Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation: Invisible Rules for Success

✍ Scribed by Rita S. Brause

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 164
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A practical guide for students with help on planning, writing and defending a dissertation Provides samples of accepted proposals and dissertations Increasing numbers of adults are enrolling in doctoral programs, but their earlier college lives often do not prepare them for the rules of academic game. Many have no idea what a dissertation proposal or an accepted dissertation looks like, how it gets that way, or what options are available to them. There is a real need for explicit information on what this highly complex and interactive, social and political process involves. The book is a practical guide for students who need help in progressing from the decision to write a dissertation to the planning, writing and defending of it. It includes samples of proposals and dissertations that have been accepted and data drawn from a number of source, including focus groups with doctoral students and graduates and responses to an open-ended questionnaire from doctoral students across the United States.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover......Page 1
Back Cover......Page 2
Preface......Page 3
Acknowledgments......Page 7
1 - Comparing a Dissertation to a Long Term Paper......Page 9
2 - Jumping through Hoops, Going on a Journey - Personal Metaphors for the Process......Page 17
3 - The Stages in Writing a Dissertation - An Overview......Page 23
4 - Pithy Insights and Suggestions for Success......Page 35
5 - Identifying Your Dissertation Topic and Your Research Questions......Page 41
6 - Forming Your Dissertation Committee......Page 52
7 - Roles and Responsibilities of Dissertation Committees......Page 60
8 - Creating a Professional Setting - Student-colleagues and Other Important Resources......Page 74
9 - Developing a Productive Setting......Page 83
10 - Writing Your Dissertation Proposal While Designing Your Dissertation Research......Page 98
11 - Conducting Your Study......Page 112
12 - Analyzing and Interpreting Your Data......Page 117
13 - Presenting Your Findings - Drafting and Editing Your Dissertation......Page 127
14 - Defending Your Dissertation - Preparing for Orals......Page 134
Appendix A - Doctoral Students' Experiences: Expectations of Doctoral Studies......Page 144
Appendix B - Suggested Reading on the Doctoral Dissertation......Page 153
Appendix C - Suggested Reading on the Academic World......Page 154
Appendix D - Suggested Reading on Research Methodology......Page 156
Appendix E - Sample Checklist of Activities......Page 157
References......Page 159
Index......Page 161