ETDR Overview

K-State students are required to submit their dissertations, theses, and reports in an electronic format. ETDRs are stored in the K-State Research Exchange (K-REx) and are "open access," i.e., they are freely available on the web. Open access can be delayed (sequestered) in some cases.

Important Resources

ETDR Web Site

The site you are currently on. It contains detailed information on all aspects of creating and submitting your ETDR. Review the left side navigation.

K-State Research Exchange (K-Rex)

This is the site where you will submit your ETDR. You can also view ETDRs submitted by other KSU students.

Formatting Requirements

Guidelines for ETDR formatting and style are available on this ETDR web site. First, check with your major professor for specific requirements of your department or college as that will dictate the format of your content, references, bibilography, etc.

Templates are available for Word and LaTeX, see below. You are not required to use a template, but they do offer time-saving features such as automatically generating your table of contents and lists of table and figures.

Your ETDR must follow specific formatting guidelines. The ETDR Handbook (PDF) , the ETDR Formatting Checklist, and other tools and resources in this site demonstrate how to correctly format your ETDR to meet Graduate School requirements. K-State recommends you use the provided template options and review the videos located on the ETDR Template Resources page.

ETDR submission and other requirements must be completed by specific deadlines in order for students to graduate and participate in commencement with a designated term. Refer to the Graduation and commencement checklists at the beginning of the term in which you intend to graduate to make a plan for completing all requirements on time.

Templates

Templates are available for Word and LaTeX. The Word template is essentially a sample document (.doc) that contains all the components (title page, abstract, table of contents, etc.) and formatting required by the Graduate School. In addition, the template provides many time saving features, such as automatically generating your table of contents and lists of tables of figures and numbering figure and table captions.

Hints for using the Word template:

• Download the appropriate template from the ETDR web site.
• Use the template from the earliest stages of your writing. Do all your writing within the template as a single file. Don't create a separate file for each chapter.
• Understand and use "styles" in Word.
• View the Introduction to ETDR Templates video.

Extensive documentation on using Word to write your ETDR is available. Individual assistance with Word is available through the IT Service Desk: Submit a Ticket or Start a Live Chat.

Saving your ETDR as a PDF

PDF is the format you will submit for the final version of your document after working in Word. The two important details of the PDF are that your formatting remains intact and your Table of Contents, Lists of Figures and Tables, and other links are clickable and go to their destination. In most cases you can use Word > Print > and then selecting PDF to output your document. You can also choose Save As > PDF in Word. You can also use Adobe Acrobat to export the Word document to PDF. In some cases, these steps can result in non-clickable links. When this happens, using Word online in your browser can be a solution. See instructions under "Outputting your ETDR as a PDF from Online Word" on the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other ETDR Issues

• Copyright: K-State encourages you to register your ETDR with the U.S. Copyright Office, although your ETDR is still protected under copyright law if you do not register. If you plan to use copyrighted works within your ETDR, you may need to obtain permission from the publisher or copyright holder. See the Copyright page for details.
  
  
• Previously published chapters: If you plan to include in your ETDR a research article authored by yourself and published in a journal, it is likely you will need to obtain permission from the publisher in order to use the article in your ETDR. See the Prior Publication of a Chapter page for details and a sample permission request letter.
  
  
• Supplemental files: With ETDRs it's possible to submit additional files, such as audio, video, datasets, etc., along with the text of your paper. See the Supplemental Files for ETDRs page for recommended file formats.
  
  
• Embargoing: If you plan to file for a patent based on your ETDR, online access to your ETDR can be delayed until the patent is granted. You will need to request an embargo through the Graduate School prior to submission. See the Embargo your ETDR page for more information.

Before Submitting Your ETDR

Before submitting your ETDR, complete these steps in the order shown:

1. Deliver the Final Examination Ballot to the Graduate School.
2. Deliver the completed ETDR Ballot to the Graduate School.
3. Doctoral students only: Deliver the Survey of Earned Doctorate form to the Graduate School.

Details on each of these steps are available on the ETDR Submission Checklist.

Convert Your ETDR to PDF

Your ETDR must be submitted in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The file must be named in this format: FirstnameLastname2010.pdf. There are number of ways to convert a Word document to PDF, but the IT Help Desk recommends using a recent version of Word. For details, see "PDF Conversion" for your Word version.

Submit Your ETDR

After you have submitted your ETDR Ballot, signed by your major professor, to the Graduate School, you are ready to submit your ETDR to K-REx. A complete submission checklist and detailed instructions on how to submit are available on the ETDR website. See the Submitting ETDRs to K-Rex video for additional information. After submission, wait for an email confirmation indicating your ETDR has been accepted or rejected for revisions.

After their K-REx submission has been approved, doctoral students must also submit their dissertation to ProQuest using a similar online submission process.

ETDR Fees

There is a $100 ETDR submission fee which replaces the previous binding fee and printing costs and helps support ETDR systems and services. There is no fee for doctoral students to submit their dissertation to ProQuest. There is a $55 fee if you register for copyright through UMI (optional). For details, see the Fees.

Questions/Help

If you have questions on any aspect of your ETDR, start by utilizing the templates, tools, and resources. Additionally, help is available through the Graduate School and the IT Service Desk. See Help and Contact Information to determine which office to contact for your specific question.