Completing a Professional Practice Dissertation
A Guide for Doctoral Students and Faculty
CONTENTS
1. A Bit of History and Lore About Doctoral Programs and Dissertations 1
2. The Professional Practice Doctorate 23
3. Selecting Your Topic and Purpose 61
4. Constructing Your Dissertation Team 95
5. Sources of Knowledge and Perspective 123
6. Selecting The Methods for Your Dissertation 177
7. Traditional Qualitative Research Methods 197
8. Emergent and Innovative Qualitative Research Methods for Professional Practice Dissertations 217
9. Methods of Scholarship From the Humanities and Philosophy 239
10. A Procedural Guide to Navigating the Dissertation Process 261
11. The Data Collection and Analysis Process 301
12. The Dissertation Writing Process 325
13. The Technical Aspects of Your Written Dissertation 347
Completing a Professional Practice Dissertation
A Guide for Doctoral Students and Faculty
by
Jerry Willis
Marist College
Deborah Inman
Manhattanville College
and
Ron Valenti
College of New Rochelle
Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Charlotte, North Carolina • www.infoagepub.com
Figure 1. 1. The degree structure of early universities.
A Bit of History and Lore About Doctoral Programs and Dissertations
From Plato’s Academy to the University of Bologna
Scholasticism and Medieval Universities
The Doctorate in Early Universities
Completing the Doctorate in Early Universities
Wilhelm von Humboldt and the German University Revolution
The “Problem” of the PhD as the Dominant Model for Doctoral Work
Only Half of Those Admitted to Doctoral Programs Actually Graduate
It Takes Too Long to Complete a Doctoral Program
Doctoral Programs Do not Prepare Students for Future Jobs, Especially Professional Practice Jobs
Present PhD Programs are Too Narrow
PhD Programs No Longer Provide Close Mentoring and Support to Students
PhD Programs Discourage Collaboration and Interdisciplinary Work
Current Problems Are Particularly Crucial to Students Who Plan Professional Rather Than Research Careers
Issues With the Dissertation
Summary
chapter 1
Figure 2. 1. The traditional dissertation model.
The Professional Practice Doctorate
Family Characteristics of Professional Practice Doctorates
The Case of the Psychology Doctorate
Is the EdD a Professional Practice Doctorate?
The Acceptance of Professional Practice Doctorates
Professional Practice Capstone Experiences: Dissertation? Capstone Project? Portfolio? Or?
What Distinguishes the PhD Research Dissertation From the PPD Dissertation
Use of a Wider Range of Methodologies
Options for Mentoring and Assessing PPD Dissertations
The Doctorvater Model
The Inclusive Committee Model
A Collaborative Model
Alternative Purposes for a PPD Dissertation
Acceptable Formats for a PPD Dissertation
The Five-Chapter Dissertation
The Article Dissertation
1. Writing journal articles,
2. “Communicating with practitioners,” and
3. “Writing for external funding.”
4. Communicating with the public,
5. Writing to influence policy,
6. Creating training and educational materials, and
7. Writing to develop collaboration with groups such as patients, customers, clients, or parents.
1. The proposal that obtained funding for the project.
2. The collaboratively developed curriculum plan for the program.
3. Recruiting and support materials developed for parents including both print as well as video (e.g., a video of a presentation the student made at a parent’s group, or a video clip of a television spot announcement encouraging participation in th...
4. An article on the evaluation of the project.
An Emerging Option: Electronic Dissertations
Portfolios, Capstones, and Projects: Alternatives to Dissertations and Exams
1. It is an alternative to preliminary written examination
2. It provides written documentation of student’s understanding of major field (mastery of outcomes for community college leadership program)
3. It documents the student’s capability for research (adapted from http://oregonstate.edu/education/programs/docs/ portfolio_guidelines.doc)
Your First Dissertation Decision: Timing and Sequence
The Serial Dissertation Dilemma
When A Concurrent Approach is Possible
An Even Better Option: An Integrative, Collaborative Dissertation/Capstone Project
Summary
chapter 2
Figure 2. 2. An alternative approach for the professional practice dissertation.
Figure 2. 3. The intellectual structure of a traditional dissertation about an applied issue.
Figure 2. 4. A model for a professional practice dissertation.
Figure 3. 1. Aspects of selecting a topic and purpose for your professional practice dissertation.
Selecting Your Topic and Purpose
Factors to Consider When Selecting Your Topic
1. Select a topic that interests you. Perhaps the most important aspect of selecting a dissertation topic is to pick something you will enjoy becoming intimately involved with. A dissertation calls for a significant investment of time and effort. If ...
2. Select a topic that interests others. Most professional practice dissertations are done in work settings and that means, at a minimum, you will need permission to do the study. That is the minimum; the administration and staff in the setting will ...
3. Does the Topic Pass The Resume Test? One of the authors often tells his doctoral students to ask this question about their dissertation topic. “When I apply to that “ideal” job after I graduate, will my dissertation help move my application ...
4. Does the Topic Pass the Time and Effort Test? Doctoral students tend to be idealists, especially with regard to their dissertation topic. They want the dissertation to make a difference, a Big difference. That often means they propose, and are som...
5. Consider the Format and Topic Match. We strongly favor article dissertations when that is possible. Combining work on your dissertation with coursework and fieldwork makes sense. Will your topic work as an article dissertation that is done as part...
6. Is the Topic Worthy? A few years ago when one of the authors was looking at a lot of dissertations in the area of educational technology, he noticed that many students did a survey dissertation. Typically, they asked a group of teachers or teacher...
8. Make Your Research Topic Original—Has It Been Done Before? The prerequisite for finding a new research topic is to be informed because most things have been studied before. Staying on top of the current debates in your academic field puts you in...
7. Decide Whether Your Professional Practice Dissertation Should Be “Theory-Based” or “Theory-Informed. The dissertation guide at Nova Southeastern University that was mentioned above includes this definition of an applied dissertation:
Paradigms, Problems, and Dissertation Committees
What is the Purpose of Your Dissertation Research?
Test A Theory and Develop Implications for Practice
Evaluate the Universal Effectiveness of a Professional Practice
Objective Description
Evaluate the Local Effectiveness of a Professional Practice
Develop a Solution to a Local Problem or Issue
Hermeneutic (Verstehen) Understanding
Storytelling and Narrative Inquiry
Summary
chapter 3
Figure 3. 2. An example of the decisions about the dissertation topic and purpose a student in a DNP program might make.
Figure 3. 3. An example of a topic and purpose for a professional practice dissertation in counseling psychology.
Figure 3. 4. Example of a professional practice dissertation in educational leadership.
Figure 4. 1. Gatfield and Alpert’s (2002) managerial grid for doctoral supervision.
Constructing Your Dissertation Team
1. someone with experience developing and/or designing, as well as evaluating, new innovations for practice be included on the committee, and
2. that at least one member of the committee be a practitioner who currently works in the field.
Is There A Difference Between a “Research” PhD Dissertation and a Professional Practice Dissertation?
Why Have A Committee?
Reason 1. To Help You Finish a “Good” Dissertation.
1. A good dissertation is one that breaks new ground on the edge of professional practice about a significant problem. It is publishable in a major journal and is likely to be cited by the next generation of researchers studying this problem. Many do...
2. A good dissertation is one that successfully addresses a significant problem of professional practice in the local context. It can be publishable in a major journal but the emphasis is on solving a local problem rather than searching for universal...
3. A good dissertation is one that is relevant to my career goals, can be completed in a reasonable amount of time, and contributes to my overall preparation for the career path I have selected. The first definition of a “good” dissertation is mo...
4. A good dissertation is one that gives me an opportunity to serve an apprenticeship with a scholar-practitioner who is an expert in a critical area of professional practice research. Doctoral faculty vary considerably from program to program but mo...
Reason 2: To Keep You Out of Trouble and Save You Time
Reason 3: To Protect and Support You When Trouble Arrives
Reason 4: To Speak on Your Behalf To Others
Work The Committee and Chair Should Do
Accessible and Available for Consultation
Involvement in Planning and Adapting
Writing and Editing Your Dissertation
1. Get advice and suggestions at least from your chair about the format and structure of each section of your dissertation.
2. Write a rough draft and get detailed editorial feedback from your chair and one other member of the committee (at a minimum). Make revisions based on the feedback and get feedback on the new version. Continue in this cycle until your chair feels n...
3. Once you have a decent draft of the dissertation, submit it to all members of your committee, schedule a meeting with each one individually, and during that meeting ask for feedback and suggestions. Hopefully, the committee member will have writte...
4. Make sure that when you get feedback on your writing, you cover three levels: (A) the technical aspects of whatever formatting style guide you use. Most professional practice doctoral programs use the American Psychological Association (APA) guide...
5. Finally, when your committee feels you, and your dissertation, are ready for the final oral defense, schedule the defense, print your dissertation, and distribute it to all the committee members well in advance of the data of the defense. Expect a...
Supporting The Oral Defense
1. The committee asks everyone to leave the room except the committee members and agrees on the guidelines and format for the defense.
2. Everyone is welcomed back into the room, including the candidate and any guests. Then the candidate delivers a 10 to 15 minute summary of the dissertation, often supported by a PowerPoint presentation. Students often take much longer—as much as ...
3. Once the candidate completes the presentation, members of the committee ask questions and the candidate attempts to answer them. The question phase usually begins as a round robin where a committee member asks one or more questions, then passes th...
4. When the committee members have had all their questions answered, or they have run out of time or energy to ask additional questions, the questioning phase ends and the candidate as well as guests are again asked to leave the room. Once they are a...
5. Once a decision has been agreed upon, there will usually be a set of documents or cards to be signed that indicate the decision and whether each committee member approved it. Then the candidate and guests are called back and the committee congratu...
6. Two optional but not uncommon components of an oral defense are refreshments and a small post-defense party in the same room, and an opportunity for guests to ask questions. Neither of these are common, but in some departments the candidate or fri...
How do you decide who you should ask to be on your committee?
The Style of Interaction Between You, Your Chair, and the Committee
Expectations in Research Supervision
Table 4.1. A Questionnaire About the Relative Roles of Supervisor and Doctoral Student Developed at Flinders University in Australia
Toward an Adaptable Supervisory Style
Summary
chapter 4
Figure 5. 1. Sources of knowledge and perspective for a professional practice dissertation.
Sources of Knowledge and Perspective
What Warrants Our Attention?
Scholarly Sources
Professional Sources of Knowledge and Perspectives
Professional Scholarship
Colleagues
Site Visits
Stars, Experts, and Gurus
Conferences
Immersion in Reflective Professional Practice
Communities of Practice
Ways of Locating Relevant Sources
The “Traditional” Knowledge Search Process
Basic Versus Advanced Searches
What Do You Do After Reading the Abstracts?
Writing A Traditional Literature Review
1. The Problem of XXX. XXX can be an issue, a problem, a barrier, or a challenge that faces practitioners in a particular field. In this section you introduce XXX, show why it is something that warrants our attention, and why you have selected it as ...
2. Theoretical Frameworks. Introduce the major theoretical frameworks currently used to organize and guide thinking about your topic. Provide some historical perspective about how and why each of the major theories developed and show, briefly, how th...
3. Professional Practice Applications. This section of your literature review looks at XXX from the perspective of practice. What does the literature tell you about XXX and how it is being addressed in practice? Are there approaches or policies tied ...
4. Approaches to Research on the Topic. Although you will be citing and explaining research studies throughout the literature, this section should focus on the methods and procedures commonly used to study XXX. Discuss them in some detail and analyze...
5. What is Needed. The first four parts of your review should bring the reader to this section with some understanding and expectation of what you want to do in your dissertation. In this final section of the literature review, make your plans explic...
The “New” Search for Knowledge and Perspective
Full-Text Databases
Online, Open Access Journals
Accessible General Publications
Google Scholar
Google Books
Internet Searches
Search Engines and Metasearch Engines
1. A specially constructed database of the content of documents available on the Internet. (Some search engines only have World Wide Web sites in their databases; others include other types of Internet resources as well.)
2. A user interface that lets you specify terms you want to look for on the Internet.
An Overview of Some Popular Search Engines
Google http://www.google.com/
Bing http://www.bing.com/
Yahoo Search Engine http://search.yahoo.com
Search Engines Not Enough? Try Metasearch Engines
Mamma http://www.mamma.com
Ixquick http://www.ixquick.com/
AskJeeves http://www.askjeeves.com http://www.ask.com/
Proteus http://www.thrall.org/proteus.html
Infocom http://www.info.com
Surfwax http://www.surfwax.com
Findspot http://www.findspot.com/
Somewhere http://www.ekdahl.org/search.htm
Advanced Search Straegies: The Legacy of George Boole
Social Networking, Scholarship, and Professional Practice Dissertations
Mailing lists, NewsGroups, Forums, Discussion Groups, …
Finding Relevant Mailing Lists
Some Suggestions for Using Lists
Good and Poor Uses of Mailing Lists
Newsgroups
Using Web-Based Newsreaders
Finding Relevant Newsgroups
Threading Your Way Through Newsgroups
Blogs
Gateway or Portal Sites
Collaborative Tools
Forums, Conferences and Virtual Communities
Video and Audio Conferencing
Wikis, Google Docs, and Other Collaborative Writing Tools
Using Course Management Systems for Collaboration: Moodle and Blackboard
Chat Systems
Brainstorming Programs: Another Way of Collaborating
Summary
chapter 5
Figure 6. 3. Example of an ABA single subject design.
Figure 6. 1. The seven families of scholarship that are most relevant to professional practice research and scholarship.
Figure 6. 2. The main methods of Quantitative Research.
Selecting The Methods for Your Dissertation
An Overview of Methods of Research and Scholarship
Literature Reviews and Syntheses
Quantitative Research Methods
Survey Research
Relationship Research
Experimental Research
Single Subject Research
ABA and ABAB Single Subject Designs
Multiple Baseline Designs
Summary
chapter 6
Figure 6. 4. Example of the results of a multiple baseline study.
Figure 7. 1. The major families of qualitative research methods.
Traditional Qualitative Research Methods
Ethnography (Observation in the Real World)
When Ethnographic Methods Are Appropriate, and Inappropriate
Learning More About Ethnographic Methods
Interviewing
Group Interviews: Focus Groups and the Delphi Technique
When The Delphi and Focus Group Techniques are Appropriate, and Inappropriate
Historiography
Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of Historical Methods
Sources of Additional Information About Historical Methods
Case Study Methods
Doing Case Study Research
The Status of Case Study Research Today
Additional Resources on Case Study Research
Summary
chapter 7
Figure 8. 4. The relationship between the three forms of action research. Bold text indicates the emphasis of each type of action research.
Emergent and Innovative Qualitative Research Methods for Professional Practice Dissertations
Professional Practice Knowledge
Creating and Disseminating Professional Practice Knowledge
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Varieties of Action Research
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Emancipatory Research
Clinical Research
Instructional Design as Research
Professional Discourse
Summary
chapter 8
Figure 8. 1. Emergent qualitative research methods of interest to professional practice dissertation students.
Figure 8. 2. Kurt Lewin’s plan for action research.
Figure 8. 3. This representation emphasizes the nonlinear and recursive nature of action research.
Figure 9. 2. Methods of philosophical inquiry that lend themselves to use in professional practice dissertations.
Methods of Scholarship from the Humanities and Philosophy
Methods of Scholarship from the Humanities
Hermeneutic Inquiry
Strands of Hermeneutic Research
Critical and Interpretive Hermeneutics
Literary Criticism and Literary Theory
Narrative Inquiry
Narrative as Method
Poststructuralist Scholarship
Modes of Philosophical Inquiry
How Do We “Do” Philosophical Inquiry and Theoretical Scholarship?
What About Rhetorical Inquiry?
Summary
chapter 9
Figure 9. 1. Humanities methods of scholarship that may be useful in professional practice dissertation research.
Table 9.1. Habermas’ Types of Human Interests and the Associated Research Methods
Figure 10. 1. Two types of dissertation proposals.
Figure 10. 2. A linear sequential, step-by-step plan for doing a dissertation.
A Procedural Guide to Navigating the Dissertation Process
Early Decisions
Your Team and the Dissertation Proposal
When Do You Involve Your Dissertation Committee and Research Team?
Writing the Proposal
The Proposal Defense
1. Fail which means you will have to do the defense again. This is rare and in the several hundred proposal defenses we are familiar with at more than ten different institutions, we can only remember one that ended in a vote to fail the student.
2. Pass with Revisions means the committee has specified some changes that must be made to the plan of the dissertation but is approving your proposal. You can work on your dissertation but you must incorporate the changes recommended. This is the mo...
3. Pass is not as common as Pass with Revisions. It indicates the committee is happy with the proposal as is.
When Do I “Start” The Dissertation Research?
Will Your Process be Linear or NonLinear?
Doing the Research: Some Practical Guidelines
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Navigating the Institutional Review Board Process
1. Research conducted in a school or other educational setting that involves normal and well accepted educational practices. You may, for example, be studying the impact of common teaching and learning methods in either regular or special education c...
2. Another exempt category is research that uses different types of standard educational tests as well as surveys, interviews, and observations. There are limits, however, on the exempt status of this category. You must complete the IRB process if yo...
3. A third type of study that is exempt is the collection or analysis of existing data such as documents, records, and pathological or diagnostic specimens. Again, however, there are restrictions on which studies are exempt. Such studies are exempt i...
4. The fourth type of exempt study is one that involves research or demonstration projects that are either approved by or conducted by department or agency heads. To be exempt these studies must evaluate or study (1) public benefit or service program...
5. The last type of exempt research is taste and food quality studies that involve consuming food. The restrictions are that the food must be wholesome and does not contain any additives, or wholesome food that does not contain any additives or conta...
Starting the IRB Process
Completing the IRB Request Forms
Problems With IRBs and Professional Practice Research
What To Do If Your Research Methods May be Unfamiliar to the IRB
Dealing With Problems
Example 1: Informed Consent is Withdrawn
Example 2
The Best Approach: Anticipate and Avoid
Do You Need a Hard or Soft Research Plan?
How Will Your Plan be Expressed?
FlowCharting Software
Brainstorming Software
Project Management Software
Summary
chapter 10
Table 9.1. Vanderbilt Format
1. “The problem, (hypo)thesis, and its significance [emphasis added]…. At the minimum the proposal should map out a coherent line of inquiry…. Show that the projected inquiry is restricted enough to be manageable and large enough to be signific...
2. “Literature to which the project contributes. Place the inquiry in the context of existing research on the subject or problem…. This section should answer the questions: who has worked on related questions, what insights have they gained, and ...
3. “Resources. Show that the resources necessary to carry out the project are available here at Vanderbilt or set out your plan for accessing those resources…. This section should answer the question: where are the materials I need to do this res...
4. “Method and procedure. The student should indicate that the competencies necessary for carrying through the inquiry have been acquired and that the proposed method is adequate for the inquiry…. This section should answer the question: how will...
5. “Tentative chapter outline. This section should answer the question: what are the parts of my project and in what order will I write them for my first draft?”
Figure 10. 3. A typical IRB approval and monitoring process for research.
The Data Collection and Analysis Process
Anticipating Data Needs
Early Data
Researcher Notebook
Contemporary Researcher Reflections
Contemporary Researcher Observations and Comments
Contemporary Participant Reflections, Observations, and Comments
Artifacts
Data Storage Guidelines
What Tools Will You Use to Organize Your Data?
Ensuring That Your Data Is Accurate
Create a coDEbook for your research
Create Participant Data Files
Ensure Data Integrity: Catch and Correct Errors
Interpretation and Analysis of Your Data
Decisions About Data Analysis Procedures
Quantitative Data Analysis
Qualitative Data Analysis: The Atomistic—Holistic Continuum
The Atomistic—Holistic Continuum
Summary
chapter 11
The Dissertation Writing Process
How Do You “Write” a Dissertation? Keep Your Focus!
Beware of Simple and Simplistic Advice
Any “One-Size-Fits-All” Advice is Probably Wrong
Writing Your Dissertation in 3 Weeks (or 3-Minutes a Day)
Linear Plans Are Essential, Not!
Some Useful Guidelines
Keep the Audience in Mind
Select an Appropriate Style
Sterile Academic Style
Comfortable Academic Style
Journalistic Style
Narrative Inquiry and Storytelling
Persuasive Style
Philosophical Inquiry
Develop Your Own Writing Style
Write, Get Feedback, Write, Get Feedback
Know When To Stop
Get a Real Editor! Pay for Quality!
Remember, Finishing is the Immediate Goal!
The Defense: Preparation and Particpation
AD—After the Dissertation
Therapy, Recovery, and Freudian Repression of the Memory
Follow-Up Work
Disseminating Your Research
The Dissertation
Traditional Presentations
New Media Presentations
Publishing Papers From Your Dissertation
1. A review of the literature on the topic that is written for a particular audience such as researchers studying the new method or treatment or practitioners trying to make decisions in professional practice.
2. A detailed description of the treatment or method with information on how it can be implemented, problems and issues that will probably need to be addressed, and the types of support and training needed to support a successful implementation. Such...
3. A paper on the evaluation of the treatment or method. In such a paper the focus is on the details of the research method, the data analysis, and the interpretation of the results as well as a discussion of the implications of the study. Such a pap...
Social Networks and Professonal Communities
Summary
chapter 12
The Technical Aspects of Your Written Dissertation
Selecting a Writing Platform: Microsoft Word and Its Alternatives
Collaborative Editing: Word’s Track Changes Command
Alternatives to Word
The Structure of the Dissertation
Traditional and Professional Practice Five-Chapter Models
1. The Problem of XXX. Provides an overview of the professional practice problem (represented by “XXX”) being addressed, and summarizes your dissertation work including the results. This chapter is like an executive summary.
2. The Context of Research and Practice. Introduces readers to the context where you did your dissertation. Provides enough detail for readers to understand the setting, its history, the groups and individuals who were most important to the study, an...
3. The Action Research Process. Introduces and justifies the particular method of action research you used in your dissertation.
4. The Search for Possible Solutions to XXX. In this chapter you describe what happened in the cycles of action research, including the results as judged by the participants. This chapter is often written as a narrative—a story told about each phas...
5. A Reflective Analysis of the Project. In this chapter you reflect on what you learned about the problem and the process. Did the action research project succeed? How? Why? Did different stakeholder groups view the process, and the outcomes, differ...
TAD—The Three Article Format Dissertation
1. Introduction: About five pages that introduce the three articles and explain how they relate to each other.
2. Article 1.
3. Article 2.
4. Article 3.
5. Conclusion: Five to 10 pages that tie the articles together, discuss the implications of the research presented in the articles, and suggest a line of exploration and study the dissertation author might pursue after graduation that is related to t...
1. Introduction: Describes the professional practice problem and provides an overview/introduction to each article in the dissertation. This can be done in about five pages.
2. Article 1. XXX: Linking A Persistent Problem to Potential Solutions. This paper could be an analysis of the professional practice problem selected by the doctoral student for in depth study. The paper could be written originally for a doctoral cou...
3. Article 2: An Action Research Study of XXX in a Mental Health Center. The second paper could be an article that describes the action research project that focused on developing and trying out solutions to the professional practice problem in a par...
4. Article 3: A Manual of Practice: Addressing the Problem of XXX. Suppose the third paper is a manual for practitioners that was created during the action research project to help practitioners implement a potential solution to XXX. If that solution...
5. Conclusion: In this final section of the dissertation the three papers would be discussed in terms of their contribution to the literature on the XXX professional practice problem as well as how to approach problems of professional practice using ...
Formatting the Article Dissertation
Formatting Details
Margins and Gutters
Typography: Fonts, Points, and Leading
Paragraph Formatting
Figures and Illustrations
What About Video and Animation?
Assembling the Dissertation: Manual or Automatic?
Formatting the Three Major Sections of Your Dissertation
Front Matter: Title Page, Second Title Page, TOC, Table List, Figure List, Preface, Dedication
Main Body
Back Matter: Author Bio, Index, Appendices
Binding, Copyright, and Submission to ProQuest and Other Websites
Dissemination: Free Access or Restricted?
chapter 13
references
About the Authors
Index