Dissertation / Reviewer

Dissertation

The dissertation (§ 10 of the doctoral degree regulations) is proof of independent academic work. It should make a significant contribution to research in the relevant scientific field and must contain new scientific findings and meet scientific standards in the methods used and the presentation. The scientific work (dissertation) must present results that promote the development of the specific scientific field.
As a rule, the dissertation is a completed individual work by the doctoral candidate, which must be written in German or English; the required abstract must be written in German.

The pre-publication of partial results of the dissertation requires the written consent of the academic supervisor.

Cumulative dissertation

In accordance with Section 10 (3) of the doctoral degree regulations, the dissertation may also be completed by submitting a series of scientific articles (cumulative dissertation).

• At least three thematically related articles must be submitted.
  The articles must be submitted to recognized peer-reviewed international journals and at least one of the articles must have been accepted for publication.

• The thematic coherence of the work must be presented in writing as part of a separate essay and, in conjunction with the submitted articles, forms the dissertation.

• They must be preceded by an introductory text in which the overall research topic is introduced and motivated and the specific research questions are formulated and differentiated from the current state of research.

• The introductory text also contains a brief summary of the individual specialist articles and their classification in the conceptual context.

• Furthermore, a concluding summary must be added. In this, the research results of the publications are to be summarized with regard to the research questions and evaluated with regard to their possible influence on future research.

• Co-authors are permitted for cumulative dissertations if the individual doctoral achievements of the respective doctoral candidates are clearly distinguishable and assessable. The content of the articles to which the individual authorship relates must be explained in writing. This declaration must be signed by all co-authors (form). Paragraph 2 sentence 4 remains unaffected. The share of the doctoral candidate in the content of the scientific articles should be at least 25 %.

Selection of publications

The selection of publications is made by the doctoral candidate together with the supervising university lecturer. The formal examination of compliance with the requirements formulated in § 10 para. 3 is carried out by the doctoral committee as part of the opening of the doctoral procedure. To support this examination, the doctoral candidate shall provide an informal justification of the status of the selected journals as "recognized peer-reviewed international journals" in agreement with the supervising university lecturer. The term "journal" is defined broadly and also includes equivalent alternative publication organs such as conference proceedings if these meet the standards of a "recognized peer-reviewed international journal".

The review of the fulfillment of the requirements as well as the assessment of the content of the manuscripts in accordance with § 10 para. 3 is carried out within the framework of the scientific reviews obtained.

The submitted scientific articles that have not yet been accepted for publication do not have a desk reject, they have demonstrably been sent to the reviewers for review and have not been rejected by the editor immediately after submission.

Reviewer

In accordance with Section 10 (6) of the doctoral degree regulations, the dissertation is assessed by

• at least two reviewers who are recognized in the subject area of the dissertation.
• One reviewer must be a university professor appointed in accordance with § 61 or § 63 SächsHSG.
• Other reviewers can be university of applied sciences and junior professors, TUD Young Investigators as well as associate professors and honorary professors, each with membership rights, and also persons who can prove at least habilitation-adequate achievements.
• The dissertation must be assessed by at least one full-time reviewer working outside the Technische Universität Dresden who was not involved in the supervision of the dissertation and who may not be a member or affiliate of the faculty.
• In the case of cooperative doctoral procedures with a university of applied sciences, one reviewer must be a member of the relevant university of applied sciences.
• In justified exceptional cases, in particular in the case of cooperative doctoral procedures or if the subject area of the dissertation makes this necessary, an additional reviewer may be appointed by the Doctoral Committee at the suggestion of the Doctoral Committee.
• In general, at least one of the reviewers should not have any joint publications with the doctoral candidate.