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Dissertation Online Handbook

Preparation of the Manuscript

Final Copies

The final copy of your Professional Dissertation presented to the School of Professional Psychology (SOPP) may be either originally produced or a clear, clean, printed, or duplicated copy. All final Professional Dissertation copies presented must meet the following standards.

Paper

The final Professional Dissertation copy submitted to the School of Professional Psychology (whether it is an original, printed, or duplicated copy) must be on at least 20 to 25 pound weight (higher weight is acceptable), cotton (or rag) content, pure white, unlined, size 8 1/2" by 11" bond paper. Acid-free paper is preferred. The weight, content, and low acidity features are indicators that this type of paper is specially prepared to ensure long shelf life for the Professional Dissertation once it is bound and placed on reserve at the Fordham Health Sciences Library. The color and size requirements are determined by standard usage. No particular brand of paper is recommended; however, paper quality, as specified above, is important. Most good quality bond paper, available either through the University bookstore or through local academic and office supply establishments, would be acceptable. The same quality paper must be used throughout the Professional Dissertation, including blank pages, the approval sheet(s), and pages on which photographs are mounted. No holes, staples, or other perforation marks are permitted on any of the pages of the final copy. Failure to use only the bond paper, as prescribed, will result in rejection of the Professional Dissertation for improper format. As a rule, good quality paper will have a "watermark" which will give its "cotton" or "rag" content. The watermark is made visible by holding the paper up toward a light source. If you have any questions or concerns on paper type or quality, please contact the OAA.

Typing

The Professional Dissertation must be typed on one side of a page only. The style of the type may be "Times Roman" or the equivalent in 12 font. The style of the type must be consistent throughout. Papers should be both legible and free of smudges, stray marks, etc. The quality of print (clarity, intensity, contrast, etc.) must be consistent and bold enough to provide duplicated copies of equal quality.

Hand Lettering

Characters, symbols, or other special markings which cannot be typed onto the manuscript must be neatly hand drawn with a fine point pen in permanent black ink, such as India ink. Felt tip markers, pencils, and standard ballpoint pens are not acceptable. Find plastic tipped markers and roller-type ball point pens may be used. These requirements also apply to captions for figures and tables which cannot be typed. All non-typed materials must be legible, consistent, and bold enough to provide high quality copies. Page numbers cannot be hand drawn.

Corrections

All corrections (including typographical errors) must be made prior to final deposit. The Professional Dissertation must be free of strikeovers, correction type strips, and pen and ink changes. In order to assure high quality duplicated copies, the best method is to use correction fluids or tape and make erasures only on original documents which are not being submitted for deposit.

Duplication

Duplicated copies of the Professional Dissertation must be made on a standard photocopy machine. The copies must be sharp and clean with legible black lettering–equal to an original in quality. Supplementary materials may be duplicated as long as they meet this same standard.

Margins

All pages are to have 1 1/2"; margins on the left, and 1" margins on the right, bottom, and top. The only exception is the first page of a chapter or section which must have a 2" margin at the top. Supplementary materials (printouts, table, photographs, questionnaires, etc.) must also meet these margin requirements. While margin requirements can be based on close approximations, it is important that the guidelines be observed as strictly as possible in order to allow for the proper binding, trimming, and overall appearance of the Professional Dissertation.

Spacing

The general text must be double-spaced. The spacing of long quotations, footnotes, tables, bibliographies, captions, etc., should conform to the specifications in the APA Publications Manual.

Pagination

Preliminary pages. The pages preceding the text (e.g., abstract, table of contents, dedication, etc.) are to be numbered in lower case Roman Numerals (i.e., iii, iv, xi, etc.) and centered five lines (or approximately 3/4") above the bottom of the page. The title page and the approval sheet are counted as preliminary pages, but they are not to be numbered. Preliminary pages are numbered consecutively, beginning with "iii" on the first page of the abstract. If a copyright page is used, then the numbering begins with "iv" on the first page of the abstract. If a copyright page is used, then the numbering begins with "iv" on the first page of the abstract.

Text and reference pages. Starting with the first page of the text, or body of the Professional Dissertation, the remaining pages of the Professional Dissertation (including the bibliography and appendices) are numbered consecutively in Arabic numbers (i.e., 1,2,3, etc.). Numbers on the first page of a chapter or a section are to be centered five lines (or, approximately 3/4") above the bottom of the page. All succeeding numbers in the chapter or section are to be typed in the upper right hand corner, five lines (or, approximately 3/4") below the top edge of the page and 3/4" to l" from the right side of the page. As an option, page numbers may be placed five lines (or, approximately 3/4") above the bottom of the page (and centered) on all pages. Do not use punctuation marks before or after page numbers, do not use the word "page" with the number, and do not underline the page number.

Photographs

All photographs must be sharp, clear prints with a full range of contrast. Due to shelf life and microfilming, some color photographs may not be acceptable. As a rule, black and white photographs are generally preferred. Photographs should be firmly mounted with appropriate liquid or dry mounting adhesive. Photo mounting corners, gummed tape, staples, standard glue, and some types of rubber cement are not acceptable, as they may cause inadvertent seepage and page distortion. All photographs must be reduced to meet margin requirements. The University's Center for Teaching and Learning (937/775-3162) will advise and assist you in preparing photographic materials for inclusion in your Professional Dissertation.

Graphs, Charts, Tables

Tables and figures may be inserted wherever they are needed in the text but should be placed as close as possible to the relevant parts of the text. (Note that tables and text can be placed on the same page.) Tables and figures must be drawn in permanent black ink. Because colors do not reproduce in microfilming and other duplicating processes, lines on a graph must be identified by labels or symbols rather than by colors, and shaded areas are better represented by cross-hatching or dotting than by colors. Captions must be typed or printed in permanent ink and must be single-spaced.

Large Materials

Whenever possible, photocopy machine reduction (or equivalent) must be used on all materials larger than the standard 8 1/2" x 11" page size. When this is not possible, materials must be folded in accordance with the instructions in the APA Publications Manual (i.e., they must be folded to conform to the size of the Professional Dissertation paper). Any materials not typed, such as computer printouts, tables, figures, etc., must also meet print and paper standards.

Binding

The Fordham Health Sciences Library assumes the responsibility and expense of binding the final Professional Dissertation copy submitted to the OAA. The OAA (rather than the student) will transmit the final copy to the Library. If you are interested in having your own copy (or copies) bound at your expense, you should go to: www.thesisondemand.com

Revised: August 1, 2008