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Dissertations
The word "dissertations" strikes fear into even the best-prepared student. Many doctoral candidates find that after finishing their course work and comps they are suddenly thrust into an entirely
new world - the world of completing their dissertations. They also soon find that world to be one for which the experience of writing papers or a master's
thesis has not provided sufficient preparation. The guidelines listed in the Table of Contents below are designed to provide the information needed to complete dissertations in all fields.
Scholarly documents are dissertations
Overall Components
Organization for Success!
Dissertations Help
Planning Made Simple
Writing Dissertations
Dissertations Defined
The Cambridge Dictionary
defines dissertations as "long pieces of writing on a particular subject".
That definition is deceptively simple, as most people writing a dissertation soon
learn. Ultimately, the "long" comes to refer to the process rather
than the document itself, and in far too many cases, the "piece of writing"
never gets completed.
At their simplest level, dissertations are scholarly documents. They are generally lengthy (although we have all heard the stories of doctoral candidates in math and science who present
one, perfect equation and are awarded their degree). The trend is
currently toward somewhat shorter documents, and it is unusual these days
for a dissertation to exceed 300 pages. It is (or should be) focused
on a very narrow topic.
Component Structure
Since it is a scholarly document, a dissertation should contain
extensive references to the works of experts in the field, in the form
of citations to journal articles, monographs and books. Dissertations also frequently contains an empirical component, reflecting some independent study or data gathering (use of a questionnaire, interviews, standardized instrument) on the part of the author, although in certain fields (literature and philosophy, for example), no study is required. In any case, each dissertation has some research design involved. An empirical study may be qualitative, quantitative or descriptive, and there are many variations of each of these
designs. A dissertation may be strictly historical and be based primarily
on an extensive review of the literature. There are as many variations
of how dissertations are structured as advisors and dissertation writers can invent.
But the bottom
line, and one that is all too easily forgotten, is that dissertations
are scholarly documents. They are not a paper, and are not
a journal articles, and it is not a book, although it shares some characteristics
with each of these documents. It is not a collection of abstracts;
it is not an annotated bibliography; it is not an overview of a topic;
it is not a discussion of the writer's personal viewpoint.
Dissertations: Organizing for Success
Typically, dissertations
follows the classic five chapter format: Introduction (with all of the traditional
subheadings); Review of Literature; Methodology; Findings; Summery/Conclusions/Implications.
There are frequently Appendices (copies of instruments and permission letters,
for example). There is always a References list. Although dissertations
may be written in any one of a number of formats the APA
format is most popular. Some universities provide style sheets which
augment the APA format with specific features. The MLA format is
still favored in some fields, such as literature.
Dissertation Help & Advice
The process of writing dissertations becomes less daunting if the requirements of the dissertation advisor and university are known before the start of the project.
Here are some
basic hints:
1. Ask your advisor for copies of
dissertations which s/he has approved recently. Having a sample to
follow will make your job much easier!
2. Check to see what format is favored
(APA, MLA?). Buy a copy of the style manual.
3. Determine if your university or
program has written guidelines which supplement the basic format.
4. Ask your advisor about his/her
expectations of length. Don't be put off by "whatever it takes"
as an answer. You may think a 100 page document is sufficient; your
advisor may think that 250 is closer to the mark.
5. Think long and hard about the
definition of "dissertation". A scholarly document must be
researched and written at doctoral level. It must contain a significant
contribution to your field. It must use appropriate source materials,
properly cited.
6. Read, read, read all dissertations
which have been done recently in your field. Get the "feel" of the
documents. Understand how they are structured. Learn to recognize the
flow from introduction through conclusion. Once
you are comfortable with the form, content, scope and limitations of other
dissertations, you are ready to begin the process of writing your
own.
Planning for Made Simple
The best way to instruct someone on how to start a dissertation is to point out the single greatest mistake made by doctoral candidates who are unable to complete a Proposal or draft of Chapter I. Your advisor won't tell you. (S)he just says "give me your proposal and then we can discuss the rest of the project". You sit down and attempt to formulate a Statement of the Problem, and list your hypotheses. You have just made the Big Mistake.
Many people writing dissertations have a topic in mind, and they have at least a vague notion of the type of empirical study then want to do. Turning those very preliminary thoughts into a scholarly concept, and formulating an acceptable proposal, however, requires more than coming up with a topic.
Writing Dissertations
The absolute key to writing dissertations is RESEARCH. There is no shortcut, and no substitute for research. Identifying and retrieving the scholarly sources on your topic must be the first step in the dissertation process. But that isn't enough. The next step is the time-consuming one......but if you skip it, I guarantee that you will never get any further. You must read all of the sources you have retrieved, critically and analytically. You must organize them into two categories: theoretical literature and empirical literature. Within those two major categories you must create sub-categories which reflect the variables in your study and the questions/hypotheses you have formulated. You must then draft
your Review of Literature, which will become the core of your dissertation as Chapter II.
If there is one single "hint" we can give you on moving your dissertation forward it is this: do your Review of Literature first!
Working with Your Advisor
Eight out of ten doctoral candidates working on their dissertation say that they are stuck with "the advisor from hell". The other two think their advisor is "very nice, BUT . . ."
Very few of the thousands of doctoral candidates I have talked with in more than 32 years
have said they have a helpful, cooperative and effective advisor. Something is
very wrong with that picture. Are all people working on their dissertations so stressed and overwhelmed that they cannot recognize good advisement when they encounter it?
Do advisors not understand their pivotal role in dissertation success? Or is some other factor at work in the almost universal perception of advisors as denizens of the underworld?
Advisor problems arise from three sources: First, doctoral programs do not adequately define the role of the dissertation advisor. Second, advisors are not motivated to help you. Third, doctoral candidates lack assertiveness in obtaining the services for which they pay. Let's look at each.
Doctoral programs lack standards for the advisor role and performance. Institutions have different criteria for choosing, training and evaluating a dissertation advisor. Most commonly there is no standard at all, no special training, and no mechanism in place for evaluating performance. This lack of professional role definition and oversight sets the stage for disaster.
Your advisor is not motivated to help you. Sadly, a dissertation advisor often perceives this phase of his/her professional responsibility as a time-consuming distraction from teaching or their own research and writing for publication. Having no specific training or guidelines for their role in nurturing fledgling dissertations into existence, many advisors find it easier to let their advisee struggle alone.
You have the right to effective advisement: Insist on it! As a doctoral candidate you are a consumer. You are paying your university for courses and for advisement, with the ultimate goal of receiving your Ph.D. Your university makes a profit. You have a right to effective dissertation advisement. Your university has a responsibility to provide you with an advisor who will guide you towards your goal. Your advisor is doing a job, and is being paid.
Consumer? Money? Profit?
Academia creates an atmosphere in which the above words are jolting.
Now is the time to create a new mindset about your pursuit of a doctorate, and about the responsibilities of the university and advisor to make the process of creating dissertations as smooth as possible.
by Diane Kennedy
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