Supplemental SOPs

 

 Thesis supplementals

 

Content that cannot be inserted directly into the thesis file should accompany the thesis as a supplemental file. Supplementals will be identified as being part of your thesis by the way the file(s) is(are) named: YYMmm_Last_First_Supplemental_MATLABCode (where the last part is a description you add—“MATLABCode” being an example).

Supplementary material includes items that are necessary to make sense of your thesis but cannot be stored or presented well on standard-sized paper.* Supplementals to a thesis can include:

  • PDF files
  • spreadsheets
  • audio/video/images
  • software or other electronic files
  • a physical object such as a map or CD/DVD
  • appendices or items that are classified or a different distribution statement from the main thesis

*Note that we do allow paper sizes up to 11 x 17 (ledger size) in the appendices inside the thesis. So a supplemental may not be needed, if you need only a larger page size.

 

 

 To include supplemental material with your thesis

 

 In your thesis dashboard

  1. Update your Thesis Dashboard in Python (Security and Compliance section—>Supplemental Document Security) with the supplemental’s security classification.
  2. Ensure all stakeholders are aware of its existence before they sign your Thesis Release and Approval Form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In your thesis

  1. Insert a new page into the thesis, after any appendices but before the List of References. Type “Supplemental” as the heading on this page, and style the text as Heading 1. The supplemental page will now appear in the Table of Contents.
  2. On the new supplemental page you created, give the material a descriptive title or name, such as “Map of Troop Placement along Burma-Thailand Border.” The first part of this descriptor should identify the type of item, such as map, computer code, or data. The second part of the descriptor should be succinct.
  3. Then include a paragraph or two describing the supplemental material. Furthermore, direct those interested in obtaining the supplemental to contact the NPS library.
    1. Remain vague about the supplemental’s ultimate format, because its published format can't be predicted until after it becomes available in the NPS Archive, Calhoun. It is likely that a physical supplemental, such as a CD or map, may become archived as an electronic item, and even possible that an electronic supplemental may end up as a physical item (e.g., the electronic files may be accessible only from a CD/DVD). In general, if the item (or items) can be zipped, the library can archive supplementals electronically.
    2. The NPS library can archive video files while you are writing your thesis, thus providing you with a link that you can include in your thesis. If there are numerous supplementals, you can indicate the order you'd like them to appear. Videos may be provided via mp4 file, URL (the library, however, cannot archive from YouTube), or, as a last resort, on a DVD. Contact a librarian to have this done.
  4. If you have more than one supplemental, follow the instructions above for each one.
  5. As an additional step, you may refer to the supplemental material in other parts of the thesis at your discretion.
  6. Name the thesis file “YYMmm_Last_First_Needs Supplemental.”

 

 In the supplemental

  1. To the supplemental file, paste in your thesis cover page as the first page of the supplemental file. Replace the word thesis with Supplemental to thesis (1 of 1: Short Description).  If the supplemental is an Excel spreadsheet, create a new first tab in the workbook and label this tab "Cover." Then, paste in a screenshot of your thesis's Report Documentation Page (page i of your First 8 Pages file).
  2. Post all supplemental files to SharePoint for Final Review (unless classified).
  3. If the supplemental is classified, that portion will be processed separately, following the classified protocol.