Step-By-Step Guide to Prepare Your Electronic Dissertation for Submission

Electronic dissertations convey a richer message through multimedia to increase the availability of your research work. Unlike their printed counterparts, they offer better accessibility and multimedia integration. Submitted in fulfilment of an academic degree, they are at a premium over traditional print formats. 

Scholarly communications are spreading very fast today. We have come a long way in considering the electronic dissertation database a new form of scholarship that can reach an audience beyond academia. Therefore, it is the researchers’ responsibility to demonstrate clarity, correctness, and organisation in such write-ups to get them accepted by the ProQuest forum. 

In this article, we will put off various steps involved in preparing an electronic thesis. Keep reading for coherence in composition and careful documentation. 

What Is an Electronic Dissertation?

Electronic dissertations are an openly accessible electronic version of your thesis instead of a bounded paper copy. Such online availability is much more beneficial than the long delay and added cost of printed documents. Presenting your thesis for final submission is a later task; first, craft research findings coherently in the paper. For this purpose, you can acquire services from UK-based dissertation writing agencies. The way you organise it here will be shown to the readers in electronic form. 

How to Prepare Your Electronic Dissertation for Submission? 6 Steps

The ETD is a centralised electronic thesis and dissertation repository that allows researchers to join the large collection of graduate-level creative research. It is acquitted as one of the safest repositories for your dissertations. Once your document is accepted at ProQuest, it will become available to 100 countries. Therefore, students must familiarise themselves with the ETD process to avoid later mishaps. 

Here is the step-by-step guide that can make your strenuous electronic dissertation journey easy for you. 

• Document Formatting 

To complete your graduation, your electronic thesis dissertation should conform to the guidelines set forth by the university. It involves adhering to the formatting standards to get it accepted by the research repository. Here are the general formatting details for electronic theses and dissertations. 

Title Page: 

It is the first page of electronic dissertations with all information such as author name, affiliation, degree, title of thesis, etc. There is no need to add a running header on this page. Also, the page number will be put in the Arabic numerals instead of 1, 2, etc. 

Abstract Page: 

This chapter must have a heading with the title “abstract”, thesis title and author name. Suppress any page number on it rather than continue with the Roman numeral count “ii”. It must be single-spaced, and no running head must be added here. 

Front Matter: 

It includes preliminary pages, such as a table of contents and acknowledgements that need to be numbered in Roman numerals. It counts as pages i and ii of the preliminary pages. For instance, if you have a two-page abstract, the page immediately following it will be “iv”. 

Table of Contents: 

The electronic dissertation document must include a table of contents that can be included with any other front matter. It will have a Roman case numeral similar to its page number. 

Body: 

Here, you restart the numbering like chapter no 1 or introduction, and it continues to the end of the document. Don’t number any chapter onward with the Roman numeral but with Arabic numerals.  

Do you find it strenuous to format your electronic dissertations as per the above-mentioned guidelines? Instead of panicking, simply ask skilled writers to “do my dissertation”, and they will be there to assist you with the task to boost your academic integrity. 

• Page Formatting and Font

We have talked about the overall chapter formatting of the thesis document. However, what about the page formatting and font size of the document? Read the information given below to avoid any mistakes in your electronic dissertations. 

• Use a 1-inch margin on the top, bottom and right sides of all pages. You can leave 1.5 margins on the left sides of the pages for binding. 
• Either use single or double spacing in the dissertation. The footnote and bibliography should be single-spaced. 
• Don’t use any word bold in the preliminary pages. 
• Both left and full justification are accepted. 
• A standard 11 or 12-size font is supposed to be used throughout the document. 

• Tables and Figures

There are three methods to place tables and figures in your electronic dissertations. You have to choose one of the given methods throughout the document. Remember not to group these infographics at the end of the paper. 

• Don’t wrap the text and tables rather place them along with the body text. 
• Place it separately on the page immediately following the page where it was cited. 
• Group all the tables and figures at the end of the chapter where it was cited. 

The recommended method is to identify the chapter number in which these graphics are cited. Later on, you can number it as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. Moreover, you can number it as 1,2, 3, etc. throughout the thesis regardless of the chapter number. 

How to Format Your Tables and Figures for ETD Submission? 

• The table heading must be positioned above the table with the same font and style as you used in the electronic dissertations main body. 
• The figure heading may be placed above or below the figure depending on the given convention. 
• For a landscape orientation, the heading is placed on the same page. However, the page number will be in the portrait position. 

• Signatures

There is no need for signatures on the electronic copy of your thesis as it will be available on the web. However, just write the author’s name and date on the abstract page. Moreover, on the signature page, you can type the name of the co-director and director of your graduate studies department.

• Copyright Information

The copyright claim appears automatically in electronic dissertations when a manuscript is subjected to publication. To make your ownership clear, the graduate school requires you to provide a copyright notice that will be placed at the bottom of the title page. 

It is recommended to place this copyright statement at several points in the body of your thesis. The student must obtain written permission from the author if using other copyrighted information. 

What Is The General Guideline For Copyright Information In ETD? 

• The student must be the first author of any electronic dissertations’ publication. It showcases the primary role of the researcher in the organisation and development of this creative work. 
• If a student is not the first author, then ask for written approval from the director of graduate studies for your work. 
• Any student work that has previously been published must be referred to in the thesis properly. 
• It is the responsibility of the students to contact the journal editor to learn about the conventions of the journal. 
• The journal can hold the right of material in the dissertation before reproducing it in the document. 

• Create a ProQuest Account for Submission 

Here are the general guidelines on how to set up your account for the submission of your electronic dissertations on ProQuest. 

• You can submit the paper on ProQuest once you have completed writing it. 
• You can check the official website to follow up the given directions. 
• Use an email address that you use daily to continue with the proceedings. 
• All the submission steps are listed on the left side of the website and you will follow it up throughout. 
• After submission, the document will be reviewed by the graduate school administrator before it is officially accepted. 
• As per Michigan State University, the currency fee for the submission is $75.00 which needs to be paid when you create the submission. 
• You must be the sole author of the entire document. 

How to Find Someone’s Dissertation Online?

To locate a particular finding, try searching it on Google Scholar or personal web pages. You may also search online directly by the title of the electronic dissertations paper. For instance, you can use an online platform named Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. 

It will provide you free online access to millions of theses from all over the world. Use advanced research methods or some keywords to get access to your desired paper. 

Conclusion

Electronic dissertations are the commonly used means of scholarly communication that exempts the need for printed documents. This is how you make the information easily accessible around the globe anytime anywhere. Start by writing a coherent document that must abide by the convention given by the journal. 

If you failed to do it yourself, buying dissertation online from experienced professionals in the UK is the better option. In the above article, we have shed light on how you can prepare your document so that it gets approved by ProQuest for submission. You should format your paper as per the guidelines given above. 

The tables and figures can be placed in three ways in the thesis. Whichever method you use, keep it consistent throughout your paper. Moreover, there is no need for a signature as your paper will be available on the web. Also, seek copyright approval for your work from the director of graduate studies of your department.