Destination Dissertation

by Foss, Sonja K.; Waters, William

• ISBN13: 9780742554405
• ISBN10: 0742554406
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc

Summary

Dissertations aren't walls to scale or battles to fight; they are destinations along the path to a professional career. This friendly guide helps doctoral students develop and write their dissertations, using travel as a metaphor. This time-tested method comes from the authors' successful work at the Denver-based Scholars' Retreat. Following concrete and efficient steps for completing each part of the dissertation, it includes a wealth of examples from throughout the dissertation process, such as creating the dissertation proposal and coding data. Essential for all PhD candidates!

Author Biography

Sonja K. Foss is professor of communication at the University of Colorado at Denver William Waters assistant professor of English, coordinator of composition, director of the writing center, and coordinator of assessment at Northwest Missouri State University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Preparing to Go: The Dissertation Journey	p. 1
Can a Dissertation Really Be a Trip?	p. 2
Packing Your Bags	p. 3
Enjoyment	p. 3
Doability	p. 3
Competence	p. 4
Agency	p. 6
Support	p. 6
Our Guarantees	p. 7
Your Travel Agents	p. 10
How to Use This Guide	p. 13
The Journey before You: 29 Steps	p. 17
Our Timetable	p. 18
Yeah, But...	p. 22
Dissertation Checklist	p. 23
Planning the Trip: The Conceptual Conversation	p. 25
Selecting and Orienting a Partner	p. 27
Asking and Answering Questions	p. 28
Identifying Key Pieces	p. 31
Developing Your Itinerary: The Preproposal	p. 35
Formulating Your Research Question	p. 36
Criteria for a Good Research Question	p. 37
Multiple Research Questions	p. 43
Selecting Your Data	p. 46
Aligning Your Research Question and Your Data	p. 48
Identifying Your Method of Data Collection	p. 50
Identifying Your Method of Data Analysis	p. 51
Identifying the Literature to Review	p. 52
Identifying the Significance of Your Study	p. 57
Identifying Your Chapters	p. 59
Writing Your Preproposal	p. 60
Assessing Your Decisions	p. 69
Committing to the Preproposal with Your Advisor	p. 71
Advice from Other Travelers: The Literature Review	p. 75
Coding the Literature	p. 75
Sorting Your Codes	p. 84
Checking Your Codes	p. 86
Creating Your Conceptual Schema	p. 86
Writing It Up	p. 92
Getting There: The Dissertation Proposal	p. 113
Introduction	p. 115
Research Question	p. 120
Definition of Terms	p. 122
Literature Review	p. 125
Research Design	p. 126
Data	p. 126
History or Context	p. 135
Procedures	p. 142
Data Collection	p. 142
Data Analysis	p. 146
Assumptions	p. 151
Significance of the Study	p. 157
Outline of the Study	p. 161
Recap: Sections of a Dissertation Proposal	p. 163
Approval of the Proposal	p. 163
Things to See and Do: Data Collection and Analysis	p. 185
Collecting Your Data	p. 185
Creating Codable Data	p. 186
Identifying Your Unit(s) of Analysis	p. 186
Coding Your Data	p. 187
Sorting Your Codes	p. 191
Checking Your Codes	p. 194
Creating Your Explanatory Schema	p. 196
Writing It Up	p. 212
Making the Most of Your Travels: The Last Chapter Plus	p. 217
Summary	p. 218
Interpretation of Findings	p. 224
Limitations	p. 237
Suggestions for Future Research	p. 243
Finishing Up	p. 249
Useful Phrases: Writing and Editing	p. 265
Fast Writing	p. 266
Turning Off the Screen	p. 268
Making Notes to Self	p. 269
Writing with Headings	p. 270
Skipping Around	p. 272
Keeping the Ideas Flowing	p. 272
Slow Revising	p. 273
Editing	p. 273
Proofreading	p. 275
Computer-Aided Proofreading	p. 276
Hard Copy Proofreading	p. 277
Travelogue: The Dissertation Defense	p. 279
Preparing for Your Defense	p. 280
The Defense Itself	p. 284
Following Your Defense	p. 290
Making the Best Use of Your Guide: Advisor Advising	p. 293
Asking Appropriately	p. 294
Agreeing on a Vision	p. 298
Expectations about Roles	p. 298
Expectations about Advising	p. 299
Replication Model	p. 300
Apprenticeship Model	p. 300
Cocreation Model	p. 301
Expectations about Dissertations	p. 301
Articulating Needs	p. 303
Conceptual Conversation	p. 303
Ground Rules	p. 303
Information about the Dissertation Process	p. 314
Information about Research and Writing	p. 315
Information about the Dissertation Defense	p. 315
Enacting Professionalism	p. 317
Assessing Your Relationship	p. 320
Understanding Your Advisor's Perspective	p. 321
Framing Issues Collaboratively	p. 322
Protecting Your Advisor's Face	p. 323
Planning for Action	p. 324
Applying Productive Chicanery	p. 325
Performing Completion	p. 327
Asking for Help from a Mediator	p. 328
Adding a Coadvisor	p. 328
Switching Advisors	p. 329
Avoiding Delays and Annoyances: Enacting the Scholar Role	p. 331
Incomplete-Scholar Roles	p. 332
Housekeeper	p. 333
Model Employee	p. 334
Undocumented Worker	p. 336
Patient	p. 337
Good Student	p. 339
Proxy Critic	p. 340
Executor	p. 341
Maverick	p. 343
Enacting the Scholar Role: Writing Regularly	p. 343
Writing on a Schedule	p. 345
Focusing on Successes	p. 350
Index	p. 361
About the Authors	p. 367
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