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Graduate Editorial FAQs

Below are answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). If you have questions about ETDs or any other aspect of the thesis/dissertation process, please contact the staff of the UF Graduate Editorial Office in 160 Grinter Hall.

What is an ETD?

An ETD is an electronic thesis or dissertation. This written record is the final product of a graduate student's research in a portable document format (PDF) file that can be shared, read and printed online with Adobe Acrobat Reader. This technological leap makes it easy to store your thesis or dissertation in computer archives, and gives others convenient worldwide access to it.

How is an ETD similar to the paper version of a thesis or dissertation?

An ETD has the same features as its paper-based predecessor: text, figures, tables, footnotes and references. It has a title page with your name and your school's name on it. It documents your years of academic commitment, research skill and scholarship. It tells others why you did this research, what research methods you used, how your research relates to previous work cited in your references, and what results you reached; interprets and discusses your findings; and summarizes your conclusions.

How is an ETD better than the paper version of a thesis or dissertation?

An ETD uses a technologically advanced medium for capturing and expressing your ideas. You prepare your ETD using nearly any word-processing or document-preparation program on a personal computer. However, an ETD allows you to incorporate many different and dynamic multimedia items not possible in paper documents (such audio, video, animation and active hyperlinks for instant connection to online resources). An ETD also means that you do not submit multiple copies of your thesis or dissertation on 100% cotton bond paper. As a result, ETDs cost less to prepare, are easier to store and never collect dust. They are available anywhere and at any time, to anyone who has access to the Internet.

Are ETDs required at the University of Florida?

Yes. On 19 October 2000, the UF Graduate Council decided to require all graduate students admitted Fall Semester 2001 onward to submit theses and dissertations in an electronic format. The UF Graduate School will consider exceptions to the rule for students who are off-campus during the semester that their theses or dissertations are under consideration; however, their department must submit a written petition to the graduate school for this special exception.

Do I have any say over final access to my ETD?

Yes. You can choose one of three options for public access to your ETD:

(1) Posting it to the Internet.

(2) Posting it to the UF Libraries digital archives only, for a limited time.

(3) Completely restricting public access to it (including the UF community) for six months for patent and other publication purposes.

You make your choice on the ETD Rights and Permission Form that you and your supervisory committee chair must sign and turn in at final submission. Consider these options carefully and discuss them with your adviser. If you intend to work with a publisher regarding journal or book publication, be sure you understand their policies and any agreements you would have to sign.

What benefit do I get from doing an ETD?

Preparing and submitting an ETD teaches you about electronic document preparation and digital libraries, something you need to know in the Information Age. These skills will be a bonus for you in your future teaching, research and work. Also, an ETD can enable you to convey the message of your thesis or dissertation in a more dynamic way. Unlike a paper document, you can easily include audio, video, hyperlinks, animations, databases, simulations and virtual reality in your work. Finally, an ETD is the most cost-efficient and convenient way to make your work known to others worldwide.

Why should I make my ETD freely available?

The world of scholarship depends on people exchanging information and making their research available to others. When done electronically, more people in more locations can access these resources at lower cost. As a result, more knowledge is shared, stimulating education, research and progress.

Furthermore, an ETD gives you and your work far greater exposure than a paper-based format ever could. Before the advent of ETDs, many theses and dissertations sat on library shelves unread. ETDs are ten times more likely to be read. Since you spent a great deal of time and effort on your research, wouldn't you want as many people as possible to read it? Your research, results and bibliographic resources may guide others in their own work and lead them to insights that might not have occurred to them otherwise.

How will people be able to access my ETD?

If you allow UF to make your ETD available worldwide (the recommended option), we will make it as easy as possible for others to access it. They will be able to access it over the Internet, where people can browse our collection and even link directly to your ETD with a special type of URL that does not change. In addition, your ETD will be listed in the UF Libraries catalog system, with an active hyperlink that leads readers directly to your ETD. Finally, we make it possible for anyone to find and access your ETD by using the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) search engine.

What if I want to write a book related to my ETD?

UF realizes that some students, especially in the humanities, write books based on, or related to, their theses or dissertations. In general, it seems that electronic release of early versions of a book leads to greater sales of such books once they are published. Indeed, being able to tell a publisher just how many times your ETD online has been accessed could help land you a book contract.

Usually, books based on, or related to, theses or dissertations turn out to be significantly different than the original document, since they undergo substantial change in the editorial process. As a result, it is very likely that those interested in your work will still buy your book when it comes out, even if they have read your ETD.

However, since publishers vary widely in their policies and practices, it may be wise to share this information and other documentation about the UF ETD initiative with publishers to whom you are likely to submit your work.

What do I need to know about signing agreements with publishers?

When your research is published as part of a conference, journal or book, you usually sign some sort of agreement with the publisher. Read that agreement carefully before signing: make sure you understand and agree with its terms and conditions. If you don't agree with them, you may want to negotiate to change it with the publisher or seek legal or other counsel as to what to do. The agreement should be explicit about what future rights you will keep for use of your work. If you want to include the materials in a dissertation or reuse them for teaching or a chapter in a book, say so.

During negotiations with publishers, you may want to discuss matters of timing and revision. You have the right to negotiate with a publisher to reduce access to your ETD to the UF community only for a limited amount of time, if they request such a limitation as a condition for publishing your work. However, most publishers consider a thesis or dissertation to be quite different from a journal article. Typically, the article is much shorter than a chapter or full work, has been revised as a result of the editorial process and peer review, and sometimes has several authors — resulting in many publishers having no concern regarding fully accessible ETDs.

As an author, you are entitled to discuss your plans with a publisher. We encourage you to get an agreement that allows you to include your research in a freely available ETD.

What if I want to use a journal article as a chapter in my ETD?

You have a number of options if you have published an article (or articles) before turning in your ETD and want to incorporate them into it. Discuss them with your supervisory committee and your publisher. First, you can simply cite that publication in your references. Second, if the publisher has the publication online, you can put a hyperlink to it in your ETD (with the permission of the publisher, who usually has some sort of website protection, allowing only paying customers or subscribers access to it). Third, if the publisher gives you a signed release, you can include the publication in your ETD, as allowed by that release and described in "Chapter 4: Articles as Part of Thesis or Dissertation" in our Guide for Preparing Theses and Dissertations.

If your ETD delves into your research in a very different way than the published article, permission would not be necessary, since articles are typically short, and your ETD may be the only place where all the details, data, tables and other aspects of your research are presented in full.

What connection is there between ETDs and UMI?

UMI is a company in Ann Arbor, Michigan that maintains microfilm archives of some 1.5 million dissertations, among other academic resources. Most dissertations written in the United States are sent to UMI for archiving on microfilm, from which microfilm or paper copies can be made. UMI functions as an on-demand book publisher. UMI offers help with establishing copyright and working with publishers.

UMI accepts both electronic and paper submissions. Paper submissions are scanned for archiving; however, in most cases, the end result is not quite as good as an electronic submission. UMI is making available online electronic versions of all works they receive after 1996.

For more information on UMI, visit its website by clicking here: UMI.