Research Plan
Build an OAK-aligned timeline in minutes, track your publication requirements, and hand your supervisor a Word document.
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- Try it without an account
- Matches OAK decree 2894
- Topic registration
- Literature review
- Methodology
- Data collection
- Writing the dissertation
- Preliminary defence (seminar)
- Official defence
- OAK approval
Runs in parallel
- Publications
The publications phase runs in parallel with the others — that is how the OAK process works.
This is a sample. Your own plan adapts its dates to the period you choose.
How do you build a PhD dissertation plan?
A plan starts with topic registration and ends with the OAK decision. In between come the literature review, methodology, data collection, writing and defence. Publications are not a separate stage — they run in parallel throughout, because review at OAK journals takes months. That is why this timeline shows them on their own row.
OAK requirements: how many articles do you need?
Under Cabinet of Ministers decree 2894 of 23 June 2017, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) must publish at least 7 scientific works before defending: 3 of them articles in OAK-listed journals (at least 1 in a prestigious foreign journal) and 2 international conference materials. For a Doctor of Sciences (DSc) the figures are 15 works, 10 journal articles and 2 conference materials. DSc candidates in the social sciences and humanities must additionally publish a monograph.
| Degree | Total works | Journal articles | In a foreign journal | Conference materials | Monograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | No |
| DSc (Doctor of Sciences) | 15 | 10 | 1 | 2 | Yes (social sciences & humanities only) |
Source: Cabinet of Ministers decree 2894 — lex.uz 2894
How does a DSc plan differ from a PhD plan?
A DSc plan is longer and has one extra phase. Data collection and publications both expand, because 10 journal articles take considerably longer than 3. In the social sciences and humanities a monograph phase is added. The OAK decision also takes longer — roughly 60 days for a PhD and 90 for a DSc.
How do I get the timeline as a Word file?
Once your plan is built, choose the Word document from the Download menu. The file follows OAK document conventions: an approval block, a general-information table, the schedule, per-phase tasks, milestones with a signature column, and the publication plan. You can print it and hand it in directly.
For master’s and independent research
A master’s dissertation is assessed by the university’s attestation commission rather than by OAK, so its plan has no avtoreferat or OAK decision phase. Independent researchers keep the PhD phases over a longer period. For work outside the OAK route there are 8 methodology templates: empirical, survey, systematic review, case study, qualitative, mixed methods, computational and design-based.