Trends in Editor Questions Blog:

Trends in Editor Questions Blog

July 2019

Question 1

Student Question: Can you provide information as to if and when it is appropriate to provide a reference in the abstract of the dissertation?

Editor Response: Thanks for your question. Per Walden guidelines, no citations should be included in the abstract. On the Form and Style webpage on Abstracts for the Capstone, we give the following example of how to handle a situation where a citation/reference would be used in the narrative of the study:

Instead of writing “The theoretical framework for this study was transformational leadership (Bass, 1985)”…, write “The theoretical framework for this study was Bass’s transformational leadership…”

Question 2

Student Question: I was wondering if there are any resources for writing Chapter 5 of the dissertation. I am having trouble beginning this chapter and need to guidance.

Editor Response: Thanks for your question. I would recommend the Form and Style’s Final Study Kit, particularly the What Does It Mean? and So What? sections. The Final Study and Capstone Resources section might also be worth looking over.

I would also suggest checking out the Dissertation Checklists section of the Center for Research Quality’s dissertation resources. Select the specific dissertation checklist based on the type of methodology you used in your study (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods). This checklist will provide you with an outline of what is expected in each section of each chapter of your dissertation and a guide in what should be included in Chapter 5.

Question 3

Student Question: I am in the final stages of writing my dissertation and a main topic of my study is about 21st-century skills. Therefore, one question that I have is concerning the correct way to write “21st century.” Grammarly always says to add a hyphen. Is that correct?

Editor Response: Thank you for contacting the editors. Per APA, include a hyphen if you are using a compound adjective. If you use 21st-century skills, you should include a hyphen because it is a compound adjective. If you just say 21st century, then you should not have a hyphen because it is not a compound adjective.

Question 4

Student Question: Regarding using “...”, I thought that you use 4 dots if more than one sentence is missing and 3 dots if words within the same sentence are missing. Is that correct?

Editor Response: For ellipse points:

1. Use three ellipsis points, with spaces between them, to indicate where text was omitted from a sentence . . . as shown in this example.
2. Use four ellipsis points to indicate that text was omitted between two sentences . . . .  (A new sentence would start here.)

In APA publication style, ellipsis points are typically not used at the beginning or end of a quotation. (APA §6.08)