THESIS WORKSHOP
for APA only
CSUF Department of Graduate Studies
fullerton.edu/graduate
Mrs. Debra L. Stewart
University Thesis/Dissertation Reader
MH-112; dstewart@fullerton.edu
Revised for Fall 2013
THESIS WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION
What I want YOU to know:
• What is expected of YOU.
• How/where to get assistance.
• What MY role is and is not.
THESIS WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION
Why this workshop?
Basically, to save YOU time/$.
And save MY time.
Four weeks. So little time. So many pages.
- THESIS DEADLINES FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT
Submission deadline:
four weeks before the last day of classes.
Bookstore deposit: Last day of examinations.
For Students Planning to Graduate in January 2014 (Fall 2013)
Deadline to Submit to Graduate Studies Office
Friday, November 22, 2013
Deadline to Deposit in CSUF Bookstore
Friday, December 20, 2013
For Students Planning to Graduate in August 2014 (Summer 2014):
Deadline to Submit to Graduate Studies Office
Friday, April 11, 2014
Deadline to Deposit in CSUF Bookstore
Friday, May 9, 2014
When is your thesis defense scheduled?
GET IT OVER WITH!
FEES (0-6 units)
$ 2, 310
GRAD CHECK
$
GS700 *
MOVE GRAD DATE
115
$ 335
$
10
WHAT IS A
MASTER’S THESIS?
“The master’s thesis is the culminating experience of
your graduate program, and a demonstration of your
ability to develop and present a clear and scholarly
work within your chosen field of study.
Our goal in this final editorial process is to
ensure that your thesis is a credit to this university,
and ultimately a lifelong source of pride for you.”
THUS,
A THESIS IS
THE MOST IMPORTANT
PAPER
OF
YOUR ACADEMIC LIFE
(UP TO THIS POINT)
IT MUST MEET CSU STANDARDS and be
ACADEMICALLY PERFECT*
A THESIS IS 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.
9
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)
10
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.
11
THESIS REQUIREMENTS
HOW do I know what they are?
WHERE do I find them?
WHAT do I do with them?
REQUIREMENTS
CSUF THESIS INFORMATION
&
MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES
http://fullerton.edu/graduate/
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
Margins
Spacing
Page numbering
Headings/Subheadings
Figures and Tables
Approval info
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Paper
Order of parts
Front matter
Back matter
Cautions
TEMPLATES
Dates
FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS
Use the materials
A perfectly formatted thesis
can be turned in without ever
consulting me by using the
Thesis Template and Manual.
ORDER OF PARTS
TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
• ABSTRACT
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• LIST OF FIGURES
• LIST OF TABLES
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FRONT MATTER
Chapters (main body)
• APPENDIX OR APPENDICES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY OR REFERENCES
BACK
MATTER
Title/Signature Page
• MOST problematic.
• Must be 100% PERFECT.
• The RIGHT paper.
• The RIGHT spacing.
• The RIGHT spelling.
• ALL faculty signatures.
• Horror stories....
THE
TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
IS the most STRICT FORM.
IT HAS TO BE PERFECT
THE FIRST TIME. NO EXCEPTIONS!
CORRECT PAPER STOCK
FOR THE FINAL COPY (and Title/Signature pages)
AVERAGE THESIS
LONG THESIS
Use a basic 20-pound, 25% cotton
paper, or your thesis will be large
and unwieldy and result in
additional fees for binding.
Must be printed by laser printer
on white, 8 ½ by 11, 20- to 24pound weight, and 25% to 100%
cotton rag paper.
Abstract
• Top margin of 2”.
• 250 words (best).
• Include “keywords.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS TEMPLATE
STYLE ISSUES
STYLE GUIDELINES are found in
APA MANUAL
mostly correct, but there are problems: see
http://blog.apastyle.org/
STYLE?
Why? A way to communicate scientifically.
What? A simple set of codified procedures for
social sciences.
How come? So readers can cull articles quickly
for key points and findings.
WHY USE THE APA STYLE GUIDE?
IT INCLUDES LITTLE PICKY 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?
26
• Landscape orientation: Where does the page
number go? (In portrait orientation, like others;
but it requires a specific Word technique that’s icky.)
• “Commas and periods,” go inside the quotation
marks.
• Single quotes “stay ‘inside’ quotations.”
• Serial commas: X, Y, and Z.
• Dashes come-in—different sizes. Why?
27
WHY “STYLE”?
Test: Which is correct?
a) It’s a “convention.”
b) It is a “convention”.
c) It is a “convention.”
So many items to checks….
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 Citation Issues
Coordinate closely between the text citations
and the citation in the reference list.
TEXT
REFERENCE LIST
Cox (2000) reported on the ways to
construct a questionnaire.
Cox, K.B. (2000)….
The National Endowment for the Fine
Arts (2000) recommends that……..
NEFA (2000)….
WRONG
The National Endowment for the Fine
Arts (2000) recommends that……..
National Endowment for the Fine Arts
(2000)….
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.
APA Reference Issues
Journals; are different than
Books; which are different than
Book chapters; which are way different than
Multivolume works; which require Vol. X, and
Edited works; that are slightly more tricky, and
Conference reports; which are quite complicated.
Websites are the easiest, and then
Misc., which are all the rest. Every type has a style.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Remember I’m trying to help you!
YOUR REFERENCE
SECTION
IS A STRICT FORM
(and usually the most difficult).
IT HAS TO BE CONSISTENT.
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.
References to journal articles include
the volume, issue, and page numbers.
Rada, R. D. (1984, Spring-Winter). Community
dissatisfaction and school governance.
Planning & Change, 14(4), 234-247.
Author initials take a space between them.
Names of journals are capitalized.
Seven or more authors take an ellipsis within the grouping.
Top APA Issues in a Thesis
(other than the title/signature page)
LISTS
• List decisions
– indent them to .5 (or where a paragraph starts).
– determine your purpose
• List purposes
– chronological, ordered, procedural, or of relative
importance to each other?
– Bullets, letters, or numbers serve different purposes.
– Use the same bullet image for all bulleted lists.
BLOCK QUOTES
According to Cox (2000), “there are three ways to structure the introduction to a
.
questionnaire” (p. 3)
NOTE: 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.
Benson, Harkavy and Puckett (2000) based their support for university-community partnerships on a Dewy-inspired focus on
implementation as a primary task of scholarship. The very common concern about the divide between research and application is
sustained by the false assumption that theory is “superior” and application is “inferior.” They call this a false Platonic dualism
arguing that:
Fulfilling the democratic promise of American society for all Americans in the new millennium requires that scholars and
practitioners work hard to exorcise the “living ghost” of Plato form the body of the American higher education system. Quite
simply, to improve the state of American society…requires significant, serious, sustained, and mutually respectful
collaboration between academics and practitioners. (p. 24)
NUMBERS
Numbers at the beginning of sentences are
spelled out.
• This is wrong:
36% of the respondents indicated that. . . .
• This is right:
Thirty-six percent of the respondents indicated..
APA HEADINGS
CHAPTER THREE
THIS IS THE CHAPTER TITLE
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 APA-style headings that
go with each section. Text and tables are double-spaced throughout the entire
thesis. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs. APA has a very clean
format.
CMA/TURABIAN 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.
CMA/TURABIAN 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.
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. 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.
Weird things happen/pop up/materialize! Be vigilant!
KEY TERMS and ITALICS
Use italics for:
• Titles of books, periodicals, films, etc.
• The first mention of a new or key term. Subsequent
mentions do not take italics.
• Anchors of a scale (health ratings ranged from 1
(poor) to 5 (excellent).
• More (pp. 104-106).
Do not use italics for:
• Emphasis (in general, use syntax instead).
• Common foreign phrases or abbreviations (i.e., e.g.,
i.e., a priori, per se, etc.)
Content and Style
• TABLES:
– What do they look like?
– How are they spaced?
– What about “runover” lines?
– Can I add notes?
– What is a stub column? Spanner?
• FIGURES: Where are they placed on a page?
46
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.
• The note section has particularities.
47
TURABIAN TABLES
Table 1. Smoking Among American Adults, By Age
Age
Smoke
N
Don’t Smoke
(%)
(%)
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
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note. Turabian tables are similar to APA except for the
titles and note sections. Source: Adapted from Kate L.
Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations, 2005.
48
FIGURES
APA
TURABIAN
Figure X. Illustration of Thesis Writing.
Figure X. Illustration of Thesis Writing.
• Italics for figure number? No italics?
• Title ALWAYS below graphic.
• No matter what style, PLACE IT FLUSH LEFT!!!
49
HOW DO I LEARN ALL THIS?
(
Pssst: STUDY THE THESIS MANUAL!
FINAL TIPS
BEFORE YOUR DEFENSE
About a month before your defense, SEND ME
A SAMPLE of your work for a quick diagnosis:
• A DRAFT OF YOUR TITLE/SIGNATURE PAGE
• (I can check your margins, paper, font, spacing, spelling)
• YOUR FRONT MATTER (preliminary pages)
• A SAMPLE CHAPTER
• YOUR REFERENCES
BEFORE YOUR DEFENSE
PROOF-READ
53
AFTER DEFENSE SIGNATURES
Read “final procedures” in TM, then:
• Go to MH-112, Grad Studies Office
–Bring one signed TITLE/SIGNATURE
PAGE on “thesis” fancy paper
–Bring THESIS (on cheapo paper)
–Fill out “Thesis Approval Form.”
• 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,
really proofread!
 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.
56
Download the
THESIS PRE-SUBMISSION
CHECKLIST
from the website.
http://www.fullerton.edu/graduate/currentstudents/files/thesis/4-12PreSubmissionThesisCheckLis.pdf
57
AFTER YOUR BEST EFFORTS,
submit it to the Graduate Office
PROOF-READ
58
4. THE THESIS READER
Who am I?
I READ your thesis, highlight format errors, and
VERIFY, and APPROVE IT.
I CHECK YOUR WORK
I AM Not YORE PRUF REEDER.
Yet, I will send back your thesis if it has more
than five mistakes on a single page
.
60
I READ IT ALL
TRANSCRIPT FROM A REAL CONVERSATION
“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.”
61
WHAT I DO
Content: Look for glaring grammatical errors.
Style: Do you follow your style consistently?
Format: Margins, headings, spacing perfect?
***
IF I FIND MISTAKES, I SEND IT BACK.
62
THE THESIS READER
When do first you contact
me?
Weeks before the deadline.
MY OFFICE HOURS
I do not have any set
OFFICE HOURS
AFTER the deadline.
BEFORE the deadline, yes!
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, but I can’t stop
myself from noticing oddities).
***
GENERAL ERRORS? I SEND IT BACK.
YOU MAY NOT GRADUATE WHEN YOU WANT.
65
THEN WHAT
I read in chronological order. 75+Dissertations….
First in; first back. Last in; last back.
I email my comments to you.
You revise . . . until requirements met.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL NEVER END.
It will. But only after:
 perseverance, dedication,
 late nights, strained relationships,
 endless revisions,
 countless library 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
(fill in the blank):
academically scintillating, boring,
challenging, bewildering, relaxing,
stressful, social, or lonely
AND YOU PRINT iT AND IT’S OVER!
70
AND, IT STILL PAYS OFF!
The End
fullerton.edu/graduate