Formatting
the
Thesis

This document is a precis of the policy of the University of Canberra on thesis format, with the additional requirements of the Institute for Applied Ecology shown in italics.

Objectives

Adherence to this standard will ensure that:

• the quality of all theses is both uniform and appropriate to the value placed upon them by the scientific community;
• the thesis is of a form that can be reproduced for distribution to examiners and ultimately lodged with the library as a permanent document;
• candidates do not compete over matters of presentation that have little or nothing to do with the quality of the science in the thesis.

Text Format

The text should be typed in 12 point Times Roman font on International Standard Organisation A4 size paper. Headings should not exceed 14 point. Only one side of the paper should be used. Exceptions are table captions and figure legends which, for reasons of space, cannot entirely be accommodated on the right hand page.

Typing should be either double spaced or space-and-a-half, including the Literature Cited, but excluding direct quotations and footnotes which should be single spaced. Candidates may choose the spacing appropriate for Appendices.

Top, right and bottom margins should be a minimum of 2 cm. The left margin should be 3 cm. Pages should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis. Preliminary pages (for example, the title page, statement of originality, table of contents and abstract) that precede the main text should be numbered with lower case roman numerals beginning with one (i). Number the main text consecutively beginning with the Arabic number one (1). All page numbers should be placed 1.5cm from the top edge and 2cm from the right edge of the page. Before submission, check your thesis copies to ensure that all pages are present and in numerical order.

Tables

Each table should occupy a page separate from the main thesis text (that is, not embedded in the text) immediately following the first substantive reference to it. Small tables may share a page. A list of do's and don'ts for tables follows:

• DO include a caption and column headings that contain enough information for the reader to understand the table without reference to the text. The caption should be at the head of the table.
• DO organize the table so that like elements read down, not across.
• DO present the data in a table or in the text, but never present the same data in both forms.
• DO choose units of measurement so as to avoid the use of an excessive number of digits.
• DON'T include tables that are not referred to in the text.
• DON'T be tempted to "dress up" your thesis by presenting data in the form of tables or figures that could easily be replaced by a sentence or two of text. Whenever a table or columns within a table can be readily put into words, do it.
• DON'T include columns of data that contain the same value throughout. If the value is important to the table include it in the caption or as a footnote to the table.
• DON'T use vertical lines to separate columns unless absolutely necessary.

If large tables require a landscape orientation, the top of the printed page should be at the thesis binding edge. Larger tables can be included in the thesis on International B4 which shall be folded and bound so as to open at the top and the right.

Figures and Plates

Each figure should occupy a page separate from the main thesis text (that is, not embedded in the text) immediately following the first substantive reference to it. Small figures may share a page. Figures must meet the same standards as the rest of the thesis. Originals must be completed with permanent, non-water-soluble ink. Pencil, ball-point and felt-tip pens are not acceptable. Labels must be permanent. Legends, keys and all other identifying information should be of the same quality of print as the thesis text.

Plates should be referred to as figures. Plates must be of publication standard which generally requires that they are photographic plates. Scanned images reproduced on a laser printer are not suitable. Colour should be avoided unless required by the subject (i.e. for a taxonomic description).

A list of additional do's and don'ts for figures follows:

• DO include a legend describing the figure. It should be succinct yet provide sufficient information for the reader to interpret the figure without reference to the text. The legend should be below the figure.
• DO provide each axis with a brief but informative title (including units of measurement).
• DON'T include figures that are not referred to in the text, usually in the text of the results section.
• DON'T be tempted to "dress up" your report by presenting data in the form of figures that could easily be replaced by a sentence or two of text.
• DON'T fill the entire A4 page with the graph leaving little room for axis numeration, axis titles and the caption. The entire figure should lie within reasonable margins, as for the rest of the thesis.
• DON'T extend the axes very far beyond the range of the data. For example, if the data range between 0 and 78, the axis should extend no further than a value of 80.
• DON'T use colour, unless absolutely necessary. It is very expensive and, when published, the costs are usually passed on to the author. Colour in figures may look good in a thesis, but it means redrawing in preparation for publication.

If a figure requires a landscape orientation, the top of the printed page should be at the thesis binding edge. Larger figures can be included in the thesis on International B4 which shall be folded and bound so as to open at the top and the right.

Thesis Structure

Cover

Theses presented for examination may be hard-cover or soft-cover, provided they are securely bound. Final copies of the thesis, following examination, should be hard-cover bound. An abbreviated title, the author's name and the year of submission should appear on the spine running lengthwise from the top. The front and rear cover should be left blank. A sample spine format is provided.

Frontispiece

Title Page

The title page should include the full title of the thesis, the author's name and highest qualification at the point of submission, departmental address, the degree for which the thesis is submitted and the conferring institution, and the month and year of submission. A sample title page is provided.

To select an appropriate title, refer to the advice in the Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper.

Statement of Originality

The thesis must contain a signed and dated statement of originality, such as:

"This thesis is my original work and has not been submitted, in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. Nor does it contain, to the best of my knowledge and belief, any material published or written by another person, except as acknowledged in the text".

Copyright

The thesis should contain a signed and dated statement outlining any copyright restrictions, such as:

"Copyright in relation to this thesis

Under Section 35 of the Copyright Act of 1968, the author of this thesis is the owner of any copyright subsisting in the work, even though it is unpublished.

Under section 31(I)(a)(i), copyright includes the exclusive right to 'reproduce the work in a material form'. Thus, copyright is infringed by a person who, not being the owner of the copyright, reproduces or authorises the reproduction of the work, or of more than a reasonable part of the work, in a material form, unless the reproduction is a 'fair dealing' with the work 'for the purpose of research or study' as further defined in Sections 40 and 41 of the Act.

This thesis must therefore be copied or used only under the normal conditions of scholarly fair dealing for the purposes of research, criticism or review, as outlined in the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. In particular, no results or conclusions should be extracted from it, nor should it be copied or closely paraphrased in whole or in part without the written consent of the author. Proper written acknowledgement should be made for any assistance obtained from this thesis.

Copies of the thesis may be made by a library on behalf of another person provided the officer in charge of the library is satisfied that the copy is being made for the purposes of research or study."

More restrictive conditions require the approval of the Director.

Acknowledgements

It is appropriate to acknowledge all persons and organisations who facilitated the research described in the thesis, over and above that for which they received direct remuneration.

Abstract

The abstract is a concise precis of your work, comprising approximately 500 words but not normally exceeding 700 words. The structure and content of the abstract should follow closely that of a scientific paper's abstract. See Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper for further details.

Table of Contents

A Table of Contents, with page references, should be provided with sufficient detail to allow ready access to the content of the thesis. A List of Tables and a List of Figures should also be included, based on abbreviated captions and legends. They should include page references.

The Body of the Thesis

Candidates have considerable flexibility in the structure of the body of the thesis itself and should consult with their supervisor(s). However, theses comprising a series of papers along the lines of what will be subsequently published are strongly encouraged, provided that:

• there is a general introduction to the thesis, setting the work in the context of existing knowledge and understanding, establishing the need for the current study and its significance, and stating the aims and objectives;
• there is a general methods section drawing together methods common to two or more chapters, and thus avoiding repetition;
• there is a synopsis, providing an integrated discussion of results that may have been discussed separately in each chapter; and
• a single list of literature cited is compiled, rather than separate and repetitive lists for each chapter.

Literature Cited

Citation style should follow the Harvard System (see Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper). An alphabetical list of references cited in the text should be compiled and formatted to comply with the requirements of the CSIRO journals of scientific research (e.g. see Australian Journal of Zoology). All references cited in the thesis should appear in the reference list, and all references in the reference list should appear as citations in the thesis.

Appendices

Detailed information or data which may increase the usefulness of the thesis for subsequent workers, but which are too detailed for inclusion in the main body of the thesis may be included as appendices. Appendices must be paginated consecutively with the text. Appendices must meet the standards with respect to margins and format that apply to the remainder of the thesis, though text may be single spaced.

Supplementary Materials

Where a thesis is accompanied by supplementary non-printed material such as three dimensional objects, sound or video recordings, computer disks, paintings, maps, plans, etc, the supplementary material ill need to be reproduced in a form suitable for storage and retrieval and must be suitably packaged. Candidates should seek the advice of their supervisor(s) and the Librarian in all such cases.

Length of Thesis

While there are no absolute limits, honours theses should not exceed 60 pages of text; Masters and PhD theses should not exceed 200 pages of text, excluding tables, figures and appendices.

Style

Simplicity and directness of writing style is encouraged. The thesis should be free of spelling, grammatical, typographical and punctuation errors. For assistance with grammar, refer to Elements of Style by William Strunk).

A high standard of editing is mandatory.

Submission

Theses are normally submitted through the principal supervisor and the Division Executive to the Divisional Higher Degrees Committee. Four securely bound copies should be submitted in the first instance.

As honours candidates are not provided with the opportunity to amend the thesis, honours theses should be bound in final form. Two copies are required for the examiners and one copy to be held by the University during the examination process. The fourth copy is for the Library.

Final bound copies of the thesis, revised if necessary, are to be provided for the University Library (except Honours), the Institute for Applied Ecology, and the primary supervisor. The candidate also would be expected to retain a copy. Candidates cannot necessarily expect examiners copies to be returned.