Nova Southeastern University

The Statement of Original Work must be included with all submissions of the proposal and final report. You may provide a digital signature in the electronic submissions. Otherwise, the inclusion of the page (with your name included) will be sufficient to indicate your declaration. The final copy on quality paper that you send to the Applied Research Center (upon final approval of the applied dissertation) must contain your original signature.

• Statement of Original Work Template

• The Format Review 
• Tips for a Successful Format Review 

• APA Style Web site 
  
  
• APA Style Guide to Electronic References--This 2012 guide is a supplement to the sixth edition of the APA manual. It is available, at no cost to NSU students, through the NSU library.
  
  
• APA Style Blog, an ongoing series of contributions from APA editorial staff for clarification of style guidelines
  
  
• Mastering APA Style: Student's Workbook and Training Guide
  
  
• Guide to APA Style--This guide from NSU's Alvin Sherman Library contains sections on Quick Examples, Formatting, Citing in Text, How Do I Cite . . ., I Can't Find It, and Video Tutorials.
  
  
• CrossRef DOI lookup--APA, in its Publication Manual, requires a digital object identifier (DOI) in reference-list entries for articles that have been assigned a DOI and have been found online. Additionally, APA recommends that DOIs be included in entries for articles found in print form.
  
  
• Creating an APA-Style Table—This video, though imprecise for some details of style (see user comments), provides useful directions for formatting a table in Microsoft Word 2007 according to APA guidelines.
  
  
• Creating an APA-Style Figure—This video offers directions in creating a bar graph in Excel 2007 according to APA guidelines.

• "Any determination of plagiarism on a practicum or an applied dissertation (concept paper, proposal, final report), . . . may result in dismissal from the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education without the possibility of re-enrolling at any time." --from the Catalog and Student Handbook 2012-2013 of the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education 
  
  
• Plagiarism: A Primer—PowerPoint presentation by Mark A. Seldine, EdD, Director of Student Judicial Affairs, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education
  
  
• How to Recognize Plagiarism, a tutorial from the School of Education at Indiana University, Bloomington
  
  
• Avoiding Plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
  
  
• Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It, by A. Michael Noll, professor emeritus at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
  
  
• Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Avoiding Plagiarism, a publication of the Harvard College Writing Program
  
  
• The Double Whammy: What Can Happen to a Plagiarist--a February 5, 2011, article ("Degree Revoked, Plagiarist Will Pay to Settle Lawsuit") from The Columbus Dispatch

• Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors
  NOTE: Do not use descriptors found in the thesaurus that contain a year or years in parentheses. These descriptors are no longer valid; the parenthetical notation in the thesaurus indicates the time period when the descriptor was in use.

• The Academic Phrasebank, from the University of Manchester (UK), provides examples of phrases commonly found in dissertations. It should not, however, be used as a model of correct APA style (e.g., reference citations). 
  
  
• The Writing Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison 
  
  
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (by Lynne Truss) An educational companion to the bestselling book is in PDF. 
  
  
• Copyright Law and Graduate Research (by Kenneth D. Crews) 
  
  
• Copyright & Fair Use
  
  
• Eleven Rules of Writing 
  
  
• A Guide to Indispensable Writing Resources 
  
  
• The Editing and Rewriting Process
  
  
• Guide to Grammar & Writing
  
  
• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
  
  
• Common Errors in English

• Tips for Correct Margins in the Applied Dissertation Manuscript
  
  
• Microsoft Word 2007 Training Workbook is a publication of NSU's Technology Training Services.
  
  
• From the Microsoft Office Web site's Assistance Center, a step-by-step procedure for the Table of Contents shows how to insert a line of dots that leads to page numbers (for Word 2002).
  
  
• These detailed instructions for pagination (Word 2003 and Word 2007) were contributed by Committee Chair David Weintraub, EdD.

Students who contract with an editor or typist must provide that person with the Format Guide for the Applied Dissertation. Editors and typists must communicate with the student, not with university personnel. The university does not assume responsibility for a student's contractual agreement with an editor or typist or for the quality of the editor's or typist's work.

The Fischler School cannot recommend a freelance editor, nor does it employ editors. If you require professional editing, speak first with your dissertation committee chair; ask if he or she is able to put you in touch with a former student who had success with an editor. Contact within your network of Fischler School doctoral students may also yield specific recommendations.

Dissertation editors and typists may be found through a variety of other sources, including the Internet, phone directories, and college and university bulletin boards. Please be aware, however, that the skill levels of editors vary widely. If you do find it necessary to hire a nonreferred editor, ask beforehand if he or she has successfully worked on a Fischler School doctoral dissertation. If the answer is "yes," request at least one reference so you can verify the editor’s qualifications with the Fischler School graduate; if the answer is "no," it would be advisable to continue your search.

Once a decision is made, be sure that all aspects of the contractual agreement are clearly spelled out. For example, your edited manuscript may require substantial content changes during the final-review process. In such a case, your manuscript will need to be re-edited. Establish an understanding with your editor in regard to a procedure—and payment, if necessary—for additional work that may be required after the initial editing.

Editors and typists must not make changes that affect the content of your dissertation, nor should they send the manuscript directly to the Applied Research Center or to your committee chair. You are responsible for ensuring that the applied dissertation is correct prior to its submission to the dissertation committee. Therefore, the manuscript should be edited before the committee recommends it for final approval.

Hiring an editor to prepare your manuscript does not preclude the usefulness of learning as much as possible about APA style and Fischler School format requirements. Having a familiarity with style and format guidelines will help you to determine early in the process whether your editor is fulfilling his or her contractual obligations.

A professionally edited dissertation gives you an opportunity to learn proper style by comparing—line by line—your final manuscript to your pre-edited manuscript. The knowledge that you gain from this exercise will be a benefit to you throughout your professional career.