-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 26
Getting Started
This project provides a LaTeX style file suitable for a doctoral dissertation at UCSD.
NOTE: This template has not endorsed by OGS or any other official entity. The [http://ogs.ucsd.edu/AcademicAffairs/Documents/Dissertations_Theses_Formatting_Manual.pdf](official formatting guide) can be obtained from OGS.
That being said, this package has successfully been used many times, over many years, for the submission of theses.
In order to use this package you will need to have LaTeX installed on your system. See the LaTeX Resources page for details on where to get it and how to use it.
To install the ucsd-thesis stylefile, simply unzip the contents into the directory where you plan to work. Now you are set to go.
To test that everything is working type pdflatex template. This should create a pdf with the template contents.
Now you probably want to rename the template to something more relevant (like awesome_thesis.tex). Make sure that if you rename template_frontmatter.tex that you also change the line in the main file that loads it.
For example change:
\include{template_frontmatter}
to:
\include{awesome_thesis_frontmatter}
To build your final pdf use the command:
pdflatex awesome_thesis
See the Advance Usage page for other ways to build your thesis.
To get started with LaTeX I suggest using one of the resources listed on the [LaTeXResources LaTeX Resources] page.
Here is a super short summary, just enough to get you writing.
(Actually there is nothing here yet, go see the [LaTeXResources LaTeX Resources])
= BibTeX Basics = One of the biggest advantages of using LaTeX for your thesis is it's handling of references. All you need to to is to put all your references into a file and give them a label. Then when you want to use one simply put the following command at the appropriate place: {{{ \cite{some_reference} }}} LaTeX will then handle putting the correct label or number in the text, and add the corresponding entry in the bibliography.
Google Scholar or UC-eLinks will even provide the BibTeX entry for you (you need to go into the Google Scholar preferences to enable the BibTeX link). Many publishers also provide BibTeX entries.
For information on how to use BibTeX try these links:
[http://www.bibtex.org/Using/ Using BibTeX]
[http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Bibliography_Management LaTeX WikiBook: Bibliography]
That said, BibTeX does have its share of problems. If you are looking for an alternative, consider [http://crosstex.sf.net crosstex].
= Backing Up Your Work = Writing a thesis is a lot of work (which I am sure you don't need me to tell you). Having a backup system is a good idea, especially one where you can keep track of all of the changes that you have made. I highly suggest using a versioning system such as [http://bazaar-vcs.org/ Bazaar] or [http://www.selenic.com/mercurial/ Mercurial]. It takes a little time to learn how to use these, but if you ever accidentally delete a section or loose a file it will be well worth it.
Of course you could always just make a copy of your working directory, and name it something like /awesome_thesis_2009-01-01.
It is also a good idea to keep a copy of your thesis in more than one place. Make a copy on a different computer, burn it to CD, or upload it to the web somewhere (like [http://docs.google.com google docs]).