template provides a formatting structure

Instructions for Using the Walden DBA Template

General Instructions

The template provides a formatting structure, based on Walden and ProQuest publication guidelines, within which to draft a proposal and final study. The content guidance and information provided within the sections of the template is taken from the August 2014 DBA Doctoral Study Rubric and Research Handbook. Please use the information from that document along with your committee feedback when developing the content of your proposal or final study. When working with the template, be sure to have the formatting marks showing so that you can see where the character spaces, paragraph returns, and page and section breaks are. It is important when typing in your own text that you do not delete or copy over any of the breaks (page breaks or section breaks) that are set in the template.

In Word 2007, 2010, or 2013 click on the Home tab. In the Paragraph area, click on the Show/Hide icon ¶. In Word 2003, click on the Show/Hide icon ¶ on the standard toolbar.

View a 10-minute template demonstration video on the Doctoral Programs page of the Writing Center website for guidance on working with this template. For questions and help beyond the video and the instructions in this template document, make an appointment with an MS Word tutor in the Academic Skills Center.

Applying the Template Heading Styles

Section headings are tagged with the style APA Level 0. All section titles are included in the template.

Main headings under the Level 0 headings are tagged with the style APA Level 1 (L1). If you click on the title, you will see that style appear in the style list on the formatting toolbar and in the drop-down Styles menu. If you add more L1 headings, type them in title case, and apply the style to the new title.

The next heading level is tagged with the style APA Level 2 (L2). If you click on the title, you will see that style appear in the style list. If you add more L2 headings, type them in title case, and apply the style to the new title.

The next heading level after that is tagged with the style APA Level 3 (L3). L3 headings function as the first sentence in a paragraph, and end with a period; they are not listed in the Table of Contents. If you add L3 headings, type them in sentence case (not title case), and apply the style to the new title, including the period after the title. Begin typing your paragraph text, which you’ll need to select and change to Body Text style.

If you have subsections under L3, use APA Level 4 (L4) style. L4 headings work the same way as L3 headings: They are not listed in the Table of Contents, they function as the first sentence in a paragraph, and they end with a period. If you add L4 headings, type them in sentence case (not title case), and apply the style to the new title. Begin typing your paragraph text, which you’ll need to select and change to plain type.

You can find the style menu in Word 2007, 2010, or 2013 by clicking on the Home tab on the standard toolbar. Styles is one of the choices you will see, to the right of the Font and Paragraph areas. Click on the arrow icon on the right side of the Styles bar, and the drop-down menu of styles will appear. In Word 2003, look in the upper left corner of your screen, on the formatting toolbar, for the drop-down style menu.

To apply this template’s formatting to the text of your paper, simply highlight the paragraph(s) or heading you want to format, and choose the appropriate tag from the drop-down style menu. The list of style tags includes all levels of headings, block quotes, table number and title, APA references, and body text.

When you update the Table of Contents, APA Level 0, APA Level 1, and APA Level 2 headings tagged with the appropriate style will be brought in to the TOC. Other heading levels are not listed in the TOC. Examples of subsections under APA L2 follow:

APA level 3 heading. Text begins here. Level 3 headings are not listed in the Table of Contents, but there is a style tag for them, so you can type in the heading title in sentence case and then apply the style tag.

APA level 4 heading. Text begins here. Level 4 headings are not listed in the Table of Contents , but there is a style tag for them, so you can type in the heading title in sentence case and then apply the style tag.

Paragraph text is tagged “Body Text.” That means it will automatically appear double-spaced with the first line indented, per Walden style.

If you make a mistake and something changes that you didn’t want to change, hit ctrl+z.

Instructions for Title Pages

Per APA, titles are usually 10 to 12 words, do not include words like “a study of,” and provide the topic, the variables under study, and the relationship between them. Titles may include the type of study (e.g., a Delphi study, a mixed-method study, a case study).

Double space the title if it goes over one line. Listing the degrees you hold and the university is optional.

Use this template for the proposal, too. In place of Doctoral Study, type Proposal. If you do this, remember to change it back to Doctoral Study when the study is complete, and all sections are written and submitted to your committee.

The abstract title page and the main title page are exactly the same, except that the word Abstract appears on the first (abstract) title page but not on the main title page.

The month given on the first line of the title pages is the last month of the term when you will graduate. There is no comma between the month and the year.

Instructions for Dedication /Acknowledgments Pages

These pages are correctly formatted, so you can simply replace the sample text with your own. If you do not include any text on either page, delete it completely. Be sure to leave the section break below the Acknowledgments text if you delete the Acknowledments page.

Instructions for List of Figures

If you want to allow automatic updating of figures in the List of Figures, follow these instructions.

1. Use the cursor to highlight the figure number and caption where they appear in the narrative chapters. (Figure 1. Figure caption.)
2. Press Shift + Alt + the letter o). In the Mark Table of Contents Entry that comes up, you will see the figure information that you highlighted in the Entry box. Put A in the Table Identifier box. Put 1 in the Level box. Do not close the Mark Table of Contents Entry box. Work can be done while it is open.
3. Continue to follow this protocol for all figures. You will see parenthetical entry field coding beside each figure caption when you have the formatting showing.
4. Close the Mark Table of Contents Entry box.
5. Place your cursor on the List of Figures page in the TOC.
6. Open the References tab.
7. Left click Insert Tables of Figures.
8. In the Table of Figures box that comes up, put a check in the “Show page numbers” and “Right align page numbers” boxes. Remove the check from the hyperlink box. Put dot leaders in the Tab leader box. Under General, format is “from template.” Caption label is “Figure.” Put a check in the “Include label and number” box.
9. Go to Options. Remove check from “style” box. Put a check in the “Table entry fields” box. Put A in the Table identifier box. Click OK. Click OK again on initial Table of Figures box.
10. The figures will appear on the List of Figures page. You may have to reformat the spacing and font. If the captions themselves change in the narrative, this whole process must be repeated. If only the page numbers change, do this:

1. Left click to place the cursor anywhere on the figures mentioned on the List of Figures page.
2. Right click “Update field.”
3. Place bullet in circle for option to update page numbers only.
4. Left click OK.
5. The page numbers will update automatically.

Form and Style Tips

For more guidance on APA style, visit the Writing Center website and download the DBA Form and Style Checklist for APA 6.

For listed items within a paragraph (a) use letters, not numbers, in parentheses; (b) separate items with commas; unless (c) there’s already a comma in one of the clauses. In that case, separate the elements with a semicolon.

Here is a little APA tip for nonexperts. Even though words such as pretest or posttraumatic may look odd to you, APA rules for hyphenation specify no hyphen for most prefixes.

Below are some additional style points to keep in mind when citing sources throughout your paper.

1. Report the literature in past tense, as in Jones (2007) argued, not Jones (2007) argues.

2. Page numbers and quotation marks must appear for all direct quotations. When paraphrasing, page numbers are encouraged.

3. Quotations 40 or more words in length must be put in block form. Per Walden guidelines, double-space block quotes. At the end of block quotations, the final punctuation appears before the citation. Use block quotes sparingly.

This is an example of a block quote. In APA style, use block quote format for direct quotes of 40 words or longer. Note that double quotation marks are not used with block quotes and the citation information is enclosed in parentheses after the final punctuation of the block quote material. After typing the text of a block quote, select the text and apply the Block Quote style tag to achieve the proper format. (Author, date, p. #)

4. List authors in groups of different sources in alphabetical order by first author’s surname (e.g., Hart, 1978; Iksic & Skoff, 2005; Nils, Ek, & Fazio, 2004).

5. “Et al.” should not be used the first time a work is cited unless that work has six or more authors. For works with three to five authors, list all authors in the first citation, then use the surname of the first author and “et al.” and the year in subsequent references. For works with six or more authors, use the surname of the first author and “et al” and the year the first time the work is cited as well as in all subsequent citations. The correct spelling is et al. e-tspacea-lperiod.

6. Ellipsis points are used to indicate that material has been omitted within a sentence or between sentences. Three ellipsis points (with spaces between them) should be used to indicate that material has been omitted within a sentence . . . like this example. In this next example, four ellipsis points, the last serving as a period, are used to indicate that material has been omitted between two sentences. . . . In general, ellipsis points are not necessary at the beginning or end of a quotation; it is understood that a quotation has preceding and subsequent text.

7. With two or more authors in a parenthetical citation, use & rather than and before the last author. If not in parentheses, use and. For example: Other authors (Foyt & Andretti, 2005) agreed, but Lewis and Martin (2007) found otherwise.

Here are a few more notes on APA style rules:

Latin abbreviations (such as e.g. and i.e.) should be used only in parentheses. Always add a comma after the abbreviation (i.e., like that). Otherwise, use the English translation of these abbreviations. The translation of e.g. is for example, and the translation of i.e. is that is.

In general, numbers under 10 are written out while numbers 10 and above appear as Arabic numerals. Exceptions include a series of numbers, numbers preceding elements of time or measurement (e.g., 4 miles; 2 months, 6 decades, and 18 years), and a number beginning a sentence (e.g., Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed disagreed with the statement.). Other exceptions include 7-point Likert scale.

Unless at the start of a sentence, use the percent symbol (%) when it is preceded by a number (e.g., 20% rather than 20 percent or twenty percent). There is no space between the numeral and the %.

Statistical abbreviations are italicized, in text or in tables or figures. Most abbreviations are used only in parentheses (e.g., M, SD, F). Terms that include abbreviations, such as p value or t test, may be used outside parentheses. Note that t test has no hyphen. Only hyphenate when it’s used as a modifier (t-test results).

Use bulleted lists instead of a numbered list when chronology or priority is not important.

1. In the body of your paper, information that does not appear in textual form must be formatted and labeled as either a table or figure. APA does not allow for the words graph, illustration, or chart. Refer to them as either a table or a figure.
2. In doctoral studies, tables and figures are inserted into the narrative as close to the text that introduces them as is practical. Do not split a table unless it is too large to fit on one entire page. Placing a table on its own landscape-oriented page is permissible. Do not place any text on a page if a table or figure takes up 75% or more of the page. If you must split a table, be sure to include the words table continues at the bottom of the page where the table breaks.
3. Tables and figures must fit within the margin specifications. Do not separate a title or caption from the table or figure it identifies.
4. Tables and figures are to be numbered without a suffix or indicator of the chapter in which they appear: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3; Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and so on. In the text, capitalize the words table or figure when referring to them (for example: see Table 12). Refer to the specific table number, not to the page number on which it appears or the table below. Refer to each table or figure in the narrative before the table or figures appears.
5. If your table or figure is just for a course paper with no intention of publication, you do not need to get permission—that’s considered fair use. If you’re going to use it in your doctoral study, you do need permission. The examples in the APA manual show how to note that, but some publishers will tell you specific guidelines. This rule applies just to material not in the public domain; most government documents are fair use.

For more on tables, see APA pages 128 to 150. Table 1 is an example of a properly formatted table. Use horizontal but not vertical rules (lines), and do not line each table cell.

This is an example of a table in APA style (see Table 1).

Table 1

A Sample Table Showing Correct Formatting

	Column A	Column B	Column C	Column D
Row 1
Row 2
Row 3
Row 4

Note. From “Attitudes Toward Dissertation Editors,” by W. Student, 2008, Journal of Academic Optimism, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.

Table 2

Another Sample Table

	Column A	Column B	Column C
Row 1
Row 2

If data must be presented in a figure (a picture, graph, or other graphic), you will need to import the figure into your document. Place the word Figure and the figure number under the figure, flush left in italics (See Figure 1). The title of the figure goes next to the number in sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns). In doctoral studies, do not type captions on a separate page. Include figure captions as part of body copy, not as part of imported items.

Figure 1. This is an example of a figure caption. Notice how it uses sentence case, not title case (this is different from table titles).

For more on figures, see APA 6^th edition manual pages 150 to 167.

Here is one more tip: Obtaining permission to use a survey instrument or test as part of your study is different than getting permission to reproduce it and include it in an appendix in your doctoral study. If you want to reproduce the actual instrument, you must obtain written permission from the copyright holder. ProQuest will hold up publication of a doctoral study until all written permissions are obtained.