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Electronic Dissertations

ETD Formatting: Global Page Settings

After you have written your thesis or dissertation, you must prepare the electronic version for submission. Overall, it is important to submit an ETD that has a consistent appearance throughout. All the pages in your ETD should follow a general format regarding page numbering, margins, and line spacing.

  • Page Numbering
    Except for the title page and abstract, number all pages in your ETD. [Page numbers appear in page headers or footers. Consult the help files for your software on how to set up "Page Headers" and "Page Footers."]
    • Front matter
      Number pages with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), placed at the upper right of the page. However, the page number for the Title Page (i) and the pages of the Abstract (ii...) should not appear on the page(s).
    • Body and back matter
      Number pages with arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). You should number these pages at the upper right.
  • Margins
    All margins for your ETD (left, right, top, bottom) should be no less than 1 inch. However, if you intend to use the same file for copies you are having bound, the left margin should be no less than 1.5 inches.
  • Spacing
    Your ETD line spacing should be double-spaced.
  • Fonts
    For best readability, normal body text should be twelve-point (12 pt), and in the Times or Roman fonts.
  • ETD Document Divisions
    The ETD is divided into front matter, body matter, and back matter.

ETD Formatting: Front Matter

Title Page

Sample Title Page

The front matter contains the following items in this order:

  • Title
    This is the full title of your dissertation.
  • Author
    You alone are the author of your dissertation.
  • School
    The offical name of your University is "University of Nebraska".
  • Degree
    Usually, this is either "Doctor of Philosophy", "Doctor of Education", or "Doctor of Musical Arts".
  • Major
    Put the official name for your major. If you are in doubt regarding the name of your major, you may talk to the doctoral assistant in the Graduate Studies office.
  • Advisor/Chair Name(s)
    This is the person/persons who supervised your doctoral program and dissertation.
  • City, State
    This should always read "Lincoln, Nebraska".
  • Date of Defense or Graduation Date
    Put the date you defended or the date of your graduation (e.g., "October, 1996").
Other Front Matter

These items are listed in the order they would come after the title page.

  • Abstract
    Sample Abstract
    Each ETD must be accompanied by an abstract that has been approved by the student's committee. Abstracts will be part of the bibliographic record in the library's online catalog. Abstracts must be limited to 350 words. Additionally, abstracts for dissertations will be published in Dissertation Abstracts.
  • Copyright Page
    In any work, copyright implicitly devolves to the author of that work. One may make this statement of ownership explicit, however, by including a copyright notice, such as "Copyright 1998, John J. Smith." Additionally, you may pay to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office through UMI.
  • Dedication (optional)
    You may provide a dedication.
  • Author's Acknowledgments (optional)
    Here you may acknowledge those that assisted you in your work.
  • Grant Information (optional)
    You may acknowledge any granting institution here.
  • Table of Contents
    Include the chapter and section numbers and title along with the page on which each chapter or section begins.
  • Lists of Multimedia Objects
    For each multimedia type (table, graph, diagram, equation, etc.) list the number and title of the object and the page on which it occurs.

ETD Formatting: Body Matter

  • Chapter
    At the beginning of each chapter, place the word "Chapter", the chapter number, and the chapter title in large type.
  • Paragraphs
    Separate paragraphs by a line of horizontal space if you choose to single-space your dissertation (not recommended). Indent block quotes on the left and right.
  • Footnotes
    You may use footnotes and/or end notes.
    • Lengthy footnotes are probably better fomatted as end notes.
    • Place any footnotes on the same page as the items that refer to them.
    • Footnotes in main body text should be numbered consecutively in arabic numerals, starting with 1.
  • Multimedia Objects
    Multimedia object types include tables, complex equations, graphs, diagrams, digital pictures, digital video, digital audio, virtual reality, and even computer software that you have developed.
    • Simple Objects
      Most simple objects like tables, graphs, and diagrams can be embedded in your ETD using your word processor.
      • Put the object at the point of reference or "float" it to the top or bottom of the page or to the top of the next page.
      • Center the object between the left and right margins of the page.
      • Directly below the object for figures and above for tables, center the type and number according to its position in the chapter (e.g., in Chapter 5 we may have Table 5.1, Table 5.2, and Figures 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3).
      • Give the object a concise, descriptive title.
    • Complex Objects
      More complex multimedia objects, however, require special treatment. They either do not fit naturally on a page or the file size is too large to fit reasonably within a document. For complex objects you must place the type and number of the object along with its concise, descriptive title, centered on a line by itself. In parentheses, include the media encoding (e.g., JPEG) and file size (e.g., 1.5 Megabytes). Then you must connect each object title to a seprarate file containing the object. Many complex multimedia object types have a simple object version (often called "thumbnail") that is a reduction of the picture or one frame of video. If possible, we recommend that you include this reduction in the main document along with a PDF link to the complex object. Be sure that you submit the object file(s) along with your dissertation.

ETD Formatting: Back Matter

The back matter contains the references (bibliography) and appendices.

  • References
    Consult your departmental guidelines for the standard forms for citation.
  • Appendices
    The student may include the source code or output of computer programs as an enumerated appendix. Place figure references with PDF links to multimedia objects here also.

    Exactly as you treated each chapter, place the word "Appendix," the appendix letter or letters, and the appendix title in large type at the beginning of each appendix.

    Appendices are enumerated alphabetically from A to Z, then AA, AB, and so on to ZZ, then AAA, AAB, etc.