0. Applicability of regulations
The recommended guidelines apply to doctoral dissertations for PhD and Dr.philos degrees.
1. General requirements for doctoral dissertations which comprise several lesser works
Section 8.1 of the Regulations relating to PhD degrees at the University of Oslo states:
"The dissertation shall be an independent, scientific work which fulfils international standards within the field in question. The dissertation shall contribute to the development of new knowledge in the chosen field and must be of such quality as to qualify for publication as a part of the scientific literature in the field.
Parts of collaborative work are acceptable in the dissertation, provided that the independent efforts of the doctoral candidate can be identified and documented.
The combination of several lesser works may be accepted as a dissertation provided there is cohesion among the individual parts, and the cohesion is explained."
The required quality of a dissertation remains the same, whether it be a monograph or consists of several lesser works (hereinafter referred to as articles). The articles shall be of such quality as to qualify for publication in recognised scientific publications with peer review.
Requirements and recommended standards for the summary (the explanation of the cohesion in the dissertation) are specified below.
2. Scope of articles
The requirements regarding the scope of the dissertation must not exceed a level which allows for submission of the dissertation and completion within three man-years of the educational phase including research work.
For the Faculty of Educational Sciences, a dissertation based on articles, in addition to the summary, should comprise at least 3 articles. At least one article should be accepted for publication. The level of co-authorship may require a higher number of articles.
3. Co-authorship
When a dissertation is the result of co-authorship, the independent work of the candidate shall be identified and documented with statement(s) from the co-authors explaining the scope of the co-authorship for each article.
The candidate must be the sole author of the summary.
The supervisor's role as participant and contributor to the research project must define the role played by the supervisor as a possible co-author of articles which form part of the candidate's dissertation. If a supervisor is to be a co-author, this should be clarified as early as possible with the candidate.
For the Faculty of Educational Sciences, all lesser works (articles) which form part of the dissertation may be written together with co-authors. However, the candidate must be the main author and assume an overall academic responsibility for a majority of the articles included in the dissertation. The candidate shall be the main author of at least two articles.
4. The summary
The dissertation summary shall not just summarise but also categorise the issues and conclusions presented in the articles in an overall perspective, thereby documenting the cohesion within the dissertation. This also includes a summary of the dissertation's contribution to the research field in question.
If the dissertation includes formerly published articles, the summary shall also contain any academic updates to these, so that the dissertation as a whole is fully up to date. Alternatively, such updates can be made to each article.
The candidate must be the sole author of the summary. The Faculty has its own set of guidelines for the summary.
5. Statement of co-authorship
The statement of co-authorship shall aid the identification and evaluation of the candidate's academic efforts in relation to the requirements laid down for a PhD degree.
All the publications included in a doctoral dissertation shall comply with regulations and conventions regarding research ethics for academic quality assurance of the research. These obligations apply to all those contributing to a doctoral dissertation.
6. Languages
It is permitted to use several languages in a dissertation based on articles. In principal, the languages should be Norwegian, Nordic, English. Candidates wishing to use other languages must first apply for approval.
7. Implementation and transitional scheme
The amendment to item 3 comes into effect immediately and shall apply for all candidates accepted from and including 1 October 2011. Candidates accepted prior to 1 October 2011 may decide whether they wish to comply with the amended guidelines. Candidates must notify their faculty of their choice of guidelines in their letter of application for evaluation of their dissertation. The guidelines apply for all candidates with effect from 1 October 2015.