Write Your Thesis
Students are to consult with their supervisors concerning the general organization of the thesis, and also about special practices or rules that may apply to scholarly writing within the specific discipline. The latter comment relates particularly to the use of footnotes, the method of indicating references and the tabulation of bibliographic and reference materials. Style manuals are available in the University Library. Regulations concerning paper, print, duplication and binding, etc. are given below. The final copy of the thesis must adhere to these regulations. Failure to comply will result in delays in processing, and the student may incur additional expenses in producing a document acceptable to the corresponding Academic Unit and to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.
Careful proofreading of the thesis for spelling and grammatical errors as well as for adherence to all other standards is the responsibility of the student and supervisor.
Choosing a Thesis Format Style
The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research allows students to choose between two different thesis styles:
The traditional monograph-style thesis is an original document that addresses a specific research question. It begins with an overview of the relevant background literature, followed by a description of the methodology used to address the research question, a summary of the findings, and a discussion of how the research contributes new knowledge to the discipline. The traditional monograph-style thesis often includes a discussion of future directions and a summary of methodological limitations.
The collected manuscripts-style thesis is a collection of manuscripts the student has previously written or to which the student has made substantial contributions. Brought together in a thesis, the manuscripts collectively lead to a more comprehensive answer to a research question than is provided by any one manuscript on its own. Collected manuscripts-style theses can include any combination of published articles, articles submitted for publication, or articles prepared with the intention of eventual publication. In this style of thesis, the student writes an Introduction that provides an overarching summary of the relevant background literature and the research questions to be addressed in the thesis. The thesis concludes with a Discussion section that summarizes the new insights gleaned from the examination of the manuscripts as a collection and proposes future avenues for exploration.
Thesis Guides and Template:
FGSR developed the following guides and tempate (Word document) to assist students in preparing either the monograph-style or collected manuscripts-style theses. These guides outline how students should format and arrange their thesis prior to submitting it for defense. In all cases, the choice of whether to pursue a monograph or manuscript-style thesis should be made by students in consultation with their supervisor and supervisory committee.
Monograph-Style Thesis Guide (PDF)
Collected Manuscripts-Style Thesis Guide (PDF)
Thesis Template (WORD doc)
Arrangement of the Thesis:
Theses are generally arranged in the following order as outlined in the Arrangement of a Thesis (PDF):
- Title page
- Front matter (aka the “preliminary pages”, i.e. Abstract, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, Transparency Statement etc.)
- Body of the thesis (i.e. the Chapters)
- Back matter (i.e. References and, if applicable, Appendices)
1. Title Page:
Format your title page as follows:
- Center and double-space all text on the page.
- Avoid using scientific symbols or Greek letters in your thesis title – spell out these terms because most symbols can’t be catalogued by the Library or National Archives and therefore aren’t searchable in databases.
- Type your thesis title in sentence case.
- Don’t refer to a doctoral thesis as a “dissertation” on the title page.
- Use the month and year in which you submit your thesis to the Faculty of Graduation Studies and Research; you will update the submission month and year in the post-defense revisions of your thesis.
- You must include a copyright notice on your thesis title page.
- Don’t number the title page.
2. Front Matter (aka "preliminary pages")
The pages within the front matter must appear in the order outlined in the Arrangement of the Thesis.
Abstract
- May not exceed two (2) double-spaced pages.
- A concise and accurate summary of the thesis, which emphasizes what has been accomplished through research efforts.
- Should include a statement or brief description of the research question, the methods or procedures used to address it and important findings or conclusions.
- Must not contain tables, graphs or illustrations.
- Normally be the only abstract in the thesis.
- Immediately followed by a list of between four to six keywords to facilitate automated retrieval of the thesis from online databases.
- Page number: Lower case Roman numeral(s) on the bottom center of the page.
Acknowledgements
- May not exceed one (1) double-spaced page.
- Must be included with the initial copy of thesis submitted for defense.
- Must include reference any/all sources of funding for the study: scholarships, teaching assistantships, research awards, etc.
- May recognize support/advice provided by the supervisor and committee members.
- May acknowledge the extent to which assistance has been given by members of staff, fellow students, data technicians, editors, and/or others.
- May acknowledge colleagues with whom journal articles have been written (see also “Statement of Contributions”).
- Page number: Lower case Roman numeral on the bottom center of the page.
Post-Defense Acknowledgments (optional)
- May not exceed one (1) double-spaced page.
- Students who wish to thank their External Examiner may do so in this section, but this page must be blank in the pre-defense version of the thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduation Studies and Research.
- Page number: Lower case Roman numeral on the bottom center of the page.
Dedication (optional)
- May not exceed one (1) double-spaced page.
- The Dedication page is for personal, rather than an academic, recognition. May be used to recognize the support of others – family, friends, etc. – who aided indirectly in the completion of the work.
- Page number: Lower case Roman numeral on the bottom center of the page.
Table of Contents
Every thesis must include a Table of Contents formatted as follows:
- Single page-wide column with page numbers right-aligned.
- Entries are in order of the thesis as outlined in the “Arrangement of the Thesis.”
- Each entry must be connected to a corresponding page number with leader lines …
- Don’t put the word "page" in front of the page numbers.
- Distinguish level of subheadings with increasing indents.
See example: Sample Table of Contents PDF
List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Plates, List of Appendices (where applicable)
If your thesis includes these lists they must be formatted as follows:
- Where applicable, the List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Plates and/or List of Appendices follows the Table of Contents, in that order.
- Each List is separate and must start at the top of a new page.
- Each item on the List is numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals; if frequent reference is made to the Figures, Tables or Plates in the text, then use a decimal classification. For example, Figure 5.3 would refer to the third figure in the fifth chapter.
- Each item on the List must include the title of the Table, Figure or Plate and the page(s) on which it appears.
- The title of each entry must match those in the text and are in sentence case only.
- Each entry must have leader lines (dots) between entry title and page number.
See example: Sample List of Figures (PDF)
List of Nomenclature: List of Abbreviations, List of Symbols, etc. (where applicable)
If your thesis includes these lists they must be formatted as follows:
- If included, these lists must appear in the order as outlined in the Arrangement of a Thesis (PDF)
- Each List is separate and must start at the top of a new page.
- Page number(s): Lower case Roman numeral(s) on the bottom center of the page.
See example: Sample List of Abbreviations (PDF)
Transparency Statement
All theses submitted to FGSR require a Transparency Statement to describe the use of artificial intelligence (AI) assisted technologies in the preparation of the thesis or to confirm that no such technologies were used.
All thesis committee members who review the thesis will be required to confirm on the Thesis Committee Release form they are aware of, and have approved, the use of AI-technologies as described in the Transparency Statement.
No use of AI-assisted technology:
If no AI-assisted technology has been used, the following statement must be included:
I declare no AI-assisted technology was used in the preparation of this thesis.
Use of AI-assisted technology:
When AI-assisted technology has been used in the preparation of the thesis, a Transparency Statement that addresses the following points must be included:
- The name of the AI-assisted tool that was used
- The purpose for which it was used. Such uses may include, but are not limited to:
- Rephrasing sentences written by the author
- Translation of sentences originally written by the author
- Improvement of spelling, grammar, and sentence structure
- Generation of ideas for the thesis
- Generation of images, stimuli, or materials
- Confirmation that the supervisor(s) and supervisory committee members are aware of, and have approved, the use of the preceding technologies for the stated purposes
- Confirmation that no AI-technologies other than those listed have been used
- Confirmation that issues with the biased, discriminatory, incomplete, and inaccurate output sometimes produced by AI technologies are acknowledged and have been corrected
- Acknowledgment that the author of the thesis is solely responsible for maintaining the accuracy and academic integrity of the thesis
- Start at the top of a new page.
- Page number(s): Lower case Roman numeral(s) on the bottom center of the page.
3. Body of Thesis
The organization of the chapters within the body of the thesis differs by academic discipline and should be discussed with your supervisor.
4. Back Matter (aka "end pages")
References, Works Cited, or Bibliography
Monograph-style thesis: This section of the thesis must list all of the references cited the thesis.
Manuscript-style thesis: This section of the thesis lists only those works cited in the introduction and summary/discussion chapters. (All other works cited in the manuscript/article chapters are included as a sub-heading as part of their corresponding chapter, see the Collected Manuscripts-Style Thesis Guide (PDF) for more information.
General notes regarding list of references:
- If the information referred to in the text of the thesis was obtained from an abstract, a translation or a textbook rather than an original publication, the reference must indicate this.
- The list of references should include sufficient detail about the original source from which the information was taken, so it can be accessed by a reader of the thesis.
- Wherever possible, the original source should be consulted.
- Subdivision of the list of references is to be avoided.
- Use the system outlined in the style guide recommended by your supervisor/academic unit.
Appendices (where applicable)
Appendices include additional materials and documentation that readers can optionally refer to in order to have a better understanding of the work or the process that led to it. This section is where you include anything you didn’t write yourself.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Research Ethics Board approval certificates, for research involving human participants (please be sure to redact any signatures appearing on the certificate).
- Letters of permission from copyright holders for any material for which the student does not hold copyright. Please see additional information about copyright in the context of graduate theses here.
- Research materials (e.g., survey questions, stimuli, examples of standardized test questions, data bases, etc.).
- Supplementary data analyses.
Formatting a Thesis
Final copies of the thesis must adhere to these regulations. Failure to comply will result in delays in processing, and the student may incur additional expenses in producing a document acceptable to the corresponding Academic Unit and to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.
- The text of the thesis must be the same font type and size throughout. Times New Roman or Arial are recommended.
- Print must be 12 Pt. (points) or 10 cpi (characters per inch).
- The font type of the headings must be the same font type as the text but may be larger (e.g. 14 Pt).
- Titles/captions for figures, tables, plates, etc. must be the same font type as the text of the thesis but may be smaller (e.g. 10 Pt).
- Align the text in the body of your thesis to the left of the page (“left-aligned”).
- In the body of the thesis, indent the first line of new paragraphs.
- Don’t number the title page.
- The front matter (aka the “Preliminary Pages”), that is the Abstract through the Statement of Contributions are numbered consecutively with lower-case Roman numerals placed at the bottom center of the page.
- The body of the thesis (beginning with the first page of Chapter 1) through the List of References and Appendices are numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals placed in the top or lower right-hand corner of the page.
- Don’t place the word “Page” before the page numbers.
A thesis is to be succinct and well-written:
- 50-110 pages of text for a Master’s thesis
- 150-300 pages of text for a Doctoral thesis
It is recognized that certain research topics may result in shorter or longer theses, but Master’s theses are not to exceed 150 pages. Theses exceeding these limits will be returned for editing unless special permission has been sought and received from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.
The number and title of each chapter (heading) is presented as the section on the Table of Contents and are centered on the page. Similarly, the number and title of each subdivision are presented as given in the Table of Contents and are aligned with the main body of the text along the left-hand side of the page.
Example:
- Use clear titles and descriptions for visual elements (e.g. labels and legends for data points in a table).
- If your visual element relies on different colours to represent various data points, consider adding patterns and labels to ensure accessibility for the visually impaired.
- Location: Insert visual elements smaller than one page into the text of the thesis where the element is discussed. Place visual elements that take up an entire page on a separate page situated immediately before after the page containing the text where the element is discussed.
Consult with your supervisor/academic unit about whether a bound copy is required (most don’t). If a bound copy is required, or if you want a bound copy of your thesis, binding is available through U of R Printing Services after you receive Library Approval: https://www.uregina.ca/is/printing/printing/bindery.html
- Use high quality, white bond 8.5 x 11 inch (21.59 x 27.94 cm) paper throughout.
- Print on one side of the paper only.
- Left margin must be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm; to allow room for binding).
- Size figures, graphs, plates or tables to fit 8.5 x 11 inch (21.59 x 27.94 cm) paper. If oversize visuals must be used: print and fold to reserve margin for binding.
Maps, suitably folded, may be placed in an envelope attached to the inner side of the back cover.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Since the role of the supervisory committee is quite different when a student opts for a collected manuscripts style thesis over the traditional monograph style thesis, collected manuscripts style theses are only suitable for fully completed work where the supervisory committee is not expected to contribute to development of the methodology or data analysis.
The collected manuscripts style thesis option is most feasible when the papers to be included yielded clear, defensible conclusions. Papers that offer no clear answer to the research question are not likely to work well in this format because the student’s job is to tell a clear, coherent story that emerges from the collection of manuscripts, and transcends the narrative provided by any one of the manuscripts.