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10. DISSERTATION
Each student must write a dissertation that presents
the results of a research project carried out by the
student. An appropriate research project involves a
substantive piece of original and independent research
grounded in an appropriate body of literature.
10.1. Dissertation Advisor
Students must gain the agreement of a member of the
DIST graduate faculty to chair the dissertation committee
that will advise on the area of research and the design
of the dissertation study. The advisor's agreement
is recorded in the student's file. Any request to change
the dissertation advisor must be submitted in writing
to the Chair of the DIST Ph.D. Committee. Approval
for the change and the selection of another dissertation
advisor is filed in the student 's folder.
In most cases, the student's program advisor continues
as the dissertation advisor and chair of the dissertation
committee. By University regulations the dissertation
advisor must be a graduate faculty member of the Department
of Information Science an d Telecommunications. In
the event that either the student or advisor desires
a change, another DIST graduate faculty member may
serve as dissertation advisor and chair of the dissertation
committee.
The student's dissertation advisor:
- assists in choosing the dissertation committee
and in confirming the eligibility of all members
selected;
- arranges with the DIST support staff to schedule
the dissertation proposal presentation;
- reviews progress toward completion of the research;
- arranges with support staff to schedule the dissertation
defense;
- chairs the dissertation defense;
- secures appropriate signatures from dissertation
committee members and assures that all required paperwork
is submitted in accordance with DIST, SIS, and University
procedures.
10.2. Dissertation Committee
The dissertation committee, selected by the student
and dissertation advisor, shall consist of at least
five members, including the dissertation advisor, with
the majority being from the DIST graduate faculty.
On e of the members must hold a primary faculty appointment
outside the Department of Information Science and Telecommunications.
Upon the recommendation of the dissertation advisor,
a member, or members, may be appointed from outside
the University. The expenses involved in the attendance
of the outside person at meetings are not the responsibility
of the department.
The dissertation committee is responsible for monitoring
the research, conducting and evaluating the oral defense
of the dissertation, and approving the final written
presentation of the dissertation. The dissertation
advisor directs the dissertation research and writing,
but all committee members have the responsibility to
assist the student as consultants. All members of the
committee will vote.
10.3. Dissertation Proposal
After successfully completing the comprehensive examination,
the student, in consultation with the dissertation
advisor, must prepare a dissertation proposal. The
written proposal is presented to the dissertation committee
and defended in a hearing before the dissertation committee.
Students must demonstrate their potential to complete
a sound project of original research by presenting
and defending the dissertation proposal to their dissertation
committee. The dissertation committee must unanimously
approve the dissertation topic and research plan before
the student may be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral
degree. Approval of the proposal does not imply either
the acceptance of a dissertation prepared in accord
with the proposal or the restriction of the dissertation
to this original proposal.
Originality may be reflected in a number of ways.
For example, a candidate may pose an important new
problem or formulate an existing problem in a novel
and useful way. A candidate may investigate previously
ignored material or develop new techniques for investigating
issues. Extensions of previous investigations are acceptable
provided they incorporate important new elements in
the design or execution of the research.
Normally, a satisfactory dissertation will form the
basis for one or more publishable articles. The dissertation
committee may offer an opinion on the publishable content
of the proposed research.
The student must submit the dissertation proposal
to the committee at least two weeks prior to the scheduled
hearing. Copies of the dissertation proposal are made
by the student at his or her own expense. When the
proposal has been successfully defended, the student's
dissertation advisor shall notify the Chair of the
Ph.D. Committee, the Chair of the Department of Information
Science and Telecommunications, and the Dean of SIS
that the student has achieved formal candidacy. After
approval of the dissertation proposal, major changes
may not be made without approval of the student and
the dissertation committee. The student is responsible
for filing a copy of the approved proposal in the departmental
office and a copy in the SIS Library.
Written notice of the student's meeting with the dissertation
committee to approve the proposal will be distributed
to the DIST faculty at least one week ahead of time.
The notice will contain the student's name, the title
of the proposal, and the date , time, and place of
the meeting.
The dissertation proposal meeting is open to all DIST
faculty and Ph.D. students who wish to attend and others
by invitation of the student.
10.4. Candidacy
For admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, a
student must have:
- passed the preliminary examination;
- completed a minimum of 42 credits beyond the master's
degree with a QPA of 3.3 or higher;
- passed the comprehensive examination;
- successfully presented a dissertation proposal
and received approval of the dissertation proposal
by the dissertation committee.
When these steps have been taken, and the dissertation
advisor has notified the Department and the School,
the Department Chair will notify the student in writing
of his admission to doctoral candidacy. A copy of the
notice will be placed in the student's folder. The
student is expected, at this time, to schedule and
present a colloquium on his or her research to the
Department and the public.
Meetings of the doctoral candidate and the dissertation
committee must occur at least annually from the time
the student gains admission to doctoral candidacy.
During these meetings, the committee should assess
the student's progress toward the degree, discuss objectives
for the following year, and project a timetable for
completing degree requirements.
10.5. Dissertation Research - Procedural Requirements
The student must submit all forms, letters, and questionnaires
related to the dissertation research to the departmental
members of the dissertation committee for approval
before any such documents are publicly distributed.
The student is also responsible for meeting University
requirements when human subjects are used in research.
These requirements are found in the University of Pittsburgh's Reference
Manual for the Use of Human Subjects in Research.
The School of Information Sciences has a faculty representative
on the Institutional Review Board who may be contacted
with questions of procedure.
The student must prepare a final copy of the dissertation
conforming to the University of Pittsburgh's Style
and Form Manual for the format of the dissertation.
Since the bibliographic style is best determined by
the subject of the dissertation, a style manual of
the student's choice may be used for the content of
the dissertation and must be applied consistently throughout.
If University facilities and/or faculty time are being
used in dissertation research and/or the writing of
the dissertation, then students are required to register
for at least 3 credits per term or such greater amount
as the School or Department deems appropriate or Full-Time
Dissertation Study (see section
6).
10.6. Dissertation Defense
10.6.1. First Draft of the Dissertation
After completing the research and writing the dissertation,
the candidate is advised to submit the first draft
to the dissertation advisor and committee early in
the term in which he or she expects to receive the
degree. This allows time for any necessary revisions
and for preparation of the final copies in an acceptable
style and format. Any exceptions to the style manual
approved for the School must have prior approval by
the advisor. Final decisions concerning style and format
rest with the student's dissertation advisor.
10.6.2. Eligibility for the Dissertation
Defense
To be eligible to defend the dissertation, a student
must have:
- completed the residency requirement;
- requested the formal announcement of the defense
in the University Times at least four weeks prior
to the date of the defense;
- distributed copies of the dissertation to the dissertation
committee at least four weeks prior to the date of
the defense. These copies are provided by the student
at his or her own expense.
10.6.3. Registration Requirement
Students completing their research work for the dissertation
will be required to register for at least one credit
in the term during which they expect either to complete
degree requirements or have the oral defense. Students
who have completed all credit requirements for the
Ph.D. degree may register for "Full-Time Dissertation
Study" with a fixed-fee registration of $500 per
term. If the student is a doctoral candidate and off-campus,
not using University facilities and/or faculty time,
the candidate need only register for 1 credit per academic
year to maintain active enrollment status. If a student
does complete all the work in a given term, including
the dissertation defense, and has been cleared for
graduation too late to be included on the graduation
list for that term, the student may apply to graduate
the following term and need not enroll for any courses
or any credits, subject to approval by the Dean's office.
If a student is unable to complete the work during
the expected term of graduation due to some extenuating
circumstances related to the School and University
(beyond control of the student and attested to by the
Dean's office), the student will not be required to
register for additional credits in the term of graduation.
All requests for exceptions to the policy stated above
should be sent to the Department Chair from the advisor
for clearance and recommendation and then to the Dean
for consideration and approval.
10.6.4. Defense of the Dissertation
The dissertation defense is scheduled by the dissertation
advisor early enough in the term to allow for necessary
revisions and final editing of the manuscript before
the graduation deadline. The candidate must submit
copies of the dissertation to the dissertation advisor
and the dissertation committee at least four weeks
prior to the scheduled dissertation defense. A copy
must also be filed with the secretary to the Ph.D.
Committee at least four weeks before the date of the
dissertation defense meeting. Notice of the dissertation
topic and title, the defense date, time, and location,
and the availability of the final draft copy of the
dissertation will be distributed to the DIST faculty
at least one week ahead of the scheduled defense.
Dissertation defenses must be publicly announced and
are open to the University community, but only the
dissertation committee may vote. A student defends
his or her dissertation successfully if the dissertation
committee unanimously approves it. Although the dissertation
defense is dedicated primarily to the field of the
dissertation, other questions relating to information
science may be considered at this time. The chair of
the dissertation committee serves as the session moderator.
A student who successfully defends the dissertation with
conditions to be completed must satisfy those
conditions with the approval of the dissertation
advisor within one year.
10.7. Completion of the Dissertation
The dissertation should be completed within the statute
of limitations described below. If the statute of limitations
is about to be exceeded and there is evidence of reasonable
progress, the graduate faculty may extend the statute
by a specific period usually not exceeding one year.
It is the student's responsibility to present evidence
of progress to his or her advisor along with a request
for extension prior to the end of the statute of limitation
period. All requests for extension must be approved
by DIST graduate faculty.
10.8. Publication of the Dissertation
The candidate for a Ph.D. degree is required to pay
a fee specified by the University to Student Accounts.
This fee includes binding for one copy of the dissertation
and preparation of three copies of the dissertation
abstract. The abstract must not be more than 350 words
(2450 typewritten characters) in length. With 70 characters
per line there are at most 35 lines in the abstract.
The first copy of the abstract must be approved by
the dissertation advisor and must be submitted with
the original unbound copy of the dissertation to the
Dean's office. The University Microfilm Agreement and
the Survey of Earned Doctorate forms must be completed
at this time. The dissertation and abstract will be
examined and approv ed by the student's dissertation
advisor for style, format, and related matters. In
addition, the student must provide three bound copies
of the dissertation to the SIS Library.
Any dissertation may be published after the final
defense provided that the dissertation submitted for
publication is approved as to form and content by the
dissertation advisor and also provided that due acknowledgment
is made to the University. No fo rm of publication,
however, shall relieve the student of the responsibility
for supplying the proper abstract, the specified complete
copy of the thesis or dissertation for binding and
deposit in Hillman Library, and the three bound copies
for the SIS Library.
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