turning your dissertation into a publishable journal article

Research Process
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscript Review
Publication Process
Publication Recognition
Language Editing Services
Translation Services

How to Write a Journal Article from a Thesis

3 minute read
242.4K views

Table of Contents

You are almost done with your PhD thesis and want to convert it into a journal article. Or, you’re initiating a career as a journal writer and intend to use your thesis as a starting point for an article. Whatever your situation, turning a thesis into a journal article is a logical step and a process that eventually every researcher completes. But…how to start?

The first thing to know about converting a thesis into a journal article is how different they are:

Thesis Characteristics:

Meets academic requirements
Reviewed by select committee members
Contains chapters
Lengthy, no word limits
Table of contents
Lengthy research of literature
IRB approval described in detail
Description and copies of tools used
All findings presented
Verb tenses may vary

Journal Article Characteristics:

Meets journalistic standards
Reviewed by a panel of “blind” reviewers
Word limits
Manuscript format
Succinct research of literature
IRB described in 1 to 3 sentences
Essential and succinct tool information
Selected findings presented
Verb tenses are fairly consistent

Converting your thesis to a journal article may be complex, but it’s not impossible.

A thesis is a document of academic nature, so it’s more detailed in content. A journal article, however, is shorter, highlighting key points in a more succinct format. Adapting a thesis for conversion into a journal article is a time-consuming and intricate process that can take you away from other important work. In that case, Elsevier’s Language Editing services may help you focus on important matters and provide a high-quality text for submission in no time at all.

If you are going to convert a thesis into a journal article, with or without professional help, here is a list of some of the steps you will likely have to go through:

1. Identify the best journal for your work

Ensure that your article is within the journal’s aim and scope. How to find the right journal? Find out more .
Check the journal’s recommended structure and reference style

2. Shorten the length of your thesis

Treat your thesis as a separate work
Paraphrase but do not distort meaning
Select and repurpose parts of your thesis

3. Reformat the introduction as an abstract

Shorten the introduction to 100-150 words, but maintain key topics to hold the reader’s attention.
Use the introduction and discussion as basis for the abstract

4. Modify the introduction

If your thesis has more than one research question or hypothesis, which are not all relevant for your paper, consider combining your research questions or focusing on just one for the article
Use previously published papers (at least three) from the target journal as examples

5. Tighten the methods section

Keep the discussion about your research approach short

6. Report main findings in the results

Expose your main findings in the results section in concise statements

7. Discussion must be clear and concise

Begin by providing an interpretation of your results: “What is it that we have learned from your research?”
Situate the findings to the literature
Discuss how your findings expand known or previous perspectives
Briefly present ways in which future studies can build upon your work and address limitations in your study

8. Limit the number of references

To choose the most relevant and recent
To format them correctly
Consider using a reference manager system (e.g. Mendeley ) to make your life easier

If you are not a proficient English speaker, the task of converting a thesis into a journal article might make it even more difficult. At Elsevier’s Language Editing services we ensure that your manuscript is written in correct scientific English before submission. Our professional proofers and editors check your manuscript in detail, taking your text as our own and with the guarantee of maximum text quality.

Language editing services by Elsevier Author Services: