Jacksonville State University Thesis Guide
Graduate Studies Jacksonville State University
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What is a Thesis? A thesis is a scholarly manuscript reflecting original research and/or creative activity. It is designed to demonstrate the student's ability to: • • • • • • • • •
Select a topic which can be studied in terms of time, equipment needs and experimental population or information available. Receive approval of a topic by the student’s Thesis Committee and the Graduate Studies. Analyze existing literature for relevant studies and material on the topic of choice. Ensure ethical compliance of research involving humans or animals (e.g., IRB approval, IACUC). Ensure all research is accurate and original and note any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or professional editorial advice. Obtain, organize, and analyze data and available information using logical and/or statistical analyses appropriate for the project. Integrate, in a meaningful way, the findings into the greater body of existing knowledge and state its significance. Present a manuscript in an accepted format to the satisfaction of the Thesis Committee and Graduate Studies. Submit online the approved final version of the thesis to JSU Digital Commons.
Thesis Option Early in the master’s program study, students should talk with their program advisor and determine if the Thesis Option is right for them. Students who choose the Thesis Option must submit the Thesis Option & Prospectus Form prior to registering for the first three semester hours of thesis, 5990. Students will not be able to register for the first 5990 course, without being cleared by Graduate Studies. Not all master’s programs at JSU have a Thesis Option. Programs with a Thesis Option are: Applied Behavioral Analysis, Biology, Criminal Justice, English, Geographic Information Science and Technology, History, Mathematics, and Music. i
Thesis Student Responsibilities The student is responsible for driving the thesis process. While the thesis chair serves as the student’s primary adviser throughout the process, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to ensure that all institutional deadlines are met, and all documentation submitted on time. The basic responsibilities of the thesis student are as follows: • • • •
Consult program director to select a Thesis Committee and Thesis Chair. Submit Thesis Option & Prospectus Form prior to registering for first three semester hours of thesis course, 5990. Present a schedule for thesis completion to thesis chair. This schedule should consider personal and professional time limitations, scope of research, and any program requirements. Apply and gain approval for research study from the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, if applicable.
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Ensure all research is accurate and original and note any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or professional editorial advice. Meet with thesis chair regularly and keep them informed of research progress or difficulties. Prior to the deadline, apply for graduation via an Application for Graduation. A $50 non-refundable degree fee is charged each time a student submits the Application for Graduation. If a student fails to graduate in the semester stated on the Application for Graduation, then the student will be required to submit a new Application for Graduation by the due dates for a future semester and pay the additional degree fee. Present thesis manuscript draft to chair and incorporate chair’s feedback into subsequent drafts. Expect and allow time for multiple revisions of thesis manuscript before submission to Graduate Studies. Present complete, chair approved manuscript draft to Thesis Committee and Graduate Studies by deadline. Revise manuscript based on feedback from External Reviewer. Work with thesis chair and committee to schedule a thesis defense. Submit Thesis Defense & Final Approval Form. Submit completed thesis manuscript to Digital Commons using instructions sent from Graduate Studies.
The student should also consult with the thesis chair on any department/program guidelines and procedures beyond the scope of this guide.
Thesis Committee When a student selects the Thesis Option, a three-member Thesis Committee is to be established for each student. The members of the committee may be appointed by the department head/program director from the graduate faculty in the student’s major field. One member of the Thesis Committee will serve as the chair of the committee. It is the responsibility of the chair to convene the Thesis Committee to discuss any aspect of research progress or thesis preparation. In some instances, members may be named from outside the student’s program or the institution, with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Any committee member from outside the program/institution serves voluntarily and in addition to the three members from the institution. Members of the Thesis Committee have the responsibility of requiring the student to prepare a thesis that meets the appropriate standards of scholarship and academic rigor before final approval is submitted to Graduate Studies. No member of the thesis committee should have a relationship with the thesis student that poses a potential conflict (e.g., relative, friend, or colleague).
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Thesis Coursework Students selecting the Thesis Option will take 6 hours of Thesis study coursework, 5990. Students should consult their Graduate Program Director to determine when they are ready to register for 5990. Prior to registering for the first three semester hours of thesis (5990), a student choosing the Thesis Option must submit a Thesis Option & Prospectus Form approved by the student’s Thesis Committee to Graduate Studies.
Changing from Thesis Option to Non-Thesis Option If a student has declared the Thesis Option and wishes to change to Non-Thesis Option, then the student must complete the Request to Change to Non-Thesis Track form to notify their Thesis Committee chairperson and Graduate Studies. Important! Students who change from the Thesis Option to the Non-Thesis Option and have completed their first 5990 thesis course may apply it towards degree completion. The second 5990 course cannot be applied towards degree completion and will need to be replaced with other relevant coursework.
Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects It is the student's responsibility to gain approval from the Internal Review Board (IRB) and/or the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) and to maintain the standards for research, consent, data collection, and data storage as outlined by these committees. Failure to gain approval or to conduct research meeting these committees’ standards may result in the student not receiving the doctoral degree. The student should work with their dissertation chair to ensure their research gains necessary approvals and maintains the set standards. Training modules for each committee are linked to their respective webpages.
Manuscript Drafts The student and the thesis committee will decide the appropriate timetable for the draft(s) of the thesis. The student will research and prepare a draft manuscript under the guidance of the thesis chair. Following the initial review and approval by the chair, the student will submit a copy to the members of the Thesis Committee, as well as Graduate Studies for external review. The manuscript draft must be approved by the chair and be complete prior to submission to Graduate Studies. Any manuscript submitted that is incomplete will be returned which may delay the student's ability to move forward with finalizing their manuscript within the identified term. The Thesis Committee may recommend further work or revision on the manuscript or may indicate that it is ready for defense.
4 Feedback from the external reviewer must also be reviewed and discussed between the student and the thesis chair. Once the committee approves the final draft, the Thesis Defense may be scheduled. Full details for manuscript preparation can be found in Thesis Manuscript Guidelines below. A template in the current edition of the APA style manual is also provided by Graduate Studies.
Manuscript Review All chair approved manuscripts submitted to Graduate Studies will be assigned to an external reader for review. This review includes evaluation of manuscript formatting, style guide formatting, editing and grammatical issues, and the students' use and appropriate citation of outside sources. The external reader’s feedback will be sent to the student within the deadlines outlined on the Graduate Studies website. When editorial changes are so extensive that the quality of the thesis is compromised, the manuscript will be returned for a more thorough review and edit by the student and the committee. The student should discuss the feedback from the external reader with the thesis committee chair and apply it as directed.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools must be approved by the thesis committee chair and align with the expectations of the student’s program. Additionally, all uses of AI must comply with the university standards and AI usage policies. Within the thesis manuscript, students must acknowledge any AI tools used and cite the information gathered while using the tool. Please note, the student is accountable for all content included in the thesis, including material generated or assisted by AI. Be sure that all AI-generated content is accurate and original. Additionally, students should be aware that AI tools are often automatically enabled on internet search engines and summaries generated by these AI tools may offer hallucinated or false citations and sources. Any material gathered via internet research should be vetted and accurate. Further instructions are provided within the Thesis Manuscript Guidelines below and a sample can be found in the Thesis Manuscript Template ii.
Thesis Defense The Thesis Defense is scheduled after arrangement of a mutually convenient time for committee members. The defense must be scheduled so that the student meets the Graduate Studies deadlines for final submission.
5 At the Thesis Defense, the thesis will be reviewed carefully, and the student will be required to defend the work, including objectives, methodology, results, and conclusions. Based on this defense, the committee will either approve or disapprove the manuscript as submitted. The committee chair is responsible for notating approval or disapproval on the electronic Thesis Defense & Approval Form. All committee members must sign agreeing to the indicated outcome. If the committee disapproves of the manuscript, the reasons should be communicated to the student for action. The committee will indicate further research required and/or revisions needed for approval. The committee may require another defense, or it may approve the thesis after revisions without an additional defense. Approval of the thesis must be by unanimous vote of the committee members. Any student failing to successfully defend their thesis will have one additional attempt. Failure to successfully pass the defense in the second attempt will result in the student failing to graduate.
Digital Commons Upon receipt by Graduate Studies of the Thesis & Defense Final Approval Form, students will be notified via email that their final manuscript should be submitted to JSU Digital Commons. A step-by-step guide will be provided to assist with this process. Students will not be clear to graduate until this process is complete. Failure to meet this deadline may result in delaying the student’s graduation until a subsequent semester. All institutional deadlines are available on the Graduate Studies website.
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Thesis Manuscript Guidelines This guide is based on the most current edition of the APA style manual. Students should use the style guide approved by their program in consultation with the committee chair. The thesis is divided into three parts: prefatory materials, text, and reference material. These parts should not be formatted using chapters. Instead, students should follow the traditional formatting found in scholarly journals: Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Graduate Studies has provided instructions below and a template following the most current edition of the APA style manual.
Style guidelines The following chart outlines the approved style guides for the Jax State thesis/thesis option programs. Program
Style Guide
Applied Behavioral Analysis
APA
Biology
APA
Criminal Justice
APA
English
MLA
Geographic Information Science and Technology
APA or Chicago
History
Chicago
Mathematics
APA
Music
Chicago
Visual Communication and Design – MFA
Chicago
Thesis students should always consult their committee chair for program requirements for formatting and style.
Manuscript Organization Pages highlighted in yellow are NOT optional and must be included in ALL thesis manuscript submissions. The thesis manuscript must be assembled in the following order: • • • • • • • •
Final Thesis Approval Page Title Page Abstract Declaration By Author Use of Artificial Intelligence Editorial Assistance Research Involving Humans or Animals Acknowledgement Page (if applicable)
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Table of Contents List of Tables (if applicable) List of Figures (if applicable) Preface (if applicable) Text (arranged in accordance with current style manual required by program) Documentation (footnotes, etc., using current style manual required by program) References (using current program approved style manual) Appendices
Prefatory Materials These are the pages before the manuscript body. Each component is described below.
Final Thesis Approval Page The final thesis approval page is the first page of the thesis. It is not numbered; however, it is understood to be page small Roman numeral one (i) when totaling the number of pages for the abstract. Names and signatures of all committee members. The final electronic form can be downloaded upon completion of the form-routing process.
Title Page The title page is not numbered; however, it is understood to be page small Roman numeral two (ii) when tabulating the total number of pages for the abstract. The title page has three sections: the title of the thesis, the author's name and the submission statement. If two or more lines are needed for the title, they should be double-spaced. The author's full name should be used. The submission statement should read exactly as the example, filling in the appropriate degree and the date of graduation. Special attention should be given to titling the paper. Modern retrieval systems use the words in the title to locate the subject of theses. For the subject to be located easily, the title must be a meaningful description of the content. Avoid oblique reference, and the use of word substitutes, formulas, symbols, superscripts, subscripts, and Greek letters.
Abstract The abstract is limited to 250 words, is page numbered with a small Roman numeral, and is headed ABSTRACT. It is a concise summary that is separate from and independent of the text. It should be constructed with the purpose of reporting only the essential characteristics of the study. Regardless of the field, the abstract should describe the problem, procedure or method, results, and conclusions. Abstracts of experimental research studies should contain statements of the problem, methods, and results. In behavioral research the numbers and kinds of subjects should be indicated. References should not be included in the abstract.
8 After the main text of the abstract, the author should note the total number of typed pages. This includes both the small Roman (prefatory) and Arabic (text) numerals.
Declaration by Author This page requires verbatim reproduction (see template). It may not be altered.
Use of Artificial Intelligence In this section the student should detail any usage of artificial intelligence tools. Full instructions are detailed in the attached template.
Editorial Assistance Students should explain any professional editorial advice received. Full instructions are detailed in the attached template.
Research Involving Humans or Animals This section contains statements regarding the involvement of human or animal subjects in the student’s research. Details are outlined in the attached template.
Acknowledgements This section is optional. Any acknowledgment should be expressed simply and tactfully. Only the people and institutions that have rendered non-routine aid should be recognized. It is appropriate for you to acknowledge the help of your Thesis Committee as well as selected others. If included, this page is numbered in small Roman numerals.
Table of Contents The Table of Contents must accurately reflect the outline and organization of the thesis. It continues the small Roman numeral page numbering sequence. Each title is followed by a row of periods leading to a column close to the right-hand margin containing each page number. The Table of Contents should start with the Table of Contents and should show all major and at least primary subheadings exactly as they appear in the text. Lists of tables, lists of figures, section headings, references and appendix are written in title case. If an entry is longer than one line, it should be single spaced, with double spacing between entries.
List of Tables The List of Tables should immediately follow the Table of Contents and continue the small Roman numeral sequence. The word "Page" should appear as the heading to the column of page numbers on the right side of the page. Tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the text in Arabic numerals.
List of Figures All illustrative materials other than tables are considered figures, including charts, graphs, drawings, photographs, or formulas. The List of Figures follows the List of Tables, and the page should follow the same format. Figures should be numbered consecutively throughout the text in Arabic numerals.
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Text The first page of the manuscript is numbered with Arabic numeral 1 and all subsequent pages, including the reference and appendices, are numbered with Arabic numerals. Each major section of the text is numbered consecutively with a Roman numeral. The main text should be double spaced with each section beginning on a new page. Subsections within a section do not begin on a new page unless the preceding page is filled. Aspects of the internal organization of the manuscript not covered in this Guide (including headings, subheadings, tables, figures, footnotes, references, and appendices) should be consistent with APA style.
Illustrative Materials Drawings, figures, tables, graphs, photographs, maps, and all other illustrative materials may be included only if they are high quality and the author holds copyright permission. Proof of copyright permission must be provided to Graduate Studies for protected images or content prior to final approval.
Reference Materials The thesis must include references to sources used within the text. The page of the manuscript which lists sources cited in the thesis should be headed as References. Only works cited within the body of the manuscript should appear in the reference list.
Appendices Appendices consist of material related to the text but not suitable for inclusion in it, such as lengthy tables, figures, documents, computer printouts, etc. Appendices should be labeled alphabetically (Appendix A) and each should have a descriptive title. Each appendix with its title should be listed in the Table of Contents. Reference to each appendix should be found in an appropriate place in the thesis text. Photographic reduction of material to conform to margin requirements is permitted if the material remains clear and legible.
Formatting and Pagination Margins One-inch margins are used for the entirety of the manuscript.
Line Spacing Double: The text of the thesis is to be double-spaced and should not include additional spacing between lines and paragraphs. Single: Single spacing should be used for block indented quotations of at least four lines.
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Page Numbers Prefatory Pages The approval page and title page are not numbered but are understood to be pages i and ii. Thus, numbering begins with the abstract (iii). All following prefatory pages are numbered consecutively in small Roman numerals. Text The body of the manuscript should be numbered in Arabic numerals. Page numbers must be placed as defined by the required style manual. Pages for tables and figures are treated just as the regular text.
Preparing the Final Manuscript Submission to Digital Commons As a graduation requirement, all JSU graduate students completing a thesis must submit the final version of their manuscript to the Houston Cole Library for archiving. Submission is in digital format through an online system, Digital Commons. This digital version of the student’s thesis will be the official version of record, made publicly accessible, and permanently retained by the library. The step-by-step submission guide will be provided via email upon Graduate Studies receiving the signed Thesis & Defense Final Approval Form and following the completion of the final review process. Students must complete the JSU Digital Commons submission process to be cleared to graduate. i ii
The Masters of Fine Arts program requires a thesis of all students. These instructions and sample are based on the University of Queensland’s Guide to Acknowledging and Referencing AI.