ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the implications of a study that investigated how examiners assess a Publications-Based Thesis (PBT). Supervisors should advise candidates to include a commentary regarding publications in the introduction, explaining which parts of the thesis have been published, where the articles have been published and the status of the publications. Besides raising concerns the role of multiple authors in publications, PBT examiners have raised issues on the author order. The candidate must be first author on any writing included in the thesis. Publications in top-ranked journals, high-impact-factor journals and international peer-reviewed journals positively influenced most examiners. Supervisors could guide doctoral candidates to assess the value of publication outlets prior to embarking on submission. In any PhD programme, supervisors play a pivotal role—they teach, mentor and guide the candidate by passing on their knowledge. This form of supervision is viewed as apprenticeship learning in an active learning environment.
