THESIS WORKSHOP
Sponsored by the
CSUF Department of Graduate Studies
Debra Stewart
University Thesis/Dissertation Reader
MH-112; dstewart@fullerton.edu
August 2014
THESIS WORKSHOP
1. INTRODUCTION:
Why this workshop? (What is expected of you/why
you should come.)
2. REQUIREMENTS: How do you meet them?
(How/where to get assistance.)
3. THESIS READER and YOU: What do I do?
(What my role is and isn’t.)
PSST! 4 Most Important Things!
1. Print out the Thesis Manual for yourself.
2. SAVE after you download the thesis template as
a Word file. Name, date (i.e., Stewart thesis draft
8.12.14).
3. Style is a big deal. Know your
citation/reference style (APA, Chicago, JAMA, MLA,
ACS, AAA, etc. Print it. Own it.
4. Trial run. Send me a first draft in the template,
no matter how awful. Include title page, front matter, a
few references. Even if it is a semester early.
THESIS WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION
Why this workshop?
Basically, to save YOU time/$.
And save MY time.
Four weeks. So little time. So many pages.
MY OFFICE HOURS
I do not have set
Office Hours AFTER the
deadline.
BEFORE the deadline, sort of.
All year: contact learningspecialists@fullerton.edu
- THESIS “DEADLINES” FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT
Submission deadline. Four weeks before due date for all
coursework.
Bookstore deposit: Due date for all coursework.
For Students Planning to Graduate in December (Winter 2015):
Deadline to Submit to Graduate Studies Office Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014
Deadline to Deposit in CSUF Bookstore
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014
For Students Planning to Graduate in May (Spring 2015)
Deadline to Submit to Graduate Studies Office Friday, April 24, 2015
Deadline to Deposit in CSUF Bookstore
Friday, May 22, 2015
Schedule your thesis defense before the submission date!
GET IT OVER WITH!
FEES (0-6 units)
$ 2, 312
GRAD CHECK
$
GS700 *
MOVE GRAD DATE
115
$ 350
$
10
REQUIREMENTS
CSUF Thesis Information &
Manuscript Guidelines
are retrieved from
http://fullerton.edu/graduate/
Look under “Theses and Dissertations”
WHAT IS A MASTER’S THESIS?
From the Thesis Manual:
• The culminating experience of your graduate
program.
• A demonstration of your ability to develop and
present a clear and scholarly work within your chosen
field of study.
Reviewer role: Ensure that each thesis is a credit to
this university and its author.
Thesis “Order of Operations”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Draft refined into separate chapters.
Chapters given titles and headings.
Tables and figures created and inserted.
Citations checked.
References/bibliography completed.
Appendices added.
*****
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Manuscript pasted into the thesis template.
Front matter entered; page numbers added.
File ready for thesis reader preliminary check.
Draft refined/proofed for defense.
Manuscript approved/signed by thesis committee.
Manuscript printed out for thesis submission.
A THESIS HAS A “FIXED FORM”
It is not a journal article.
It is not a research paper.
It is not a grant.
It exists for one purpose only:
TO FULFILL CSUF GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.
12
A THESIS IS
THE MOST IMPORTANT
PAPER
OF
YOUR ACADEMIC LIFE
(UP TO THIS POINT)
IT MUST MEET CSU STANDARDS and be
ACADEMICALLY PERFECT*
FORMAT: Why the big deal?
This is a unique “book.”
It has publishing guidelines set by
1.
2.
3.
UMI/Proquest (microfilm restrictions)
California State University (policies)
CSUF (binding, margins, page numbering,
figures/tables; campus uniformity)
4.
Departmental choices (i.e.,
documentation sourcing, footnotes, headings)
14
REQUIREMENTS
15
THESIS REQUIREMENTS
HOW do I know what they are?
WHERE do I find them?
WHAT do I do with them?
FORMAT: How a thesis looks
Follow the:
THESIS MANUAL for format
fullerton.edu/graduate
FORMAT: The way in which something is
arranged or set out.
17
THE THESIS MANUAL (TM)
•
19 pages.
• Download. Print. Refer to it.
• Answers (ALMOST) ALL F.A.Qs.
http://fullerton.edu/graduate/
Thesis Manual: What’s in it?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Font (TNR, Arial, Tahoma)
Margins (1.5, 1, 1, 1)
Spacing (double w/exceptions)
Page numbering
Headings/Subheadings
Figures and Tables
Approval/Review info
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Paper stock
Order of “parts”
Front matter
Back matter
Cautions
TEMPLATES
Dates
FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS
Use the online materials
*****
A perfectly formatted thesis
can be written
without any editorial changes
IF a student uses the
Thesis Template and Manual
correctly.
ORDER OF THESIS PARTS
FRONT MATTER
(page numbers: Roman numerals, lower casing, bottom center)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTERS (Main Body)
(page numbers: Arabic numbers, top right corner)
BACK MATTER
HOW TO USE THE TEMPLATE
1.
2.
3.
4.
Download the template.
Save the template to a file.
Entitle with date.
Enter in your information
as much as possible.
5. Demo by reviewer.
Title/Signature Page
• MOST problematic of all.
• Must be 100% PERFECT!
• RIGHT paper stock
• RIGHT spacing.
• RIGHT spelling.
• All faculty “wet” signatures
black ink.
• Horror stories....
THE
“TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE”
HAS the most STRICT FORM.
IT HAS TO BE
PERFECT THE FIRST TIME.
NO EXCEPTIONS!
Abstract
• Top margin of 2”.
• 250 words (best).
• No outlines or headings.
• Include keywords
somewhere, so that your
abstract can be easily
searched on a database.
TABLE OF CONTENTS TEMPLATE
“dot leaders”
“page column”
““alignment”
WHICH ONE IS YOURS?
OTHER
STYLE FORMATS CAN DIFFER
Lots.
Google them.
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/contents.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19/
28
STYLE IS A BIG DEAL
• Headings. Underline or bold?
• Tables and Figures. Italicize or not?
• Citations and References. ???
• Spacing.
29
STYLE INCLUDES . . . LITTLE THINGS
• ORDINALS: Is it first, 1st, or 1st place?
• ELLIPSIS: Those funny dots . . . are like that,
not…this or … that. A period adds a fourth
dot. . . . That is, if it’s in between sentences.
• NUMBERS: fifteen or 15? Two hundred or 300?
• BLOCK QUOTES: Double or single space?
30
• Landscape orientation: Where does the page
number go? (in portrait orientation, like others)
• “Commas and periods,” go inside the quotation
marks.
• Single quotes “stay ‘inside’ quotations.”
• Serial commas: X, Y, and Z. (Not x, y and z.)
• Dashes come-in—different sizes. Why?
31
WHY “STYLE”?
Test: Which is correct?
a) It’s a “convention.”
b) It is a “convention”.
c) It is a “convention.”
Long
Quotes:
in APA
BLOCK
QUOTES
According to Cox (2000), “there are three ways to structure the introduction to a
questionnaire” (p. 3).
At the end of a block quote of 40+ words, the period goes at the end
of the last word in the quote and then the citation is given. Block
quotes are double spaced and indented ½ inch from the left margin.
OR
Set off five or more lines as an indented block, without quotation
marks. Block quotes are single spaced and indented ½ inch from the
left margin. The period goes after the citation page number is given,
unless the source is cited in the introductory sentence introducing the
quote. (p. 298)
STYLE includes References
• A very strict formal section.
• Includes capitalization, initials,
punctuation, spacing, etc. (Lots of etc.)
• Most citations must be “converted” into
your “style.”
• Proofing is time-consuming. Very.
34
Which is the correct
“REFERENCE STYLE” for APA?
Fisher, C. (2003). Decoding the ethics code.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fisher, Celia. Decoding the Ethics Code.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003.
Fisher, C.J. Decoding the Ethics Code.
Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
APA Citation Issues
Parenthetical format, first citation in text:
(Cherry, 2007)
(Cherry & Chang, 2004)
(Cherry, Chang, & Jones, 2011)
(Cherry, Chang, Jones, & Shimizu, 2012)
(Cherry, Chang, Jones, Shimizu, & Rutledge, 2013)
(Cherry et al., 2006)
Etc. Etc. Etc.
APA: More than one author
When you list more than one source within a
text citation:
• Alphabetize the list by author.
(Adler, 2003; Guillaume & Yopp, 2001;
Randall, Ames, & Smith, 2010)
• Place a semi-colon between research groups.
ETC., ETC., ETC.:
READ/UNDERSTAND YOUR
STYLE MANUALS
APA HEADINGS
CHAPTER THREE
double space
THIS IS THE CHAPTER TITLE
double space
This is a Level 1 APA Heading
This is how the first page of your thesis will look, using a chapter name
and number (in Arabic numbers or spelled out).
This is a Level 2 APA Heading
At least two headings. that go with each section. Text and tables are
double-spaced throughout the entire thesis.
Non-APA HEADINGS
CHAPTER THREE
x
THIS IS THE CHAPTER TITLE
x
x
This is a Primary Heading
This is how the first page of your thesis will look, using a chapter
name and number (in Arabic numbers or spelled out) and Turabian-style
headings that go with each section. After each chapter title or section title
(i.e., Abstract) text begins on the third single space from the title.
APA SUBHEADINGS
This is a Level 2 Heading This represents a sub-section of the primary heading.
All headings should be worded in the Table of Contents exactly as they are in
the text. The text starts in the line one double space below the secondary
heading and is indented. It is not underlined; it is bolded.
This is a Level 3 Heading. This level of sub-heading is a sub-section of a
secondary heading, but the tertiary heading does not need to be included in
the TOC. Both secondary and tertiary sub-headings are subparts of the primary
heading, just like in an outline. A tertiary heading does not go in the Table of
Contents. It is not underlined; it is bolded.
NON-APA SUBHEADINGS
This is a Secondary Heading or a Sub-Heading
This represents a sub-section of the primary heading. All headings should be worded in
the Table of Contents exactly as they are in the text. The text starts in the line one double
space below the secondary heading and is indented .5 inches. Notice that it is underlined.
This is a Tertiary Heading. This level of sub-heading is a sub-section of a secondary
heading, but the Tertiary heading does not need to be included in the TOC. Both secondary
and tertiary sub-headings are subparts of the primary heading, just like in an outline. It does
not go in the Table of Contents.
Content and Style
• TABLES: Titles above table
– What do they look like? (Answer: consistent!)
– How are they spaced? (Answer: consistent!)
– “Runover” lines are indent three spaces
– Notes are added under the table.
– Terms: stub column, data head, spanner.
• FIGURES: Title below figure
44
FIGURES
APA
TURABIAN
Figure X. Illustration of thesis writing.
Figure X. Illustration of thesis writing.
• Italics? No italics?
• Title ALWAYS below graphic.
• No matter what style, PLACE IT FLUSH LEFT!!!
45
APA TABLES
The APA manual has mistakes!
General rules:
• BE CONSISTENT!
• Stub column is flush left.
• Data cells are centered to decimal
point.
• Totals are indented by three spaces.
• For subordination within a stub, indent
for clarity.
• For runover lines, indent OR double
space between entries.
46
Non-APA TABLES
Table 1. Smoking Among American Adults, By Age
____________________________________________
Smoke Don’t Smoke
Age
N
(%)
(%)
18-32
33-47
48-62
63+
Total
1,722
2,012
1,928
646
7,308
30.6
37.1
35.2
30.5
69.4
62.9
64.8
69.5
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Source: Adapted from Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for
Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 2005.
47
MARGINS, SPACING:
LEFT JUSTIFICATION AND DOUBLE-SPACING
This is a Secondary Heading or a Sub-Heading
This represents a sub-section of the primary heading. All headings should be worded in the Table of
Contents exactly as they are in the text. The text starts in the line one double space below the secondary heading
and is indented. APA headings are formatted much differently than Turabian headings.
This is a Tertiary Heading. This level of sub-heading is a sub-section of a secondary heading, but the
tertiary heading does not need to be included in the TOC. Both secondary and tertiary sub-headings are subparts
of the primary heading, just like in an outline. A tertiary heading does not go in the Table of Contents.
NO extra space between paragraphs.
NO full justification.
MARGINS, SPACING:
LEFT JUSTIFICATION AND DOUBLE-SPACING
This is a Secondary Heading or a Sub-Heading
This represents a sub-section of the primary heading. All headings should be worded in the Table of Contents
exactly as they are in the text. The text starts in the line one double space below the secondary heading and is indented. APA
headings are formatted much differently than Turabian headings.
This is a Tertiary Heading. This level of sub-heading is a sub-section of a secondary heading, but the tertiary
heading does not need to be included in the TOC. Both secondary and tertiary sub-headings are subparts of the
primary heading, just like in an outline. A tertiary heading does not go in the Table of Contents.
This is correct.
HOW DO I LEARN ALL THIS?
(
Pssst: OPEN THE THESIS MANUAL!
CONTENT, STYLE, FORMAT
51
BEFORE YOUR DEFENSE
SEND ME A SAMPLE of your work EARLY in the
semester you plan on graduating:
• A DRAFT OF YOUR TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
• (I can check your margins, paper, font, spacing)
• YOUR FRONT MATTER (PRELIMINARY PAGES)
• A SAMPLE CHAPTER
• YOUR REFERENCES
BEFORE Thesis Submission
PROOF-READ
53
CORRECT PAPER STOCK
“Fancy Paper” FOR THE FINAL COPY (and Title/Signature pages)
THESIS PAPER & PRINTING
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Buy a box—do not borrow from friend or faculty!
White, 8½ by 11, 20- to 24-pound weight.
25 or 100% cotton rag paper; acid-free.
Has a watermark.
Southworth 25% is recommended.
Highly recommend buying at Titan Bookstore
Print on a good printer.
Consistent black ink.
Printing it out on The Fancy Paper
1. Can be problematic, so watch carefully for printing
malfunctions. (I do.)
2. Buy the paper box. Do NOT borrow from a friend or
faculty (because you may not be able to match it when
do the final printing).
3. Before you print out anything, be sure I’ve given you an
online approval.
4. Print from “final” version in “track changes” box.
5. If printing from a PDF, click the “actual size” box.
6. If printing from Word, be sure the margins are correct in
your version.
55
AFTER DEFENSE SIGNATURES
• You go to MH-112, Grad Studies Office
– Bring one signed TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
on “thesis” fancy paper.
– Bring THESIS (on cheapo paper).
– Complete “Thesis Approval Form” (online).
– *Send me your file IF you want easy edits
or remote correspondence.
• Wait for me to contact you.
The grad office
receptionist will
check for paper,
signatures, style.
If incorrect, she
will give it right
back to you,
even if it is the
deadline date.
BEFORE thesis submission
 CONTENT: NO spelling or grammatical
errors. Set F7. PROOFREAD!
 STYLE: FULL citation source and reference
agreement. PROOFREAD!
 FORMAT: REGULATION Headings,
margins,
PROOF-READ
spacing, order. PROOFREAD!
 PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD.
58
Download and review the
THESIS SUBMISSION
CHECKLIST
from the website.
59
AFTER YOUR BEST EFFORTS
PROOF-READ
60
4. THE THESIS READER
Who am I?
I READ your thesis, highlight format errors, and
VERIFY, and APPROVE IT.
I REVIEW YOUR WORK
for adherence to the thesis manual
I AM Not YORE PRUF REEDER.
I will send back your thesis.
62
I READ IT ALL
“You read every single word”?
“Yes.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m serious. I do. ”
“Really?”
“Yes. I really do.“
“I don’t believe you.”
63
WHAT I DO
Content: Look for glaring grammatical errors.
Style: Do you follow your style consistently?
Format: Margins, headings, spacing perfect?
***
There will always be errors….
HOWEVER, IF I FIND “TOO MANY” ERRORS,
I SEND IT BACK TO YOU, “refer to thesis manual.”
64
THE THESIS READER
When do first you contact me?
The semester of the deadline.
For most thesis-related questions, your
thesis committee chair can answer.
WHAT I DO NOT DO
I DO NOT answer every question.
I DO NOT reply to questions found in
the Thesis Manual.
I DO NOT proofread (very much).
***
GENERAL ERRORS? I SEND IT BACK.
YOU MAY NOT GRADUATE WHEN YOU WANT.
66
THEN WHAT
• I read in order of submission . 75+.
– First in; first back. Last in; last back.
– Can take a week.
• I email my comments/list to you.
• You revise . . . until all requirements met.
*****
Tip: About vacations….
• Do not leave on “vacation” until my first review comments.
• Submit your thesis at least one week early: Early manuscripts
usually have a turnaround of three days.
IT. SEEMS. LIKE. IT. WILL. NEVER END.
A Master’s Thesis Requires:
 perseverance, dedication,
 late nights, strained relationships,
 endless revisions,
 countless library and internet research hours,
 computer hardware and software problems,
 and ALL manner of stresses!
YOU.WILL.WANT.TO.GIVE.UP, or PANIC.AND.FREAK.OUT.
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.
AND….
(fill in the blank):
academically scintillating, boring,
challenging, bewildering, relaxing,
stressful, social, or lonely
IT ‘S OVER!
71
AND, IT STILL PAYS OFF!
PSST! 4 Most Important Things!
1. Print out the Thesis Manual for yourself.
2. Download and SAVE the thesis template
Lastname, date (i.e., Stewart draft 8.12.14). Tonight.
3. Style is a big deal. Know your citation/reference
style (APA, Chicago, JAMA, MLA, ACS, AAA, etc. Print it.
Own it.
4. Trial run. Send me a first draft in the template, no
matter how awful. Include title page, front matter, a few
references. Even if it is a semester early.
The End
Thank you for attending.
Please fill out the evaluation form.
An outline is available on the grad studies website.
PPT slide PDF is available on the grad studies website.
The Thesis Manual is available on the grad studies website.