Content of the Dissertation - Economics
Every Andrew Young School of Policy Studies dissertation will be comprised of:
- Preliminary pages - Economics
- Preliminary pages - Public Policy
- Main body of the work (text), and
- References.
Note that dissertations for Economics and Public Policy have different preliminary pages, following the guidelines set by Georgia State and Georgia Tech, respectively. The page order should be followed exactly as it appears below.
Preliminary Pages for Ph.D. in Economics
The preliminary pages of the dissertation consist of the permission to borrow, notice to borrowers, title page, copyright notice, acceptance page, preface (optional), acknowledgements (optional), table of contents, list of tables (if applicable), abstract. These pages have a standard format, as shown in the figures at the end of this document.
Permission to Borrow (see Figure 1). This page should be signed by the author in every paper copy of the dissertation, if any are bound.
Notice to Borrowers (see Figure 2). Be sure to include your permanent (contact) address on this page.
Title Page. (see Figure 3). The title page must include the full title of the dissertation and the author's full legal name.
Copyright Notice. (see Figure 4). Copyright protection is not required, although it is strongly recommended. The copyright notice is placed in the center of a blank page. If the dissertation is not to be copyrighted, a blank page is inserted immediately following the title page.
Approval Page. (see Figure 6) In the electronic version of your dissertation, the approval page, which does not have signatures, will be the second page of the document. (It replaces the Acceptance Sheet (Figure 5) previously used in bound copies.) NOTE: the date of approval on this page should be the month and year of your graduation, not the month and year you turn in your dissertation.
Dedications. The author is requested not to include dedications in the dissertation.
Preface or Acknowledgments. Neither is required. If included, they may be combined as a single composition of not more than two pages or be written as two separate compositions. The Preface should include brief comments concerning the general nature, problems, scope and objectives of the research. The date and the author's signature should appear at the conclusion of the preface, if included.
Most dissertations include a brief statement of appreciation for, or recognition of, any special assistance. The Acknowledgments single out help rendered by members of the dissertation committee, and acknowledge others who have assisted the candidate. NOTE: The Preface or Acknowledgments is the first page to be numbered (page iv). Beginning with the title page, the pages are paginated in the process, although numbers do not appear on the page.
Table of Contents. The format of this table must conform to the requirements of the style manual selected.
List of Tables, Figures, Illustrations, Maps, Drawings. Separate pages are used for each type of list. The list of tables is presented first, followed by the other lists, if they apply.
• A Table designates tabulated numerical data used in the body and/or appendices of the dissertation.
• A Figure designates all other nonverbal materials used in the body and/or appendices such as photographs, drawings, diagrams, multimedia files, etc.
Every table and figure must have a caption (a descriptive title, usually no more than one line long) and a number; tables and figures each have a separate series of consecutive numbers. The List of Tables or List of Figures should include the captions exactly as they appear on the tables and figures; however, if captions are extremely long, they may be truncated. Figures with multimedia files should include the file information in the List of Figures. Tables and figures should be inserted as near as possible to the text they illustrate. If they are one-half page or less, they may appear on the same page with the text; if larger than half-page, they may be centered on their own separate page. You may place two tables/figures on a single page, but not side-by-side. They may be placed on landscaped (horizontal) pages, when appropriate, with the caption for rotated tables/figures in the same orientation as the table or figure.
Abstract (see Figure 7). The abstract will be published in Dissertation Abstracts and cannot exceed 350 words. It should include a statement of the problem, procedure or methods, results, and conclusions. To check the 350-word limit, use the following method:
• Maximum 2,450 typewritten characters per abstract. Count number of characters (including spaces and punctuation) in a line of average length and multiply by the number of lines.
• In an average abstract, there will be about 70 characters per line with a maximum of 35 lines.
External Document (required but not part of your electronic dissertation):
Acceptance Sheet. (see Figure 5). The acceptance sheet is prepared by the candidate before the final oral examination. It must be on 100% acid-free paper. At the time of the final oral, all signatures of the dissertation committee must be obtained and the acceptance sheet submitted to the Office of Academic Assistance. The OAA will obtain the Dean's signature. Only one original acceptance sheet is required; this original will be kept in your file in the OAA. Should you wish to order bound copies of your dissertation, a copy of the acceptance sheet will be provided for each bound copy. In the online version of your dissertation, this signature page will be replaced by the Approval Page. (see Figure 6).
Next: Content of the Dissertation - Main Body of the Work