Thesis and Dissertation Preparation Workshop Scott Kirkby Associate

Thesis and Dissertation Preparation Workshop Scott Kirkby Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies kirkby@etsu. edu, 439 -8638

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

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.

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

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

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!

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

Manuscript Preparation for Electronic Submission • Follow the formatting guidelines in the Thesis and Dissertation Guide for front and end matter – http: //www. etsu. edu/gradstud/etd/guides. php • You can choose between the standard or the alternate format for your thesis/dissertation

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

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 thesis/dissertation formatting guidebook – http: //www. etsu. edu/gradstud/etd/guides. php

You can do this!

Contacts • Dr. Scott Kirkby, Associate Dean – kirkby@etsu. edu 439 -8638 • Emily Redd, Thesis/Dissertation Coordinator – etd@etsu. edu 439 -4898 • Dr. Sharon Mc. Gee, Dean – mcgees@etsu. edu • Web Sites – Graduate Studies: http: //www. etsu. edu/gradstud/ – ETD Web Site: http: //www. etsu. edu/gradstud/etd/