GUIDE FOR WRITERS OF DISSERTATIONS AND THESES

GRADUATE SCHOOL

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

2004

THE DISSERTATION

THE THESIS

PREPARATION OF THE RESEARCH DOCUMENT

CHECK LIST

SAMPLE PAGES

TEMPLATE FOR MARGINS

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

The Dissertation

A dissertation is required for all doctoral students. Completion of the dissertation demonstrates the ability to address a major intellectual problem and the results constitute a contribution to knowledge in the field.

Prior to beginning research on the dissertation topic, a student must submit a proposal for approval by the dissertation advisory committee. 

The Thesis

A thesis, when required or chosen, must include the results of original and significant investigation.

Prior to beginning research on the thesis topic, a student must submit a thesis proposal for approval by the thesis advisory committee. 

The term research document will be used throughout this guide to refer to both the dissertation and the thesis.

A checklist for completion of the thesis is included on page 7 of the hardcopy of the guide. Deadlines are established each semester for submission of the dissertation or thesis to the Graduate School. Follow the checklist and consult the Graduate School for the deadlines.

Format, style, and method of presenting text, bibliographies, etc., vary from discipline to discipline. Each department offering graduate degrees will choose the research manual that is accepted for published research in that discipline. In spite of the style differences, general uniformity is expected in all research documents submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for advanced degrees. The following include requirements for completion of the research document and suggestions which should be followed unless the advisory committee directs otherwise.

Format

Style

Students not given special directions by their departments regarding style are referred to the most recent editions of the following publications:

Campbell, William Giles, Stephen Vaughn Ballou and Carole Slade. Form and Style--Theses, Reports, Term Papers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Consistency is required no matter what style manual is followed. The same paper, spacing, margins, and page numbering must be used throughout the research document.

Standard Format

A research document is usually composed of three main parts--preliminaries, text, and references--and should be presented in the following order:

Preliminaries

Text

Reference Topics

[*Inclusion of this page will depend on the contents of the research document and on the wish of the student. For convenience in binding the dissertation or thesis, the student must include two blank sheets of the paper used for each copy to be bound.]

Abstract

The major purpose of the abstract is to provide information which will enable the reader to decide whether to read the complete work. It should not exceed 300 words and must be double-spaced. Abstract pages are not numbered. Abstracts should include the following:

1. A brief description of the problem
2. A description of methods, techniques, and data used
3. The major finding of the study

Paper

Because the research document will be placed in the university's archives, it must be typed, error-free, on archival quality paper. Minimum requirements are that the paper must be:
1. white
2. 8.5" x 11"
3. unlined
4. at least 25 percent rag or cotton content
5. at least 20 pound weight.
Use of erasable paper is unacceptable. Use of Arkansas State University stationery is prohibited.

Equipment

The research document may be prepared on a typewriter or personal computer. Before beginning preparation of the final draft, determine that the hardware and software are capable of meeting and formatted to meet the requirements for margins, pagination and spacing.

If a typewriter is used in preparing the research document, an electric typewriter is superior to a manual, and it is inadvisable to type the final copy on a portable typewriter.

Research documents, when done on a computer, must be printed on a letter quality or laser printer. Printers that use daisywheel, thimble, or print disk technology generally present no problems, assuming that care is taken to use fresh ribbons. Dot matrix print is unacceptable. The type must be no smaller than 10-point (9-point might be used for an unusually large table) and easily readable. Use of larger type for titles and headings is acceptable.

Mechanics

Spacing and Margins

Because the research documents are bound and filed in the university library, margins must allow for ease of binding and reading of the bound work. The left margin must be 1.5 inches. The Graduate School recommends that you set the left margin to 1.6 to ensure an adequate binding edge. The top, right, and bottom margins must be 1.0 inch, except on first pages of major sections (title page, abstract, introduction, chapter, bibliography, etc.), where the top margin should be 1.5 or 2 inches. In setting up any centered headings, titles or numbers, the extra 0.5 inch of the left margin should be disregarded; i.e., centering should take place on the remaining 6.0 inch-long typed line. If word-processing is used, the right margin may be justified or not as you wish, but be consistent.

The document must be typed or printed on one side of the paper. Standard double spacing is required. The Graduate School does not specify styles other than the margins indicated. Whatever style you follow should be followed consistently.

Charts, Figures, Tables and Exhibits

Lettering and drawing for charts, figures, tables and charts must be done in black, permanent ink. Computer-generated text from plotters is preferred for lettering and drawing. Each should be placed on a separate page immediately following where it is first cited.

Photographs and Illustrative Materials

Mounting of photographs, drawings or other illustrative materials onto pages of the research document must be accomplished to assure permanent adherence. Materials should be mounted with heat-fixed adhesive paper or with permanent bonding spray adhesive.

Each submitted copy of the research document should contain identical original mounted materials, not photocopies.

Folded Pages and Computer Printouts

Pages larger than 8.5" x 11" are not acceptable because of binding. Oversized pages may be reduced and copied onto archival quality paper so that the material fits within the margins, or placed in a pocket on the inside back cover. Color illustrations are permissible.

Corrections

A few clean erasures or ink removal are permitted. Correction fluids, correction tapes, and correction strips are not acceptable means of correction.

Copyright

Copyright is the legal right of an owner of created material to control copying and ownership of that material. Authors of research documents who wish to copyright may do so, either through University Microfilms International or through the United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 12540. A statement that a copyright has been applied for may be included at the bottom of the abstract page.

Permissions

When the writer of a research document quotes substantially from the work of another person or of other people, written permission should be obtained from whomever owns the copyright to the matter quoted. Writers may quote passages from copyrighted works when such quoting is for educational purposes and involves no profit, and when the material quoted is considerably less than the whole work.

ORDER OF ELEMENTS AND PAGE NUMBERS

The research document must be assembled in the following order:

Every page of the research document is numbered except the abstract (which is still listed in the Table of Contents) and the title/approval page. Numbers appear without periods, hyphens or other punctuation.

The number of each page with a major heading (i.e., introduction, chapter, and references) should be centered between the margins 1" from the bottom of the page. The text should be no closer than one double space above the page number. Other page numbers should be placed in the upper right corner 1" from the top, double spaced above the text, and flush with right margin.

Copies

The original research document is to be typed or printed on archival quality paper and one copy of the thesis or three copies of the dissertation, to be prepared by photographic or photocopy means on the same archival quality paper, are to be turned in to the Graduate School. The original is for the library, and one copy is for the department. Additional copies of the dissertation are for the Center for Excellence and the adviser. Additional copies for the student and dissertation/thesis committee members are at the discretion of the student.

Approval

The original research document is to be presented to the committee in advance of the oral defense. After successful defense before the committee, the original and one unbound copy (thesis) or three unbound copies (dissertation) are to be presented to the committee for approval. Original signatures for approval are required on all copies. The original, the approved copies, the oral defense form, an approval form to place the bound dissertation or thesis in the library, and a binding fee receipt are to be presented to the Graduate School prior to the announced deadline.

University Microfilms

Doctoral students must submit one copy of the title page and of the abstract along with the microfilming agreement for submission to University Microfilms. The necessary forms and instructions for submission are available in the Graduate Office.

1. After consultation with the faculty adviser and the chair of the department where the student is completing the major, the student secures the agreement of a member of the graduate faculty to serve as the dissertation or thesis adviser.*
   
2. In the case of a doctoral dissertation, the student and the dissertation adviser will select committee members for approval by the chair and the dean of the Graduate School. The committee will consist of at least five members including the dissertation adviser, two additional graduate faculty from the department, one graduate faculty member from the same college, and one graduate faculty at large. The dissertation adviser will chair the committee.
   
   In the case of the master's thesis, the  thesis adviser will select at least two additional graduate faculty to serve on a thesis committee for the student. One member of the committee may be from outside the department. The thesis adviser will chair the Thesis Committee.
   
3. A Committee Approval Form obtained from the Graduate School must be completed and submitted for approval to the department chair and the dean of the Graduate School.
   
4. Following study and consultation with the dissertation or thesis adviser and the committee members, the student will select a research problem or topic.
   
5. The student prepares a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal form (see sample).
   
6. The proposal is submitted to the Dissertation or Thesis Committee for approval.
   
7. The student studies the Guide for Writers of Dissertations and Theses and reviews any questions with the graduate dean.
   
8. The student completes the research and study outlined in the proposal.
   
9. The student prepares the research document in accordance with the Guide for Writers of Dissertations and Theses.
   
10. Upon the student's successful completion of the work, the dissertation/thesis adviser must complete an Oral Defense Announcement form and forward it to the Graduate School.
    
11. The Graduate School announces the date, time, and place for the student's defense of the dissertation or thesis.
    
12. The student successfully defends the dissertation or thesis and submits a final copy of the research document to the Graduate School for approval before original and copies for binding are submitted.
    
13. The student presents to the dissertation or thesis adviser an unsigned Results of the Oral Examination form and the original and one (thesis) or three (dissertation) unbound, identical, signed copies of the whole work (including Abstract) for approval, before the deadline for graduation (announced for each semester or term).
    
14. Upon approval of the dissertation or thesis by the adviser and the members of the committee, the original and one copy (thesis) or three copies (dissertation) of the research document (with two blank pages for each), the Oral Defense Form, a signed form for permission to place the bound document in the library (see sample), and a binding fee receipt are presented to the Graduate School. Doctoral students must also present one additional copy of the title page and of the abstract, along with the microfilming agreement for University Microfilms.

* In the event that the dissertation or thesis adviser leaves ASU, it is understood that it is the responsibility of the department chair, in consultation with the remaining committee members and the student, either to appoint another adviser or to assume that position.

SAMPLE PAGES

DISSERTATION OR THESIS PROPOSAL

The proposal should contain the following:

Three committee member signatures are required for the thesis. Five signatures are required for the dissertation. The dissertation or thesis proposal will be filed with the adviser and with the Graduate School but will not be part of the final research document. A copy of the Thesis or Dissertation Proposal Approval Form should be sent to the dean of the Graduate School, but none of the supporting documents need be sent.

The writer wishes to thank Mr. David B. Dalzell for helping to obtain the necessary data, Dr. Thomas C. Campbell for his assistance and gentle prodding, and Mr. Raymond McKay who gave me the necessary incentive to complete the work. 

                                                                                JRM

[The Acknowledgments page is not required. If you wish to dedicate your dissertation or thesis to one person or to various people, you must do so in the Acknowledgments section, not on a separate dedication page.]

In the literature in economics, the traditional or neoclassical theory of the firm is a collection of

theories about firms operating under a set of assumed conditions. That theory has been subjected to severe criticism because it creates a credibility gap between business firms as they are and as they are depicted by the theory. Many economists have looked to the use of computer simulation models to lead to improvements in the neoclassical theory of the firm. In this dissertation, a theoretical framework for corporate simulation modeling is developed, based on microeconomic theory, accounting relationships, marketing theory, and the various decision processes or heuristics used in a firm. A computer simulation model of an actual firm is then developed based on that theoretical model. The model is validated using historical data from an existing ologopolistic firm. The conclusion is that such a theoretically-based model does predict most of the target output variables of the firm which was modeled and, in turn, validates major portions of the neoclassical theory.

Policy simulations of the model are presented to show the use of the model in tracing the effects of changes in policy on the target variables of the firm.

[The date above is the date of graduation, not the date of submission of the dissertation or thesis.]

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

	Introduction
	General Literature
	Literature on Simulation

III. RESEARCH DESIGN

42

	Introduction
	Theoretical Model
	Theoretical Relationships
	Statistical Procedures

IV. THE MODEL

60

	Introduction
	Discussion of the Equations
	Validation

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

101

	Summary of the Study
	Conclusions
	Recommendations for Future Research

LITERATURE CITED 119 APPENDIX A: Models of Production Management 124

*Subheadings need not be bulleted, as here; it is a function of HTML. And page numbers for subheadings should be included, with or without dot leaders.

**Major items in CONTENTS may be all caps, as here, or in lower case. Use in Table of Contents must be consistent with first pages of chapters.

 

TABLES

Table	Page
1. Market Share	4
2. Capacity Output	63
3. Production Volume	64
4. Sales Volume	67
5. Sales Revenue	69
6. Inventory Value	70
7. Control Run	74

[If a List of Figures is included, that list should resemble this List of Tables.]

 

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

    The 'firm' is the expression most widely used in economics to cover all forms of what might be described, at least in the United States, as business enterprise. The essential feature of the firm, from the economist's point of view, is that it controls some productive activity.

    In the literature of economics, the traditional or neoclassical theory of the firm is a collection of theories about firms operating under a set of assumed conditions. The severest criticism to which this theory of the firm has been, and continues to be, subjected is that it creates a credibility gap between business firms as they are and as they are depicted by the neoclassical theory. Proponents of the neoclassical theory argue that this is not objectionable since the theory was not designed to resolve actual business problems. To them, the neoclassical model is a simple logical exercise in which assumptions directly imply the conclusions and the conclusions directly imply the assumptions. For example, the profit-maximization assumption immediately implies that the firm will continue to expand production so long as the increments to revenue form the sale of additional output exceeds the increments to cost of producing that output. And the firm that hires increments of labor and other inputs so as to equate marginal revenue product to marginal factor cost must be profit maximizing. Since the implications of the model are not realistic in the view of some economists, and since the model implications follow directly from the assumptions, any criticism of the model or suggestions for improving it require a careful assessment of the assumptions.

 

Approval is hereby granted to place a copy of

                                                                                                           

title

a dissertation (or thesis)

presented to the faculty

of

Arkansas State University,

in the Dean B. Ellis Library.

signature                                                                                                                   date

[This approval is to be signed by the candidate and presented to the dean of the Graduate School with the original and copies of the dissertation or thesis after final approval of the committee.]