Dissertation Format

“Traditional 5-chapter”

• University Requirements
  • Front pages and formats
  • https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/dissertations-theses/document-preparation
  • https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/examinations/doctoral-examinations
• College of Nursing Requirements
  • The dissertation proposal includes Chapters 1-3
  • Final dissertation includes revised Chapters 1-3 plus Chapters 4 & 5
• Requirements Specific to the option
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: ROL, Theoretical Framework
  • Chapter 3: Methods including analytics
  • Chapter 4: Findings
  • Chapter 5: Discussion and Recommendations

Manuscript Style Dissertation

• University Requirements
  • Front pages and formats
  • https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/dissertations-theses/document-preparation
  • https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/examinations/doctoral-examinations
• College of Nursing Requirements
  • Dissertation proposal includes:
    • Introduction
    • Problem
    • Purpose
    • Overview of literature to support significance and rationale
    • Methods including proposed analytics
  • Final dissertation includes:
    • As above for the proposal, plus:
    • Brief summary of all findings with analytics included
    • Brief discussion summary with recommendations for research and practice
• Requirements Specific to option
  • Introduction, Methods, Findings Summary, Discussion Summary
  • A minimum of 3 manuscripts in format ready for submission to specified journals (readiness determined by the dissertation committee)
    • Integrative review or conceptual model or data based paper of findings
    • Methods of data based paper of findings
    • Data based paper of findings; all research questions proposed for the dissertation must be addressed in the final dissertation. Thus, more than one results paper may be needed.
  • Papers published during the course of PhD training that are specifically and unequivocally associated with the dissertation may be “counted” as one of the first two papers (review or methods).
    • The inclusion of these published papers must be specifically approved by the dissertation committee at the proposal stage.
    • The inclusion of these papers in the final dissertation must be allowable under the copyright agreement the student signed when the paper was submitted/accepted by the journal and the paper must be in the form that the specific journal allows.
    • The student must be the first author on all published papers that are included in the dissertation.
  • All proposed research questions/aims must be addressed in the final dissertation.

If after speaking with your advisor you have questions about the dissertation format, please contact the PhD Program Director.