Making Meaning from the Minoritarian PhD: How to build a Significant Original Contribution to Knowledge for a PhD by Prior Publication

Doctorates are diverse. Spanning from the traditional thesis and the artefact and exegetical mode through to the professional doctoral suite, the PhD is not singular in its enrolment, methodology or outputs. This article investigates one of the smallest and most unusual doctoral enrolments: the PhD by Prior Publication. The goal of this article is to discuss this mode with specific attention to how a Significant Original Contribution to Knowledge (SOCK) is created through papers published before an enrolment commences. This article also demonstrates –through form and content –how the student and supervisory relationship changes through this way of completing a PhD.