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Developing a Thesis or Dissertation

A scholarly thesis or dissertation is an extended, written treatment of a subject, prepared as the culmination of the master’s or doctoral program. It should give evidence of your technical and intellectual mastery of the field of study, as well as your capability to perform original, independent research.

Both thesis and dissertations are subject to close scrutiny by scholars and laymen alike. They provide permanent, tangible evidence of the scholarly achievements and standards of the author, the advisor, and The University of Alabama. To a large degree, the reputation and quality of the University’s graduate program are measured by the quality of the theses and dissertations developed at this institution.

Use of Copyrighted Material

When writing a thesis or dissertation, you must be careful in using copyrighted materials. Generally speaking, you may make limited use of short passages from copyrighted material if proper credit is given to the owner of the copyright. Extensive use of the copyright, however, requires permission of the copyright owner. Permission to use copyrighted material in scholarly works is usually granted without payment or compensation to the copyright owner, but not always.

If the copyright owner grants permission to use the material, a letter of release must be obtained and included in the appendix of your manuscript. Likewise, the copyright owner should be given credit in the acknowledgments of your manuscript.

Copyright Information

Under the copyright Law of 1976 (Title 17 of the United States Code), copyright for a work is automatically granted at the time of its creation; neither registration nor publication is required to secure a copyright. Registration, however, is often desirable as it provides a public record of a copyright claim and is usually required before a suit for copyright infringement can be initiated. Consult with your major professor to decide whether or not to register a copyright for your thesis or dissertation. More information on including registering your copyright can be found in the microfilming and copyrighting contract which can be obtained from the Graduate School office.

Protection of Human Subjects

Scientific research using human subjects has produced ample benefits, but it also produced some troublesome ethical questions. The University of Alabama’s Institutional Review Board’s mission is to ensure that research with humans is conducted lawfully and ethically manner. In order to comply with University and federal policies, submit all proposals for research with humans to the appropriate college’s human research review committee for review and approval before beginning your research.

Academic Misconduct

All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct, including cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information, and the like. Any form of academic misconduct will not be tolerated. As a researcher, you will be held to the highest professional standards.

For more information on the official policy on academic misconduct, including established disciplinary measures, refer to The University of Alabama Student Affairs Handbook, which is available in the Office of Student Life in the Ferguson Center and on the university’s website.

Procedures for Master’s Theses

The following steps should be taken by any master’s student in preparation for graduation:

• Obtain from the Graduate School a deadline sheet containing the thesis submission date for the semester in which you wish to graduate;

• Submit an "application for degree" to the Graduate School during the registration period of the semester in which you wish to graduate;

• Submit a typed title card that has been approved by your committee chairperson and department head to the dean of the Graduate School at least 10 weeks before graduation;

• At least six weeks before graduation, complete thesis and review carefully prior to submission to ensure that manuscript meets the standards of the Graduate School as outlined in this manual; and

• Submit two unbound, final copies of the thesis to the Graduate School on 100% cotton fiber paper in a typing paper box, on which you must write the name of the style guide used. On top of the first copy of the thesis should be the following items:
  • a receipt from the Office of Student Receivables for the $25 binding fee;

  • three originals of your thesis acceptance page; and

  • an abstract not exceeding 350 words to be bound with the thesis. This forms the final page of the preliminary section. It does not have committee members signatures.

All theses received by the Graduate School are subject to an editorial review to ensure that all the guidelines of the University and appropriate style guide have been met. If sufficient errors are found during this review to warrant correction, the Graduate School will send a letter and list of corrections with your manuscript back to your thesis chairperson. A separate copy of the corrections will also be sent to your current local address. Corrections should be made in both copies and returned to the Graduate School within 10 days. The list of corrections must also be returned. This list should be annotated to show where changes were made and where page numbers have been changed from the original.

After the thesis has been approved by the dean of the Graduate School, two copies of the thesis are bound and kept in The University of Alabama Libraries, one for archival purposes and the other for circulation. The Dean of the Graduate School will write a formal letter to your current local address confirming acceptance of your thesis. If you want additional bound copies of your thesis, you must make your own arrangements with a commercial bindery.

Procedures for Doctoral Dissertations

The following steps should be taken by doctoral students in preparation for graduation:

• When applying for candidacy, submit to the Graduate School a tentative title and dissertation subject that have been approved by your graduate committee, department head, and the dean of the Graduate School;
• Obtain a deadline sheet from the Graduate School containing the dissertation submission date for the semester in which you wish to graduate;
• Submit an "application for degree" to the Graduate School during the registration period of the semester of intended graduation.
• Submit a typed title card that has been approved by your committee chairperson and department head to the dean of the Graduate School at least ten weeks before graduation;

• After successful completion of the oral exam and at least six weeks before graduation, complete dissertation and proofread carefully prior to submission to ensure that manuscript meets the standards of the Graduate School as outlined in this manual;

• Submit two unbound originals of the dissertation to the Graduate School on 100% cotton fiber paper in a typing box, on which you should write the name of the style guide used. On top of the first copy of the dissertation should be the following items:
  • a receipt for the Office of Student Receivables for the $25 binding fee and the $65 microfilm abstract publication fee;

  • two originals of an approved abstract of 350 or fewer words, which is not to be bound with dissertation (this page is not numbered, except when it runs to two pages; in this instance, the second page is numbered in the top right-hand corner with the Arabic numeral 2, and the signatures are placed at the end of the abstract on page 2).

  • three original copies of your dissertation acceptance page;

  • a completed and signed microfilming contract (available from the Graduate School), which includes an application of registration of copyright claim for those who wish to copyright their manuscript (copyright fee is $65; see section above regarding “Copyright Information”); and

  • a completed Survey of Earned Doctorate form (available from the Graduate School).

All dissertations are subject to an editorial review to ensure that the guidelines of the University and appropriate style guide have been met. If sufficient errors are found during this review, to warrant correction, the Graduate School will send a letter and list of corrections with your manuscript back to your chairperson. A separate copy of the corrections will also be sent to your current local address. Corrections should be made in both copies and returned to the Graduate School within ten days. The list of corrections must also be returned. This list should be annotated to show where changes were made and where page numbers have been changed from the original.

After the dissertation has been approved by the dean of the Graduate School, two originals of the dissertation are bound and kept in The University of Alabama Libraries, one copy is for archival purposes and the other for circulation. The Dean of the Graduate School will write a formal letter to your current local address confirming acceptance of your dissertation. If you want additional bound originals of your dissertation, you must make arrangements with a commercial bindery. The microfilming company can also produce additional bound copies; however, they are not full size copies. You may order these directly from UMI by completing the relevant section of the contract form.

All doctoral dissertations are published on microfilm by University Microfilms, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Abstracts are published in the widely circulated Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI). Publication by University Microfilms and in DAI satisfies the publication requirements outlined in the Graduate School Catalog.

A positive of each microfilmed dissertation is sent to the Library of Congress and entered in its subjects and author titles. University Microfilms retains the negative; you can order copies by contacting the company.