The doctoral thesis will consist of a set of research papers published by the doctoral student and related to the registered research proposal. For this type of thesis, any of the following options shall be accepted:

1. A minimum of three papers published or accepted in a journal of their research field located, according to its impact factor, among the first two quartiles of the Journal Citation Reports list (SCI and/or SSCI) or SCOPUS. The doctoral student must be the first or second author, in the latter case, the first must the Thesis supervisor, unless other guidelines are specified in the publication regulations. Two of the papers may have been accepted for publication within the three years prior to the start of the doctoral studies, but at least one of them must have been published after the registration of the research proposal. (In the Health Sciences Doctoral Programme, all three articles must have been published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)).
2. A minimum of 4 articles (at least three already published and the fourth accepted). These articles must be published in journals with impact indexes in any of the quartiles of the list of journals of the thesis research field. Said journals shall be indexed in the last list published by the Journal Citation Reports (SCI and/or SSCI), SCOPUS, or related databases by the Comisión Nacional Evaluadora de la Actividad Investigadora (National Evaluation of Research Activity Committee) for the scientific fields corresponding to the knowledge areas of the doctoral programme. The doctoral student must be the first or second author, in the latter case, the first must the Thesis supervisor, unless other guidelines are specified in the publication regulations. Three of these articles may have been accepted for publication within the three years prior to the start of the doctoral studies, but at least one of them must have been published after the registration of the research proposal. (In the Health Sciences Doctoral Programme, all three articles must have been published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Reports, but the fourth may be published in the JCR or the SCOPUS).
3. A book, or three book chapters and an article of the characteristics detailed in section 2, in which the doctoral student must be the first or second author. In the latter case, the first author must be the Thesis supervisor. Two of the chapters may have been published within the three years prior to the start of the doctoral studies, but at least one of them must have been published after the registration of the research proposal. The date of publication of the paper must be after the registration of the research proposal. Both the monograph and the book chapters must be published in publishing houses of the SPI (Scholary Publishers Indicators) database, in one of those cited, for each year, by the National Evaluation of Research Activity Committee or another analogous selective database, which indicates the impact of said publisher (a copy/screenshot must be attached). The journal impact must be among the first two quartiles in the list of those corresponding to the scientific area.

In any case, the specific requirements of the Activity "Scientific Article Publication" established in each programme must be met.

In order to proceed with the deposit of doctoral theses as a compendium of publications, the doctoral student shall present the following additional documentation to that required in article 16:

• Report of the thesis supervisor/s, in which all the indications of quality of the work shall be evinced, such as the impact factor of the journal or the position it occupies in the field. All the alleged quality parameters shall be duly justified and demonstrated.
• A copy of the articles, book chapters, book or books that will make up the doctoral thesis, whether published or accepted for publication. These shall include the name and affiliation of the author and all co-authors, if applicable, as well as the full reference of the journal or publishing house in which the work has been published or accepted for publication, in which case proof of acceptance by the editor-in-chief of the journal or publishing house shall be provided.
• Written acceptance by the co-authors of the papers, so that the doctoral student can present them as part of their doctoral thesis.
• Waiver by the co-authors of the works to present them as part of a different doctoral thesis.

The Doctoral Committee, after studying the documentation provided by the doctoral student, shall decide whether or not to accept the thesis defence in this format.

Theses by compendium of publications shall meet minimum formal and style requirements, which will generally consist of:

• An initial page specifying that the thesis is a compendium of previously published or accepted for publication works, and on which the full references of the articles which constitute the body of the thesis shall be listed.
• Authorisation by the supervisor for the thesis presentation in this modality.
• A general introduction and the grounds for the compendium of publications, in which their thematic unit is justified.
• A global summary of the results obtained and a discussion. Furthermore, the possible conclusions drawn from it shall be included.
• A complete copy of the works, whether published or accepted for publication, shall be included between the introduction and the abstract, or as an annex.
• Finally, an appendix with all the data related to the quality of the comprised publications shall be included.

Under no circumstances may any of the co-authors of the comprised research works be part of the examining board.