- What does the Thesis/Dissertation Consultant do?
- What resources are available for me to use as I format my thesis or dissertation?
- How do I schedule an appointment?
- What should I bring to a preliminary review?
- What is the approval sheet?
- What options do I have for submitting my thesis/dissertation?
- When I bring drafts for your review, do they have to be printed?
- What is an ETD?
- What are the advantages to submitting electronically?
- How will people be able to access my ETD?
- Why should my ETD be freely available?
- What if I want to write a book related to my ETD?
- What do I need to know about signing agreements with publishers?
- What if I want to incorporate a journal article into my thesis or dissertation?
- Can I e-mail a draft for review?
- If I don’t live in Knoxville, how can I work with you?
- How much time should I set aside to meet with you?
- At what point in the thesis/dissertation-writing process should I meet with you?
- What should I do if I cannot schedule an appointment to meet with you?
- I have heard that I may have to wait in line for hours to meet with you. Is this true?
- Why does the formatting matter?
- Do I have to pay for your services?
- What does the Thesis/Dissertation
Consultant do?
A: The thesis/dissertation consultant works with UT graduate students writing theses and dissertations to make sure the documents meet Graduate School guidelines. The consultant accepts final copies of theses and dissertations on behalf of the Graduate Council, and meets with each thesis/dissertation student to review the formatting of the document. The consultant does not check spelling, grammar or other issues of content.
Back to top
- What resources are
available for me to use as I format my thesis or dissertation?
A: In addition to meeting with the consultant in person, students should consult this website and the Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations. The Guide is available online at the Thesis/Dissertation Resources website, http://web.utk.edu/~thesisresources. The Thesis/Dissertation Resources website also provides samples, tips and templates. In addition, the Graduate School and the thesis/dissertation consultant put on workshops every semester.
Back to top
- How do I schedule an
appointment?
A: Please e-mail (thesis@utk.edu) the consultant to set up an appointment. In your e-mail, you should suggest days that will work best for you and/or known conflicts. You should also provide your major, degree sought and your preferred contact e-mail and phone number.
Back to top
- What should I bring to a
preliminary review?
A: You should bring as much of the document as you have completed at the time of your appointment. It is not necessary to have a complete document, and you do not need to print out your draft. A couple of chapters are sufficient for the preliminary review. It is helpful if you have an approval sheet, title page, and table of contents ready for the preliminary review, but the important thing to remember is that you should complete your preliminary review as early in the semester as possible.
Back to top
- What is the approval
sheet?
A: The approval sheet indicates your committee's approval of the content of your thesis or dissertation. It exists in two slightly different forms: There is the “ETD” approval sheet, which will be the first page of the (electronic) thesis, and as a paper copy you must have signed by your committee before turning it in to the thesis/dissertation consultant. You should take multiple copies of the approval sheet to the defense for your committee to sign, especially if you plan on ordering a bound copy of your thesis or dissertation through the UC bookstore. You should also have the thesis/dissertation consultant check the approval sheet before your committee signs it. Please see http://web.utk.edu/~thesis/samples.shtml page for guidelines on how to properly format these forms.
Back to top
- What options do I
have for submitting my thesis/dissertation?
A: You must submit your thesis/dissertation in electronic format, as a PDF file. Please consider the Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Workshops offered by OIT; it may well save you a lot of time later.
Back to top
- When I bring drafts for
your review, do they have to be printed?
A: No. You are welcome to bring a flash drive, removable hard drive, or to store your document on VolSpace or Trace. To be on the safe side, bring your work as a PDF, RTF, Word or Open Office document, or check with the consultant about other acceptable review formats.
Back to top
- What is an ETD?
A: An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is just like a traditional thesis or dissertation, but instead of being printed and bound, it is accepted and stored in a format simultaneously suitable for electronic archives and worldwide retrieval. The University of Tennessee accepts and stores ETDs in Portable Document Format, or PDFs.
The ETD, like its paper predecessor, is designed to give a detailed explanation of a student’s research. The ETD has the same components as its paper counterpart and follows the same format requirements. It describes why the work was done, how the research relates to previous work recorded in the literature, the research methods used, the results, the interpretation and discussion of the results, the summary with conclusions, and citations.
Unlike paper submissions, ETDs can contain relevant multimedia objects into their documents. ETDs are also less expensive to prepare than paper theses and dissertations, and consume virtually no library shelf space. They are available to anyone who can browse the Internet, potentially expanding your scholarly contacts. For more explanation on the decisions behind such standards and the use of such formats, see this general information page
Back to top
- What are the advantages
to submitting electronically?
A: You can easily incorporate color diagrams, color images, hypertext links, and even include audio, video, animations, spreadsheets, databases and simulations in your document. Electronic submission will likely be a more cost-efficient route than preparing paper copies.
Back to top
- How will people be able
to access my ETD?
A: Visitors to the university’s website can browse our collection and even directly access the full text of ETDs. ETDs will be discoverable through the library catalog and WorldCat. The library is currently working to provide ETDs an online repository as part of Trace, the Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, visit http://trace.tennessee.edu/about.html.
Back to top
- Why should my ETD be freely
available?
A: The world of scholarship depends on people making their research available to others. When that is done electronically, more people can get access at a lower cost, and more knowledge transfer occurs. This can stimulate education and research. It also can ensure that many people give credit to you for your work, and that your research is cited in others' publications, which adds to your prestige and can help your future advancement.
Because of the access restrictions in storing single copies of theses and dissertations on the shelf before they were available electronically, few of these documents were read. Electronic access can dramatically increase the number of times your work is read or used. Since you spent a great deal of time on your research, it should encourage you to know that others are reading that work. Your literature review may guide others, and your results may save others the time of redoing your study.
With the advent ETDs, students and universities can more easily share knowledge, with much lower costs. We believe that about 200,000 theses or dissertations are completed each year. It would greatly aid graduate education if as many as possible of these were freely available. ETDs are becoming the standard in university libraries.
Back to top
- What if I want to write a book
related to my ETD?
A: We realize that some students, especially in the humanities, prepare books related to their theses or dissertations. In general it appears to be the case that electronic release of early versions of a book leads to greater sales of such books. Indeed, having an electronic work made available on the Internet, and telling a publisher that there have been a large number of electronic accesses to that work, may help you land a book contract.
Usually, books that relate to theses or dissertations turn out to be significantly different because they are revised as part of the editorial process. This makes it likely that those interested in your work will buy your book when it comes out, even if they have reviewed your ETD.
However, since publishers vary widely in their policies, you should confer with publishers to which you are likely to submit your work prior to final submission.
Back to top
- What do I need
to know about signing agreements with publishers?
A: When you have your research published in a conference, book or journal, you usually sign some type of agreement with the publisher. You should read that agreement carefully before signing, making sure you understand and agree with the terms and conditions. If you don't agree or understand the terms, you may want to change the agreement in connection with discussion/negotiation with the publisher, and possibly with advice of legal or other counsel. The agreement should be explicit about what future rights of use you retain. If you want to include the materials in your ETD, reuse the materials for teaching, or incorporate the materials in a book chapter, you must make sure this is clearly spelled out in the publishing agreement.
As the author, you are entitled to discuss your plans with the publisher. We encourage you to obtain an agreement that allows you to include your research in a freely available ETD.
During these negotiations you may want to discuss matters of timing and revision. However, most publishers consider a thesis or dissertation to be quite different from a journal article. Typically the article is much shorter than the chapter or full work, has been revised as a result of the editorial process and peer review, and sometimes has several authors, resulting in many publishers having no concern regarding fully accessible ETDs.
Back to top
- What if I want to incorporate
a journal article into my thesis or dissertation?
A: If you have published an article or articles during your academic career, and you wish to include those articles in your thesis or dissertation, you have a number of options. These should be discussed with your committee, and possibly with your publisher. First, you can simply cite that publication in your references. Second, if the publisher has the publication online, you can link or point to it (with permission of the publisher, who usually has protection so that paying customers or subscribers are the only ones allowed access). Third, if you retain copyright or if the publisher (as copyright holder) gives you a signed release, you can include the publication in your thesis or dissertation as allowed in that release.
This matter may be avoided if your thesis or dissertation talks about your research in a very different way from the published article. That often is the case, since articles are typically short, and your thesis or dissertation may be the only place where all the details, data, tables, and other aspects of your research are made available.
Remember that preparing a thesis or dissertation is part of your graduate experience, one aim of which is to prepare you to be a part of the world of research and publication. We hope you will treat this as a part of your educational experience and will take steps when you deal with publishers to help other students gain the widest possible access to your research.
In any case, when including a version of previously published material in your thesis or dissertation, please include a publication note detailing the publication information and the way(s) in which the thesis/dissertation material differs from the published material (including crediting any co-authors of the published material). The Consultant can help you with this.
Back to top
- Can I e-mail a draft for
review?
A: Because of mailbox storage limits, the consultant cannot accept e-mails of review drafts or final submissions without prior permission (emailing acceptance sheets for review, on the other hand, is recommended.) Students are encouraged to use Trace to post their review drafts as well as to submit their final copy. If you would like to use Trace, email the consultant for more information.
Electronic submission of review or final drafts does not take the place of in-person consultation unless extenuating factors apply, including residence outside of Knoxville and the surrounding areas or other special considerations.
The process of reviewing electronic submissions may take several days. If you have not heard from the consultant, email them again to make sure your file was received.
Back to top
- If I don't live in
Knoxville, how can I work with you?<
A: We can correspond via e-mail if you are off-campus or have other special considerations. Especially towards the end of the semester, please send me an email before you send me any communications with documents attached. Students are encouraged to use Trace Students are encouraged to use Trace to post their review drafts as well as to submit their final copy. If you would like to use Trace, email the consultant for more information.
Back to top
- How much time should I set
aside to meet with you?
A: Most student meetings last between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on the length and complexity of the thesis/dissertation and the number of questions you have. If you need substantial technical assistance, a meeting may take over an hour.
Back to top
- At what point in the
thesis/dissertation-writing process should I meet with you?
A: Meet with the consultant as soon as you have a few chapters written. The consultant will review your document for formatting, so the earlier you have the consultant look over your document, the less formatting work you will have to do at the end of the process. If you wait until near the preliminary review deadline to schedule your appointment, you will likely not be able to get an appointment. The thesis/dissertation consultant’s schedule fills up well before the end of the semester, every semester. Schedule your appointments at least two weeks before the preliminary review deadline, and thereafter through the end of the term.
Back to top
- What should I do if I cannot
schedule an appointment to meet with you?
A: The consultant frequently runs out of appointments at the end of the semester. If you cannot schedule a preliminary review appointment, you will still be able to see the consultant during the “walk-in” periods. During these periods, usually the last two weeks before a regular semester deadline, students will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. (The walk-in period before each semester's "second deadline" lasts one week.) The consultant’s hours during this period are 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.
Back to top
- I have heard that I may have
to wait in line for hours to meet with you. Is this true?
A: This is true only if you put off the consultation until two weeks before a submission deadline. Because there is only one Thesis/Dissertation Consultant at UT, the office is very busy in the weeks leading up to thesis/dissertation submission deadlines. You can avoid the rush if you plan ahead and start the consultation process before the end of the semester. If you can't avoid the rush, rest assured that the consultant will see you, although you may have to wait in line. Bring a book, laptop, or something else to do as you wait.
Back to top
- Why does the formatting matter?
UT is committed to presenting theses and dissertations in a consistent, professional academic format. Doing so reflects well on the university and on the individual scholars whose work we present. While issues of content are paramount, the presentation is an important final piece that will ideally make your work more accessible and understandable.
Back to top
- Do I have to pay for your services?
A: No. Thesis/dissertation consultation services are free to UT students.
Back to top
Contact The Consultant
Kris Bronstad
111 Student Services Bldg
Knoxville, TN 37996-0211
Phone: (865) 974-1337
Email (preferred): thesis@utk.edu