For some graduate students, formatting their thesis or dissertation is stressful and can be problematic to get right the first time. Graduate students looking for tips formatting their thesis or dissertation are invited to attend the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines and Review Sessions.
The lecture will be presented by Dayne Sherman, the Coordinator of User Education, Professor of Library Science and Southeastern Faculty Senate President and held in Sims Memorial Library Room 474 on Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 12 from 5 to 6 p.m.
This presentation is intended for all graduate students looking for tips on how to have their writings approved in Proquest, the electronic publication of theses and dissertations on the library database.
According to reference librarian and instructor of library science Angie Balius, even if students are not yet in the thesis or dissertation phase of their graduate work, they are still welcome.
Sherman’s presentation is intended to help students format their theses and dissertations correctly.
“This hour long session will provide tips on what your final product should look like when you submit your thesis or dissertation for format review,” said Balius. “Other topics include university’s handbook for theses and dissertations, deadlines, where to find examples of theses and dissertations and top ten mistakes you should avoid.”
About eight years ago, Sims Memorial Library took over a new process where all graduate theses and dissertations were formatted and scanned into Proquest.
“The library contains a huge e-book containing the collection, many date back to 1861 to the present,” said Sherman. “Librarians do not edit any of the theses or dissertations with grammar, but only make sure they meet criteria found in the 69 page handbook found in the library database, ‘Thesis and Dissertation Standard, 4th Edition.’”
The lecture has become more helpful for the students and made it easier for them to attend.
“It has been about four or five years since we have been giving the lecture on correct formatting,” said Sherman. “We began to notice the top ten mistakes that students were continuously making in their format, so we as a group decided to give two lectures a semester, one in the morning and one in the evening the following day so we could make it as easy as possible for students to attend.”
According to Sherman, some students find it helpful to attend the lecture more than once and are welcome to.
For more information on properly formatting a thesis or dissertation, you can find information on the library website under Articles and Databases, under c-d, Dissertations and Theses.