PhD by Published Works

A PhD by Published Work is normally awarded for prior research that has led to a number of related publications. The research skills obtained are evaluated in retrospect and the examination and oral defence must establish that the candidate satisfies Level 8 qualification descriptors for the award of PhD in accordance with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Advice and Guidance: Research Degrees.  

The degree will be awarded on the basis of materials and submitted publications that demonstrate an independent, coherent contribution to knowledge. Collectively, the research outputs must:

• demonstrate a quantity, quality and level of research equivalent to that of a traditional PhD student who has reached the Completion Year stage
• be equal to the length or volume of a standard PhD thesis in the relevant disciplinary area
• provide evidence of the acquisition and utilisation of research skills equivalent to those of a traditional PhD student who has reached the Completion Year stage

The award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Published Work shall be open to:

• all members of staff of LJMU beyond the probationary period of employment who can demonstrate a record of publications or other public outputs of research of appropriate quantity and quality and who do not already hold a doctoral degree in the same or cognate discipline or area of research. Applicants should:
  
  • be employed by Liverpool John Moores University on a full time equivalent basis for at least 3 years
  • normally holds a Master’s degree which matches the descriptor for a Level 7 qualification OR an equivalent qualification from outside of the UK
  • can demonstrate that more than 50% of the published work has been carried out during their employment at the University
• former staff of the University shall be eligible to apply for the award up to a maximum period of 3 years from the date their employment ceased
• external applicants who can demonstrate a record of publication or other public outputs of research of appropriate quantity and quality to benefit from this form of doctoral study

In the event of any issues arising regarding eligibility, the proposal should be referred initially to the Dean of the Doctoral Academy.

Applicants can apply for admission at any point in the calendar year. Applicants should apply directly to the Doctoral Academy.

The process of admission occurs in the stages.

Stage one: Submission of application

Applications should include:

• the Proposed Title of the Work
• a list of the Published Works (any ‘In Press’ publications must be supported with evidence)
• a statement of the candidate’s contribution to any multi-authored works
• copies of the statements or letters from the co-authors confirming the candidate’s contribution to each publication must be attached
• a summary piece, not longer than 2,000 words, that contextualises the selected publications and demonstrates their coherence within the overall thesis - this should include the applicant’s individual contribution to each of their publications, their significance in the field, and their contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the discipline
• a full Curriculum Vitae

A supporting letter from the applicant’s Director of School or equivalent, which identifies an internal reviewer to consider the application, and proposes a supervisory team of at least two members. Please email DoctoralAcademy@ljmu.ac.uk for a copy of the template of the supporting letter to be completed and submitted with the application.

Stage two: Review of application by independent reviewer (prima facie stage)

Applications will undergo a preliminary evaluation to establish that the work undertaken would be equivalent to a traditional PhD student who has reached the beginning of the Completion Year stage.

The Independent Reviewer, nominated by School Director, will judge the quality and coherence of the publications being submitted for assessment. They should:

• normally be a member of LJMU academic staff
• have expertise in the area of the applicant’s topic
• have undertaken Doctoral Academy Internal Examiner training
• have prior experience of successful supervision to completion at doctoral level
• in exceptional cases RDB may be empowered to appoint:
  • retired academic members of staff fulfilling all the other criteria as long as they are still research active and continue to have a significant involvement with the university
  • honorary members of academic staff where they fulfil all of the other criteria for appointment

The Independent Reviewer shall submit a written report and recommendation to the RDB based on suitability of the applicant for admission.

Stage three: Consideration for approval

Research Degrees Board shall consider the application alongside the report and recommendation provided by the Independent Assessor. In approving the application, the Research Degrees Board shall satisfy itself that:

• the candidate is suitably qualified
• there is a prima facie case that the published work proposed for submission
• it represents a coherent programme of research, is set in an appropriate context, and makes an original and sufficient contribution to the present state of knowledge
• the proposed supervision arrangements are appropriate
• the papers are appropriate and of the required academic standard for a submission for PhD

External applicants must complete the university online application form and follow the university process for admission onto the programme.

Successful applicants shall be registered to submit for the degree of PhD by Published Work, for a maximum of 12 months.

Candidates for the award of PhD by Published Work are allocated a supervisory team in line with the Research Degree Framework.

The supervisory team will act in a similar role to that of a supervisor for a standard PhD project, but with more emphasis on mentorship. They will act as a source of support and guidance during the preparation of the research material for examination and for administration of the examination process. The supervisor will:

• guide the candidate in the final selection of publications for inclusion in the submission
• support and advise on the development of the introductory section
• guide the candidate in relation to the coherence of the body of work to be submitted
• make arrangements for the examination, including nomination of the examining team
• support the candidate through the examination process

The registration period shall be a minimum of one year and maximum of two years. The date of registration shall normally be the date the candidate initially enrolled on the PhD by published work programme. The date of registration may not be backdated before the candidate’s date of initial enrolment as a student at the university.

There is no numerical stipulation for how many publications should be included.  The body of work to be submitted should represent an equivalent amount to that contained in a traditional PhD thesis in the appropriate discipline in terms of both quality and standards and should demonstrate the individual's progress and the development of their work over a period of time, through the publications submitted.

The candidate’s publications, taken together, should show that the work achieved has had an impact on other knowledge in the field; that the candidate understands the impact, can justify and defend it against peer critique, and that they are capable of continuing to make a contribution to knowledge in an independent and original way.

The publications may be a selection of the candidate’s work rather than all the works published but together they will focus on a particular research topic. The works must be already in the public domain not awaiting publication.

There is no time restriction on publications - how long the contribution to knowledge remains current will depend on the field.

Usually, the publications will be peer-reviewed, they can be journal articles, books or other forms of printed material. However, the University permits submission of other materials outside conventional publications thereby allowing areas such as arts and performance to seek an award by the Published Work route. These need to be accessible for peer review purposes to be considered as ‘published’. Whatever the form of the work, it must be listed in the publications when applying for admission.

Authorship credit should be based on:

• substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data
• drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
• final approval of the version to be published
• acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship
• all persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed
• each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content
• all other contributors (including supervisors) should be listed in acknowledgements

The candidate’s contribution will need to be clearly detailed for any multi-authored publications.

The formatting of the work should be the same as required for the traditional PhD by thesis, as set out in the Policy for the Presentation of Research Theses.

The submission consists of two parts.

Part one

Portfolio of published work that must be in the public domain prior to submission for examination for the award. Such publications may include academic papers, chapters, monographs, books, scholarly editions of a text, technical reports, creative work in relevant areas, or other artefacts.

• Publications should demonstrate that the quality, extent and level of research undertaken is at least equivalent to that expected of a traditional PhD student who has reached the end of the Completion Year stage.
• Where the candidate is not the first author in co‐authored papers and there is no published statement as to the contribution of each author, the extent of their contribution should be normally be certified by at least one co‐author.
• Normally, the majority of the publications should have been published, but it will be possible to include some publications which are in press or which have been accepted for publication.
• Publications included in the submission for a PhD by Published Work should not have been used in the submission for another research degree.

Part two

An Introduction, approximately 10,000 words in length, demonstrating that the published works contain unifying themes and comprise a coherent body of academic work that meets the requirements for the award of PhD and demonstrates rigour of research process. The introductory section should:

• set the published work in the context of existing literature and evaluate the contribution that the research makes to the advancement of the chosen subject or professional area
• stress the coherence of the publications, linking them to the methodology adopted
• have a section relating to the candidate’s research methodology. This is particularly relevant if detail regarding methodology is not included in the publications
• where the works are jointly authored, the introductory section should also describe the roles played by those joint authors, and contain percentage estimates of the applicant's input into each jointly authored work

Candidates for the award will be examined by two external examiners and one internal examiner. The Lead Supervisor is expected to nominate the team and Directors of School should make the necessary management checks, and endorse the proposed team prior to the consideration at FRDC.

The Degree of PhD by Published Works will be examined in line with the Research Degrees Framework. The points below are an extract from the 2004 UKCGE report ‘The Award of PhD by Published Work in the UK’ by Stuart Powell.

The examiners’ main tasks are to:

• evaluate the intellectual merit of the candidate’s cited published and creative work
• establish if a satisfactory case is made for coherence between the publications and outputs
• assess the contribution to knowledge represented by the publications or portfolio and made apparent in any critical appraisal
• evaluate the rigour with which the candidate has contextualised and analysed his or her
• publications or portfolio in any critical appraisal
• evaluate the appropriateness of the methods employed in the research and the correctness of their application
• assess the candidate’s contribution to the various phases of the research embodied in multi‐authored works
• establish the candidate’s ‘ownership’ of the published work and appreciation of the state of (historical and current) knowledge within the candidate’s research area
• assess the candidate’s research skills in terms of his or her potential as a continuing, independent researcher

For current staff this award carries no fees. Former staff of the university who are eligible to apply, will be expected to pay an examination fee as determined by the university. External candidates will pay 50% of the full-time registration fee for a standard PhD.

The Doctoral Academy will be responsible for creating the candidate’s initial record. The candidate’s record will be maintained by eDoc.