Infrastructure and Integration
A PhD candidate’s integration into the academic environment begins from the moment they join the university. PhD candidates are provided with office space, a computer, and access to UiA’s network and infrastructure. In addition, supervisors, PhD co-ordinators, programme leaders, specialisation leaders, and heads of department take an active role in welcoming the PhD candidate into the academic community. Research groups also serve as a vital space for on-going collaboration, discussion, and professional development. Through shared effort and support, the PhD candidate becomes part of the professional and social life of the department.
Information about key administrative contacts can be found on the PhD programme webpages of each faculty.
Library Services
The university library provides a wide range of services that support PhD candidates throughout their research journey. Becoming familiar with these services early in the doctoral process will help establish effective research practices and support long term progress.
PhD candidates are also encouraged to become acquainted with PhD on Track, a national university library network that offers guidance on key aspects of the doctoral process.
Subject Librarian
Each department has its own dedicated subject librarian who serves as a primary point of contact for library-related inquiries. Subject librarians connect PhD candidates to the university’s collections and databases, while offering specialised expertise in the technical aspects of research support. PhD candidates are encouraged to connect with their subject librarian early in their project to receive guidance on the library’s specialised tools and to ensure they make full use of the resources available to them throughout their PhD journey.
Reference Management Support
The library offers guidance on reference management tools such as Zotero and EndNote. Support can include installation, synchronisation across devices, importing references from databases, and organising collections in a clear and functional structure. Library staff can also demonstrate how the tools integrate with writing software so that citations and bibliographies are generated efficiently and remain consistent throughout the writing process. For more information about sources and referencing, see here.
Understanding Citation Styles
Many PhD projects require familiarity with several citation styles. The library provides support with styles such as APA, Harvard, Chicago, MLA, and discipline specific formats. This includes guidance on in-text citations, reference lists, and the correct handling of non-standard source types. The Citation Compass is also a useful tool that offers support to cite sources correctly.
Literature Searches
A structured literature search forms a key foundation for most research projects. The library supports PhD candidates in developing effective search strategies for databases, journal platforms, Oria, and specialised collections. This support can include identifying relevant keywords, using controlled vocabularies, applying Boolean operators, combining search terms, filtering results, and setting up alerts for newly published material. Guidance is also provided for systematic and methodologically rigorous searches when required by the research design.
Publishing Guidance
The library offers support for choosing suitable publishing channels and understanding journal quality indicators. Support can also include help in interpreting copyright agreements, ensuring PhD candidates understand their rights and the conditions for sharing or archiving their work in the Norwegian Research Information Repository (NVA).
For more information about Open Access, publishing agreements, and UiA’s Rights Retention policy, see here.
Research Data Management
Many PhD candidates work with data that require long term planning. The library provides support with data management plans, documentation practices, storage solutions, and archiving. This can include advice on file formats, ethical considerations, transparency in data handling, and sharing datasets when this is appropriate for the project.
For more information about data collection and processing, see here.
Research Schools
UiA is partnered with several research schools that provide PhD candidates with both an academic and social space for further development. These schools function as networks that offer specialised courses and seminars designed to strengthen research through knowledge sharing across disciplines.
PhD candidates can apply to join a research school to present their work, build professional networks, and collaborate with scholars across institutions. PhD candidates are encouraged to discuss relevant research schools with their supervisors early in the doctoral journey to identify which networks best align with their research project and career goals.
Research Integrity and Good Scientific Practice
PhD candidates at UiA are expected to adhere to recognised standards of research ethics and good scientific practice throughout their work. This includes ensuring honesty, transparency, accountability, and respect for research participants, colleagues, and society. PhD candidates must follow relevant national guidelines, including those from the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees, as well as discipline-specific standards.
Good scientific practice involves proper data management, accurate reporting of results, appropriate authorship attribution, and avoidance of plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. Supervisors and PhD candidates share responsibility for ensuring that research is conducted in accordance with these principles.
Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a PhD Thesis
PhD candidates at UiA are permitted to use AI tools as support in their research and writing. However, all use must comply with applicable publisher policies, UiA regulations, and relevant legislation. For article-based theses, candidates must familiarise themselves with the AI policies of the target journal or publisher prior to submission. For monographs and introductory synopses, UiA’s guidelines for the use of AI in exams and written submissions apply.
AI guidelines for academic work are to ensure human authorship and transparency. The PhD candidate must remain the sole responsible author of all submitted work. AI tools cannot be credited as authors or co-authors, nor can they take responsibility for the content. Candidates are fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of any material produced with AI assistance.
All use of AI tools must be clearly documented. This includes any use for generating, editing, summarising, translating, coding, or analysing text, data, or images. Candidates must include a statement describing which tools were used, how they were used, and to what extent. Depending on the nature of the use, this statement may be included in the methods section, acknowledgements, or another appropriate section.
Failure to disclose AI use, or misrepresentation of AI-generated content work without transparency, constitutes a breach of academic integrity and may be considered cheating, whether intentional or not.
AI tools must be used in accordance with data protection legislation and regulations and UiA’s requirements for information security. As a general rule, only AI tools approved by UiA, with appropriate data processing agreements, should be used. When using external tools, candidates are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable privacy laws and institutional guidelines.
| Onboarding | During the PhD | Completing the PhD |