Dissertations Abstracts

Offers dissertations abstracts, thesis statements, and paper formatting guide for graduate and master level students, and explore tips for writing and selecting ideas for thesis topics.

This guide named as Dissertations Abstracts is prepared for the help on theses and dissertations for graduate students and master level students. A written thesis or dissertation is required for most Master of Art and Master of Science degrees and a written dissertation for all Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education degrees. The purpose of the thesis or dissertation guide is to provide an experience in scholarship which will be of enduring value to the student in understanding how new knowledge is acquired and communicated within his/her chosen field. Thus, the thesis or dissertation should provide tangible evidence of the student's development as a scholar and especially his/her capacity to discover and effectively communicate research findings. The thesis or dissertation should also enlarge the body of knowledge in the student's chosen field.

Preparing thesis or dissertation research directly for publication provides economic and educational advantages both to the student and to the department supporting the research. It is a long standing tradition in many departments that the costs of producing a thesis are borne by the student but that the costs of producing manuscripts for publication are usually borne by the department supporting the research. In the interest of increasing their output of scholarly research, many departments are making computer, word processing, photographic, figure drafting and other manuscript preparation equipment and support services available to graduate students. The Graduate School applauds these developments and encourages departments to develop policies and procedures for the support of research by graduate students which will (1) enhance the educational value of the thesis research experience, (2) increase the quality and quantity of research published by the department and (3) insure that appropriate use is made of whatever resources are available within the department for the support of scholarly research.