WritingtheThesis

MarkC.Griffin,DepartmentofAnthropology,SanFranciscoStateUniversity,San Francisco,California941324155.http://online.sfsu.edu/~mgriffin

Thisguideisdesignedtogiveyouaproceduraloutlineforworkingonyourthesis.Everythesis projectwillhavespecialconsiderationsthatarenotcoveredhere.Youshouldconsultwith yourcommitteeearlyandfrequentlytoresolvehowtohandlethesespecialconsiderations.No onedocumentcancoverallthebases.TherearetwootherexcellentdocumentsontheWeb thatyoushouldalsoread: How to Organize Your ThesisbyJohnW.Chinneck,CarletonUniversity How to Write a Ph.D. ThesisbyJoeWolfe,UniversityofNewSouthWales

WhatistheThesis?
TheculminationoftheM.A.istheMaster'sThesis.Chinneck(How to Organize Your Thesis,
1999)assertsthat"Thedistinguishingmarkofgraduateresearchisanoriginalcontributiontoknowledge.The thesisisaformaldocumentwhosesolepurposeistoprovethatyouhavemadeanoriginalcontributionto knowledge.Failuretoprovethatyouhavemadesuchacontributiongenerallyleadstofailure."

TheM.A.thesisisthedemonstrationofyourabilitytoconductoriginalresearchandpresent thewrittenresults.Itisnotaclassthatyousimplytakeandgetcreditfor.Norisitaglorified termpaperthatyoucanwaittothe"eleventhhour"tofinish.Yourthesisisaresearchproject thatyouhavespentconsiderabletimeinpreparatoryresearch(literaturereview),project design(formulationofahypothesis),datacollection(fieldandorlaboratory),analysis (statisticalexaminationofthedata),andfinallypresentationandsynthesis(examinationofthe statisticalresultsinthecontextofyourhypothesisandliteraturereview).Eachofthese individualpartswillconsumeconsiderabletimeandeffort.

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HowLongWillitTake?
Chinneck(1999)answersthiswith:"Longerthanyouthink.Evenaftertheresearchitselfisalldone
modelsbuilt,calculationscompleteitiswisetoallowatleastonecompletetermforwritingthethesis.It'snot thephysicalactoftypingthattakessolong,it'sthefactthatwritingthethesisrequiresthecompleteorganization ofyourargumentsandresults.It'sduringthisformalizationofyourresultsintoawellorganizedthesisdocument capableofwithstandingthescrutinyofexpertexaminersthatyoudiscoverweaknesses.It'sfixingthose weaknessesthattakestime."

Ingeneralfrominitialresearchtofinaldraft,youshouldallowfrom12to18months.This guidelinecomesfromyearsofexperience,sotakeitseriously.Thefollowingisabreakdownof thephasesofanalysisandthetimeyouneedtoallotforeachone: (1) LiteratureReview.Theliteraturereviewisinmanywaysthemostdifficultandtime consumingpartofthethesisproject.Itisalsothemostimportant.Thereviewofthe literatureprovidesthecontextforyourthesisproject.Youwillbebuildingonprevious researchersworksoitisimportantthatyoubethoroughlyfamiliarwithit.Thereview oftheliteratureprovidesyourhypothesis,yourmethodology,andyourcontextfor analysisandinterpretation.Thereforeyoushouldspendconsiderabletimeonthispart ofyourproject.Youshouldinitiallyallotatleastthreetosixmonthsforthispartof yourresearch.Howeveryoushouldalsorealizethattheliteraturereviewwillcontinue forthedurationoftheproject. (2) DataCollection.Dependingonwhereyouwillbedoingyourdatacollectionand whetheryouwillbedoingitfulltimeorparttime,thedatacollectionphaseofyour projectwilltakebetweentwoandsixmonths.Itisveryimportantthatyoubuildin enoughtimetogobackandredosomeofyourdatacollection.Mostresearchersfind thattheirexpertisechangesoverthecourseofdatacollectionandyouwillneedtogo backandrecheckthedatathatyouinitiallycollected. (3) DataAnalysis.Donotunderestimatethetimeyouallothere.Learningastatistics packagetakestime.Researchingtheappropriatestatisticsandlearninghowtouseand

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applythemtoyourdatatakestime.Planonatleastthreemonthsforthisphaseofyour analysis. (4) PreparationoftheThesisDrafts.Youwillbewritingindrafts.Youshouldcounton writingatleastthreetofourcompletedraftsbeforeyourthesisiscomplete.Asa generalguideline,fromfirstdrafttofinaldraftyoushouldcountonatleastsixmonths. Thismeansthatifyouplantograduateinthespringsemesteryoushouldhaveyourfirst drafttoyourcommitteeatleastbyOctoberofthatacademicyear(e.g.,ifyouplanto graduateinSpring2009,yourthesiscommitteeshouldhaveyourfirstdraftbyOctober 2008).

GettingStarted
Onceyouhavetalkedwithyourcommitteemembersandestablishedatopictheveryfirstthing todoisstartlibraryresearch.Oneofyourgoalsfromtheoutsetshouldbetotrackdownand readeveryreferencethatyoupossiblycan.Ideallyyoushouldstartthistaskinyourfirstyearin theMAprogram.Youwillbeworkingonthisaspectofyourthesisrightuptothefinaldraft,so getanearlystart.Thewaytostartthisprocessistofindseveralrecentarticlesorbooksthat pertaintoyourstudy.Readthemthoroughlyandtakenotes.Thenturntotheirliterature cited.Cullthroughandfindthereferencesthatarepertinenttoyourresearch.Getthose references,readthem,takenotes,andminetheirreferences.Continuethisprocessuntilyou haveamassedallofthereferencesthatyoucanfind. Itisimportantthatyoustartthisprocessassoonaspossiblebecauseinterlibrary loancantake alongtimeinthecaseofhardtofindbooksorarticles. Youshouldfamiliarizeyourselfwiththejournalsthatareavailablethroughtheelectronic
resourcesatthelibrary.Thiswillmaketheresearchphaseofyourprojectmucheasier.

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TheHypothesis
Atthispoint,youshouldbereadytoformulateahypothesisthatyoucan(realistically)test. Spendsometimecarefullycraftingthisandformulatingexactlyhow(yourmethodology)you aregoingtotestthehypothesis.Writeafewpagesregardingthisandpresentittoyour committeeforfeedback.Dothisearlysothatyouhaveadequatetimeforfeedbackand revisions.

TheOutline
Afterseveralweeksofresearchingandreadingtheliteratureyouwillbereadytoconstruct anoutline.Thisistheroadmapforyourthesis.Theoutlinewillprovidethechapterheadings andsubheadingsforyourthesis.Constructtheoutlinewithtwogeneralguidelinesinmind. First,mosttheseswillfollowthegeneralsectionsdescribedbelow.Secondly,addheadingsand subheadingsbasedonwhatyou'vediscoveredinyourliteraturereview.Onceyouhavean outline,giveittoyourcommitteeforcommentsandrevisions. Younowhaveatangibleplacetobeginwriting.Foreachofyourheadingsandsubheadings, writeaparagraphormore.Thisshouldbeveryinformalatthispoint.Writedownwhatyou plantocoverandwhy.

Timetable
Makeatimetable(seeexampleatendofthisdocument)andplanwhenyouwillhaveeach phaseofyourprojectfinished.Thiswillhelpyoutobudgetyourtime.Thisstructurewillhelp yougetthingsdoneontime.Otherwise,thetemptationistosetadatewhenthefinaldraftis dueandturninthedraftatthelastminute.Draftspreparedinthismanneraregenerally horriblydisorganizedandhopelesslyincomplete.Handinginthiskindofdraftwillonlyirritate yourcommitteeandseriouslyprolongtheeditorialprocess.Sodontdoit.Amuchbetter Writing the Thesis pg. 4

strategyistoturnindraftsofthekeypartsofyourthesisforfeedback.Themostimportant initialthingsthatyoushouldshowyourcommitteeare(1)adiscussionofyourhypothesis,(2) anoutlineofchapterheadingsandsubheadings,and(3)apreliminaryliteraturereview.

DataCollection
Ifyourthesisinvolvesdatacollection(measurements,observations,orinterviews),youneed tobuildinextratimeforthisverylaborintensiveactivity.Datacollectionistremendouslytime consuming.Makesurethatyouallowenoughtime.Invariably,measurementshavetobe redone,statisticsrecalculated,andinterviewsfollowedupon.Ageneralruleistoallowtwice asmuchtimeasyouthinkyouneed.

MechanicsofWriting
Beforeyoubeginwritingyoushouldgetthetwoessentialwritingmanualslistedbelow.Get themandreadthem.Keepthemwhereyouwriteforreference. Turabian,KateL.1996.AManualforWritersofTermPapers,Theses,andDissertations,6th edition(ChicagoGuidestoWriting,Editing,andPublishing).UniversityofChicagoPress. Strunk,WilliamJr.,E.B.White,CharlesOsgood,andRogerAngell.2000.TheElementsofStyle. AllynandBacon.

BeginWriting
Probablythemostcommonmistakethatbeginningwritersmakeistryingtowritefrompage one.Takingalookatthegeneralsectionsdescribedbelow,THELASTthingthatyoushould writeistheabstract.Thisisthehardestpartofthethesisandislargelydependentonthework beingdone.Saveittilllast.Ingeneral,theeasiestthingstowritearetheliteraturereview, materials,andmethodssections.

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PartsofaThesis
Abstract
Thisisthesynopsisofyourthesis.Itshouldstateyourhypothesis,yourmethods(howyou wentabouttestingthehypothesis),abriefsummaryofyourfindings,andabriefconclusion. ThisistheLASTthingthatyouwrite.Waituntileverythingelseiswrittenbeforeattemptingthe abstract.

Introduction
Theintroductionshouldintroducethethesis.Thisisnotasummaryofthethesis.Itisnota briefversionofeachchapter.Itisanintroductiontothetopic.Introducethesubject.In generalterms,whatdoesyourstudyaddress?Whyisitimportant?Wheredoesisfitinthe overallfield?Besuretoincludeintheintroductionaclearstatementofyourhypothesisand howyouaregoingtoaddressit.Throughouttheintroductionyoushouldusecitationsfromthe researchliteraturetosupportyourstudy.Thesecitationsshouldincludebutnotbelimitedto researchpresentedintheLiteratureReview.Thefollowingaresuggestedtopicsthatare usuallycoveredintheintroduction. StatementoftheProblem.Youshouldsuccinctlystatetheproblemthatyourthesisis goingtoaddress.Youshouldalsopresentrelevantinformationaboutwhythisisan importantproblem. BackgroundandNeed.Youshouldpresentrelevantliteraturethatsupportstheneedfor yourproject.Researcharticles,books,educationalandgovernmentstatisticsarejusta fewsourcesthatshouldbeusedhere.Thissectioncanincludebriefoverviewsofarticles coveredintheliteraturereviewthatsupporttheneedforyourproject Rationale.Youshouldcarefullypresentthemodelortheorythatunderliestheproject. Therationaleshoulddefinethelargerproblembeinginvestigated,summarizewhatis

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knownabouttheproblem,definethegap(s)intheknowledge,andstatewhatneedsto bedonetoaddressthegap(s). PurposeoftheProject.Basedontheabovebackgroundinformation,explainthepurpose ofthestudy.Explainwhatyouhopethestudywillaccomplishandwhyyouchosetodo thisparticularstudy.Thisshouldbesupportedwithcitationsandspecificinformation relatedtothestudy. ResearchQuestions/Hypotheses.Giventhebackgroundabove,youcarefullystatethe hypothesis(ses)thatwillbetestedinyourthesis. Methods.Briefly(asyouwillcoverthisindepthinalaterchapter)describethemethods thatwereusedinyourstudy(i.e.,researchmethods,variables,instrumentation, participants,pilot,analysisofdata). Limitations.Beginthiswithasummaryofthedocumentthusfartoprovideabackground foranylimitationstothisstudy.Beveryspecific,forexamplethepopulationtowhich yourfindingswillbelimited.

LiteratureReview
Theliteraturereviewshoulddiscussalloftheresearchthathasbeendoneonthesubject. Howyougroupthediscussionwilldependonyourproject,butbesuretocomeupwitha logicalorganizationbeforeyoubeginwriting.Thisisthediscussionandanalysisofthelibrary researchyou'vebeendoingforthepast12months.Howmanystudiesshouldbeincludedwill dependonthetopic,butageneralbaselineis75to100references(althoughmanytopicswill appropriatelyhavemanymorethanthis).

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Theliteraturereviewshouldbeginwithareiterationofthepurposeofyourstudy.This shouldbefollowedbyapreviewofwhatistocomeintheliteraturereview.Thislaysoutthe overallorganizationofspecifictopicsyouwillcover. Thepurposeoftheliteraturereviewistoconciselydemonstrateyourlevelofunderstanding oftheresearchrelatedtoyourproject.Youshouldnotdiscussalloftheliteratureindepth. Ratheryoushouldgroupyourliteratureaccordingtosomegeneraltopicsandonlydiscuss specificstudiesiftheyarelandmarkstudiesforyourareaofresearch(thereshouldbe610of these).Eachofthesespecificdiscussionsshouldincludespecificinformationaboutthegroup involvedintheresearchproject,data,andresultsreported.Oftenareviewofliteraturewill includeseveraloftheseindepthreviewswithminireviewsofstudiesthatcametothesame orsimilarconclusions.Theliteraturereviewshouldendwithadiscussionofhowtheliterature relatestoyourstudy.

MaterialsandMethods
Thissectionshouldprovideanindepthdiscussionofyourmaterials(e.g.,ifthisisan archaeologicalthesis,youshoulddiscussthehistory,etc.ofthepopulationsthatyouare dealingwith).Themethodsportionofthissectionshouldcarefullyandmethodicallydiscuss themethodsthatyouaregoingtouse,theprecedentforthese,andthereasonswhyyouare usingthem.Ageneralguidelineisthatyoushoulddiscussyourmethodsinsufficientdetailthat anotherresearchercouldtakeyourdataandduplicateyourresults.Oneoftheexpectationsof performingoriginalresearchisthatsomeoneinthefuturewilldofurtherresearchonthistopic. Sucharesearchershouldbeabletouseyourmethodologywithouthavingtoconsultanyother source.Ifyouareusingstatisticalanalyses,explainthestatisticalmethods.Whatdothey mean?Howaretheyused?Whyaretheymoreapplicableherethanothersimilarmethods? Forsometheses,thematerialsandmethodsshouldbediscussedinseparatesections.

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Results
Thisisanarrativepresentationofyourfindings.Thisiswhereyoupresentyourstatistics, tables,figures,etc.thatshowwhatthespecificfindingsofyourstudyare.Presentthemin detail.Rememberthatsomeoneshouldbeabletoduplicateyourstudybasedsolelyonthis document.Thisrequiresconsiderabledescription. Itisveryimportantnottotryandcombinethischapterwiththenextone.Youneedto carefullypresentyourresultsfirstwithnofurtherinterpretation.Onceyouhavepresentedthe datayouarereadytomoveontothenextsection.

Discussion
Thischaptershouldbeginwithaconciserestatementofyourstudyspurposealongwithany neededbackgroundinformation.Youshouldrestateeachofyourhypotheses.Nowthatyou havepresentedtheresultsintheprevioussection,discusstheminthissection.What, specifically,dotheresultsmean?Howcantheybeinterpreted?Cantheybeinterpretedin multipleways?Whatdothefindingstellyouaboutyourhypothesis?Donotclaimmorefor yourresultsthanthedatareallyshows.Avoidspeculation.

Conclusions
Thisshouldsummarizeyourresultsanddiscussion.Youshouldincludealistofthemost importantfindingsofyourstudyindescendingorderofimportance.Youshouldalsoprovidea statementaboutthepossibilityoffuturestudy.Whatneedstobedoneandwhatdoesthis studycontribute?

LiteratureCited
Thisisalloftheliteraturethatyouhavecitedinthetext,tables,andfigures.Thisisnota bibliography.Donotincludeworksthathavenotbeencitedinthebody.Keepcarefultrackof

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thisasyouwrite.Whenyouuseasource,addittothissection.Beforeyoubegincompiling thissection,findoutwhatstyleyouareexpectedtouse.Ingeneral,anthropologistsshoulduse thestyleofthejournalCurrentAnthropology.Makeahardcopyofthestyleandtapeitabove yourcomputer.Carefullyadheretoitoryouwill(deservedly)raisetheireofyourcommittee (thisisapetpeeveofmostacademics).

Appendices
Ifyouhavematerialthatistoolongtoincludeinatable(rawdata,fieldnotes,etc.)ornot appropriatetoaparticularsectionitshouldbeincludedasanappendix.

TablesandFigures
Tablesandfiguresshouldappearinthetextaftertheyarefirstmentioned.Appendingthem attheendofthethesisisaveryawkwardarrangementandmakesthethesisdifficulttoread. Materialpresentedintablesandfiguresshouldnotbeduplicatedinthetext.Thereare examplesofthegeneralformatthatshouldbeusedfortablesandfiguresattheendofthis document.

RawData
Yourrawdatashouldalwaysappearaspartofthethesis.Thisshouldappearasanappendix attheendofyourthesis.Anotherresearchershouldbeabletoduplicateyourworkwithno otherdocumentsattheirdisposal.

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TheEditorialProcess
Youneedtodevelopa"thickskin"now.Yourfirstdraftwillbereturnedtoyoucoveredin red.Yourcommitteehasavestedinterestinproducingagraduatewithprofessionallevel researchandwritingskills.Theseareareflectionnotjustonyoubutalsoonyourcommittee anddepartment.Youshouldcountonatleastfiveorsixdrafts(manyofthemswimmingin red)beforethefinaldraft. Everywriterbeginstheprocessquiteconvincedthattheyareanaccomplishedwriterwith littleneedforimprovement.Scientificwritingisanartformthatmustbeconstantlyrefined (regardlessofyourlevel).Takeyourcommittee'scriticismsandlearnfromthem.Don'tsetup anepicbattlebetweenyouandyourcommittee.Youaresupposedtobelearningwhile completingthethesis.Takeeacheditorialcommentandfixtheproblem.JoeWolfe(How to
Write a Ph.D. Thesis)offersthefollowingobservationsinregardtotheeditorialprocess: "Asyouwriteyourthesis,yourscientificwritingisalmostcertaintoimprove.EvenfornativespeakersofEnglish whowriteverywellinotherstyles,onenoticesanenormousimprovementinthefirstdraftsfromthefirsttothe lastchapterwritten.Theprocessofwritingthethesisislikeacourseinscientificwriting,andinthatsenseeach chapterislikeanassignmentinwhichyouaretaught,butnotassessed.Remember,onlythefinaldraftisassessed: themorecommentsyouradviseraddstofirstorseconddraft,thebetter."

HealthyParanoia
JoeWolfe(HowtoWriteaPh.D.Thesis)makesthefollowingsuggestionsregardingmaintainingfiles (computerandpaper)whilewritingyourthesis.Thisisgoodadvice.Followitandsaveyourself troublelater.
"Itisencouragingandhelpfultostartafilingsystem.Openawordprocessorfileforeachchapter andoneforthereferences.Youcanputnotesinthese,aswellastext.Whiledoingsomethingfor Chaptern,youwillthink"OhImustreferbackto/discussthisinChapterm"andsoyouputa notetodosointheChaptermfile.Oryoumaythinkofsomethinginterestingorrelevantfor

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thatchapter.Whenyoucometoworkonthatchapter,themoresuchnotesyouhave accumulated,theeasieritwillbetowrite. Makeabackupofthesefilesanddosoeverydayatleast(dependingonthereliabilityofyour computerandtheageofyourdiskdrive).Neverkeepthebackupdiskclosetothecomputerin casethehypotheticalthiefwhofanciesyourcomputerissmartenoughtothinks/hecoulduse somedisksaswell.Youshouldalsohavearotatingmasterbackup:usetwodisks,backupone ofthemeveryweek,andkeepthemphysicallyseparatefromyourmaincomputer.Thatwayyou alwayshavebackupsthatare1and2weeksold,andifafilebecomescorruptedyouwillhave anolderversionofitavailable.Ifyouwanttobereallycareful,youcouldtransferyourbackups toamachineatsomegeographicallyremotelocation(usingFTPoranemailattachment), withoutofcoursetellingthesystemadministratorthatIsuggestedthis.(ForMacintoshfilesuse BinhextoconvertthefilestoASCIIformandFTPinASCIImode.ForDos/Windowsfiles,transfer usingbinarymode).Asimplewayofmakingaremotebackupistosenditasanemail attachmenttoa(consenting)emailcorrespondent.Youcouldsendittoyourselfifyourserver savesyourmail(insomeemailpackageslikeEudorathisisanoptionalsetting).Ineithercase,be carefultodisposeofsupersededversionssothatyoudon'twastediskspace. Youshouldalsohaveaphysicalfilingsystem:acollectionoffolderswithchapternumberson them.Thiswillmakeyoufeelgoodaboutgettingstartedandalsohelpcleanupyourdesk.Your fileswillcontainnotjusttheplotsofresultsandpagesofcalculations,butallsortsofoldnotes, references,calibrationcurves,suppliers'addresses,specifications,speculations,lettersfrom colleaguesetcwhichwillsuddenlystrikeyouasrelevanttoonechapterorother.Stickthemin thatfolder.Thenputallthefoldersinaboxorafilingcabinet.Asyouwritebitsandpiecesof text,stickthehardcopy,thefiguresetcinthesefoldersaswell.Touchthemandfeeltheir thicknessfromtimetotimeah,thethesisistakingshape. Ifanyofyourdataexistonlyonpaper,copythemandkeepthecopyinadifferentlocation. Considermakingacopyofyourlabbook.Thishasanotherpurposebeyondsecurity:usuallythe labbookstaysinthelab,butyoumaywantacopyforyourownfutureuse.Further,scientific ethicsrequireyoutokeeplabbooksandoriginaldataforatleasttenyears,andacopyismore likelytobefoundiftwocopiesexist. Whileyouaregettingorganised,youshoulddealwithanyuniversitypaperwork.Examinershave tobenominatedandtheyhavetoagreetoserve,variousformsarerequiredbyyourdepartment

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andbytheuniversityadministration.Makesurethattheratelimitingstepisyourproductionof thethesis,andnotsomeminorbureaucraticproblem."

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MA Thesis Style
An MA thesis is made up of a title page, an abstract, a table of contents (including separate tables for list of tables and list of figures), an introduction, several chapters, a conclusion, references, and, optionally, appendices. Apart from enumeration, each chapter must have a title. The specific structure and contents of each chapter must consistently follow the same style. Most of the guidelines below are the SFSU requirements for thesis format. Follow the style below exactly.

Margins. The left margin should be 1 inches. All other margins should be 1 inch. Font. The main text and literature cited should be 12 point Times New Roman. Block quotes, appendices, and all secondary material should be 10 point Times New Roman. Page Numbering. Preliminary pages (all pages before the text begins). Use lower case Roman numerals for preliminary pages. Begin the page count with the title page, but do not display numerals on the title, copyright, certification of approval and abstract pages. Display the Roman numerals on the acknowledgement, table of contents and list pages. Roman numerals should be centered, 1 inch from the bottom of the page, and 1 inch from any text. Main Text. Use Arabic numerals starting with page one of the text. Position the page numbers in the upper right hand corner, 1 inch from the top and 1 inch from the right. The text must be an additional 1 inch away from the page number. Paragraph. All paragraphs begin with a five-space indent (do not use tabs). All text paragraphs should be double-spaced. All sentences should be separated by two spaces after the period. Do not justify paragraphs. Headings. Headings throughout the document should follow the format below.

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MAIN HEADINGS
Chapters always start on a new page. Chapter titles (including headings for tables of contents, literature cited, and appendices) must be centered, bold, all capitals, 14 point, and followed by two empty lines.

Second Level Headings Second Level Headings must be left-justified, 12 point, bold, with primary words capitalized (i.e., nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions) Second Level Headings (sections of chapters) are positioned directly above the main text and separated from the following text by one empty line and the text above by two empty lines. A Second Level Heading cannot directly follow a Main Heading. In other words, at least one paragraph of text should follow the Main Heading before the first Second Level Heading. Third Level Headings. Third Level Headings precede the first paragraph of the section, are in 12 point, bold, italicized, with primary words capitalized, and followed by a period.

Short quotes. Short quotes (fewer than 60 words) should be located within the text and enclosed by double quotation marks. Single quotation marks are for quotes within quotes. The source of the quote must be written in parentheses immediately after the closing quotation marks, but still before the main punctuation that closes off the sentence or clause. [Example] We discard the so called modularity view attributed to Chomsky (Lakoff 1987: 208). When two authors are the source, both must be mentioned, as in: (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 122), and when more than two authors are responsible, the abbreviation et al. must follow the first name: (Varela et al. 1983: 156-157). The phrase et al. is only used in parentheses. If referring to the authors in the phrase use and coworkers or and others. If the author(s) wrote more than one Writing the Thesis pg. 15

book in the same year, alphabetically-ordered small letters will distinguish, for example: (Lakoff 1976a: 121) (Lakoff 1976b: 82). Long quotes. Longer quotes must be placed in a text block in 10 point font, with inch indentation on both sides and the paragraph single-spaced. The quote should be set off from the text above and the text below by an extra line (i.e., two empty lines above and two empty lines below). Citation should follow the guidelines above. Citation. All reference information is provided in a separate part at the end of the MA thesis in a section entitled Literature Cited. Any specific information must be attributed to a source. The format described above under quotations should be followed. The general format in parentheses is the author, followed by the publication date and precise page number(s) if a passage is directly quoted. Only direct quotations include the page number(s). If the authors name is mentioned in the passage, it should be omitted from the parenthetical portion. In the case of long passages of paraphrased material, the citation is provided after the last sentence. Numbers. Always spell out numbers when they stand as the first word in a sentence or if the number is less than 10 (numbers 10 and greater should use Arabic numerals); do not follow numbers spelled out with abbreviations. Numbers indicating time, weight, and measurements are to be in Arabic numerals when followed by abbreviations (e.g., 2 mm; 1 sec; 3 ml).

Table and Figure Format

Follow the style below for your tables and figures. Tables and figures must be set-off from the text above and below by two blank lines. Tables are preceded by a title which is left justified and consists of the table number followed by a period, two spaces, a title which describes the contents of the table, followed by a period. Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis. The title is followed by two blank lines, the table headers, a header line, the contents of the table, and a footer line. Columns of numbers within a table are right justified within the column. When a table spans the entire width of the page it is left justified as below. When a table does not span the entire width of the page it is centered as the

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second example below. Tables are never split across pages. Titles for figures are placed below the figure and are placed in line with the left-most portion of the figure (figures are always centered). The title consists of the same parts described above for table titles.

Table XX. Title. Head 1 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 2 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 3 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 4 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 5 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 6 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 7 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00

Table XX. Title. Head 1 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 2 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 3 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 4 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 Head 5 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00

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Figure XX. Title.

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ExampleMAThesisTimeline
January - May 1987 Research into the theoretical basis for dental variation and review of literature Familiarization with the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System Design computer forms for data recording (using SCRIPT and SPSSx) Pilot study of 120 individuals for selection of appropriate traits for the thesis Collection of data (~300 individuals) Analysis of data and write-up

September - December 1987

January - March 1988

April - September 1988

October 1988 - January 1989 January - May 1989

OK,thatseemslikeaprettyreasonabletimeline.sowhatwentwrong?Well,everythingwent welluptoapoint.OnethingthatIdidrightwastostarttheliteraturereviewearly.Asit turnedout,Iworkedontheliteraturereviewrightuptillthelastdraft.This,Ifoundoutlater,is typical.Youshouldthereforeplanonit.AnothersmartthingthatIdidwasbuildintimeto learnaboutatypeofmorphologicaldatathatIreallyhadn'tspentmuchtimeonbefore(the ASUdentaltraits).ThistookalotlongerthanIreallythoughtitwould.Inmostcasesyouare goingtobelearninganewtechnique,methodology,etc.foryourthesisresearch.Youneedto factorthisintoyourtimeallocation.ThelastsmartthingsthatIdidweretotakesometimeto prepareasystematicformtorecorddataandperforma"pilotstudy"toreallylearnhowto collecttheASUtraitinformationand"hone"mydatacollectiontechniques.Iwasquite pessimisticwithmytime(noticeIgavemyself9monthstodothis),butasitturnedout,I neededallofthattime.IfoundoutabouthalfwaythroughthepilotstudythatIwasactually collectingthedataincorrectly.IhadtogobackandredoeverythingthatIhaddoneuptothat point.Iencounteredasimilarproblemduringtheactualdatacollection.Soinsteadoffinishing datacollectioninJanuary,IactuallyfinishedinearlyMarch. Sowhatelsewentwrong?ThefirstseriousproblemwasthatIdidn'tbuildinanytimefor statisticalanalysis.IthoughtthatIwasprettywellversedinstatistics(afterall,Iacedbothmy

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undergraduatestatisticscourseshowhardcoulditbe?).AfterIhadcollectedallofmydata,I realizedthatIhadnoideahowtoworkthroughthestatistics.SoIthrewmyselfonthemercy ofthestatisticsdepartment.Ninetimesoutoften,Ileftthestatisticsdepartmentmore confusedandfrustratedthanwhenIwentin.Afternearlyfourmonthsofwranglingwiththe statistics,Ifinallygotitprettywellironedout.MymajorbreakthroughcameafterIwrotetoa fellowgraduatestudentatanotheruniversitythatIhadmetatthephysicalanthropology meetings.Withouthisextensivehelp,Iwouldhavebeensunk.Soinsteadoffinishingthis phaseinApril,IfinallygotitdoneinmidAugust.NoticeIwasalreadythreemonthsbehind. ThesecondseriouserrorthatImadewasnotallowingenoughtimeforwriting.Writingupthe materialssectionandtheresultssectiontookalotoftimealotlongerthanIevercouldhave imagined.WhenIfinallyfinishedthefirstdraftofmythesis,itwasalreadymidSeptember.I hadbegundoctoralschoolbeforefinishingtheM.A.againsttheadviceofmycommitteeand wasbeginningtounderstandwhyIhadbeenadvisednottodothis.Andthencamethereal shock.Thefirstdraftcamebackfrommycommitteedrowninginaseaofred.Reanalysis, rewriting,andreworkingensued.Oneofthestipulationsofmyadmittancetothedoctoral programwasthatIbefinishedwiththeM.A.bythebeginningofmysecondsemester.Sothe heatwason.Afterweeksofeighteenhourdays,Ididgetthesecond,andthirddraftsin.AndI didgetmyfinaldraftinwithabouttwodaystospare. Themoralofthestory.?Planahead.Youcanneverbuildintoomuchtimetocompletethe thesis.Beveryconservative.Buildinextratime.Countonhavingtorecollectdata,redo interviews,etc.Allowyourselfatleastsixmonthsmorethanwhatyourmostconservative guessis.

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SiteswithHelpfulInformationonWritingaThesis
How to Organize Your ThesisbyJohnW.Chinneck,CarletonUniversity How to Write a Ph.D. ThesisbyJoeWolfe,UniversityofNewSouthWales "Writing and presenting your thesis or dissertation"byJosephLevineat MichiganStateUniversity

How Theses Get Written: Some Cool Tips OnlinebySteveEasterbrook, UniversityofToronto. Postgraduate Student ResourcesbyUniversityofCanberra

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SomeThesesOnline
Our Ancestors Talk Among Us: Indigenous Knowledge in International RepatriationbyThomasA. Biron,MichiganStateUniversity Life and Health in Nineteenth Century Port Hope, Ontario: Isotopic and Dental Evidence of Dietby KarenBlackbourn,TrentUniversity Maintaining Ethnicity: A Case Study in the Maintenance of Ethnicity Among Chilean Immigrant StudentsbyStephanieA.Corlett,CarletonUniversity Linear and Cortical Bone Dimensions as Indicators of Health Status in Subadults from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm CemeterybyJessicaLynnFlorence,UniversityofColorado,Denver HUJPU-ST: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Anthropogenic Fire in Yosemite ValleybyLinn Gassaway,SanFranciscoStateUniversity A Contribution to the Debate Over the Origin and Development of Treponemal Disease: A Case Study from Southern IllinoisbyTwanaJillGolden,SouthernIllinoisUniversity Dental Variation of Native Populations from Northern Spanish FloridabyMarkC.Griffin,Northern IllinoisUniversity Mythic Implications of Faunal Assemblages from Three Ohlone SitesbyBarbaraLeeJones,San FranciscoStateUniversity Anthropology and Creationism: A Cultural AnalysisbySherryA.Norton,CaliforniaStateUniversity, Fullerton Using Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis to Determine Age at DeathbyJenniferE.Riddle, UniversityofNevada,LasVegas A Test of Non-Metric Ancestry Determination in Forensic Anthropology: Should the Current Categorization of Individuals of European Descent be Reconsidered?byValerieNicoleYavornitzky, MichiganStateUniversity

Writing the Thesis

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