It is possible to include complex multimedia objects as part of an electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD). Students considering the use of multimedia should keep the following in mind before making this commitment:
- Gaining the approval and assistance of the committee can be helpful.
- An ETD will be archived for the foreseeable future. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and file formats fall out of favor. New technology may not be able to make use of very specialized files when they become obsolete.
- Most images can be embedded within a document as part of the PDF. However, extremely large images (such as TIFF formats) with a high resolution may cause the document to be difficult to upload to TRACE.
- For very large high-resolution images, such as maps or satellite images, and for all other types of multimedia files (audio, video, etc.), the best practice is to attach the files as supplemental files to your main document.