Liberty University School of Education

1
The Doctoral Dissertation

• Liberty UniversitySchool of Education

2
Purposes of a Dissertation

• The doctoral dissertation provides
• An opportunity for candidates to show that they
  are worthy of a doctoral degree.
• A way to demonstrate that candidates can
  contribute to the literature in their field of
  study.
• A time for serious personal and professional
  growth.

3
Beginnings

• Many students complete all of their courses for a
  doctoral degree, but fail to complete a
  dissertation.
• The term for this condition is All But
  Dissertation (ABD).
• Some people even use ABD as a title, but it is
  not meant as a complimentary term.

4
Laying the Groundwork

• As a new student, you should start thinking about
  a dissertation topic from the very beginning of
  your program (if you havent already).
• Where possible, you should explore your potential
  topic as part of assignments for every course you
  take.
• You should also strive to find out if any of the
  Liberty faculty members have similar interests to
  your own.

5
Nature of the Dissertation

• The dissertation is scholarly in nature it is
  not meant or written for laymen to understand.
• The dissertation is written for other
  professionals in your field of study.
• Some qualitative dissertations may be up to 300
  pages in length. Purely quantitative
  dissertations in certain fields of study may be
  as short as 50 pages (but you may have trouble
  having this approved by a committee). Most
  dissertations are around 100 pages in length.

6
Nature of the Dissertation

• Dissertations have a specific form.
• Typically, this includes an introduction, a
  review of the literature, a methodology chapter,
  results (or findings), and a final chapter
  including a summary, discussion, and conclusions.
  
• Examples of recently completed dissertations are
  available through the following website.

7
Dissertation Style

• Dissertations require conforming to a certain
  style of writing. In education, the American
  Psychological Association (APA) style manual is
  used.
• Often it is required that a special editor checks
  the details of APA requirements.
• Your chair should not be expected to provide
  extensive editing of your document. If writing
  is not your strength, you might consider engaging
  a professional editor early in the dissertation
  process.

8
Commitment and Perseverance

• Dont expect to complete a dissertation in a
  short period of time. Many students take three
  years or more to finish the process however, it
  is possible to complete it in a shorter period of
  time.
• You should plan on spending at least one full
  year to complete the process.
• Dont scrimp on time or even money. Do things
  right the first time.
• Do expect to put lots of time into the process,
  and do expect to be pushed to your limits.

9
Finding a Research Problem or Question

• Selecting a problem or question is the most
  important aspect of research. It may take much
  longer than you expect.
• It is important to select a problem that has the
  potential to improve education.
• It is also important to select a problem that can
  actually be researched. Do not try to change the
  world (or reinvent education) with your
  dissertation.
• You should consider research that could be
  completed through your place of employment.

10
Finding a Research Problem or Question

• It is also important to select something that you
  are interested in. Dont pick a topic simply
  because its easy or convenient.
• Talk to your professors about topics and their
  interests, but select a topic that is your own.
• You may view a list of faculty research interests
  at the following link.

11
Related Literature

• If you have a general topic in mind, the best
  thing you can do is get into the literature to
  see what has been done and how.
• Even in this electronic age, you will find great
  benefit in actually looking through hard copies
  of research journals in your field of study.
• Researchers often conclude their studies with
  suggestions for further research. You can often
  use related studies as models for your own
  (experimental design, statistical analysis, etc.).

12
Evaluating the Problem

• Once the problem is selected, it must be
  evaluated.
• Is it important enough to warrant investigation?
• Has it been investigated enough already?
• Is it really a significant problem?
• Will the problem make a contribution to the body
  of organized knowledge?
• Is it worthy of a thesis or dissertation, or any
  significant time commitment?

13
Developing the Prospectus

• The prospectus is an overview of your plans for a
  research study.
• In some ways, it is a short version of a
  dissertation proposal, so it should include an
  introduction to the study (chapter 1), a review
  of related literature (chapter 2), and a
  methodology section (chapter 3).
• Although length expectations may vary,
  approximately ten pages is enough to provide a
  summary of the plans for your study.

14
The Prospectus

• The advantage of completing a prospectus is that
  it limits the amount of time you may put into a
  study, in case it is rejected.
• Most dissertation proposals are significantly
  modified before they are accepted by a committee.
  
• Just as the dissertation proposal is a short
  version of the first three chapters of a
  dissertation, the prospectus should be seen as a
  brief version of the proposal.

15
Choosing a Committee Chair

• You are encouraged to talk to faculty members
  about your research from the very beginning of
  your program.
• Your actual dissertation chair cannot be assigned
  until you finish all of your coursework and pass
  your comprehensive exam.
• You will be sent a confirmation of completion of
  all coursework and the comprehensive exam, and
  you should present this confirmation to your
  prospective chair.
• If your choice for chairs agrees to serve, they
  should notify the administrator in charge of the
  program.

16
The Dissertation Committee

• The chair and candidate will then choose the
  other committee members (at least one must be
  from outside the School of Education).
• Candidates are encouraged to recommend a
  committee member from outside of Liberty
  University. This may include a former professor
  from another university, or a colleague in a
  local school or school district.
• If you and your chair choose a committee member
  outside of Liberty University, please have them
  complete the following form.

17
Choosing the Committee

• All members of the committee must have an earned
  doctoral degree.
• All members of the committee must be willing and
  able to make the time commitment necessary for
  serving on a committee.
• The selection of your chair is especially
  important, so start getting to know your
  professors early in your program.

18
Completing the IRB Process

• Due to federal requirements, all research
  conducted through Liberty University must be
  approved by the university Internal Review Board.
  
• This is not a difficult process, as most
  educational research will be categorized as
  expedited or exempt for IRB approval.
• Use the following link for all IRB information.
• You must have full IRB approval before collecting
  any data.

19
Introduction to the Study (Chapter I)

• In many ways, the first chapter of a prospectus,
  proposal, or dissertation is a summary of your
  plans for the entire study.
• It includes the following sections
• General Introduction
• Statement of the Problem
• Purpose of the Study
• Hypotheses, Questions, or Objectives
• Definitions

20
Review of Related Literature (Ch. II)

• According to Glatthorn and Joyner, there are
  three types of literature reviews
• The broad scan, which may help you identify a
  research problem.
• The focused review, which adds to the literature
  of the proposal.
• The comprehensive critique, which allows the
  researcher to identify studies that have a direct
  bearing on the research for the dissertation.

21
Critique of the Literature

• Since the comprehensive critique of the
  literature is so important, it is important to
  keep good records.
• If you are keeping paper records, photocopy
  everything and record all of your sources.
• If you are keeping electronic records, keep
  back-up copies of all of your sources.

22
Critique of the Literature

• The comprehensive critique of the literature is
  an on-going process.
• You will probably need to conduct an update of
  the literature most closely related to your study
  at the very end of your dissertation process.
• You will also need to update the literature
  review later if you intend to have your research
  published.

23
Methodology (Chapter III)

• In many ways, Ch. 3 (Methodology) is the most
  important part of a dissertation.
• Once decisions have been made (and approved) on
  how to conduct a study, you must detail your
  plans for your committee and others.
• One of the characteristics of science, and any
  form of research, is that it must be replicable.
  A well-written methodology section allows a study
  to be repeated.

24
Methodology

• After a general introduction to your research,
  discuss the type of research design you will
  utilize.
• Be as specific as possible. Dont just say
  qualitative or quantitative research.
• Use the proper terms for your form of research.
  As examples experimental, survey, interview,
  ethnographic, historical research, etc.

25
Research Designs

• Some of the common research designs include the
  following
• Experimental and quasi-experimental
• Causal-comparative
• Correlation
• Survey and Interview
• Descriptive
• Evaluation
• Case Study
• Action Research
• Qualitative

26
Sample and Instrumentation

• Discuss the intended sample and exactly how you
  plan to utilize it.
• Detail your instrument, survey, interview
  protocol, etc.
• Include a section at the end of ch. 3 on data
  analysis (regardless of the type of study).