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Chapter 2: Before You Prepare Your DraftThere are several steps that you need to go through before you begin formatting your dissertation. 1. Take note of the published deadlines. These deadlines indicate the date by which your academically complete document must be submitted to the system. Any formatting changes requested by the Graduate School can be made after the ETD editors evaluate your document during the submission process. As long as the first draft of your document is submitted by the deadline, it is considered to have met the deadline, even if Graduate School formatting standards have not yet been met. 2. Understand the Formatting Requirements in this document, the UM ETD Style Guide. This Style Guide outlines all the formatting element that the Graduate School requires for your dissertation or thesis. Do not use a previously published University of Maryland, College Park Dissertation or Thesis as a model. Format requirements may have changed, and the model may not be appropriate for your discipline or needs. Please note tha the formatting requiremens of of the Graduate School supersede guidelines in any other style manual. You may wish to make use of the MS Word ETD Templates that the Graduate School has created. These documents are pre-formatted to Graduate School formatting standards. A LaTex template is also available. 3. Choose An Appropriate Style Manual. The ETD Style Guide does not offer guidelines for formatting all elements of the document; it only outlines elements required by the Graduate School at the Unviersity of Maryland. For all other elements, please default to the standard style manual in your discipline. To determine the preferred style manual in your discipline, consult your advisor or program. Refer to a style manual for systems of scholarly reference, setting off direct quotations, numbering figures and tables, presentation of data, and similar features. In general, it is advisable to become familiar with a professional style manual at this time in your academic career, if you have not already done so. Thus, a psychologist will use the APA (American Psychological Association) manual; a student of literature, the MLA (Modern Language Association) manual. Click here for a list of common academic style guides. 4. Obtain Written Permission (If Needed) for Using Copyrighted Material. The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 established the concept of "fair use" of copyright material in published work, but it does not provide absolute guidelines. Although Proquest will publish your dissertation, Proquest does not have the responsibility of seeking permissions for you. Proquest uses The Chicago Manual of Style definition of “fair use.” You should become familiar with the concepts outlined there. Generally, the use of a complete unit (a poem, journal article, photograph, map, letter, and so on) requires permission. It is more difficult to define at what point a lengthy excerpt exceeds fair use. Good judgment will tell you that reproducing a significant proportion of another author's work is not "fair." However, be aware that "fair use" also touches on scholarly ethics or the use to which the quotation or excerpt will be put in your work. Another author's work should not be used as a substitute for your own analysis and argument. When in doubt, seek permission; it is usually granted. For a sample letter requesting reprint permission, please see Chapter 6, Sample Letters and Pages. 5. Obtain Permission for Use of Human or Animal Subjects. Prior to undertaking research using human or animal subjects, you will have had to seek and obtain approval. Be sure that the graduate program human subjects review board or university Institutional Review Board (http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/IRB/) approval is indicated on the Nomination of Examining Committee form. If your research involves hazardous materials—biological or chemical agents or recombinant RNA/DNA—you must have approval from the appropriate university committee(s) and campus Department of Environmental Safety (call 301 405-3960, or located online at the following URL: http://www.des.umd.edu. 6. Obtain Editorial, Proofreading, or Typing Assistance. If you hire someone to prepare your draft, you should provide them with the URL of this Style Guide, and discuss special disciplinary requirements for your work. Remember to engage an individual early. You should also prepare a list of correctly spelled and hyphenated technical terms and foreign words for the typist, since standard dictionaries or computer spell-check utilities will not generally include such terms. The Graduate School does not recommend particular individuals or groups to prepare your draft. Most programs have lists of experienced typists, and the Diamondback carries advertisements. The Graduate School offers an English Editing program for international graduate students for whom English is not their first language, yet who must present their theses or dissertations in English. The EEIGS program is free, and is staffed by volunteer editors from the Volunteer Service Corps, the Golden ID program, and the community. You may also contact the Office of Graduate Recruitment, Retention, and Diversity (http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/grrd) for information on this program. The Maryland English Institute (MEI) also offers assistance through the MEI Writing Center for International Graduate Students. Call 301 405-8634, or visit http://www.mei.umd.edu. University of Maryland graduate students from across the campus offer editing services for a fee. Check bulletin boards in your department, or call the Freshman Writing Program, Department of English, at 301 405-3771. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS OF YOUR THESIS, INCLUDING EDITING AND PROOFREADING, RESTS WITH YOU, THE AUTHOR.
It is the responsibility of the author of a work submitted to the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Program at the University of Maryland to notify the Office of Technology Commercialization of such submission if the work has been, or will be, submitted in part or in its entirety as an invention disclosure. Note: Posting may compromise certain patent rights. The Office of Technology Commercialization can be reached via its website: http://www.otc.umd.edu, or at the following addresses: Office of Technology Commercialization University of Maryland Back to Table of Contents | Next Chapter : Preparing the Draft |