1. Thesis and Dissertation Preparation Workshop
Scott Kirkby
Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies

2. Program Start to Finish
Read your Graduate Catalogue
Specific process will depend on your program
Talk to your research advisor/committee chair
Talk to your graduate coordinator

3. Finding a Topic and a Committee
Brainstorm a topic
What interests you about your discipline?
Discuss the topic
Who on the faculty has similar interests? What ideas do they have for your interests? What does the scholarship say about your topic?
Select a chair
Find somebody diligent, interested, and with whom you work well
Select a Committee
Same criteria, but also discuss people with your chair and the committee members themselves
What will be expected from different members? When will they provide feedback? Hammer out now to avoid surprises later.

4. Working with a Committee
With a committee identified, work with your graduate coordinator and your graduate program specialist to fill out the necessary forms
Committee Form – formalizes your committee
Candidacy Form – notifies Graduate School of candidacy
Program of Study – presents plan of courses that will meet degree requirements
Turn in these forms by the end of your first year, keep date stamped copies
Make changes before you register for thesis/dissertation hours

5. A Prospectus
The specifics of the prospectus will depend on your discipline, talk to your thesis advisor!
Construct a document that your committee can approve (changes will be required by the committee)
Meet regularly with your committee and thesis chair to keep them posted regarding your progress, and keep you honest making progress

6. Other Approvals
Human subjects (IRB), animal care, drugs, DNA, radiation, hazardous material all require additional approvals
The IRB:
How do I know if I need IRB approval? Try
Ok, I need IRB approval. Now what? Try
Do not collect data before you have completed these steps and, if necessary, have acquired approval!!!

7. Researching and Writing
Registration
Register for thesis/dissertation hours
Continuous enrollment is required
Making Progress
Ultimately, only you can figure out what works best for you. I work on projects for pieces at a time, every day. I benefit greatly from lots of ongoing projects at once that I can chip away at daily – the one hour rule, sort of.
Others find that method of work distracting and require longer blocks of uninterrupted time. So cram all commitments into one block to free up your bigger block. Whatever works, but find what works.
Schedule appointments with your thesis.

8. Comments from a Chemist
Rhetoric
Take pride in what you write, and how you construct sentences
Aim for active voice, action verbs to enhance the eloquence and clarity of your prose
The Literature Review Section of a Thesis/Dissertation
This is a summary of the current state of the research in the topic.
Connect it to your contribution
Make this section matter, rather than just being a bit of trivia to check off as you move onto the next section
Go to the original work. Do not rely on encyclopedias, online sources of dubious quality, or textbooks

9. Writing-Problems
Fabrication, plagiarism, or other practices that deviate from those commonly accepted for proposing, conducting, or reporting research
It does not include error or honest differences in interpretations or judgment

10. Examples
Dishonest reporting of results; fabricating results; changing data; negligence in collecting data; analyzing or selective reporting; omitted conflicting data
Plagiarism-using or taking credit for the work or ideas of others without proper acknowledgement or permission (as needed)

11. Examples, cont.
Abuse of confidentiality, or the legitimate expectations of confidentiality
Misrepresentation of research, including the progress of research to your committee
Knowing inclusion of material that will mislead the readers
Violations of federal, state, or university requirements

12. Avoiding Academic Misconduct
Accurately present findings and their sources
Take good notes to document the sources of findings
Use Turnitin
Contact your major professor/research advisor and ask to be added to a class with a dropbox, then submit your thesis through the dropbox with plagiarism detection enabled.

13. Making Progress Center for Academic Achievement
First floor of the Sherrod Library
Provide assistance with style/grammar, etc.
Not an editing service
Thesis/dissertation scholarships
Can help finance the final semester of writing
Enroll in a thesis/dissertation boot camp
Dedicated time in the library, free of distractions, to work on your thesis

14. Nearing the End
File an intent to graduate form with the Graduate School
Schedule an oral defense
Submit a notification of oral examination form to the Graduate School, with copy of abstract, to schedule an outside observer
Distribute copies of thesis/dissertation to all committee members
Defend thesis (departmental specific process)
Outside observer will submit Oral defense report form
Make required changes to thesis/dissertation
Chair and committee approval is needed before submitting your thesis/dissertation to the Graduate School for review

15. Electronic Submission and Approval
Electronic Submission is Required
ETDS
Improve access
Improves visual components, tables, graphs, pictures, audio, video, etc.
Usage of video, sound bites, etc.
Take advantage of this!
Get support early!

16. Thesis/Dissertation Approval
Your manuscript represents a blending of disciplinary and graduate school formatting guidelines
The goal is to create a stable, sophisticated, comprehensive word processing file
Make sure to obtain permission for use of copyrighted material – directly copied images, tables, figures, etc. require permission
Modified materials need to be cited as adapted

17. Manuscript Preparation for Electronic Submission
Follow the formatting guidelines in the Thesis and Dissertation Guide for front and end matter
You can choose between the standard or the alternate format for your thesis/dissertation

18. Standard Format Follow the formatting guidelines of your discipline
ACS, Chicago, APA, MLA, ASA, etc.
Remember that APA now requires, if available, the unique DOI code for all electronic citations
Use another thesis/dissertation as a supplemental guide, but not a primary model
Your thesis/dissertation should be one single file with several chapters

19. Alternate Format Must be approved by your program
Beginning and ending are the same as the standard format, while middle chapters are the format of selected and accepted journals in the discipline
See discussion in the thesis/dissertation formatting guidebook

20. You can do this!

21. Contacts Dr. Scott Kirkby, Associate Dean
Emily Redd, Thesis/Dissertation Coordinator
Dr. Sharon McGee, Dean
Web Sites
Graduate Studies:
ETD Web Site: