Dissertation Guide

Dissertation Guide

Revised January 2009

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Table of Contents

Chapters

1. The Dissertation 3

What is a Dissertation? 3

Publication of Research Results 4

References 4

2. The Dissertation Process in DU 5

Getting Started 5

Writing Skills 6

The Dissertation Idea Paper 7

Format and Contents of the Idea Paper 7

The Preliminary Dissertation Proposal 8

Format and Contents of the Preliminary Dissertation Proposal 8

The Formal Dissertation Proposal 9

Format and Contents of the Formal Dissertation Proposal 10

The Final Dissertation Report 14

Format of the Final Dissertation Report 15

Contents of the Final Dissertation Report 17

3. Form and Style 20

Style Guides 20

Reference Citations 21

Online Citations 22

Use of Web Material in Dissertations 22

Reference List and Annotated Bibliography 23

Other Formatting Requirements 24

Margins 24

Line Spacing 24

Paragraph Spacing 24

Page Numbering 24

Type Style 24

Title Page 25

The Abstract 25

Chapter Title Heading, Subheadings, and Sub-Subheadings 25

Tables and Figures in the Text Body 25

Appendixes 26

Appendixes

A.Reference List 27

B.The Dissertation Approval Form 28

C. Sample Dissertation Pages and Formats 30

Index 43

Chapter 1

The Dissertation

What is a Dissertation?

The dissertation is the most important requirement for the doctoral degree. You are expected, with the help and approval of an advisor, to select an appropriate topic of sufficient scope to satisfy the requirements for the dissertation.

The dissertation is an original, rigorous research work carried out with substantial independence by the doctoral candidate. It represents a significant extrapolation from a base of solid experience or knowledge in the area of concentration. In a significant way, the dissertation advances knowledge, improves professional practice or contributes to understanding in the field of study. Dissertation work is presented in a logical and understandable fashion.

Originality, independence, and rigor deserve some explanation. Originality means that the research has not been done previously in the same way. Independencemeans that the research is conceived, performed, and documented primarily by the doctoral candidate. To be rigorous, the research work is characterized by strict accuracy and scrupulous honesty and presents precise distinctions among facts, implications, and suppositions. Rigor is achieved by using demonstrable facts when reporting procedures and results, by building on a foundation of facts when drawing conclusions, by specifying links to facts when inferring implications, by always bringing forward all relevant data, and by being both self-critical and logical in reporting (Mauch & Birch, 1998).

The dissertation must be of sufficient strength to be able to distill from it a paper worthy of publication in a journal or conference proceedings, or to use it as the basis of a textbook or monograph. Although publication is not a requirement for completing the doctoral degree, you are strongly encouraged to submit your dissertation research work for publication. There is also no better way to appreciate the standards expected in a journal paper, or dissertation, than to read papers and dissertations in your area of specialization.

To facilitate the dissertation process, each DU doctoral program includes a series of four-credit project courses that offers you the opportunity to perform in-depth original and independent work in areas that are of professional interest. In many cases, a project course has helped lay a direct foundation for a dissertation or has indirectly stimulated interest in an area that ultimately led to a dissertation. DU project courses develop skills that you can use in the dissertation process, such as information gathering, problem identification, investigation and analysis, effective documentation, planning, and management.

Publication of Research Results

Publication of dissertation results is not required but is encouraged. Publication, which may occur before or after graduation from the program, promotes professional recognition and is valuable to the new graduate's professional career and also to DU. Your advisor will be pleased to recommend several appropriate professional or scholarly journals for submission of your work. Publication in a refereed journal is the best way to validate the value of the candidate's work.

Students sometimes co-author publications with their advisors or committee members or both. This may happen when substantial contributions are made by these persons or when the dissertation is part of a larger project of DU. In the latter case, other students who have collaborated on the project may also be co-authors.

References

Books that explore the dissertation process include Davis and Parker (1997), Mauch and Birch (1998), and Miller and Taylor (1987). Excellent books on writing include Dupré (1995), Strunk and White (1979), and Zinsser (2001). Research methods are discussed in Mauch and Birch (1998) and Isaac and Michael (1997). Other useful references include The Chicago Manual of Style from the University of Chicago Press (1993) and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001), a handbook on writing for publication. Appendix A contains the Reference List for these sources. Note, however, that DU does not adhere to all University of Chicago or APA style recommendations.

Chapter 2

The Dissertation Process in DU

Getting Started

Some students have a good idea for a dissertation topic when they start the program. Such students, however, are few and far between! The typical new doctoral student has no idea for a dissertation topic and no understanding of the dissertation process. Ideas for topics may come from many sources: a core course, readings, your job, a project course, a discussion with a faculty member, readings, a discussion with a colleague at your job, a discussion with a fellow student, and readings. (We are trying to convince you that the more you read the literature, the easier topic selection will be. Each paper, book, report, or dissertation that you read uses prior work as a foundation and, since a single work cannot do it all, usually points to future work that might be pursued.)

As you proceed in the program, you will be exposed to many potential topics, but do not expect one to jump out at you saying “I'm it. Your search is over. Forget all the other topics to which you gave fleeting thought!” A good approach is to keep a running list of possible topics. For each possible topic, provide a title, a short description of what the work might entail, an indication of the source(s) of the idea, relevant references, an annotated bibliography, and comments by faculty members with whom you have discussed the idea. Course instructors may mention potential research topics during lectures, so be sure to include these on your list. Remember that your interests may change as you go through your program, thus keeping track of even mildly interesting potential topics can be worthwhile.

It is important to communicate with faculty members about your interests and possible topics. Students are encouraged to communicate with faculty via email and to make appointments to meet with faculty members. Remember that faculty members will be happy to talk with you, and you should take advantage of every opportunity to meet with them.

Many students become anxious because they do not have a dissertation topic, but this is a normal situation and almost every student has to go through this search process. Do it methodically, and eventually you will find a topic. Remember that the faculty understands this situation and is there to advise you how to get through it.

Many students experience one or more false starts that result in the search for new topics. This also is a normal part of the process and should be expected.

Writing Skills

DU requires each student to demonstrate proficiency in the use of the English language in all work submitted during the dissertation process. Grammatical errors, spelling errors, and writing that fails to express ideas clearly will not be tolerated and may result in the rejection of dissertation work. The faculty will not provide remedial help concerning grammatical errors or other writing difficulties.

Appendix A contains useful references on writing, in particular, Dupré (1995) and American Psychological Association (2001). Dupré (1995) can help the student avoid common errors in professional writing.

Here are some helpful hints to get your writing off to a good start:

1. Quality, not quantity, is the watchword.

2. Always think before you write.

3. Proofread your work. Spell check it. Run it through a grammar tool, but do not rely solely on spelling and grammar tools. Proofread carefully.

4. Avoid overly general statements unless they are followed by statements that clarify and provide supporting evidence.

5. Support your statements with citations from appropriate literature.

6. Avoid the use of passive voice.

7. Write out, in full, the first identification of any person, organization, or object with acronyms, initialisms, or abbreviations. In the case of initialisms and acronyms follow the first full identification of the term with the appropriate acronym, abbreviation, or initialism in parentheses if you plan on using them later in your task.

8. Avoid excessive quotations.

9. Contractions do not belong in formal writing.

10. Use appropriate diction: received rather than got; difficulty rather than problem, etc.

11. The use of the first person is inappropriate in formal writing in that it gives the appearance of less objectivity. Writing should be in the third person.

12. Avoid needless intensifiers. For example: very important—either it is important or it is not.

13. Watch for split infinitives. For example, avoid: to merely serve, or to formally advocate, or to fully answer; use instead merely to serve, to advocate formally, or to answer fully.

14. Observe the differences in the following terms: feel, think, and believe. The distinctions between those words are important and misuse of them lends imprecision to your writing.

15. Colloquialisms are inappropriate in formal writing.

16. Your opinions are not important. The results of your investigation are.

17. The formats provided in Appendix C should be followed as exact models.

The Dissertation Idea Paper

This must be a short document with length in the range of 7–14 double-spaced pages. Students submitting longer papers risk outright rejection. The dissertation idea paper is not intended to be a one-time or static document. As dissertation work proceeds, goals evolve. After a while, the original idea paper may not represent the current work. When this happens, the student may need to update the idea paper. The idea paper must accurately track the dissertation project, independent of the stage of the project. The idea paper is written in the future tense.

Format and Contents of the Idea Paper

The outline and instructions given next must be followed:

Problem Statement and Goal

This section must contain a concise statement of the problem to be addressed (why the work is being undertaken) and a concise definition of the goal of the work (what the work will accomplish). You should provide supporting evidence of the problem and goal from the literature. Every effort should be made to define a goal that is measurable, i.e., the faculty must be able to use the goal statement to determine whether you have succeeded when you say you are finished. The goal contained in the idea paper is a step in that direction, i.e., it attempts to establish some degree of measurability. Many students do not provide an adequate statement of the problem and this has been the basis for rejection. If you cannot say why you are doing it, you do not have the basis for a dissertation.

Relevance and Significance

This section serves to strengthen the statement of the problem to be addressed. It contains a brief description of the relative value of the work proposed. While a full literature search is not required at this stage, a brief discussion and synthesis of key relevant work must be included (usually 10 or fewer items at this stage). The result of your work must, in a significant way, advance knowledge, improve professional practice, and/or contribute to understanding in the field of study. It should be possible to distill from your completed dissertation a paper that is worthy of publication in a journal or conference proceedings or as a textbook or monograph.

Barriers and Issues

Why has this goal not already been met? Is it because the work is difficult and the solution elusive? That might make it appropriate for a dissertation. If, on the other hand, the work would be easy but no one, until now, has thought of it, then it might not be doctoral-level work. In this section, you discuss the underlying problem(s) and issues and the expected degree of difficulty of their solution.

Approach

Address how you expect to accomplish the stated goal. Prepare a list of the major steps, in sequence, you believe will have to be taken to accomplish the goal.

Resources

If appropriate, provide a preliminary description of the facilities or human resources to be used to accomplish the stated goal.

Reference List

The reference list must contain an entry for every work cited in the paper. It must follow the style shown in Appendix A, Reference List, and Appendix C, Sample Formats for References, of this guide. Note the requirement for single spacing within each reference, double spacing between references, and hanging indents.

The Preliminary Dissertation Proposal

The preliminary dissertation proposal is an important step on the way from the dissertation idea paper to the formal dissertation proposal. It is an expanded version of the idea paper and should be about 25–40 double-spaced pages in length. It is also written in the future tense. A full literature search is not required at this stage; however, an annotated bibliography must be prepared and included in the proposal covering the material you have read relevant to the proposed topic. The relationship between the proposed topic and the literature reviewed should be discussed in the preliminary dissertation proposal.

Format and Contents of the Preliminary Dissertation Proposal

These instructions must be followed. They expand those given earlier for the idea paper.

Problem Statement and Goal

This section must contain a concise statement of the problem to be addressed (why the work is being undertaken) and a concise definition of the goal of the work (what the work will accomplish). You should provide supporting evidence of the problem and goal from the literature. Every effort should be made to define a goal that is measurable, i.e., the faculty must be able to use the goal statement to determine whether you have succeeded when you say you are finished. The goal contained in the preliminary dissertation proposal should be more measurable than that contained in the idea paper. Many students do not provide an adequate statement of the problem and this has been the basis for rejection. If you cannot say why you are doing it, you do not have the basis for a dissertation.

Relevance, Significance, and Brief Review of the Literature

This section should describe more fully the relative value of the work proposed. The result of the work must, in a significant way, advance knowledge, improve professional practice, and/or contribute to understanding. It should be possible to distill from the dissertation a paper that is worthy of publication in a journal or conference proceeding in the area or as a textbook or monograph. A full literature search is not required at this stage, however, a brief review of the literature must be included in this section, and an annotated bibliography should be prepared covering the work you have read relevant to your proposed topic. Include the discussion of the literature in this section and place the annotated bibliography in the Annotated Bibliography section (see below).

Barriers and Issues

Approach

Discuss, in greater detail than in the idea paper, how you expect to accomplish the stated goal. List the major steps, in sequence, that must be taken to accomplish the goal.

Milestones

Include a list of milestones, with dates or timeframes, to be completed to accomplish your goal.

Resources

If appropriate, provide a preliminary description of the facilities or human resources to be used to accomplish the stated goal.

Annotated Bibliography

It is recommended that the annotated bibliography be based on a computer search with a minimum of 100 items retrieved. You should also consider all library resources available to you (not just computer searches). You should read at least 20 of these (at least two books and 18 papers). The annotations must be yours, not those obtained from a computerized abstraction service. You must discuss the relationship of the literature you have reviewed to your topic.

Reference List

The reference list should be keyed to the citations made in the preliminary proposal. Items that only appear in the annotated bibliography but are not cited elsewhere in the preliminary proposal should not be included in the reference list.

The Formal Dissertation Proposal

The formal dissertation proposal provides the framework within which your research will be conducted and offers evidence of your qualifications to pursue the research. Concepts and theories underlying the study are articulated; the problem is clearly stated; specific, measurable goals are specified; a thorough literature review is presented; the methods for conducting the research are delineated; and a strategy to achieve the goal is given. The proposal is written in the future tense and indicates what you will accomplish in executing the investigation. An effectively

formulated dissertation proposal functions as a blueprint for developing the final dissertation report.

The formal dissertation proposal is generally evaluated on the basis of the content and clarity of the introduction, literature review, procedures, expectations, and the effectiveness with which the document is organized and planned. Factors affecting the evaluation process include the purpose, significance, and merit of the investigation and the appropriateness of procedures chosen to meet the goal.