people know about your work.
What sounds better: you engaging into endless campaigns to let the world know of your work?
Or letting an international journal doing some of this for you? Just a thought.
You did this work because you wanted to have an impact, didn’t you?
Unpublished MA/MSc/PhD theses do not impress review committees looking at your funding
application. Generally, 2-3 pubs for a MA/MSc are considered very good.
What to publish: You need to think of possible publications coming out of your thesis. Generally,
findings are too substantial to fit into a single publication: think of two publications. If you used
qualitative and quantitative methods, splitting the data along those lines can make sense. Talk to your
supervisor if you need help sorting this up.
Where to publish: This is more tricky. Choosing a journal is complex. Things to consider include:
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The journal’s audience. If your findings have relevance to general practitioners, then choose a
journal they read. If you studied nursing shortage, nursing journals make sense.
Impact factor: Some journals are more prestigious than others. The Lancet is very prestigious:
and very competitive. In choosing a journal, you should balance:
a) the strength of evidence produced and impact it stands to have;
b) the relevance internationally, nationally or regionally: international papers wont publish a
piece that is only relevant to Northern Health;
c) the focus: is your work theoretical or practice oriented? Journals are generally specialized in
one or the other.
d) how much time and grief you are prepared to go through: let’s be honest, publishing in high
impact journals is hard work and rejection is likely, as are savage reviews
(http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/0102/prescol.html).2
The title is based on a comment made by Dr Javier Mignone, 2005, adapted for the Manitoba context.
We all get those. You may get those too. If you get a savage review, you are allowed to hide under your bed for a
maximum of ½ hr only. After that, you must emerge, call your supervisor, share the review, vent, read it again for
what can be learned, make changes and resubmit. A burning or shredding ceremony of the review is allowed.
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 Length: Social science journals often ask for publications that are 5000-8000 words. Practice
journals are generally between 1500-2500 words. Policy journals can be around 3500. Can you
really make the case in 1500 words? Can you make a solid argument in 6000 words, without
repetition?
 Confused? Ok, this is the short cut: look at your thesis’ bibliography: looking at the most
significant publications your thesis cited, what is the most recurrent journal? Start there.
How to publish: one thing to consider is authorship. Have a look at the definition of authorship adapted
from ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) Guidelines, and available from:
http://www.icmje.org/#author). General rules I use in projects are:
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Authorship is determined by contributions from authors. A significant contribution means
contributing to the theoretical framework, line of argument, analysis of data, and/or the overall
coherence of the publication. Generally, your supervisor and committee members would be coauthors. Community supports may also be co-authors.
The first, second, and third authors are typically the major contributors to a paper and the
sequencing of their authorship needs to be negotiated in ways that reflect the level of
contribution of each author.
Authorship on particular publications can be negotiated and re-negotiated throughout as an
ongoing process.
For publications that benefited from funding from a supervisor/agency, either through access to
resources or input, contributions must be acknowledged. This acknowledgement may be
through authorship or in an acknowledgement.
Presentation and publication of a paper may have different line-up of authorship.
In all publications, funders must be acknowledged as appropriate.
First author’s responsibilities: this is your thesis and you should be the most significant author. This
means that you must take responsibility for,
 Choosing the journal and writing the first solid draft.
 Getting it right in terms of format, length, formatting of the bibliography.
 Co-authors can advise and work through draft, but it is not their role of drive the process and to
communicate with publishers.
Publishing is important because a thesis is like a buffalo:
you have to use every part.
The Lancet
Social Science &
Medicine
Healthcare Policy