SOMS

The Second Last Hurdle

The Second Last Hurdle

Finally, I managed to submit my thesis for Ph.D. It took me six long years to reach this stage but reach did I.

Surprisingly it was not the struggle, effort, confusion or hard work of six years that was overwhelming, it was the last one week. The week wherein I had not only to get the thesis in order but also to navigate the plethora of red tape designed to discourage even the strongest of all; in order to hand over the typed thesis. May be that is the reason, this challenging aspect is never mentioned during the research phase.

All those research scholars, hoping to complete Ph.D from IGNOU will it find it useful. It is basically a guide to Final Submission of Thesis in IGNOU.

 I am dividing the final submission in two parts: Thesis and Forms

THESIS:

Now thesis has been written, approved by the supervisor, and pre submission seminar is over. So now there is a 90 days window to convert this thesis into acceptable form (acceptable to supervisor, department and finally Research Unit).

  1. The thesis needs to be written in 12 font Times New Roman, with 1.5 spacing and margins of 1.5 on the left and 1.25 on the right, up and down.
  2. Thesis cannot have underlines for headings.
  3. Thesis must have references in APA format.
  4. Table headings and figure headings also in APA format. From the very beginning go with the word Heading (MS word Home- has Heading 1, heading 2 etc.). learn to use these for chapter titles also. This will help at the end in creation of Table of Content, List of Tables and List of Figures.
  5. Check and recheck the title of thesis against the approved DRC minutes (in which the thesis title was approved), in order to avoid even a single comma mistake.
  6. Similarly, check and recheck name and enrolment number before thesis goes into print.
  7. Thesis has to be hard bound in red with gold lettering (that is current pattern, it may change without any further notice at any time). Research Unit requires 4 copies of thesis. So, 6 copies are sufficient including supervisor copy and student copy. Better take color printouts.
  8. Thesis Cover page has to be in a specific style which changes from time to time and may be different for different departments. I have uploaded the one acceptable in School of Management Studies and presumably by Research Unit.
  9. In the thesis four certificates are to be enclosed:
    • Declaration from the Research Scholar
    • Originality Certificate from the Research Scholar
    • Originality Certificate from the Research Supervisor.
    • Plagiarism Report obtained from IGNOU Library.

(The process of getting this report is explained later: point 5 in ‘Forms to be Submitted’)

These certificates may or may not be signed (except Plagiarism report which is signed). These are part of all copies of the thesis. After final printing, but before submission, these are to be signed in original by the research scholar and the research supervisor (with stamp).

  1. Thesis at the end in Annexures must contain the papers that were published by the Research Scholar during Ph.D. Attach copies of these papers, in all the copies of the thesis.
  2. Along with the thesis a summary is to be submitted.  Summary is usually 15-18 pages long, does not have any format. It is also being asked to be bound with red and gold, however it is soft bound.
  3. Another requirement is to submit one CD, containing

A.  Thesis in full in Word format,

B.  Thesis in full in PDF format,

C.  and parts of thesis which are :

01 Title

02 Preliminary pages (title, certificates, dedication, acknowledgements, list of tables, list of graphs etc.)

03 Content page

04 Abstract

05 Chapter-1

06-Chapter-2

—-all chapters 0ne by one—-

—–

0X Annexures (bibliography, questionnaires, publishes papers)

80 Recommendation (chapter containing recommendations -again)

  1. Now the issue with CD, is that the out of the four certificates to be uploaded (which are enclosed with the printed thesis), three may not be signed. So before scanning and uploading, these certificates to CD, it is essential that these three are signed. So, get one certificate of originality signed from the Research Supervisor beforehand. Two certificates (declaration and originality certificate) are to be signed by the research scholar.
  2. On the CD write name, enrolment number, thesis title, and the department name.
  3. CD is to be signed by the research scholar and the research supervisor. (Keep a CD writer pen handy)
  4. CD, while submission of thesis, needs to be physically examined by the Research Unit that it is in working order. Research scholar has to take it personally to the Research unit and get it examined.

FORMS TO BE SUBMITTED:

  1. Create a file/ plastic folder for all the forms to be submitted.
  2. There are two groups of forms and I am segregating these in group A and Group B for convenience‘s sake ( IGNOU does not make this distinction).
  3. Group A Forms: There are six annexures in this group. Out of which Annexure VI is a page of guidelines relating to CD and plagiarism check. Read these guidelines carefully.
  4. In Group A forms:  

 Annexure -I Certificate of originality (signed by the research scholar, this is part of the thesis- para 9(ii) under the heading ‘Thesis’)

Annexure-II Student Approval form for Uploading the thesis on Shodhganga

 Annexure-III Plagiarism Report (to be obtained from the library)

Annexure-IV Certificate for Exclusion of Self Published Work

Annexure-V Co Authors Certificate, in case there are any in the published papers.

These six annexures and the notification dated Oct.11, 2018; are available at the following link of IGNOU:

http://www.ignou.ac.in/userfiles/Guidelines%20for%20Anti-Plagiarism%20and%20Annexures(1).pdf

These may change without any information, at a moments notice. So, ensure from the Research Unit that correct and current formats are being used

  • Plagiarism Report: It is a very important document and similarity index must be below 10% for the thesis to be acceptable. To obtain this document, the following steps need to be followed:
  • The Supervisor has to submit the entire thesis in word file and Pdf file format to the library (Deputy Librarian). The name of the file of the thesis, has to be- name of the research scholar PhD thesis (enrolment number).
  • The current guidelines in this regard are:

1.       Complete the thesis in all aspects. (Title to End page)

2.       Make a pdf copy with reference.

3.       Make a word file without reference.

4.        Rename your file as XYZ PhD thesis (Enrol No) i.e  Anil Kumar PhD thesis (170012101)

5.       Send your thesis (Both pdf and word file) to your supervisor with a request to forward the same: TO: librarian@ignou.ac.inCC: researchunit@ignou.ac.in

6.       Matter: Request for plagiarism check and the issue of the certificate.

7.       It should go through Supervisor mail only.

8.       Kindly submit all annexures (particularly Annex-3,4,5) (filled annexure without date) in hard copy to Deputy Librarian (Room No-105, Library) prior to the plagiarism check process.

9.       Collect the report and certificate the next day after mailing the thesis.   

10.   Annexures are available on the Research Unit website.

  • The six annexures of group A ( five filled annexures and sixth page of guidelines ) and copy of notification issued by Research Unit dated October 11, 2018; are to be handed over in the Library( Deputy Librarian), personally by the Research Scholar.
  • Next collect the Plagiarism report i.e. the whole bunch in which Plagiarism report should be filled and signed by two officers of the library.
  • This plagiarism report has to be part of the thesis, mentioned at point 9 (iv) under Heading ‘Thesis’.
  • Group B forms: These forms are available on the IGNOU website in Research Unit at

http://www.ignou.ac.in/userfiles/Checklist%20of%20documents%20%20and%20formats%20before%20submission%20of%20thesis(1).pdf

These forms are:

  1. Certificate of presentation of Seminar/Conference Paper ( two are required: attach proof for outside conferences. For two internal IGNOU seminars, attach minutes of DRC and minutes of School Board; which will be available with the department’s office))
  2. Certificate Of Publication of Paper ( at least one paper in peer reviewed journal is required to be published; although this condition may change soon. Attach proof of publication)
  3. Certificate of Completion of Coursework ( from the grade card fill out the credits, Attach copy of Grade card also)
  1. Certificate of completion of pre submission seminar ( attach minutes of DRC and minutes of School Board- to be obtained from the department’s office)
  2. Certificate of originality of Research ( signed by Research supervisor, this is part of the thesis; para 9(iii) under the heading ‘Thesis’)
  3. Registration form for 2nd and 3rd year ( attach fee receipts for 2nd year fees paid and 3rd year fees paid)
  4. Certificate of Submission of Progress Reports. ( fill the dates carefully after tallying with department’s office)
  5. Declaration of the Research Scholar ( this is part of the thesis- para 9(i) under the heading ‘Thesis’). Format for this declaration, is not available on website. I have enclosed it on this blog).

There are  two more certificates for research scholars availing fellowship. As I was not availing fellowship, I did not face the procedure related to those.

Again possibility of change in the format of forms  or addition/ deletion of forms is always there. So check with Research Unit beforehand. These forms need to signed by Research Supervisor and Research Coordinator, as mentioned on the forms.

  1. Last but not the least the forms need to be arranged in the order specified by Research unit. The order is:
  2. Four copies of Ph.D thesis
  3. Five copies of summary of Ph.D Thesis
  4. 2 CDs
  5. Registration letter bearing enrolment number ( that was issued at the very beginning of Ph.D.
  6. Registration fee receipts for 2nd and 3rd of Ph.D programme for students admitted prior to  2019
  7. Grade card
  8. Annexure-I Certificate of Originality
  9. Approval form for uploading of thesis  on Shodhganga (annexure-II)
  10. Plagiarism report (annexure-III, in original)
  11. Urkund Analysis result ( this is a page is available along with the Plagiarism report)
  12. Certificate of exclusion of self published papers ( annexure-IV)
  13. Co authors’ certificate ( Annexure-V)
  14. Certificate of completion of course work
  15. Certificate of publication of research work ( with proof)
  16. Certificate of submission of progress reports
  17. Certificate of presentation of seminars ( with proof)
  18. Certificate of submission/ presentation of pre submission seminar

The first three are handed over separately and remaining iv to xvii are arranged in a plastic file folder and handed over to research supervisor, who performs the further necessary formality of submission.

COVER PAGE

DECLARATION

I, ____________, Enrolment Number ____________, hereby declare that the research embodied in this thesis entitled “_______________________________________________” is an original research work done by me under the supervision of _____________________, School of Management Studies, IGNOU for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Management from Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

I hereby also declare that no part of this thesis, fully of partly, has been submitted to this or at any other University/Institution for the award of any Research Degree/Diploma.

Name: __________________

Enrolment Number:___________

Place:

Date: