Formatting Front Matter (Sample Title Page)
The front matter contains the following items in the order in which each should appear:
| Title | This is the full title of your dissertation. |
| Author | You alone are the author of your dissertation. |
| School | The official name of your University is "University of Nebraska." |
| Degree | For the CYAF program this is "Doctor of Philosophy." |
| Major | Human Sciences |
| Committee Names | These are the persons who supervised your doctoral program and dissertation. |
| Date of Defense or Graduation Date | Put the date you defended or the date of your graduation (e.g., "October, 1996.") |
| City, State | Put the city and state in which you defended. |
| Copyright | In any work, copyright implicitly devolves to the author of that work. One may make this statement of ownership explicit, however, by including a copyright notice, such as "Copyright 1998, John J. Smith." Additionally, you may pay to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office through University Microfilms International (UMI). |
Other Front Matter
Formatting Body Matter
The body matter contains the chapters of the ETD, in logical order, each with its own title. Chapter titles may include:
- Introduction
- Review of Literature
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- Summary
| Chapter | At the beginning of each chapter, place the word "Chapter" and the chapter number and chapter title in large type. |
| Paragraphs | Separate paragraphs by a line of horizontal space. Indent block quotes on the left and right. |
| Footnotes | You may use footnotes and/or endnotes. Lengthy footnotes are probably better formatted as endnotes. Place any footnotes on the same page as the items that refer to them. Footnotes in main body text should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, starting with the number 1. |
| Multimedia Objects |
Multimedia object types include tables, complex equations, graphs, diagrams, digital pictures, digital video, digital audio, virtual reality, and even computer software of which you have developed. Simple Objects
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| Complex Objects | More complex multimedia objects require special treatment. They either do not fit naturally on a page or the file size is too large to fit reasonably within a document. For complex objects, you must place the type and number of the object along with its concise, descriptive title, centered on a line by itself. In parentheses, include the media encoding (e.g., JPEG) and file size (e.g., 1.5 Megabytes). You must then connect each object title to a separate file containing the object. Many complex multimedia object types have a simple object version (often called "thumbnail") that is a reduction of the picture or one frame of video. If possible, we recommend that you include this reduction in the main document along with a PDF link to the complex object. Be sure that you submit the object file(s) along with your dissertation. |
Formatting Back Matter
The back matter contains the references (bibliography) and appendices
| References | Consult your departmental guidelines for the standard forms for citation. |
| Appendices |
The student may include the source code or output of computer programs as an enumerated appendix. Place figure references with PDF links to multimedia objects here also. Exactly as you treated each chapter, place the word "Appendix," the appendix letter or letters, and the appendix title in large type at the beginning of each appendix. Appendices are enumerated alphabetically from A to Z, then AA, AB, and so on to ZZ, then AAA, AAB, etc. |
Formatting Global Page Settings
After you have written your thesis or dissertation, you must prepare the electronic version for submission. Overall, it is important to submit an ETD that has a consistent appearance throughout. All the pages in your ETD should follow a general form regarding page numbering, margins, and line spacing.
| Page Numbering |
Except for the title page and abstract, number all pages in your ETD. Page numbers appear in page headers or footers. [Consult the manual for your word processor on how to set up "Page Headers" and "Page Footers."] Number the pages in the Front Matter with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), placed at the upper right of the page. However, the page number for the Title Page (i) and the pages of the Abstract (ii...) should not appear on the page(s). Number all pages through the Body and Back Matter with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). You should number these pages at the upper right. If you choose, you may add your name and the name of the chapter to the page number as a running head. Omit this head on the first page of each chapter. |
| Margins | We recommend that all margins for your ETD (left, right, top, bottom) be no less than 1 inch. |
| Spacing | Your ETD line spacing should be either 1 line (single-spaced) or 1½ lines. Your committee may prefer the working paper drafts to be double-spaced, but smaller spacing is easier to read on a computer screen. A spacing of 1 1/2 may be a compromise that will be accepted by your committee. Please consult your committee to determine preference during the draft phase. |
| Fonts | For best readability, normal body text should be 12 point (12pt) and in the Times or Roman family. |