You’ve got to like to climb mountains
Completing doctoral level research
on the college student experience
Jean M. Henscheid, Fellow,
National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience
and Students in Transition
Dissertation survival guides
Balian, E. S. (1982). How to design, analyze, and write doctoral research: The practical
guidebook. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America.
Becker, H. S. (1986). Writing for social scientists. How to start and finish your thesis,
book, or article. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Bolker, Joan. (1998). Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day: A guide to
starting, revising, and finishing your doctoral thesis. New York: H. Holt.
Davis, G. B. (1979). Writing the doctoral dissertation: A systematic approach.
Woodbury, N.Y.: Barron's Educational Series.
Fitzpatrick, J., Secrist, J., & Wright, D. J. (1998). Secrets for a successful dissertation.
Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage.
Glatthorn, A. A. (1998). Writing the winning dissertation: A step-by-step guide.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Goodchild, L. F. (Ed.) (1997). Rethinking the dissertation process: Tackling personal and
institutional obstacles. New Directions for Higher Education, 99. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Locke, L. F (1993). Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant
proposals. (3rd Ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Doctoral Research Roundtable
2
Long, T. J. (1985). Completing dissertations in the behavioral sciences and education. A
systematic guide for graduate students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mauch, J. E., & Birch, J.W. (1998). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: A
handbook for students and faculty (4th Ed.). Monticello, NY: Marcel Dekker.
Piantanida, M, & Garman, N. B. (1999). The qualitative dissertation. A guide for
students and faculty. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Rudestam, K. E, & Newton, R. R. (1992). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive
guide to content and process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Sternberg, D. J. (1981). How to complete and survive a doctoral dissertation.
New York: St. Martin's Press.
Web sites
http://www.anrecs.msu.edu/dissthes/guide.htm. Tips by S. J. Levine, a dissertation
advisor.
http://www.vcu.edu/cpp/phd/help.htm. Especially helpful links. An extensive
bibliography on managing committees, writing, editing, choosing topics, mental health,
etc.
http://www.asgs.org/. Association for Support of Graduate Students website.
http://www.phinished.org/. A discussion and support group for people who are having
trouble getting their dissertations finished.
Warning: My recommendation is to use these when you are under duress and need
periodic reassurance that what you are going through is “normal.” I suggest they
not be read in lieu of doing the hard work of writing the dissertation. There is no
magic pill that will make the pain go away. Good luck! Jean Henscheid. National
Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, Students
in Transition Conference, Cincinnati, OH: November 1-4, 2000.
What most people will tell you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose your committee wisely
Be your own committee
Plan to build a beautiful window, not a beautiful house, or
Do not try to solve world hunger
Doctoral Research Roundtable
3
5.
6.
7.
8.
Set realistic time lines
Start your literature review in the exact middle of your subject
Read other proposals and dissertations, but write your own!
Choose your methodology wisely:
Quantitative and Qualitative (The short of it).
A. Formulate the hypothesis or research question
B. Design the study
C. Collect and analyze the data
D. Write it up (This is not the order you’ll write it in!)
9. Begin writing what you know best
10. Write clearly
11. Attend some defenses
12. Move into a hotel for part of it – or choose an equivalent monk-like experience
13. Get a support group
What you may not hear – exactly
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Jean’s 15-minute rule
Meditate, exercise, conduct rituals
Think of yourself as a scholar
Do your citations as you go
Endnotes Plus, Statview, and Nudist won’t make the pain go away
Have a passion for making a contribution to your field
This is just as much about learning the process as it is the product
Don’t listen to other people
You’ve got to like to climb mountains
Applying
Taking
Classes
Finding
A Committee
Deciding
on a Topic
Writing Writing
The Defense The a
“It” Details!
Rest
Proposal
of
Your
Life