PhD in Nutritional Sciences Program Dissertation Format Guidelines
Students who are ready to submit their Dissertation after having successfully passed the Dissertation Defense Proposal should have the Office of Graduate Education – Doctorate Form IV – Dissertation Submission completed.
Defense announcement in the University Events Calendar is required for the dissertation. The defense must be one hour or more in length. It may be scheduled between 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on any work day, during both instructional and non-instructional periods. Submit announcement to the Graduate Division Student Services no later than two weeks prior to defense. Announcement must specify title, date, time and place of the defense. It must be signed by the committee chair.
The Dissertation format must follow the guidelines set by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Office of Graduate Education. These guidelines are available in pdf here.
As outlined in the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Office of Graduate Education guidelines, the following preliminary pages should precede the body of the dissertation and should appear in the order. Follow the Office of Graduate Education style guidelines for these pages.
– Title page (no page number)
– Copyright page (optional)
– Dedication page (optional)
– Acknowledgments (optional)
– Abstract
– Table of contents
– List of tables (if applicable)
– List of figures/illustrations/graphs/charts/maps/plates (if applicable)
– List of abbreviations and symbols (optional)
– Preface (optional)
– Text (chapters of the manuscript, including tables and figures)
– Appendices (optional)
– Notes (optional)
– Glossary (optional)
– Bibliography/references
– Index (optional)
For students enrolled in the Intercollege PhD Nutrition Program. There are two options for formatting the “text” section of the dissertation.
Option 1: Traditional Dissertation format (with the following chapters)
– Introduction
– A detailed review of the literature relevant to the dissertation topic
– A statement of hypothesis/study goals and a list of specific aims that will test the hypothesis /study goals
– Experimental design and methods
– Results
– Discussion
– Conclusions and future directions
– A list of references cited throughout the document
– Appendices
Option 2: Manuscript Dissertation format
This option is different from the traditional dissertation in that the chapters would include manuscripts that are written to be published in the peer-reviewed literature. This option encourages students to publish their work in the peer reviewed literature and is recommended. A student with his/her advisor may benefit from withholding submission of a manuscript for publication until after passing the oral defense, in order to fully integrate input from committee members on the topic of the manuscript. The dissertation chapters for this option would include the following:
– Introduction
– A detailed review of the literature relevant to the dissertation topic
– Three (or more) complete manuscripts ready for submission to a journal (or already submitted), each representing a chapter
– A discussion, conclusions and future directions chapter
– A list of references cited throughout the document
– Appendices
Regardless of dissertation format selected, all students should determine manuscript authorship in discussion with their advisors and committee members.
If the dissertation is comprised of already published chapters or papers, approval to include them as a part of the dissertation should be obtained from the publisher(s). The written approval(s) should be included in an appendix of the dissertation.
A general guide for writing the abstract and each chapter in the text of the dissertation is provided below.
1. Abstract (not to exceed 500 words) topical
The abstract is expected to be brief and should summarize the following: Background; Research Questions, Objectives, or Hypotheses; Design; Participants/Setting; Methods and Procedures; Potential impact.
2. Introduction (Chapter 1)
This section introduces the reader to the domain of the study and provides a general overview of the circumstances, issues, and background leading up to the problem under investigation. This chapter should also include the statement of the problem. The problem statement should identify briefly the state of uncertainty or dissatisfaction with present knowledge in the field. Then it should clearly and precisely identify the purpose of the study in terms of how it will help to advance knowledge in the field.
3. Literature Review (Chapter 2)
A doctoral dissertation is not intended to be an isolated undertaking but rather an inquiry which has an intended place in some larger body of knowledge. This section should include a review of the relevant theoretical and empirical works which provide a broad background, or a theoretical grounding to the study. In addition, candidates are required to demonstrate the link between their studies and the body of knowledge in which the studies are grounded. This chapter should include a table of key papers in that selected field and justification of the gap filled by the research.
This chapter should conclude with the research questions or hypotheses stated clearly. These should flow logically from the discussion of the Literature Review and should be consistent with the Statement of the Problem.
4. If pursuing option #2 Manuscripts (Chapter 3 – 5+)
Each of the manuscript chapters should be formatted in the style and guidelines recommended by the journal being submitted to. The student must define the journal to which the manuscripts will be/have been submitted and state clearly on the title page of each manuscript chapter. If a journal has not yet been selected, the recommended journal styles are those used by “The Journal of Nutrition” and “The American Society for Clinical Nutrition.” Each manuscript chapter must contain the list of citations used with that manuscript.
5. Methods (Chapter 3 if pursuing option 1; not included if pursuing option 2)
This section should indicate what type of study is being conducted, how the study will be conducted, what data or information will be used, how it will be obtained, what controls will be applied to ensure integrity, and what sampling techniques will be employed. Thus, the section should convey the appropriateness of the data/information for answering the research questions; and, most importantly, it should describe the techniques for analyzing the data with direct reference to the research questions or hypotheses. A figure on the theoretical framework should also be included.
A complete description of the instruments or procedures to be used in gathering the data should be provided. All dissertations are expected to include relevant information about the technical quality of these instruments or procedures. Any instruments/interview protocols developed by the researcher should accompany the dissertation in an Appendix.
6. Results (Chapter 4 if pursuing option 1; not included if pursuing option 2)
This section provides clear and detailed results of the research conducted. This section should contain pertinent figures and tables to further describe the results.
7. Discussion (Chapter 5 if pursuing option 1; Chapter # dependent on # of manuscript chapters if pursuing option 2). In this section students should address the implications of their findings. Students should also address clearly the shortcomings and/or weaknesses of the research which may impact the findings as well as the generalizability of these findings.
8. Conclusion (Chapter 6 if pursuing option 1; Chapter # dependent on # of manuscript chapters if pursuing option 2). The conclusion should contain a clear summary of the main points of the dissertation research. There should also be a deduction the research and a statement about the limitations of the work. The implications of the work for future research should also be noted with recommendations for what is needed.
9. Bibliography/reference
A bibliography/reference should be included at the end of the dissertation. Formatting should follow the AMA or APA Reference Style.
Helpful links:
Link about ProQuest ETD submission and publication: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/graduate/content/proquest-etd-submission-publication
Link about dissertation written under funded research: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/graduate/content/dissertation-written-under-funded-research
Link about embargo and delay of publication: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/graduate/content/embargo
Patent and trademark online resources from the Office of Technology Transfer: https://www.hawaii.edu/research/patents-and-trademarks-online-resources/
Proquest FAQs: https://www.proquest.com/products-services/dissertations/ProQuest-Dissertations-FAQ.html