GUIDE TO PRESENTATION OF THESES
- University Requirements and Number of Copies
- Order
- Format and Description
- Copyright
- Embargoing Theses
- Layout and Production
- ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
- Referencing and Style Guides
UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS AND NUMBER OF COPIES
For theses worth 90 credits or more, you must submit three hard copies of a Masters thesis and four hard copies of a Doctoral thesis. Masters students should contact their College Office for guidance on where to submit their theses. Doctoral theses should be submitted as follows:
- Manawatu students: Graduate Research School, Commercial Complex.
Post: Graduate Research School, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
- Albany students: Massey Contact Office, Room 1.42, Quad A.
Post: Massey Contact, Quadrangle A Building, Private Bag 102904, North
Shore Mail Centre, Auckland 0745, New Zealand.
- Wellington students: Student Central
Post: Student Central, Block 4 Level A, Private Bag 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
- Distance students: in person to any of the locations above, or
Courier Post: Graduate Research School, Commercial Complex, Massey University, University Avenue, Palmerston North.
You will be issued with a receipt.
If you pass your examination, two copies of your thesis will be deposited into the University Library. For those students who enrolled for Masterate or Doctoral degrees on or after 1 January 2007, one copy of your deposited thesis must be a hard-bound paper copy and the other a CD-ROM (read only) copy of the identical thesis in the original file format. The digital copy will be included in Massey Research Online, the open access digital archive of the research and scholarship of Massey University. For pre-2007 enrolments, two hard-bound paper copies will be required, (one for archival purposes and one for lending). Alternatively, students may choose to provide one hard-bound paper copy and one CD-ROM copy.
The paper and digital copies of the thesis must be accompanied by a 
Thesis Declaration Form (20 KB) signed by the student. The form does not need to be bound in with the thesis, and may be slipped inside the front cover.
If you wish to deposit a research essay, research report, etc. not otherwise required to be lodged in the Library, please consult your supervisor or Head of Department first, then bring the copy or copies to the Information Desk of the Library
Theses and dissertations shall, unless the University Librarian approves otherwise, conform with the following requirements.
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ORDER
A. The Preliminaries
- Title page
- Abstract
- Preface and/or acknowledgements
- Table of contents
- List of illustrations, tables, etc.
B. The Text
- Main body of the work
- Footnotes
For many theses the text may look as follows:
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
C. The Reference Material
- Bibliography
- Appendices
- Index
FORMAT and DESCRIPTION
Title Page:
The title page text should be laid out as follows:
- Title of the thesis centred in the top third of the page.
- Degree, subject and campus details centred in the middle third of the page.
- Author's name and date centred in the lower third of the page.
Please refer to the example below for wording
|
[Title] |
Abstract:
A short abstract (not exceeding 350 words), suitable for publication, shall be bound in each copy of the thesis submitted.
Preface and/or Acknowledgements:
The preface may describe briefly the scope and purpose of the research. Persons or institutions acknowledged are usually only those who have contributed to the content of the thesis. The extent of their assistance should be indicated. The acknowledgements should also include a statement indicating, if relevant, that approval for the research has been obtained from the appropriate University Ethics Committee for the experiments described in the thesis.
Table of Contents:
The table of contents lists all significant sections in the order they appear, and includes page numbers.
List of Illustrations, Tables, etc:
This is a listing of all illustrative material, photographs, figures and/or tables, in the order they appear, with page numbers.
Footnotes:
Footnotes are used for acknowledging quotations and sources of facts, or for elaboration of a particular point. They are usually numbered consecutively through each chapter and should be detailed at the foot of each page or at the end of the chapter in which they occur.
Bibliography:
This should include works cited in the text and footnotes, as well as those of more general significance. Consistency in style of entry is essential. Consult your supervisor, and refer to the Referencing and Style Guides section, at the end of this document.
Appendices:
Appendices include material which applies to the thesis as a whole or to a particular chapter, e.g. questionnaires, data sheets, etc. Their function is to keep the text uncluttered and reference to them should be made at the appropriate place in the text. If raw data on which the research is based is included, it should be part of the appendices. Where material is extensive, a CD-ROM may be used.
Index:
This is a detailed alphabetical listing of the subjects, people, places, etc. referred to in the thesis. An index is optional, but can greatly enhance ease of use.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright resides with the author, and is governed by the Copyright Act 1994. Unless you state otherwise, the Library may copy all or part of your thesis and provide it to another institution for the purposes of research and private study.
You may assert your moral right to be identified as the author of the work in a statement to this effect on the verso of the title page.
More information can be obtained from Massey University's Copyright Information web site.
You should also be aware of Massey University's Intellectual Property Policy.
EMBARGOING THESES
Theses should be publicly available unless there are good grounds for restriction of access. Such grounds include:
- disclosure of commercially sensitive information.
- disclosure of personal or private information.
- disclosure of research before the author of the thesis has had reasonable opportunity to publish all or part of the thesis.
- disclosure of material that has been provided on the condition that it not be disclosed.
If you wish to embargo your thesis:
- Details of what grounds are required and to whom you should send your application can be found in the Grounds for Embargo Policy. Note: Your main supervisor must sign the application before it is submitted.
- The application must be completed and approved before the thesis is bound, and a copy of the application bound into all thesis copies submitted.
- In the case of the full digital copy of an embargoed thesis, the author, title, abstract and metadata will still be publicly accessible through the University's digital repository while the embargo is in place. Please do not include sensitive information in the thesis abstract.
LAYOUT and PRODUCTION
Paper Copy
Cost of Preparation:
The entire cost of the preparation of a thesis for presentation is normally borne by the individual concerned.
Paper:
The paper should be good quality, A4 size (e.g. 100 gsm Bond). Where possible, illustrations and photographs should be incorporated into the electronic version of the document before printing, or reproduced on paper of a similar size and quality to the main text. If photographs need to be mounted, a heavier grade of paper is recommended, (e.g. 136 gsm).
A4 100 gsm Bond paper is available from the Printery at $22.50 per ream (500 sheets, 2011 price); includes GST.
Print:
Pages may be printed on both sides, provided legibility is ensured. For the text, one and a half line spacing is recommended, with margins of at least 4 cm on the inner side (to allow for the binding), 2.5 cm at top and bottom and 2 cm on the outer side. Font size should be neither too large nor too small. A size of 10 - 12 point is recommended.
Underlining & Italics:
These are used for emphasis and for special terms. Titles of books and periodicals are normally in italics.
Figures:
Photographs, maps and graphs should be numbered in Arabic numerals. Text references are to be made in brackets and should precede the figure.
Where they are not the author's own work, the source of maps, tables, photographs, etc. should be acknowledged.
For reproduction on to A4 paper, all graphs, photographs, etc. are best prepared in actual size, allowing for margins. The maximum size which can be handled by the Turitea Printery is A3 (420 mm x 210 mm).
Large maps, tables, charts, etc. should be folded so that they are well back from the fore edge and top.
If you need any further information, consult the appropriate Printery staff.
Pagination:
Preliminary pages, beginning with the title page, should have page numbers in lower case Roman numerals. The main text of the thesis should have page numbers in Arabic numerals. Page numbers should be located in a consistent position throughout the text.
Inserted maps, diagrams, etc. should bear a specific identification of their proper location in the text (e.g. facing p.7 or between pp.15 and 16).
Photocopying:
Photocopying can be done by the Turitea Printery; apply for prices. The Yellow Pages also contains a list of firms who offer photocopying services.
For a very good quality print finish you should submit your copy to the Printery in postscripted electronic format. Postscript drivers can be obtained from the Printery for this purpose. Please note that a minimum of 2 days is required by the Printery for printing to be completed.
Binding:
The sheets should be overcast and glued. They must not be stapled.
The thesis must be hard-bound, and cased in cloth, buckram or rexine.
The only lettering to appear on the spine should be the author's name and initials, to be in capitals (in the format A. B. Smith), running from top to bottom, and the year of the completion of the thesis. The cover of the thesis should include the author's name and initials, the title of the thesis and the completion date.
Book binders may be identified through the Yellow Pages, (see category: Book Binders), or the Internet. (Massey Printery does not provide hard cover binding.)
The cost of binding in 2011 was approximately $45 - $57 (including GST), depending on number of copies. Please allow 3 - 4 days for binding.
Digital Copy
To be acceptable for addition into the repository the digital thesis must be in its final form; (no comments or track changes should be left in the document).
The thesis should consist of a minimum number of files as this reduces conversion time, and the risk that the files are compiled in the wrong order or missed completely. Ensure that the file is not security protected or encrypted. This is so that an abstract can be extracted and file properties may be added.
The digital copy should be supplied on a CD-ROM (read only), as detailed below*. If the file size is too large for a CD-ROM, DVD is acceptable. The Library will convert it to a PDF format for the digital repository.
*Text Files:
Text files must be in either Microsoft Office Word compatible or Adobe PDF format, as below. The documents must not be secured in any way as this prevents the repackaging of the document for the repository.
*Audio-Visual Files:
The recommended formats for audio and video files are:
Audio
Ogg, mp3, mp4
Video
Avi, mpeg, wmv, flv/f4v (flash)
*Digital Sheet music (Scores)
sib (sibelius), Finale files
Any digital sheet music files (such as sibelius or finale files) must be provided in a PDF format as well. Only the PDF file will be added to the repository, not the other file formats.
Please provide keywords for your thesis. The inclusion of key terms, which describe the main focus of your research, ensures that your thesis is more likely to be discovered by Internet searchers.
Ensure that you include a signed Thesis Declaration Form (20 KB)
which confirms the content of the digital copy. Reprints of articles or conference papers that you have authored can only be included in the digital version in the repository if you have received copyright permission, as acknowledged in your declaration. Otherwise, if you wish to make your papers publicly available, an accepted manuscript or post-peer-reviewed version, (not the publisher’s PDF), should be included on the CD-ROM with your thesis. Copyright will be checked by the Library and a separate, linked record may be added.
PROQUEST DISSERTATIONS AND THESES
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) is a service that enables researchers to identify and acquire copies of doctoral dissertations. The PQDT database includes abstracts of doctoral dissertations from 700 academic institutions in North America and throughout the world. It includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, from 1861 to the present day, together with 1 million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997, and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works.
For a fee you can have your thesis listed in PQDT. See further information on the Proquest website.
REFERENCING AND STYLE GUIDES
Massey University Library holds many publications on referencing, thesis preparation and academic writing. You can find a selection of resources through a Library Catalogue (Encore) search: style & writing guides.
Links to online Referencing and Style Guides
