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Format and Documentation Requirements
All MSE Capstone Projects must comply with the
format and documentation guidelines stipulated in the MSOE Graduate Student Documentation and Style Guide:
Technical 
The Style Guide consists of the following sections:
- Elements of a Formal Report and Other Style Issues. "Elements" refers to the sections of a report (e.g., title page, abstract, table of contents, etc.). "Other style issues" include instructions on margins, pagination, and so forth.
- Rules For Documenting Your Sources. These are procedures for creating references.
- Examples of the Documentation of Sources. This section includes examples of how to create references for various types of sources. New examples based on MSE Capstone work are occasionally added.
- Copyright Issues. This section covers copyright in so far as it may concern the MSE Capstone Project (see below).
- Binding of the Capstone Report: Personal Copies for Students. This section features information on obtaining a personal bound copy of your MSE Capstone Project.
- A copy of the Graduate Program Council's Policy 009 is included.
- A copy of the Format Approval Form is included.
- A copy of the "Noncirculation Status" Report Form is included.
The Style Guide is a living document. It is periodically updated to include new reference examples or to address new format and documentation issues.
Why Is Format and Documentation Important in the MSE Capstone Project Report?
Format and documentation in the MSE Capstone Project are important because they help to make a distinction between undergraduate and graduate-level work.
In writing, style is concerned with consistency in writing. It typically addresses things such as how numbers are to be treated (i.e., in figures or spelled out), how a report should be organized, how the margins should be set, and so on. Style is important because otherwise excellent content can appear to be sloppy and amateurish without consistency.
Other reasons for the importance of format and documentation include the following:
- The transitive verb, to document, means "to furnish with documents, evidence, or the like" or "to support by documentary evidence." Additionally, an obsolete -- but enlightening -- definition of the verb is "to instruct," because it is derived from the Latin documentum, meaning "lesson" and "example," and the verb docere, meaning "to teach."
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project thus can function as a method of instruction. As Jacques Barzun and Henry Graff point out in The Modern Researcher, "... the real reason for a bibliography is to enable others to learn from it" [see Jacques Barzun and Henry Graff, 1992, The Modern Researcher (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers), p. 312].
- In addition, the purpose of some footnotes is to "elucidate or elaborate a remark in the text, when such elucidation or elaboration would break the thread of the story, or otherwise divert the attention of the reader."
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project can serve to acknowledge and to identify all of the works of other people that have been employed to produce the MSE Capstone Project. Such attribution is particularly important in questions of plagiarism (see below).
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project provides the reader with an opportunity to assess and to verify the accuracy and authority of any statements, assertions, ideas, or concepts that appear in the final project.
- A standard definition of high-level, or graduate, research invariably encompasses the notion that the methods employed in such research can be duplicated by others. Accurate documentation in the MSE Capstone Project is a significant means by which readers can duplicate an investigator's methods and thought processes.
- Documentation is not an exercise in the fulfillment of obscure and tedious academic hurdles. Documentation can serve as a useful tool in the toolbox for evaluating the quality of an MSE Capstone Project.
- An analysis of the documentation in an MSE Capstone Project (or the lack of such documentation) can indicate something about the rigor and the originality of the thinking and writing that the project features. Proper documentation indicates which sources were employed and how; implicitly, it also helps to indicates what the student contributes.
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project allows the reader to quickly and easily assess the quality of resources employed.
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project
can help the reader to make preliminary assessments about the quality
of research and the quality of effort and thought in the project. For
example, a reader would have reason to question the effort and quality of a 2001
thesis indicating that the GNP of the United States is $80 billion, and then
citing a 1980 chemistry textbook in support of this figure. In 2001 -- when the
thesis was written -- a 1999 figure was readily
available on the web , and it indicated that the GDP was was $9,236.2
billions or $9,236,200,000,000! The lastest available figure indicates that in
2002, the GDP was $10,446,200,000,000.
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project can help the reader to assess whether or not the student is capable of independent thought, which is a crucial goal of a graduate program. Documentation indicates this by showing whether or not the student considered and evaluated other research and -- more importantly -- other points of view and perspectives. A clear characteristic of high-level thinking is the ability to evaluate issues without reference to one's own personal interests. Documentation can serve as a clue indicating whether or not this level of thinking was achieved.
- Well-formatted, clear, and proper documentation in the MSE Capstone Project is a significant means of distinguishing the project as a scholarly -- and not a popular -- endeavor. A graduate project generally entails a level of thinking which is not normally encountered in day-to-day life. As one commentator has observed, thesis writers "should always write with the specter of critics standing at their shoulders to challenge the validity of each sentence" [see Gomer Pound, 1977, A Handbook For Writing Graduate Theses (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company), p. 44].
The Basic Format Checking Procedure for the MSE Capstone Project
The basic steps for obtaining format approval for the MSE Capstone Project are as follows:
Step 1. A student who writes a capstone report must read the MSOE Graduate Student Documentation and Style Guide For Technical Documents, and must write the capstone report in compliance with the format and documentation requirements in the style guide. During the writing of the capstone report, students are encouraged to contact the library to set up a consultation with a librarian for help in using the style guide. Contact Gary Shimek at shimek@msoe.edu or at 414-277-7181.
Step 2. After the student's capstone report has been approved by the evaluation committee, the student is considered to have a final draft.
Step 3. The student must submit the final draft to the library for a format check. The purpose of the format check is to verify that the final draft complies with the requirements of the style guide. Before submitting the final draft for a formal format check, the student is encouraged to contact the library to set up a consultation with a librarian for an unofficial review of the student's work. Contact Gary Shimek at shimek@msoe.edu or at 414-277-7181.
Step 4. The final draft should be submitted as a single, unbound paper copy. When submitting the final draft for a format check, the student should also fill in the top portion of the Graduate Program Thesis / Capstone Report Format Approval Form (a copy of which is available in Appendix E in the Style Guide), and submit the Form along with the copy of the final draft.
Step 5. The format check process may entail a series of exchanges of versions of the final draft. That is, a student may submit a final draft that requires format corrections. The student receives feedback from the library concerning the necessary corrections. The student makes the corrections, and submits to the library a corrected version of the final draft for a second format check. This process continues until the library verifies that the final draft complies with the Style Guide. The Library attempts to return feedback to a student within two weeks after a report is submitted the first time; more time may be required, however. Subsequent format checks usually require less time.
Step 6. When the library approves the format of the capstone report, the student is considered to have a final version. The library communicates to the student and the student's advisor that the final version is approved. The library asks the student to submit (i) three unbound paper copies of the final version, (ii) an electronic copy of the final version, and (iii) three original signed and dated Project Approval Forms.
Step 7. The student submits to the library items (i), (ii), and (iii) from Step 6, and the library verifies that the items are in proper condition, and that no further problems exist.
Step 7.A. If the student desires to limit public access to the capstone report, the student must fill out and submit to the library the Thesis / Capstone Report "Noncirculation Status" Request. A copy of this Form is in Appendix F of the style guide.
Step 8. Library personnel sign the Format Approval Form and send it -- along with a paper copy of the final version -- to the Program Director of the MSE program. Library personnel notify the student and advisor that the format check is officially completed. The student is additionally notified of the option to purchase personal copies of the final version that are bound. Appendix C of the style guide features a copy of an order form for personal copies of the capstone report.
The Format and Documentation Checklist
A format and documentation checklist is available to help you quickly and easily verify that your MSE Capstone project complies with the Style Guide.
Plagiarism and Copyright
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is "the knowing or negligent use of the ideas, expressions, or work of another with intent to pass such materials off as one's own." Documented plagiarism at MSOE can result in failure and dismissal from the University.
Plagiarism is an example of academic dishonesty, and a serious offense. Plagiarism outside of the University can result in the loss of credibility, among other consequences.
As the saga of historian Ambrose illustrates, plagiarism can occur if literal words and phrases are used and referenced, but do not feature quotation marks, which indicates to the reader that the words literally were taken from another person's work.
During the format and documentation check of a MSE Capstone Project, if two verifiable instances of plagiarism are discovered, the report is returned to the student for correction, and the advisor and program director are notified.
Copyright
When including copyright-protected material in his or her thesis or capstone report, a student is responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder in order to use the material. A copy of the written permission must also appear in the thesis or capstone report.
| In order to obtain permission
from a copyright holder to use protected material, write a letter to the
copyright holder. For example:
TO: Company XYZ Dear Company XYZ, My name is John Smith. I am a graduate student in the Master of Science in Engineering program at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am in the process of completing my Master's Capstone Report entitled, "An Investigation of Latch-Based and Flip-Flop Derivation in Digital System Clocking." I am requesting permission to use material for which Company XYZ holds the copyright. Specifically, I am requesting permission to use the following copyright-protected material in my thesis:
Three copies each of [1] and [2] above are to be placed in three copies of my thesis. One copy of the thesis will be placed in the Electrical Engineering department file; one copy of the thesis will be kept in the Thesis Archives which has no public access; and one copy of the thesis will be placed in the library where interested patrons can check it out. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 414-277-7777, or via email at smithj@msoe.edu. Thank you for your consideration in this matter, John Smith |
Copyright law protects original works of authorship that are fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which thay can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or a device. "Works of authorship" includes:
- literary works (including computer programs and related documentation);
- musical works (including accompanying words);
- dramatic works (including accompanying works);
- pantomines and choreographic works;
- pictorial, graphic and sculptural works;
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
- sound recordings;
- architectural works;
- compilations, collective works and derivative works.
Protected work may -- or may not -- feature a copyright notice.
Copyright-protected material includes a large array of created works: books, articles, reports, maps, charts, drawings, icons, data sheets, standards, documents produced by companies and web pages are all examples of material that may be copyright-protected.
The "Fair Use" provision in Copyright Law does allow "use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research" [see Kinney & Lange, 1997, Overview of Intellectual Property for Business Lawyers, Ninth Edition (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Kinney & Lange), p. 123].
However, only a court of law can determine if the copying of copyright-protected material constitutes "Fair Use." When a court of law considers whether or not a piece of copying constitutes "Fair Use," the court considers the following factors: "purpose and character of use, including whether it is commercial or nonprofit"; "nature of the work," including whether the copied work is scholarly or commercial; "amount or sustainability of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole"; "effect of the use upon the potential market for or the value of the work." According to Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990), the most important of these four factors is "the effect the use has on the market for the underlying work" [see Kinney & Lange, 1997, Overview of Intellectual Property for Business Lawyers, Ninth Edition (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Kinney & Lange), p. 124].
When considering whether or not a piece of copying constitutes "Fair Use," a court considers three fair use tests [see R.S. Talab, 1999, Commonsense Copyright: A Guide for Educators and Librarians (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers), pp. 27-28]:
- Brevity -- "The relative amount of what is copied should be brief, for example, 250 words for poems, 2,500 words or 10 percent of articles, stories, and so forth ... ."
- Spontaneity -- A spontaneous copying of a work would "not be needed enough ahead of time that reprints or permission could be acquired."
- Cumulative effect -- This is "the combination of small uses that rise to such a proportion that economic harm is done ... ."
You may use these guidelines to begin to assess whether or not your use of copyright-protected material is "Fair Use." However, as a general policy, MSOE requires that all students who produce a thesis or capstone report must obtain permission from the copyright holder to use all copyright-protected material in the thesis or capstone.
If you are uncertain as to whether or not material you wish to use is protected, contact the MSOE Library for guidance.
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