The purpose of this document is simply to provide some general guidelines regarding my own personal standards (i.e., don't expect every reader to agree with these) regarding graduate theses and professional reports. Please review these standards before you begin working on your research, and again after you have begun writing. If you try to comply with everything set out below, you will keep me happier and will avoid unnecessary re-writes and time delays that might affect your ability to keep to your own time schedule.

Length

There is no specific length requirement for a thesis or P.R. It will vary by topic, method, and student. Generally, most dissertations are 200+ pages, though occasionally a good empirical dissertation can be shorter. I've seen dissertations as long as 880 pages (my own was about 400 pages). Masters' theses and P.R.s generally run between 60 and 140 pages. Some are quite a bit longer (I have one that's 330 pages), and I consider anything less than 60 pages inherently suspect (i.e., it better be awfully good). I don't want you to pad your paper with irrelevant material, but it must be long enough to adequately cover your subject.

Writing Style (generally)

This is a formal research document, and I expect it to look like one. A "dissertation" or "thesis" should be written in a tone appropriate for publication in a scholarly journal, and a "professional report" should be written as if it were to be read by the President and C.E.O. of a large corporation. In all cases, it should be written with a more formal style, not like a newspaper article. However, this does not mean you should use pretentious "academic sounding" language. Write this in such a manner that any first-semester graduate student (or any business owner) will understand it, even if they aren't familiar with the topic or any of the articles you cite.

In addition, you are getting a graduate degree in the College of Communication, so I expect you to be able to communicate. Consequently, your grammar, spelling and punctuation should be as near perfect as possible. I suggest you use a spell-checker on your computer, but don't rely on it to catch everything. It certainly won't catch poor grammar or awkward style.

If English is not your first language, find a native English-speaking student to proofread your paper for you. If the grammar is so poor that I have a hard time following your logic, I will ask you to re-write it before I read it. The same standards apply for students who are native English speakers and those who are not.

Some specific points regarding grammar, spelling, punctuation and style:

• Avoid colloquialisms.

• Avoid informal terminology (e.g., using "kiddies" when you mean "children").

• Two terms that I hate, and suggest you avoid: "utilize" (which is nothing but a pretentious version of the word "use"), and "due to" (which is not an adequate substitute for "because of").

• Do not use contractions.

• Use parallel construction within a sentence and paragraph (i.e., don't use a singular noun with a plural pronoun). Note: a company is an "it," not a "they."

• Periods, commas, and other punctuation almost always go inside quotation marks, not outside.

• Don't use a preposition to end a sentence with.

• Avoid split infinitives.

• Avoid rhetorical questions.

• Newspaper, journal, or magazine titles should be italicized.

• Don't use pronouns without a clear referent (e.g., "Kids disagree with parents. What they do is ...." Who is "they?").

• Avoid over-use of quotes. Quotes are important if the precise language is valuable (e.g., the speaker said it better than you could) or if that specific language will help to bolster your credibility. But, if you can paraphrase what the speaker said without losing anything, avoid using the quote.

Organization

Outline your paper before you start, and ask yourself whether each topic follows logically from the preceding topic. Probably the most common problem I encounter in theses/reports is a lack of logical structure. Frequently these papers cover one aspect of their topic, then cover another aspect without any logical flow from the first to the second. In some cases they even jump back and forth several times, covering parts of one aspect in pieces throughout the paper. A general rule of thumb you can use: If you find yourself needing to repeat something you've already discussed, there is a good chance that you have an organization problem (e.g., you shouldn't have discussed that issue earlier).

Citations

Number. Many times when I read a first draft of a thesis I find that the student has made numerous allegations of fact without providing the reader any reason to believe those facts. Any time you state a fact -- unless it is common knowledge (e.g., "the sky is blue") -- you should provide a citation to the source(s) where you obtained that fact. And, if a paragraph provides several facts from a single source it may even be necessary to cite that source more than once, if it is difficult for a reader to tell that all of those facts came from the same source. It's better to provide too many cites, than not enough cites.

Style. Generally, you are free to use any citation style that is widely accepted. It should, however, be a style appropriate to your method and topic. For example, if your thesis involves "legal" theory, using the Harvard System of Citations footnoting style would be most appropriate. If your thesis would be appropriate for publication in the Journal of Advertising, its citation style would be a reasonable approach. Or, if you are uncertain about what style is appropriate you can always use the A.P.A. or M.L.A. styles. Personally, for most advertising topics I prefer the style used by the Journal of Consumer Research. Those styles apply not only to how you list your sources in your bibliography, but also to how you cite your sources within the body of your thesis, e.g., (Smith 1945). If you are not certain about any aspect of your citation style, it is your responsibility to ask for help from me or some other professor.

Bibliography

Your bibliography, too, should follow an appropriate style (e.g., A.P.A. or M.L.A.). When you give me a draft copy of your thesis/report, even if it is only one chapter, you should include a copy of the bibliography. It is difficult for me to judge your work without being able to check your sources.

Page Numbering

All pages should be numbered. I don't even want to see a draft copy that doesn't have numbers on the pages. Without page numbers there is a chance of my getting pages out of order, and it also inhibits my ability to tell you where you have problems.

Keep it Simple

The fact that this is a formal research document does not mean you can assume the reader has alot of background knowledge. Just because a scholar or a professional will read your paper doesn't mean that they will know anything about your topic. E.g., even a full professor with a Ph.D. in advertising may have absolutely no knowledge of theories concerning "attitude toward the ad," because their expertise may be in some other area of advertising. In fact, if a scholar in psychology is trying to learn about advertising research -- which does happen -- that scholar probably has even less background knowledge. In other words, write it formally, but as if it were to be read by someone with no knowledge of your topic. Some specific suggestions:

• Define any term that your grandmother wouldn't know.

• If a concept is abstract, or hard to visualize, provide an illustration or example.

• Don't use abbreviations or technical terms unless you first warn the reader, e.g., Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

• Parsimony: avoid unnecessary wordiness. If you can say it in 5 words, I don't want to read a 10 word sentence. E.g., don't say "in order to" if you can substitute "to" without losing any meaning.

Paragraphing

This may sound like grade school, but you would be surprised how many problems I've seen with paragraphing. A paragraph consists of 2 or more sentences. Do not write one-sentence paragraphs. On the other hand, paragraphs should not be too long. If you have a paragraph that is longer than 1/2 page, think about shortening it. Long paragraphs make it easier for a reader to lose his/her place. And, if you change topics, you should start a new paragraph.

Headings

Use plenty of headings and subheadings throughout your paper. This makes your paper easier (and less tedious) to read, and it also will help you to make sure your argument is flowing in a logical fashion. Also, choose your headings carefully, so they are accurate descriptions of the content of the section they label.

Transitions

Every section or subsection of your paper should provide a transition to the next section or subsection. A research paper should lead the reader through a logical progression from point A to point B to point C, etc., to conclusion. If you change topics without a transition the reader can end up missing the logical progression from one topic to the next. And, like headings (above), this makes your paper easier to read, and it also will help you to make sure your argument is flowing in a logical fashion. You can do this in a very simple, though a bit stilted, way by saying, e.g., "This section has shown that _____________. The following section will describe how __________________.", or you can make it a little more natural (e.g., "This research makes it clear that children are suspicious of advertising, but it raises the further issue of whether ________________.")

Formatting

Make it pretty. Make it look like a professional document. Use boldface, italic, indenting, etc. that make your paper look as if it were produced by a professional printer. This not only makes a better impression, affecting the reader's perception of the paper's quality, it also makes the paper much more readable. Some examples follow:

• Although your paper must be double-spaced, you are allowed to single-space quotations and such. Any quote that exceeds 30 words normally should be set out as a single paragraph, single-spaced and indented on both sides.

• All numbers in tables should be aligned on the decimal point.

• BE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT YOUR PAPER. If you use two spaces above major subheadings in one place in your paper, do it the same way throughout. If you indent second subheadings 5 spaces in one place, do it throughout.

• Make graphs and tables as attractive

• I suggest you look in some books from reputable publishing houses (e.g., Dryden), and see how they format their text.

And, of course, read the Graduate School's thesis/P.R. formatting requirements and follow them religiously. If you don't follow their rules, they will make you go back and do it again, even if you've already spent a fortune getting your theses bound.

Substance

Sometimes I get lit reviews that list fact after fact and quote after quote. Facts are necessary, but not sufficient. You need to interpret those facts... analyze them. Don't just show me pieces of a puzzle, explain how they fit together and describe what the resulting overall picture looks like. Tell me what that resulting picture means for your topic, and for the future.

For example, a P.R. is a business report. If you are doing a P.R. about the "value-added" practices of media companies, don't just tell me that X magazine is offering special events as added value, that Y magazine is providing advertisers the opportunity to place their ads in product-relevant articles, and that Z person has criticized this practice. Interpret all of those facts to tell me what the overall trend seems to be. Is value-added on the increase or the decrease? Are there certain types of value-added practices that are becoming predominant? Which ones are the most value? In the long run, is value added a good thing or a bad thing for advertisers? For magazines? And, give the reader a checklist of considerations or directions so that they have guidance regarding how they can obtain the most for their money.

Methodology

You are welcome to use any legitimate method in your research. A P.R. can be simply secondary research, or it can have some primary research as a part of it. A "thesis" is generally expected to have some primary empirical research, unless the method traditionally does not use empiricism (e.g., historical research, legal research, or philosophy). Frankly, I don't care what type of research method you use, but whatever you choose I expect you to do it well. I strongly suggest that you get copies of some good published articles that have used that method, and try to emulate the best aspects of those articles (e.g., the way they present their statistics, the way they use tables, etc.).

Results

"Results" and "Discussion" should be two separate sections. DO NOT PUT YOUR DISCUSSION IN THE "RESULTS" SECTION! In the "Results" section you simply present the data and any statistical results. In the "Discussion" section is where you discuss whether or not your hypotheses were supported. You can also discuss implications in that section, or you can have a separate "Implications" section.

Timing

Plan on doing some (more than 1) re-writes. And, don't expect me to be able to read and comment in only a couple of days. You are probably not the only graduate student for whom I am reading one of these papers, and I have lots of other responsibilities besides reading theses and P.R.s (like teaching classes, grading exams, and working in committees). I may need a week or two to read and comment on your paper, and then you may need to re-write it (and perhaps again and again after that). In other words, you need to plan well in advance and get the paper to me long before the filing deadline. Don't hand a first draft to me 2 weeks before the deadline and expect to meet that deadline.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES do you dictate the deadline for getting the thesis/report signed. Don't tell me that I must sign before a certain date because you have airline reservations, etc., because I won't be too sympathetic. I've had a couple of bad situations like this, and I don't care to have more.

If you have a date by which you hope to finish, let me know as soon as you can. I make no guarantees, but I will try to help you meet that deadline if my schedule allows. However, keep in mind that the thesis/report is not simply a formality, it is a threshold requirement to ensure we are turning out only high quality graduates. I will not sign your paper until I am convinced that your work is of sufficient quality to pass that threshold.

Remember: I am not the one who determines when you will finish. It is the quality of your work that determines your completion.