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supervisorwillreviewthisproposalandindicatewhatchanges,ifany,heorsheexpectsyoutomakebeforeitisapproved.Mostgraduatingpapersdonotinvolveoriginaldatacollection.However,ifyourpaperinvolvescollectingoriginaldatafrompeopleviasurveys,interviews,orobservationsyouwillalsoberequiredtoprepareandsubmitaBehaviouralHumanEthicsApplication.ThisrequestisreviewedbytheBehaviouralResearchEthicsBoard(commonlyreferredtoasBREB),whichmustissueacertificateofapprovalbeforeanydatacanbecollected.Thereviewnormallytakes4-6weeks.TheprocedureandformsforsubmittingthisrequestcanbeobtainedfromtheOfficeofResearchServices,https://ethics.research.ubc.ca/Secondreaders.Allgraduatingpapersmustbeapprovedandsignedbyyoursupervisorandasecondqualifiedfacultymember.Selectingthesecondreaderisdoneinconsultationwithyoursupervisor.Dependingonthepreferencesofthesupervisor,thesecondreadermaybeinvolvedasearlyastheapprovalofthepaperproposaloraslateaswhenthepaperisinnearfinalform.Criteriaforassessment.Graduatingpapersareassessedusingcriteriathataretypicalinuniversitygraduateprogramsincludinghowwellthestatedpurposeofthepaperisachieved,clarityofwritingandorganization,depthandqualityofanalysis,anduseofsourcematerials.Structure.Graduatingpapersmustcontainthefollowingelements:atitlepageinthesameformatasthelibraryrequiresfortheses;aTableofContentsthatcontainsthechapter/sectiontitles,majorheadingsandthepagenumberofeach;whenappropriate,aListofTablesandaListofFigures;thebodyofthepaper;ReferencesorBibliography;and,whenappropriate,appendices.Acceptablestyles:Mostprogramsacceptgraduatingpapersthatconformtooneoftwomajorstyles:theAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)ManualofStyleortheChicagoManualofStyle - alsofoundinabbreviatedforminTurabian,AManualforWritersofTermPapers,Theses,andDissertations(latesteditionsforall).Itisimportanttocheckwithyoursupervisoraboutacceptablestylebecausesomespecializationsinthedepartmentencouragestudentstouseotherstylesthatareparticulartothosespecializations.Process.Studentsusuallypreparedraftsofchaptersorsectionsofthegraduatingpaperforreviewbytheirsupervisor.Thesearereviseduntilacompletedraftofthepaperisproduced.Thisdraftmayberevisedseveraltimesuntilthestudent,supervisor,andsecondreaderareallsatisfiedthatitmeetsexpectations.Whenboththesupervisorandsecondreaderagreethatthepaper/projectissatisfactory,theysendthePass/FailstandingtotheGraduateProgramAssistant.cIRclefordepositinggraduatingpapers.Studentswhocompletetheirprogramwithagraduatingpaperarenotrequired,butmaychoose,touploadthistotheGSSAwardCollectionofcIRcle:https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/425911. AspartofuploadingafiletocIRcle,thestudentprovidescontactinformationfortheirgraduatingpapersupervisor.2. ThesupervisorthenreceivesanautomatedemailfromcIRcleaskingthemtoapprovethestudentsubmissiononline.3. ThesupervisorlogsintocIRcleandapprovesthesubmission(theautomatedemailcontainsfullinstructions).4. cIRclestaffreceiveautomatednotificationofthesupervisor'sapproval.

5. cIRclestaffaddtherecordtocIRcle.Fullinformationandinstructionsareavailablefrom:http://circle.sites.olt.ubc.ca/gss-graduate-student-society-open-scholar-award/andhttp://wiki.ubc.ca/Library:Circle/Course_Instructor_Help_Guide_for_GSS_AwardMAThesesContentandfocus.MAthesesareformalreportsofresearchandaddnewknowledgeandunderstanding.Thecontentandorganizationofthesesvarywidelydependingonthetopicsaddressedandresearchapproachesemployed.Athesisdemonstratesyourabilitytodesign,carryoutandreportonaresearchprojectinwhichyouapplyacceptedmethodsofscholarshiptoaquestionorissueofconcern."Acceptedmethodsofscholarship"shouldbeinterpretedquitebroadlytoincludeanyandallempirical,analytical,interpretive,andcriticalapproachesregardedaslegitimateformsofscholarshipintheareaofstudy.Reviewingrecently-completedthesesbystudentsinyourareaofspecializationwillgiveyouagoodideaoftherangeofresearchtopicsaddressed,methodsemployed,reportingformatsused,andeffortrequiredtocompleteathesis.AllMAthesesareavailabledigitallythroughtheKoernerLibrary'scIRcle,UBC'sinstitutionaldepository.Supervisionandproposals.MAstudentsusuallybeginworkontheirthesisproposalswhentheyhavecompletedmostrequiredcourses.WheneverstudentsbeginworkontheirproposalstheyshouldenrollinEDST599,Master'sThesis,andmaintainregistrationuntilthethesisiscompleted.Thethesiscarries6credits,andisgraded.Onceyouhaveareasonablyclearideaoftheareaorquestionyouwishtoresearch,youshoulddiscussitwithyoursupervisor.Youshouldalsodiscusswithyoursupervisorwhoshouldbeinvitedtoserveasadditionalmember(s)ofyourresearchsupervisorycommittee.MAsupervisorycommitteesconsistofaminimumoftwofacultymemberswhoaremembersoftheFacultyofGraduateStudies:eitheronesupervisorandatleastonemember,ortwoco-supervisors(withpossiblyanadditionalmember).Thesupervisororatleastoneoftheco-supervisorsshouldbeafacultymemberinEDST.AllmembersmaybefromEDST,butcommitteesoftenincludemembersfromotherdepartments.Allmembersofthecommitteemustapproveyourresearchproposal.Insomecasesanearlydraftoftheproposalispreparedpriortoorduringtheformationofthecommittee.Somestudentsusethisdraftasadiscussionpaperwithfacultywhotheyareconsideringinvitingtoserveontheircommittee.Facultyhavedifferentexpectationsabouthowdetailedaproposalshouldbe,soyoushoulddiscussthisearlyonwithyourresearchsupervisor.Proposalscanrangeinlengthfromafewpagestoseveralchaptersofthethesisandoftenarerevisedseveraltimesbeforetheyareapproved.Ingeneral,thesisproposalsincludeanintroductorysectionthatstatesthepurposeoftheresearch,providesacontextforthestudyandmakesaconvincingargumentthatthestudyisworthdoing(addressesthe"sowhat?"question);asectionthatcriticallyreviewspriorresearchdoneintheareaandrelevanttheoreticalandconceptualwork;andasectionthatdescribeshowtheresearchwillbecarriedoutincludingadescriptionofmethodsandproceduresthatconvincesthecommitteethatyouhavetheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytocompletethestudy.Proposalsshouldalsoincludearoughtimetableforcarryingoutthestudyandwritingthethesis.Oncetheproposalisconsideredacceptablebythecommittee,allmembersofthecommitteewillsigntheproposalcoversheet(seeanexampleunderthe"PoliciesandForms"sectionoftheEDSTwebsite.YoursupervisorwillthenhaveacopyoftheapprovedproposalplacedinyourfileandwillnotifytheGraduateProgramAssistantthatyourproposalhasbeenapproved.Itistheresponsibilityofyour

supervisorandcommitteememberstoinsurethatthescopeandcomplexityoftheresearchprojectarewithintheusualexpectationsforMA-levelstudy.OnoccasionastudentwillproposeaprojectthatistooambitiousforaMAthesis(sometimeseventooambitiousforaPhDthesis).InthesecasesthesupervisorandcommitteemayinsistthattheproposalbereviseduntilitreflectstheworkexpectedofanMAstudent.Ifyourthesisinvolvescollectinginformationfrompeopleviasurveys,interviewsorobservations,youwillalsoberequiredtoprepareandsubmitaBehaviouralHumanEthicsApplication.ThisrequestisreviewedbytheBehaviouralResearchEthicsBoard(commonlyreferredtoasBREB),whichmustissueacertificateofapprovalbeforeanydatacanbecollected.Thereviewnormallytakes4-6weeks.TheprocedureandformsforsubmittingthisrequestcanbeobtainedfromtheOfficeofResearchServices,https://ethics.research.ubc.ca/.Criteriaforassessment.MAthesesareassessedusingcriteriathatareappliedtothekindofresearchstudythatyoucarryout.Toapproveathesis,yourcommitteemustbeconvincedthatyouhaveadequatelydemonstratedyourabilitytodesignandcarryoutarespectableresearchstudyandtodescribetheprocessandoutcomesofthatstudyinaclear,completeandcogentfashion.Structure.Thesesmustcontainthefollowingelements:asignature/titlepageintheformatprescribedbyGraduateandPostdoctoralStudies(G+PS)(https://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/dissertation-thesis-preparation)anabstractofnomorethan350words;aTableofContents;whenappropriate,aListofTablesandListofFigures,anacknowledgement(ifyouwish),thebodyofthethesis;ReferencesorBibliography,and,whenappropriate,appendices.BecausethesesaresubmittedtothecIRclerepository,therearestrictproductionrequirementsthatmustbemetbeforetheyareacceptedbythelibrary.FollowtheinstructionsprovidedbyG+PSandyouwillsaveyourselfalotofgrief.Acceptablestyles:Mostsupervisorsacceptthesesthatconformtooneoftwomajorstyles:theAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)ManualofStyleortheChicagoManualofStyle - alsofoundinabbreviatedforminTurabian,AManualforWritersofTermPapers,Theses,andDissertations(latesteditionsforall).Itisimportanttocheckwithyoursupervisoraboutacceptablestylebecausesomespecializationsinthedepartmentencouragestudentstouseotherstylesthatareparticulartothosespecializations.Process.Oncetheresearchproposalisapprovedbythecommittee,thestudentproceedstocarryouttheresearchconsultingwiththeresearchsupervisorandcommitteememberswhenneeded.Studentsusuallypreparedraftsofchaptersforreviewbytheirsupervisorandcommittee.Thesearereviseduntilacompletedraftofthethesisisproduced.Thisdraftmayberevisedseveraltimesuntilthestudent,supervisorandcommitteemembersareallsatisfiedthatitmeetsexpectations.Typically,MAthesesshouldrangebetween80to120pages.Onceapprovedbythecommitteeoneoftwothingshappens.Ifthestudentisinaprogramthatrequiresadefence(oralexamination)ofthethesis,thisisscheduledandthestudentpresentstheresearchatapublicmeetingandanswersquestionsposedbycommitteemembersandafacultymemberexternaltothecommittee.This"outsidereader"maybe,butdoesnothavetobe,fromanotherdepartmentatUBC.Audiencemembersarealsoinvitedtoaskquestionsatthedefence.ThestudentisresponsiblefordepositingtheapprovedthesiswithG+PSbeforethepublisheddeadlineforcompletingallprogramrequirements(seetheUniversityCalendar).GuidelinesprovidedbyG+PSregardingformatandpaperqualitymustbeobserved.Studentsareadvisedtocarefullyreviewthese