On Mon, 22 Jan 2001, Moxley, Joseph wrote:

> Don't get me wrong: I think you're raising excellent issues.  This is a
> difficult problem.
>
> I'm curious about how brief the descriptive language can be.  Do
> universities have written policies on this?  Say 25 pages?

Brief it can be or must be?  Neither applies.  What must be included
is the _whole_ thing without concern for min or max.  A thesis is a
careful, complete statement of an idea.  You must be sure to include
everything necessary:  the whole dialog, the whole program, everything.
That is the essense of the thesis -- leave nothing out.  Ideally, the
committee would never let anything pass without being complete for it
is their responsibility to ensure that the work is correct, relevant and
complete.


James Beaven
Library Assistant V
Special Collections, Archives, and Thesis Deposit
Purdue University