Master s Thesis/ PhD Dissertation Preparation Booklet

Transcription

1 Master s Thesis/ PhD Dissertation Preparation Booklet For Students in the Masters/PhD Programs The Graduate School and the University Libraries, Augusta University

2 Table of Contents FOREWARD... 3 CONTACTS FOR HELP... 3 THESIS/DISSERTATION DEFENSE CHECKLIST... 3 PREPARATION OF THESIS/DISSERTATION... 5 GENERAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS... 5 PREPARATION OF ABSTRACT... 7 FIGURES... 7 TABLES... 8 STRUCTURE OF STANDARD THESIS/DISSERTATION... 8 ALTERNATIVE THESIS AND DISSERTATION STRUCTURE OF ALTERNATIVE THESIS/DISSERTATION... 11

3 FOREWARD This official brochure has been prepared as an aid to students and faculty in understanding the policies and procedures of the Graduate School regarding the preparation of the thesis/dissertation and events leading up to the Final Oral Examination (thesis/dissertation defense). CONTACTS FOR HELP Office of the Dean, the Graduate School CJ 2201 Ms. Marvis Baynham, Office Manager (706) Dean, the Graduate School CJ 2201, (706) Ms. Kim Mears, Scholarly Communications Librarian AB 202, (706) THESIS/DISSERTATION DEFENSE CHECKLIST The following list summarizes the steps needed before for the final examination can occur: Attend an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Boot Camp (held at the beginning of every semester). Distance students should contact the Scholarly Communications Librarian at Greenblatt Library: Ms. Kim Mears, AB 202, (706) Submit Application for Graduation if you have not already done so. Weeks before Defense 7 Schedule defense date, time, and room location (will not be scheduled 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after graduation) 7 Send for selection of Reader/s (PhD only) to Office of the Dean for approval. Readers are external examiners who become members of the advisory committee for the Final Oral Examination and participate in questioning and vote. Corrected copies of the dissertation are to be distributed to the readers after approval by the Advisory Committee. 5 Distribute thesis/dissertation draft to Advisory Committee for approval following approval by the candidate s major advisor. 2 Submit Faculty Agreement for Final Oral Exam Form to Office of the Dean 2 Submit Thesis/Dissertation Approval Form with an electronic copy to the Office of the Dean 2 Submit electronic copy of the Defense Announcement to the Office of the Dean

4 After your defense and distribute to appropriate students/faculty Submit electronic version of your final dissertation to Marvis Baynham, Office Manager at the Graduate School, Submit signed Electronic and Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Submission for Publication Approval Form to the Graduate School No later than one week before graduation, submit dissertation/thesis electronically to the library. Contact Kim Mears, Scholarly Communications Librarian for questions at (706) or The library will hold your ETD for 2 weeks to allow time for review by your mentor/advisor. Complete and submit dissertation to ProQuest at Complete Graduate Questionnaire Complete and submit Survey of Earned Doctorates online at

5 PREPARATION OF THESIS/DISSERTATION In the preparation of a thesis/dissertation, the student must realize that neatness and correctness in form, as well as accuracy and soundness of research, are all important. This brief guide is intended to assist the student in the preparation of an acceptable manuscript. To assist students in formatting their thesis/dissertation, a Microsoft Office Word template has been created that all students MUST use to write their thesis/dissertation. The template can be found at Use of the template will be covered in the mandatory Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Boot Camp held by the University Libraries each semester. For assistance with the template, please contact the Scholarly Communications Librarian at the Greenblatt Library at Because many questions relating to form and style are not addressed in this guide, it must be supplemented by one of the published writers manuals* or by the editorial policy of a national journal in the student s major field. American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th Ed.). Washington: American Psychological Association.* *The use of other style manuals may be permitted upon approval of the Dean prior to beginning to write the thesis/dissertation. In no instance should another thesis/dissertation be used as a guide for the style and format of a manuscript. It is the responsibility of the Major Advisor to see that the student adheres to these policies. GENERAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS 1. Unusual fonts of smaller of larger spacing are not acceptable. The default font should be Times New Roman 12-point font. For any printed copies, the printing must be letter-quality or laser print. Figures and legends should be in 10-point font. 2. The Title page and Approval Page must conform to the style of the template pages. 3. Margins on all copies must be uniform. The first page of each chapter, Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Tables, Acknowledgement, Approval Page and, Abstract must have margins of: 2 inches at the top 1 ½ inches at the left 1 inch at the right and bottom

6 The ETD template has set margins that confirm to these guidelines. 4. All other pages, including the second page of a chapter, must have margins of: 1 inch at the top 1 ½ inches at the left 1 inch at the right and bottom 5. Forms, tables, questionnaires, etc., used in the preparation of the thesis/dissertation and included in the manuscript, must be designed to comply with the margin guidelines. 6. Landscape pages must be positioned with the heading at the binding edge. 7. All numbered pages must have page numbers at the bottom center of the page. 8. The Title page must be followed by the Approval page, neither of which bear a number. 9. Pages of the Appendices must continue the numbering of the text. 10. The thesis/dissertation must be ordered and the pages numbered as follows: - Title Page (not numbered) - Approval Page (not numbered) - Acknowledgements (not numbered) - Abstract (not numbered) - Table of Contents - List of Tables - List of Figures - Chapters - Summary - References - Appendixes (Optional) The ETD template follows this order of pages. 11. References and footnotes must follow APA format. 12. References and appendices should be placed according to the order

7 designated in the template. PREPARATION OF ABSTRACT 1. The abstract must not exceed 350 words. It must consist of the briefest possible summary of the thesis/dissertation and the conclusions reached. Opinion will be omitted. 2. The word Abstract will appear at the top of the page. 3. The title must follow the template and will appear in uppercase letters: - typed single spaced - flush with 1 ½ left margin - placed 1 from the top of page - full name of the student typed in UPPERCASE - title typed in upper and lower case - name of Major Advisor in UPPERCASE - triple-spaced between title and first line of text 4. The body of the abstract must be double-spaced, continue with margins as above, with 1 bottom margin. 5. Indentation of paragraphs must be the same used in the text. 6. The student should select several key words derived from the title and subject heads and additional descriptive words that will be of value to information retrieval services. The words must be listed 3 lines below the body of the abstract, flush with the 1 ½ left margin (example below). KEY WORDS: Calcium, EDTA, Ultraviolet Light. KEY WORDS: Parent-Child, Child Abuse. 7. Do NOT number the abstract page. FIGURES Figures in a thesis/dissertation should be numbered from first to last, consecutively, using Arabic numerals. Figures should be placed as close to the first mention of the figure as possible and NOT grouped at the ends of sections, chapters, or the document. A legend should be placed in a text box and grouped with the figure. Legends should be concise, yet clearly explain

8 the figure. Subdivided figures should use capital letters with no punctuation. TABLES Tables provide the most effective means for organizing extensive numerical data. Data shown in one form should not be duplicated in another form. For example, data given in a table should not also be shown in a graph. A table should be self-explanatory. Tables are numbered consecutively using Roman numerals and placed appropriately in the text. Each table should have an appropriate descriptive heading and when appropriate, also have a legend. Table placement and legend should follow the format for figures. STRUCTURE OF STANDARD THESIS/DISSERTATION All new sections begin on a new page with headings having a two-inch top margin. TITLE PAGE APPROVAL PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES I. INTRODUCTION A. Statement of the Problem B. Review of Related Literature

9 II. MATERIALS AND METHODS III. RESULTS May be a variety depending on procedures employed. May be descriptive and tabular presentations. IV. DISCUSSION Discussion of findings with regard to how the data fit with current knowledge and how they enhance the field of study; previous studies; and new contributions. May be done under sub-headings. V. SUMMARY A series of concise remarks summarizing experimental findings and conclusions. VI. REFERENCES OF LITERATURE CITED All literature cited in the dissertation will be included here. Style should conform to selected style manual. APPENDIX Not absolutely required. To include protocol of experiments, figures not included in text, forms. etc

10 ALTERNATIVE THESIS AND DISSERTATION The alternative format for the body of the doctoral dissertation can only be used if the candidate has at least 1 published or accepted first-authored manuscript that will be included in the dissertation. The following additional conditions must be met for the candidate to use the alternative format: a) The candidate, major advisor, advisory committee, Program Director, and The Graduate School must all agree that the alternative structure is appropriate for the candidate. b) The candidate must be first author on all manuscripts bundled into the dissertation. Additional manuscripts that have been submitted for publication and are under review at the time the dissertation is submitted may be included in the manuscript format as an Unpublished Research chapter. Manuscripts that have been rejected or that have not been submitted (in preparation) cannot be included in the journal format (i.e. must conform to the traditional dissertation format). For manuscripts that have been submitted and are under review, the first authorship of the candidate must be maintained when the manuscript is published, even if it is published in a different journal than the one reviewing it at the time of dissertation preparation. Any manuscript included in the Unpublished Research chapter does not count towards the minimum 1 paper requirement for an Alternative format thesis. c) The candidate should be aware that s/he may be required to waive copyright claims, if these rights are held by the particular publishers of the manuscripts. This is discussed in the Dissertation Preparation workshops offered by the Graduate School and the University Libraries. d) The number of manuscripts included in the dissertation is not fixed (although it must at be at least 1), but the candidate s advisory committee will maintain responsibility for determining when sufficient work has been accomplished. e) Should additional authors (other than the candidate and advisor) be listed on one or more of the dissertation manuscripts, the candidate must provide a detailed summary of the work performed by these other authors. This summary may be provided in the Acknowledgments section of the dissertation. Furthermore, a statement must be provided in the dissertation in which the additional authors agree (by their signatures) with the candidate s assessment of their contribution to the manuscripts. If an additional author is another graduate student, that individual must be apprised that such work may not be employed again in another dissertation. f) The structure described herein must not be modified; the dissertation must adhere to the approved alternative format.

11 g) It is recognized by the candidate and the committee that a comprehensive Introduction and Discussion that ties together all of the work presented in the dissertation must be included in an Alternative format dissertation. All margins, font, and other formatting requirements of the standard dissertation structure apply to the alternative dissertation structure. The Title page, Table of Contents, and all other sections preceding the Introduction should conform to the standard dissertation requirements. STRUCTURE OF ALTERNATIVE THESIS/DISSERTATION TITLE PAGE APPROVAL PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES I. INTRODUCTION A. Statement of the problem and specific aims of the overall project. B. Literature review and discussion of the rationale project. It is expected that the literature review will be more comprehensive than those presented in included publications. A. First published manuscript II. PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS

12 B. Second published manuscript C. Third published manuscript III. UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH This can include manuscripts, in the journal format, that have been submitted for publication that are under review at the time of dissertation submission. Manuscripts that have been rejected or that have not been submitted (in preparation) cannot be included in the journal format (i.e. must conform to the traditional dissertation format). IV. DISCUSSION A comprehensive discussion that integrates the findings of all research presented in the dissertation and identifies how the goals or specific aims of the project were attained and how the research has answered the hypotheses put forth in the dissertation. V. SUMMARY A series of concise remarks summarizing experimental findings and conclusions. VI. LITERATURE CITED All literature cited in the dissertation will be included here. Style should conform to selected style manual. References included in manuscripts must be renumbered and reformatted (if needed) and included in this section. Literature Cited sections within the manuscripts should be omitted. APPENDIX Not absolutely required. To include protocol of experiments, figures, not included in text, forms, etc.