Publish PhD Thesis

Clifford accepts proposals based on PhD theses, even those that have been made available online. Authors need to make some changes before submitting a proposal for consideration. The following guidelines are for authors to adapt their theses for publication.

 

Audience. Authors need to envision the audience of their book and try to adapt the new book to meet their needs. The readership of a book will extend from thesis supervisors and examiners to the broader academic community who may not necessarily specialize on or even be familiar with the research topic. Avoid mentioning phrases like ‘this PhD’ or ‘this thesis’ throughout the proposal.

 

Length. Monographs are normally much shorter than PhD theses. For example, chapters like literature review and research methodologies may be vital in a thesis, but will not be necessary in a book.

 

Title: A book title should be clear, descriptive, and attractive, and is often shorter than a PhD title. If possible, try to give the adapted book a different title.

 

Structure. A book may require a different structure than a PhD thesis. First, on many occasions, authors need to write an entirely new introduction to explain the rationale and purposes for the research work. Second, a literature review will not normally have its own chapter in a book. Third, it is very unlikely to have a separate ‘methodology’ chapter in a book, and a book reader will be more interested in findings and implications. Alternatively, discussions about methodology might be moved to an introductory chapter. Fourth, a thesis will often discuss the limitations of the research, and conclude by signposting ‘further research’. This isn’t usually needed in a book.

 

Quotations. There are normally fewer and shorter quotations in a book than in a PhD thesis. So, if possible, cut numerous/long quotations.

 

Tables/Figures. Authors need to be selective for illustrations/tables/diagrams and only keep those that can help further the argument of the text, rather than are illustrative.  

 

References/Notes: A bibliography/reference list in a book is normally much shorter than in a thesis. Also, keep footnotes and endnotes to a minimum.

 

Third party materials and permissions. Permissions to include copyrighted material are normally not compulsory for a PhD thesis, but are required for a book. So think about excluding them, or keeping them to a minimum, as obtaining permission for this content is the responsibility of the author and can be a time-consuming process.

 

Please submit your thesis and standard academic CV as attachments by e-mail to our acquisition editors at support@cliffordpub.com.