A.P.A. (APA) Style - most common thesis / dissertation format. Presented by the American Psychological Association, the APA manual presents specific guidelines for chapter layout, page formatting and, most importantly-- for the citing of sources. Research papers ordered from this site often provide excellent examples of proper source citing in accordance with pertinent APA guidelines.

Hypothesis - a point in which the writer believes strongly..but cannot prove until appropriate tests are conducted. A hypothesis differs from a 'thesis statement' in that, at the undergraduate level, a "thesis" represents some point the writer intends to prove through the use of existing evidence. Graduate and post-graduate students typically do not have the luxury of using existing studies to support their ideas entirely and thus, they must conduct their own primary studies to test the validity of their hypotheses-- statements only of what they posit or believe-- rather than of what they are positive they know.