THESIS MANUAL
INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING THE PREPARATION OF THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

Research and Graduate Studies Texas A&M University-Kingsville Kingsville, Texas 78363 (361) 593-2808

SPRING 2011

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FOREWORD
The nature of a research study should be one in which the investigation leads to new knowledge or enhancement of existing knowledge in the student's field of study, either through acquisition of new data or re-examination and interpretation of existing data. At the graduate level, all students should learn how new knowledge is created, how experimentation and discovery are carried out, and how to think, act and perform independently in their discipline. Depending upon the degree to which the discipline has an applied orientation, the student can demonstrate mastery of the discipline through means such as research papers, literature reviews, artistic performances, oral/written presentations or case studies. The doctoral dissertation is viewed in academia as the ultimate model of documentation of the student's research. The characteristics of dissertation research include the theoretical background, description of the problem, the method which was used to solve the problem, interpretation of results and explanation of their significance. The student is expected to produce a product of excellent quality which reflects the originality of the research. The dissertation should be publishable, if not in its entirety, at least in part, as articles in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. The master's thesis or should document the student's research study and maintain all the characteristics of the dissertation, but to a lower degree of intensity--the distinction of which only the experienced research advisor can