Welcome to ELPA web pages on the dissertation process. Doctoral students are encouraged to become familiar with the content of these pages at the very beginning of the dissertation proposal process and to become frequent visitors during their ELPA 7813 course and throughout the proposal and dissertation writing processes.

Publishing on-line is a wonderful opportunity for ETSU students, as it facilitates access to their work by other scholars around the world. Instead of having to attempt to borrow dissertations via Interlibrary Loan or purchase the dreaded microfiche or reduced size editions of dissertations that may or may not turn out to be relevant and useful to their own research, scholars can now download the full text of ETSU dissertations on their own desktop computers. Of course, with this increased accessibility comes additional incentive for ETSU students to ensure that the final version of their dissertation represents them as positively as possible.

As of January, 2001 the dissertation process at ETSU has changed significantly ?all dissertations are published on-line. Fortunately, the Graduate School has done a fabulous job of preparing assistance for students (and their faculty advisors) to adapt to this new process. In addition to their web-based resources, they offer very informative workshops. Check their web-posted schedule and attend!

The Graduate School web page offers an excellent introduction to the electronic publishing process. This page also provides useful hints for formatting your manuscript. These hints are supplemented by some invaluable templates, which make the formatting very much easier for you. You are encouraged to begin using these templates from the very first page of your first draft.

Upon completing the dissertation and having it approved by your committee, you must submit it to the Graduate School in pdf format. This is done by converting your word-processing file (Note: not files, a single, unified file) through the Adobe Acrobat program. The ELPA computer lab has several machines capable of translating Microsoft Word files to Adobe Acrobat pdf files; the Graduate School has a computer to assist with the translation of Word Perfect files to pdf format. If you use other word processing programs, you may be faced with the intermediary step of translating your program to an unformatted text file and then re-formatting it in Word or Word Perfect before converting it to a pdf file. Regardless of what word processing program you use, it is essential that you follow the Graduate School templates and guidelines to the letter. This will take a little extra time initially, but will greatly facilitate the final submission, when time is often (OK, usually) a critical factor. The Graduate School web page Tips to Make Life Go Better should be a tremendous help to you.

In writing the dissertation or proposal, two references will be essential: the most recent edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Manual, not currently available on-line, and The Graduate School Guide for the Preparation of Electronic Theses and Dissertations, available by download using the free version of Adobe Acrobat. Additional departmental stylistic guidelines can be found on ELPA web page on Dissertation Language. You are requested to follow these guidelines in all drafts submitted, from the very beginning of the dissertation process. In case of conflicting guidelines, please confer with your advisor or ELPA 7813 instructor.

Another valuable resource is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) web page. Upon successful defense of the dissertation proposal, you are required to obtain IRB approval before collecting any data, including existing data already on file with institutions. The IRB web site contains all instructions and forms necessary to seek this approval. You must prepare the requisite number of copies of the IRB materials and submit them to your dissertation chair for approval and signature.

The dissertation is often regarded as the most challenging educational activity many graduate students have ever faced. It can, and should, be an enjoyable process. To avoid the frustrations inherent in the process, take full, early advantage of the many resources available through ELPA, the Graduate School, and the IRB web sites. Also, please remember that the dissertation is a team effort. It is essential to work closely with your dissertation chair from the very beginning of the process, to maintain good communication with the committee at all crucial decision points, and to develop a strong peer support system throughout the dissertation process.

Speaking of frustrations, a word about time seems appropriate. Of all the potential frustrations in writing a dissertation, time seems to take precedence. Many students enter the process with a vision of completing the dissertation in a relatively brief time frame. Unfortunately this is almost always an unrealistic expectation. The dissertation is a highly complex process, fraught with unexpected delays. The best advice is to set a commitment to work diligently on the process until completed, working to the best of your ability do not set an anticipated completion date.

Another time frustration comes from the time required for your dissertation chair or committee members to review each of the drafts (and there will be many) of your proposal and dissertation. Please remember that ELPA faculty serve many roles and many students. Always allow a minimum of two weeks for faculty to review work you submit. Do not expect faculty to review your work during times when the university is not in session or during times when faculty are not on contract in the summer. Plan to provide faculty with the necessary time for them to assist you in your study. In the end, this will make the dissertation process far more successful, and enjoyable, for everyone.

Although all dissertations are required to be submitted electronically at ETSU, some students may also want personal copies bound in the traditional manner. The Graduate School web site addresses this possibility.

Please note that bound copies generally require a left margin of an inch-and-a-half, rather than the one inch minimum for on-line publication. If you are planning to bind your dissertation, you are permitted to submit an on-line version with an inch-and-a-half left margin, rather than trying to prepare two separate versions. Traditionally, bound versions have used lower case Roman numerals (centered at bottom of pages) for those pages prior to the first page of actual text, and Arabic numerals (top right) for all ensuing pages. This scheme will not be possible for on-line publications; therefore, you may choose to bind a version with all Arabic numerals (bottom centered) or to prepare two different versions, one for on-line publication and one for binding.