Dissertation Format

Front Pages

The front pages do not form part of the main body of the dissertation. In fact, the numbering is different from the latter. The front pages are paginated in roman numbers, however, the page number for single-paged sections should not appear on the page. The format of these pages is as follows:

The opening page

This page should include the title of the dissertation, declaration of submission, the candidate's name, the Institute or Department, University Name and finally the month and year of submission (see figure below)

Page ii

The "Acknowledgements", are listed in this page. These include acknowledgements towards the head or director, tutor/s, statistician, academics outside the department or institute, foreign academics or professors who might have helped through personal communication, technical staff, etc.

Page iii

This is usually the dedication page, which is optional.

Pages iv/v

In these pages, one should give a brief description of the work carried out in the dissertation. This is called the Abstract. The abstract is given considerable weight, i.e., a good abstract gives an impression of a good dissertation and viceversa. The number of words in this abstract should be of about 200 - 400 words, including headings. A typical abstract would include:

· A general description of the project from previous literature,

· Investigations: Aims, methodology and results

· Conclusions

Page vi onwards

These are reserved for the "Table of Contents". The titles for the sectioning and sub-sectioning in the whole dissertation including the acknowledgements, abstract, chapters, appendices and references, should be described here. The following is a typical example:

Acknowledgements.............................................................. ii

Abstract................................................................................... v

1 An Introduction to Calendula officinalis

1.1 Botanical and Vernacular Names................................. 1

1.2 Historical Uses of the Plant........................................... 1

1.3 Pharmacopoeiae.............................................................. 4

1.4 Origins and Distribution............................................... 5

1.5 Habitat.............................................................................. 7

1.6 Cultivation....................................................................... 7

1.7 Folk Uses in Different Countries

1.7.1 Local Folk Uses and Dosage Forms.................... 8

1.7.2 Other Folk Uses in Different Countries.............. 9

1.8 Scope of Study................................................................. 9

References ............................................................................. 200

(Borg, 1996)

References

In the main body of the dissertation, references should be presented either as:

Text

Oleanolic acid is soluble in 96 % ethanol (Budavari, 1952)

Chaplinska and co-workers (1963) stated that the anti-bacterial agent was soluble in alcohol but not in water .

Numbers

In August 1986, Yesilada and co-workers obtained 0.77% of elaterium and 4.053% of elaterin from fruits collected in Narlidere, Izmir, Turkey¹⁰.

When a numbered list is used, some difficulties may arise due to the fact that if a reference is included at the beginning of the text, later in the process of dissertation writing/typing, the numbers of the references following this, should be changed. However, with numbers the flow of text is not interrupted by the references.

At the end of the dissertation, one should include a list of references from which material has been taken either to formulate the literature review chapters or to substantiate or discuss the results obtained in the dissertation in relation to already-published work.

The way one presents the references is very critical. In fact, there are certain formats that one should follow. The format depends on the preferences of the department/institute. The following are some common examples:

Book

Flora Europea (1972), Volume II, Cambridge University Press, pp. 206 - 207.

Martindale and Westcolt (1898), The Extra Pharmacopoea, Ninth Edition, pp 13 - 19.

Journal Article

Della Loggia. R., Tubaro, A., Sosa, S., Becker, H., Saar, St. and Isaac, O. (1994), The Role of Triterpenoids in the Topical Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Calendula officinalis Flowers, Planta Medica, 60 (6), pp. 501 - 602.

Journal Abstract

Kasprzyk, Z. and Fonberg-Broczek, M. (1967), Changes of the Level of Triterpenoids in Calendula officinalis, Physiol. Plant., 20 (2), pp. 321 - 9 cited from Chemical Abstracts : CA 67:8707

Internet Article

Duke J. Agriculture Research Service, Phytochemeco Database, May 1997 [cited December 1997] www.ars-grin.gov/~ngrlsb/

Dissertation Format

The dissertation should have a specific format before handed in for binding. The following are some considerations.

Tips

. The margins of the page for pharmacy dissertations should be 2.0 cm for all sides except for the left margin (4.0 cm), from where the dissertation is bound.

. The text should be printed only on one side, i.e. on the right side.

. Double line spacing is recommended for better presentation of the text

. The cover should be in black cloth with stiff boards and good quality end papers; with gold lettering on the front showing (a) name of student, (b) title of dissertation, (c) "Diploma in Agriculture" (d) year of submission; the spine should show (a), (c), and (d) only.

. A simple text font should be used in order to facilitate reading of the text (such as Times New Roman and Arial). Some fonts look awkward in paragraphs of text.

. Sectioning in the dissertation should be done as indicated in the "Table of Contents". One may use a different font for the sectioning, and perhaps a different font size for the sub-sectioning.

. Use separate pages for text and figures/tables. To avoid confusion, each table or figure can be present on a separate page. Figures/tables should be referred to in the text. The figures should be numbered as follows: Figure 2.1= standing for Figure 1 in chapter 2. Tables are numbered likewise Table 2.1 = standing for Table 1 in chapter 2.

. Figures, should be either fixed in place by double sided tape and photocopied in colour or black and white, or else scanned and printed out on the paper used for dissertation using a colour or black and white printer (preferably an inkjet or a laser printer).

The opening page

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