Preparing to Write a
Dissertation
(First, look at two or three dissertations in
your field)
I. Choose
a topic that truly interests you and ask yourself these questions:
Is it manageable,
in terms of
1. Scope ? (size;
area of inquiry too general)
2. Technological feasibility?
3. Required travel?
4. Affordability?
Would you be able to convert it into a book without
extensive further research?
II. Discuss
your idea with your major professor-in detail (Take a written outline or plan
with you)
III. Write your
first draft of your proposal. (See guide)
IV. Discuss it with your major professor and at
least one other potential reader (if possible and proper). (This is a good
place to complete the selection of your committee.)
V. Edit, rewrite, and submit your proposal to
your committee as required by your department.
Researching your Dissertation
I. Dissertation
Work Schedule
Set up a
schedule that has you working on your dissertation for a maximum of 5-6 days
per week. Look at a calendar; can you stick to this schedule? Expect to spend a
minimum of six months to one year researching and writing your
dissertation-even if you intend to use work you have done earlier in your
program. A regular day off is good for you as a reward and as an incentive to
stay on your dissertation work schedule.
Set your
minimum work time each day at one hour; set your maximum work time at six
hours.
Choose one or two locations only, and don't
move your materials around too much.
Permit no
interruptions (telephone calls, visits, tv,
radio, etc.). Keep such things as
newspapers, magazines, and novels away from your dissertation workplace
Consider
keeping a daily log of your time in and out of your workplace and a notation of
what/how much work you did
Have a calendar that is large enough to
write on at your dissertation workplace. Note on it due dates for parts of your
dissertation and reminders of dissertation-related
appointments or research or work that you must do on a certain day
Explain your basic dissertation work schedule
to your spouse, significant other, family, close friends, and employer as
appropriate. Consider giving them copies
Mornings usually are best for
sustained productivity with fewer errors
Minimize or
eliminate distractions to your schedule (writing other articles, taking on
extra work, lengthy travel not related to your dissertation)
II. Arrangement of materials and notes
Discuss needed
equipment and supplies with major professor and request that they be ordered
(give "need-by" dates)
Choose a word processing
program that you know well or one that you can learn easily and be comfortable
using (Word or WordPerfect are two that are widely acceptable and easy to
learn). Buy a large supply of formatted, blank discs and label them carefully
as you work. Try to keep a hard drive copy and a disc copy of your work as you
proceed. Save your work frequently.
Keep paper copies of all notes to supplement
disc copies
Obtain a
secure collector for paper notes. Such things as loose-leaf binders with indexes
or heavy paper accordion files with indexes will work well. Give
some thought to your index; a good one will save you valuable time and remind
you when you have more material to collect. Instead of a simple alpha index,
consider a task or section index (Research I, Research II, etc. or Review of
Literature, or Chapter One, etc.)
III. Collecting
data
Carefully and legibly record author, title, date, source, and
other identification that you will need to footnote this material if you refer
to it in your text. Writing the full bibliographic citation when you first make
a note is a good idea.
When making notes during your research, try to
summarize, conclude, list, relate, compare, contrast, or in some other way
relate the new material to your topic and to other notes you have made. Ask
yourself "so what?" as you make notes. If you know the chapter or
place in your dissertation where you will use the material, note that as well.
Writing Your Dissertation
I.
Writing the First Draft
Dissertations tend
to be between 150 and 350 pages in length, but don't set out to write a certain
length. Instead plan to write a document that is thorough without being
redundant,
knowing
that your major professor or your committee will help you edit it to .a
shorter length.
Create
an outline or a plan, with chapters that divide your dissertation into its
important parts. These chapters usually include:
Introduction (Contains background, need for
the study, statement of problem, limitations, and hypotheses)
Review of the Literature (Shows that you have looked in
the right places for reports of related research and that you know the
literature of your field. Also insures that your work is original and not an
unnecessary duplication of earlier work. A good review of the literature also
can minimize initial challenges and resistance to your work.)
Methodology (In this section describe WHAT
you did, HOW you
did it-the exact procedure you followedand, if
relevant, WHEN and WHERE you did it. If it is not
obvious, explain why you chose the methodology that you used.)
Results (Describe WHAT you found, which hypotheses you
accepted and which you rejected, and describe the significance of your
findings.)
Conclusions (Explain
what your results mean to your field. This part answers the SO WHAT? question of your dissertation. Don't summarize here; draw
conclusions.)
Implications for further research (Briefly discuss some areas for further research
that can draw upon your research.)
II. Footnotes and Endnotes
Consult with your major professor about the preferred style for placing
references in your text. The more
common styles are footnotes, endnotes, and parenthetical notes within the text.
All three styles are accompanied by a bibliography that normally is placed at
the end of the dissertation.
When you discuss ways to note references in
your text, ask your major professor about the preferred style for tables,
charts, graphs, photographs, illustrations, and maps if you plan to include any
of these in your text. Prepare originals of these things as you need them, but
use copies of them in drafts of your chapters that you submit to your major
professor.
III. Editing and Rewriting your Dissertation
When you have
completed your first draft of your first chapter, put it away for a week and
then read it again before you give it to your major professor for comment. If
possible, also show a copy of your drafts to your committee, but ask your major
professor about protocol. Some readers want to see only your completed
dissertation, expecting you to edit each chapter with the help of your major
professor.
When you get
back a marked-up copy (or copies), edit that chapter appropriately and give it
back to your major professor for comment. (Expect your professor to need at
least a week and possibly two weeks to read and return a chapter.)
When you get the second draft
back with marks on it, you should be able to edit it into nearly a final
form-but don't be in a hurry. If more changes are called for, make them and
submit a third draft. Continue this process until the first chapter comes back
to you relatively unmarked. (Keep your marked-up chapter drafts for reference.)
Write the first draft of your
second chapter and follow the same process of submission and revision that you
followed with the first chapter.
When you begin
submitting chapters, realize that you are creating expectations from your major
professor (and committee members if they are reading it chapter by chapter). Thus,
you should try to avoid lengthy delays
between submissions of chapters. If such delays occur, your major professor and readers may forget what you
have done, and their interest in your work will decline.
Submit your complete, edited "final" draft to
your committee members so they can read it as a complete dissertation.
Make final changes in approved draft of your complete
dissertation.
Prepare final version of original manuscript with
original charts, graphs, illustrations, etc. Include title page with places for
signatures as required by The Graduate School.
With the assistance of your major professor, schedule
your defense of your dissertation.
Defending
and Submitting your Dissertation
I. Defending
your Dissertation and Submitting it to The Graduate
School
After
successfully defending your dissertation, have your title page signed in ink by
your committee.
Prepare copies. (
Submit signed original manuscript and copies of your
dissertation to The Graduate School (See Graduate School Guidelines.)
II. Collect
bound copies from The Graduate School (see Graduate School Guidelines)