ETDs - Electronic Theses & Dissertations   Tags: digital archive @ gsu, dissertation, dissertations, etd, etds, theses, thesis  

Starting Summer 2012, the University requires all students who produce a master´s thesis or doctoral dissertation in fulfillment of his/her degree to upload the final version of these documents to the Digital Archive@GSU as a condition of the award of the degree. You can find the archived version of the mandate here and the University Policies version here.

Step 1

Find your way to the Digital Archive @ Georgia State University.

There are three ways to do this:

1. Click this link
2. Type in your browser's address bar: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/
3. From Georgia State University's Homepage Click: Libraries > University Library > Collections & Archives > Digital Archive @ Georgia State University

Step 2

Click on the "College, School or Department" link.

Step 3

Scroll through the list of Colleges, departments and collections. Click on the one that corresponds to your Thesis / Dissertation.

Alternatively, you can click your college, then your department, and finally the appropriate Thesis or Dissertation category.

Example: I'm submitting my Dissertation for my English Ph.D. So I would scroll to College of Arts and Sciences > Department of English > English Dissertations.

Step 4

On the bottom right side, under "Author Corner" click "Submit Research"

Step 5

If you have already created an account in the Digital Archive system, you can simply login with your email address and password. Then move on to Step 6.

If you haven't yet created an account:

1. Click the "Sign up" button
2. Enter the required information.
   Note: you do not need to use your GSU email address. In fact, it's beneficial to use a non-GSU email address since your GSU email will stop working shortly after graduation. The Digital Archive system will send a monthly report with the number of downloads of your thesis/dissertation to the email address you provide.
3. Click "Sign up"
4. Check your email. You will get an email with a link to activate your account.

Step 6

You'll see a "Submission Instructions" page. Be sure to read it all. Take particular note the "Submission Agreement" section. You may want to print a copy to keep for your records since it outlines the rights you retain and the rights you grant to Georgia State University.   

Check the box at the bottom of the page and click continue.

Step 7

You'll see a page with several require fields where you'll need to enter information:

Dissertation/Thesis Title - DO NOT USE ALL CAPS! Please enter the title in headline style - meaning capitalize the first letter of the first word and the first letter of each following word in the title EXCEPT prepositions, conjunctions, articles, and the second word in hyphenated words.

Author - This is pre-populated with the information you entered when you created your account. Make sure it is in MLA style - meaning capitalize the first letter of each name/word. Do not use all Capital Letters.

If you need to edit your author information, click the  button and pre-populated field will drop down for editing.

Date of Award - Please use your Commencement (Graduation) date (NOT a defense or submission date) and do NOT add a season.

Embargo Period - Should be left as the default "No Embargo Required" unless you have approval from your college to do otherwise.

Degree Type / Degree Name / Department - Please make the appropriate selections from the drop-down menus.

Advisors- The First Advisor is the Chair of your committee. List the other committee members as second - seventh advisors as applicable.

Abstract - Type or paste your abstract here.

Note: if you cut and paste you may need to take extra spaces out of the text since it doesn't always paste in with the same formatting as in your original. The rich text editor also allows you to insert some basic formatting if necessary, including super and sub scripts which are useful for formulas. The "HTML" button will open a  pop-up window where you can edit the HTML code directly if you prefer.

Keywords - Add appropriate keywords or phrases separated by commas. Do NOT use all CAPS.

Upload Full Text - Most of you will want to click "Upload file from your computer" radio button (Upload PDF files only!):

1. You will see a "Choose File" button appear.
2. Click it.
3. Navigate to your file and click "Open"
4. The system attaches your file.

Additional Files - this will not apply to most of you, but if your thesis/dissertation has related files you need to upload (and you have the rights to upload them) you must check this box in order to attach them.

Double Check all your entries and click "Submit."

Step 8

You will get a confirmation screen that shows what you have submitted and gives you the opportunity to revise if necessary by clicking the "Revise Submission Button." You will also get an email confirmation of submission.

Congratulations, you're done!

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Step 9 - Optional

You can click on "My Account" to see the status of your Thesis/Dissertation (you may log in at anytime to see this).

You can also "Log Out" on the "My Account" page.

You will get an email from the system when the administrator has approved your thesis / dissertation and it has been published in the Digital Archive @ Georgia State University.

Once it's been approved and published you can see it by browsing to the same collection you submitted it to or by clicking on the "Theses and Dissertations" link from the Digital Archive @ Georgia State University's homepage.