The examples below illustrate common instances of accidental plagiarism, with solutions to help you submit your work with confidence. Most of these types of plagiarism are quite easy to detect with a reliable plagiarism checker.
Published on
15 July 2022
by
Tegan George
Revised on
13 April 2023.
Academic integrity is the value of being honest, ethical, and thorough in your academic work. It allows readers to trust that you aren’t misrepresenting your findings or taking credit for the work of others.
Academic dishonesty (or academic misconduct) refers to actions that undermine academic integrity. It typically refers to some form of plagiarism, ranging from serious offences like purchasing a pre-written essay to milder ones like accidental citation errors – most of which are easy to detect with a plagiarism checker.
These concepts are also essential in the world of professional academic research and publishing. In this context, accusations of misconduct can have serious legal and reputational consequences.
A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.
Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:
Your anticipated title
Your abstract
Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)
In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organisational structure of your thesis or dissertation. This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.
Published on
26 May 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
25 October 2022.
A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader.
Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and it’s intended to enhance their understanding of your work. Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one.
If you do choose to include a glossary, it should go at the beginning of your document, just after the table of contents and (if applicable) list of tables and figures or list of abbreviations. It’s helpful to place your glossary at the beginning, so your readers can familiarise themselves with key terms prior to reading your work. Remember that glossaries are always in alphabetical order.
To help you get started, download our glossary template in the format of your choice below.
Published on
24 May 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
25 October 2022.
A list of figures and tables compiles all of the figures and tables that you used in your thesis or dissertation, along with their corresponding page numbers. These lists give your reader an overview of how you have used figures and tables in your document.
While these lists are often not required, you may want to include one as a way to stay organised if you are using several figures and tables in your paper. Your educational institution may require one, so be sure to check their guidelines. Ultimately, if you do choose to add one, it should go directly after your table of contents.
You can download our Microsoft Word template below to help you get started.
Published on
23 May 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
25 October 2022.
A list of abbreviations is an alphabetical list of abbreviations that you can add to your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include it, it should appear at the beginning of your document, just after your table of contents.
Abbreviation lists improve readability, minimising confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader. This can be a worthwhile addition to your thesis or dissertation if you find that you’ve used a lot of abbreviations in your paper.
If you only use a few abbreviations, you don’t necessarily need to include a list. However, it’s never a bad idea to add one if your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they will not be known to your audience.
You can download our template below in the format of your choice to help you get started.
The table of contents is where you list the chapters and major sections of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, alongside their page numbers. A clear and well-formatted table of contents is essential, as it demonstrates to your reader that a quality paper will follow.
The table of contents (TOC) should be placed between the abstract and the introduction. The maximum length should be two pages. Depending on the nature of your thesis, dissertation, or paper, there are a few formatting options you can choose from.
Published on
7 May 2022
by
Tegan George
Revised on
20 January 2023.
Explanatory research is a research method that explores why something occurs when limited information is available. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic, ascertain how or why a particular phenomenon is occurring, and predict future occurrences.
Explanatory research can also be explained as a ’cause and effect’ model, investigating patterns and trends in existing data that haven’t been previously investigated. For this reason, it is often considered a type of causal research.
Note: Be careful not to confuse explanatory research with exploratory research, which is also preliminary in nature but instead explores a subject that hasn’t been studied in depth yet.
Published on
6 May 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
2 September 2022.
Peer review, sometimes referred to as refereeing, is the process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Using strict criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decides whether to accept each submission for publication.
Peer-reviewed articles are considered a highly credible source due to the stringent process they go through before publication.
There are various types of peer review. The main difference between them is to what extent the authors, reviewers, and editors know each other’s identities. The most common types are:
Relatedly, peer assessment is a process where your peers provide you with feedback on something you’ve written, based on a set of criteria or benchmarks from an instructor. They then give constructive feedback, compliments, or guidance to help you improve your draft.
Published on
6 May 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
20 January 2023.
Exploratory research is a methodology approach that investigates topics and research questions that have not previously been studied in depth.
Exploratory research is often qualitative in nature. However, a study with a large sample conducted in an exploratory manner can be quantitative as well. It is also often referred to as interpretive research or a grounded theory approach due to its flexible and open-ended nature.
Note: Be careful not to confuse exploratory research with explanatory research, which is also preliminary in nature but instead explores why a well-documented problem occurs.
