Guidelines and recommendations for structuring and presenting doctoral theses at the Thematic Doctoral School of Madagascar "Diversity and Sustainable Development" (EDTM 3D), University of Toamasina.
This guide was designed to support doctoral candidates enrolled at the Thematic Doctoral School of Madagascar "Diversity and Sustainable Development" (EDTM 3D) at the University of Toamasina during the writing phase of their thesis. It provides guidelines and recommendations for structuring and presenting their work, and contributes to a more uniform presentation of doctoral theses at EDTM 3D.
In the same spirit, complementary documents have been produced: a Doctoral Research Guide, intended to support candidates throughout their scientific process, and a Scientific Article Writing Guide, which aims to promote the dissemination and valorization of thesis results. For any further information, candidates are invited to contact the Doctoral School or their host team.
A doctoral thesis is a set of novel, reflective ideas resulting from theoretical, empirical, or experimental research, presented as a work of academic value (respecting academic standards) and scientific value (based on verifiable sources, referring to ideas widely recognized and tested, put forward by scientists). It is written under the supervision of a thesis director (and, where applicable, a co‑director), in a specific academic field and on a given topic.
A doctoral thesis is NOT:
A thesis is a training in intellectual rigor, autonomy, and critical thinking. Writing a doctoral thesis is not merely an academic exercise but an intellectual, scientific, and personal journey.
The defense of the doctoral thesis is the decisive test for entering a scientific and academic career, as a researcher or teacher‑researcher. Its validation marks the candidate's integration into the scientific community, both nationally and internationally.
The doctoral journey addresses, among others, the following non‑exhaustive objectives:
For all disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences at EDTM 3D, a doctoral thesis is written following the Chicago or Turabian style, with minor adjustments.
For disciplines in Engineering and Technology, Health Sciences, and Education Sciences, the standards in force are IMRaD and APA.
Cover pages:
Front matter:
Body of the thesis:
Closing matter:
The length of the thesis varies by discipline.
| Host team / domain | Number of pages |
|---|---|
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 300 (minimum) |
| Education Sciences | 300 (minimum) |
| Engineering and Technology Sciences | 100 – 150 |
| Health Sciences | 100 – 150 |
Each scientific discipline follows, by tradition, specific standards. For reference, here are the norms for the different domains at the Doctoral School 3D:
| Domain | Norms |
|---|---|
| Humanities and Social Sciences | Two or three parts depending on the topic. Writing method: inductive or hypothetico‑deductive. Chicago or Turabian style. |
| Health Sciences and Medicine | IMRaD; APA |
| Education Sciences | IMRaD; APA |
| Engineering and Technology Sciences | IMRaD; APA |
The introduction usually represents 3 – 5% of the total body text (Introduction + Development + Conclusion), excluding bibliography and appendices. It is written as several paragraphs but cannot be structured into titled subsections.
The introduction presents the following elements:
For the Humanities and Social Sciences using the Chicago style, the number of parts varies between two and three depending on the discipline and the needs of the analysis. Legal analysis (in Law), for example, generally follows a binary structure with two main parts, whereas other disciplines such as sociology or geography adopt a ternary plan with three main parts.
Subdivisions of a binary plan:
Subdivisions of a ternary plan:
For Engineering and Technology, Education, and Health Sciences using the APA standard and IMRaD format, the outline follows the scientific approach:
Each subdivision must be introduced by a chapeau — a short introduction summarizing the contents of the subdivision — and must end with a sentence (or paragraph) of conclusion and transition to the next part.
Every quotation taken from an outside source, as well as every borrowed idea, must be clearly distinguished.
When a direct quotation contains fewer than 40 words, it is a short direct quotation, inserted directly within the body text and delimited by quotation marks. If it contains 40 words or more, it is a long quotation: it appears as a separate block, indented by 1.27 cm, without quotation marks.
For the Humanities and Social Sciences, references are indicated by a superscript number in the text, pointing to a footnote. All citations and references are also repeated in a bibliography placed at the end of the document.
For Education Sciences, Engineering and Technology, and Health Sciences, all sources are given in parentheses and listed in the final bibliography.
Tables and figures use continuous numbering throughout the body text. They are also fully listed in a "List of tables and figures" appearing in the table of contents.
The doctoral thesis ends with a conclusion of 5 – 8% of the body text (Introduction + Developments + Conclusion). The conclusion contains:
You must list in the bibliography every data source used in the footnotes (Chicago style) or in parenthetical citations (APA style). Conversely, never list a source that is not cited in the development or in the footnotes.
Sources are classified into a list subdivided by source type (general works, articles, doctoral theses, etc.). In all cases, books, articles, and other reference documents (reports, manuals, etc.) are sorted in ascending alphabetical order of author names. The same applies to webographic references.
Legal instruments, however, are listed from most recent to oldest, respecting the hierarchy of norms.
The reference list does not repeat itself: a reference is written only once.
The main standards followed at EDTM 3D are given in Appendix 2.
Appendices provide the reader with documents useful for supporting the arguments developed in the thesis or for completing the main information in the text.
They may include methodological materials such as interview grids or analysis protocols, thematic reports, exhaustive results (which would take too much space in the body text), interview transcripts, and so on.
Add a title to each appendix and refer to it in the developments. If appendices are very numerous, they may appear in a separate document.
Plagiarism is the reproduction of a text, a part of a text, or an idea from another author without mentioning the source.
While the very nature of scientific research is to build on existing work, to discuss it and place it in perspective, the doctoral candidate has the ethical and intellectual duty to cite and reference every source they have drawn on.
EDTM 3D systematically checks for the use of generative artificial intelligence tools in the doctoral theses submitted to it.
While recognizing the assistance these tools provide — particularly for writing and formatting — candidates are expected to use them responsibly and in moderation.
The following principles apply at EDTM 3D:
These provisions are subject to change, in line with the institutional positions of the University of Toamasina and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
To help you with references and bibliography in line with APA and Chicago standards, several free resources are available online. You can browse them for an exhaustive list of bibliographic norms by source type.
Examples of online resources (in English and French):
Several free reference‑management tools (such as Zotero) generate and organize citations in every referencing style. No tool is 100% reliable, however — careful proofreading is always required.
Footnote — first mention:
Footnote — subsequent mentions (short form):
Bibliography:
Footnote — first mention:
Footnote — subsequent mentions:
Bibliography:
Footnote — first mention:
Bibliography:
Footnote — first mention:
Bibliography:
Web page without an author:
Web page with an author:
Footnote:
Bibliography. The list is written respecting the hierarchy of legal norms (Constitution, international legal instruments, organic laws, etc.). The most recent texts come first among texts of the same value. Repealed texts cannot be cited or used as a reference.
Whatever the type of document cited, the format remains the same: Lastname (author or organization), year of publication. Citations can be parenthetical or narrative.
Parenthetical citations. Indicate in parentheses the author's name and year of publication, separated by a comma.
For two authors, names are separated by an ampersand (&).
For three authors or more, only the first name is given, followed by "et al."
Narrative citations. The author's name appears in the text and the date follows in parentheses.
For two authors, use "and" in full.
For three or more, use "et al."
Give the author, year, and specific page after the quoted text. If the excerpt is fewer than 40 words, integrate it directly into the text, in quotation marks; final punctuation comes after the citation. If the excerpt has 40 words or more, present it as a separate paragraph without quotation marks, indented by 1.25 cm (one tab in Word). If it contains several paragraphs, the first line of each subsequent paragraph is indented by a further 1.25 cm. The citation is placed after the final punctuation of the excerpt.
For several authors:
If the web page may be modified or removed, add the date of consultation in parentheses after the URL: (accessed 23 February 2026).