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The Dissertation

The Doctoral Dissertation culminates the student's research and demonstrates that the candidate has acquired a command of biostatistical theory and methods, their application in a chosen substantive field in health, skills in computation, data analysis, and consultation. The Doctoral Dissertation also should be a presentation that demonstrates the student's ability to contribute fresh knowledge to or advance translation of knowledge in the chosen topic.

Human Subjects Approval

All proposed dissertation research which involves human subjects, even if it involves secondary data,must be approved by the USF Institution Review Board. Information can be obtained at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/officeresearch/humansubjects.html. This applies to all proposals whether the research is funded or unfunded. All doctoral students at USF are responsible for following all guidelines of the USF Graduate School, Human Subjects Regulations, Data Use Agreements and HIPAA regulations, when applicable. Students who fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to disciplinary action or dismissed from the program. Students should consult the USF Office of Research, Division of Integrity and Compliance website to obtain guidance about research involving human subjects as defined in the USF Human Research Protection Program Investigator Guide, available online at http://www3.research.usf.edu/dric/hrpp/resources.asp. Aspects of the dissertation research that involve contact with study subjects or data containing personal identifiers cannot proceed until IRB approval has been obtained. More detailed information about is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Data Use Agreements

Doctoral students who plan to use existing data that is not a public use dataset should complete a Dissertation Data Use Agreement Form which outlines the terms of use, authorship, student rights, acknowledgements, etc. This form should be signed by the student, owner of the dataset and the Major Professor. A copy of the form is available on the Department website and should be maintained in the student's file. Students should consult the Department Doctoral Student Handbook for more information.

Dissertation Requirements

The research topic for a dissertation should have a demonstrable potential for advancing methods, tools (including computation), and applications in Biostatistics or public health. The requirements for dissertation are as follows. Dissertations should have a high level of achievement in: (1) originality - innovation in theory, methods, substantive content, or creative application of existing theory or knowledge to a new problem, (2) depth - technical competence and intellectual sophistication which is assessed by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee against the standard of work in peer-reviewed publications; (3) scholarship; and (4) scientific writing- demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written form. Dissertation topics must be selected in subject areas in which there is sufficient faculty expertise within the full-time faculty of the department to provide appropriate guidance for the student's dissertation research. More detailed information about Department Dissertation requirements is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

• Dissertation Format

The doctoral dissertation can be prepared in one of two formats. The first format is the traditional format. The second option is the manuscript format. See Departmental Hand Book for specific requirement of each format.

Traditional Format: The Department expects that a minimum of two manuscripts intended for peer-reviewed publication must be proposed for all doctoral dissertations. The scope and content of each manuscript will be decided upon by the student in consultation with their Major Professor and approved by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. More detailed requirements about traditional format dissertation are provided in guideline of the USF Graduate School (http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php) and the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Manuscript Format: A minimum of two manuscripts, which are of closely-related research topics, intended for peer-reviewed publication must be proposed and at least one manuscript has a focus on biostatistical methodologies. The proposed manuscripts should be of the merits and quality to be potentially published in a recognized peer-reviewed journal judged by Major Professor and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The scope and content of each manuscript will be decided upon by the student under supervision of the Major Professor and approved by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. In situations where the original publication plan or manuscript structure is not well suited to the dissertation findings, students may change to the traditional format upon approval by the Committee. Two manuscripts must be submitted for publication before defense.

Although co-authors will need to be identified for manuscript submission, co-author's names should not be included in the dissertation itself. In general, it is understood that the doctoral student will be first author or lead author, the Major Professor, in general, will be the correspondence author. Committee members and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the manuscript as judged by requirements and standard of common journals will be co-authors. The doctoral committee shall decide, in collaboration with the student, in what order the co-authors should be listed for each manuscript. The student and committee should agree to general authorship of the publications before the defense of the doctoral proposal.

The dissertation must conform to the specifications outlined in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.

Dissertation Research Proposal

The student will write his/her proposal and will orally defend the proposal in a public defense in which the Doctoral Committee and other interested parties are present. The proposal is presented in a formal presentation to the student's Doctoral Dissertation Committee. This presentation is open to other faculty, other students, and the general public.

 Steps in the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Defense Process

1. The student may schedule a Dissertation Committee meeting prior to distributing the Dissertation Proposal for the oral defense. At this meeting, the student and Committee should finalize any additional changes needed to be made prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense.
2. The draft of the Dissertation proposal that will be defended must be received by all committee members at least four weeks prior to the anticipated defense date.
3. All Dissertation Committee members must sign the Department Request for Dissertation Proposal Defense form indicating that they have read the proposal and approve it for presentation. This form is available from the Department's Academic Coordinator or on the Department web page.
4. Submit the Department Request for Dissertation Proposal Defense form and a copy of the announcement (Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement Form) to the Department at least one week prior to the presentation.
5. The Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement Form must be posted at least one week prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense.
6. A final copy of the Dissertation Proposal must be given to the Dissertation Committee one week prior to the defense.

Format of Proposal Presentation

The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal defense is to provide students with the opportunity to present their plan for dissertation research, and refine the methods based on recommendations and suggestions from the committee and audience at-large. The student will make a formal oral presentation not to exceed 45 minutes, followed by a period of question and answer. The presentation should include: the rationale for the proposed research, the research topics, proposed statistical methods, applications and significance, source of data, and preliminary results when applicable.

The Dissertation Proposal Defense

At the end of the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the Dissertation Committee will excuse the student and the public and convene in committee meeting to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed dissertation topic and to recommend changes in the proposal. The committee may require that a proposal be presented for a second time before being approved, if substantive modifications in the original proposal are necessary. Committee members sign the Department Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense Form only after the corrections, additions or changes have been made in writing and the corrected final copy has been distributed to the committee members. Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense is not an endorsement of the proposal as a completed research plan. Acceptance of the dissertation proposal by the student's Dissertation Committee also does not preclude the committee from requiring additional modifications in the research plan. The proposal must be successfully defended for the student to continue in the Doctoral Program in Biostatistics. Upon successful completion of the oral defense, the student is given permission to begin the dissertation. More information about the dissertation proposal defense is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense

Upon completion of the dissertation research project, the student will defend his/her work in a public defense attended by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, faculty, students and any interested individuals who wish to attend. The doctoral student must have met regularly with his/her committee such that the defense is a pro forma event and the committee is apprised well in advance on the progress of the student toward completion of the degree.

The student must provide all Doctoral Dissertation Committee members a final draft of the dissertation document at least four weeks before the desired defense date. Committee members must be given at least two weeks to read the dissertation and provide feedback prior to signing the Ph.D. Request for Dissertation Defense Form.

Steps for the Final Oral Presentation of the Dissertation

1. The student may schedule a final Dissertation Committee meeting prior to distributing the dissertation that will be presented. During this meeting, the student and committee should finalize any changes needed to prepare the dissertation for presentation. After the meeting, the student will make the recommended changes. If a meeting is not scheduled, the draft proposal must be received by committee members at least four weeks prior to the anticipated defense date.
2. All committee members must sign the Ph.D. Request for Dissertation Defense Form indicating that they have read the proposal and approve it for presentation. Committee members must be given at least two weeks to review the proposal and discuss changes prior to signing the Ph.D. Request for Dissertation Defense Form. These forms are available from the College of Public Health Office of Academic and Student Affairs and online. Approval for defense is not an endorsement of the dissertation as a completed research project.
3. The Ph.D. Request for Dissertation Defense Form and a copy of the Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement must be submitted to the Department two weeks prior to the defense. The Department will post and distribute the announcement throughout the College, on the COPH list server and USF-NEWS.
4. A final copy of the dissertation is given to the committee members, Department Chairperson, and Chair of the defense at least one week prior to the presentation. No further changes may be made to the research proposal until after the defense.
5. The student, in consultation with the Major Professor, will select a "Chair of the Dissertation Defense" (moderator) for the Dissertation Defense. The moderator must be a fully credentialed member of the USF graduate faculty. In accordance with USF Graduate School policy, the moderator cannot be a member of the doctoral committee or a faculty member within the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics.

Successful completion of the oral defense is the culminating step of the doctoral program. This defense is the student's opportunity to present the dissertation in a public forum where faculty, other students, and guests are invited.

Format of the Dissertation Defense

The student will make an oral presentation not to exceed 45 minutes. The presentation should cover the entire dissertation research. Following the presentation will be rounds of question-and-answer by the committee members. The moderator may allow for one-round of question and answer by non-committee members in the audience towards the end. The entire oral defense normally should not exceed 3 hours in duration. Details of the format of the Dissertation Defense are provided in the Department Doctoral Student handbook.

Following the oral dissertation defense and committee examination, the Doctoral Committee convenes without the student present to assess the student's dissertation research as well as the performance in presenting the dissertation research. The doctoral committee may approve the dissertation at it stands without any modification, or require minor to moderate modifications of the dissertation before approval for submission to the Graduate School, or require extensive modification of the dissertation and ask the student to undergo another formal defense. The student's Doctoral Dissertation Committee has final approval of the oral defense and the written documentation.

A student's dissertation is approved only if ALL members of the committee judge both the dissertation and the performance of the student in oral examination to be satisfactory. Approval of the dissertation is granted by signature on the Successful Defense of the Ph.D. Dissertation Form. The student has sole responsibility for assuring that all forms related to the proposal and dissertation are completed, and that all work related to the dissertation conforms to the accepted style and format of the USF Graduate School.

Read the Graduate School website for specific details required by the USF Graduate School regarding dissertation presentation and preparation of the final manuscript (http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php).

After the successful defense of the doctoral dissertation students should submit the Successful Defense of the Ph.D. Dissertation Form signed by Committee members and moderator to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs. In addition, students should also submit the Certificate of Approval Form for Theses and Dissertations Form to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs after it has been signed by committee members after all corrections and modifications have been completed satisfactorily.

Submission of Dissertation

It is essential that the dissertation be submitted in an acceptable format. The details of the format of the doctoral dissertation defense are provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website. Students are required to attend an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Workshop sponsored by the USF Graduate School (in person or online) the semester prior to graduation. Students are required to follow the format given in Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation web site at (http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php).  Additional information about the dissertation submission process is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.