Classical Leadership Theory in Action:

Department of Leadership Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

and

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Dissertation Handbook

2018-2019

This handbook is designed for students in the Department of Leadership Studies. Students beginning

LEAR 736 in Spring 2019 and afterward are expected to follow all dissertation requirements in this new

edition. Students enrolled in LEAR 736 prior to Spring 2019 may continue to follow the modified APA on

quantitative through completion of 931.

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Doctoral Program and Dissertation Process 3

Purpose of Handbook 3

Dissertation Committee 3

Committee Members 3

Choosing committee members 3

Committee chair responsibilities 4

Responsibilities of other committee members 5

Candidate responsibilities 5

Dissertation Guidelines 6

Choosing a Research Topic 6

Dissertation Timeline 6

Dissertation Style 7

Quantitative Dissertations 7

Qualitative Dissertations 8

Final Document 9

Dissertation Research Approval Process 9

Oral Defense 10

Graduation 11

Appendix A: Quantitative Dissertation Information 12

Appendix B: Qualitative Dissertation Information 14

Appendix C: Dissertation Defense Rubric 19

Appendix D: Reporting Statistical Tests 20

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 3

Introduction

Doctoral Program and Dissertation Process

The Department of Leadership Studies at the University of the Cumberlands offers a Doctor of

Education and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. The doctoral dissertation, designed to evaluate the

candidate’s capabilities as a scholar, is the final academic requirement of the

EdD and PhD programs. Candidates complete the dissertation during professional research

courses (LEAR 736, 839, 930, 931), which are the last four courses taken during the program.

This handbook sets forth the guidelines for completing the dissertation process.

Purpose of Handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to guide candidates through the dissertation process

including writing, defense, and final document submission. Candidate and committee member

responsibilities are outlined, writing guidelines are detailed and examples provided, required

sections for each chapter, and printing guidelines for the final dissertation document are

included. The handbook is to be used by instructors, dissertation chairs, and committee members

to ensure maintenance of high standards related to the form and appearance of dissertations.

Dissertation Committee

Dissertation committees are made up of three members; the dissertation chair and two

committee members. Each member has specific responsibilities as outlined below.

Committee Members

Choosing committee members. While enrolled in LEAR 930, the candidate and dissertation

chair will identify instructors to serve on his/her dissertation committee. The dissertation course

instructor will serve as the dissertation chair. Other members are to be instructors teaching at the

graduate level at University of the Cumberlands. These members should be chosen based on

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 4

dissertation topic expertise and candidate needs. Dissertation chairs will provide candidates with

a list of instructors available to serve on committees.

Committee chair responsibilities. Responsibilities of the committee chair include:

 Advising the candidate through the dissertation process.

 Guiding the candidate in the selection of two additional committee members.

 Assisting the candidate in meeting deadlines for completion of the dissertation.

 Assisting the candidate in navigating the IRB approval process.

 Guiding the candidate in achieving a high level of technical and ethical quality in the

dissertation research.

 Advising the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and

analysis.

 Advising the candidate in proper APA style.

 Determining when a document is ready for review by the committee and communicate

such with committee members. The candidate should avoid consulting the full committee

for feedback without prior approval of the chair.

 Advising the candidate in preparation for the dissertation defense.

 Notifying the department chair (jennifer.simpson@ucumberlands.edu) of the date, time,

and location of all dissertation defense meetings.

 Submitting the defense scoring rubric from committee members to the department chair

in a timely manner after the defense.

 Submitting a print-ready copy of the dissertation to the department chair prior to the

anticipated graduation date of the candidate.

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 5

Responsibilities of other committee members. Responsibilities of other committee members

include:

 Providing subject matter expertise as requested by the chair or candidate.

 Reading drafts and providing meaningful feedback.

 Corresponding with the chair and candidate as needed for clarification and resolution of

methodological issues during the dissertation process.

 Immediately notifying candidate and dissertation chair when major flaws that are likely

to result in a candidate’s unsuccessful defense are identified.

 Signing the signature page of the dissertation in a timely manner.

Candidate Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the dissertation candidate include:

 Coordinating with the dissertation chair to select committee members based on expertise

in the dissertation topic area. The candidate is encouraged to select at least one member

with expertise in data collection and analysis.

 Completing the IRB process to obtain approval for research before collecting data.

 Choosing a topic, submitting proofread drafts of materials to the chair, preparing

adequately for consultations, and communicating on a regular basis with the chair.

 Contacting the chair in the event of any significant change in personal or professional

situation which may interfere with program completion.

 Successfully defending research.

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 6

 Submitting an error-free, print-ready copy of dissertation as a Word document to the

dissertation chair and Mrs. Debbie Wood (debbie.wood@ucumberlands.edu) in a timely

manner after a successful defense.

 Printing a minimum of four one-sided copies using white, 24 lb. resumé paper.

 Submitting a minimum of four printed copies of dissertation to program office prior to

the end of the semester.

Dissertation Guidelines

Choosing a Research Topic

Candidates begin thinking about dissertation topics when applying for admission to the program.

The entrance essay is an opportunity for candidates to share ideas they are interested in

researching for the dissertation. Candidates are encouraged to choose research topics of personal

relevance and significance. When opportunities arise in coursework, candidates should begin

researching these topics in the form of literature reviews and other assignments that allow for

research. The research topic will be narrowed to a research study and approved by the research

course instructor when candidates enroll in the first dissertation course, LEAR 736.

Dissertation Timeline

The dissertation topic is approved by the course instructor when candidates are enrolled in LEAR

736. The review of literature is completed while enrolled in LEAR 736, and Chapter Two of the

dissertation is written. This is a requirement for enrolling in LEAR 839. While enrolled in

LEAR 839, candidates complete Chapter One, the introduction to the study, and Chapter Three,

the methodology section. Candidates must get approval for their research from the Institutional

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 7

Review Board while enrolled in LEAR 839, before collecting any data. A completed Chapter

One and Chapter Three and IRB approval are required before candidates enroll in LEAR 930.

Candidates complete Chapter Four, which presents their research findings, while enrolled in

LEAR 930. Once enrolled in LEAR 931, candidates complete Chapter Five. In Chapter Five,

candidates interpret their findings, discuss implications of those findings, present

recommendations for further study and action, and discuss how their study fills a gap in the

literature and contributes to leadership. The final step in the dissertation process is the oral

defense, which is completed in LEAR 931-935. Once the study is successfully defended,

candidates submit printed copies of the dissertation to the department chair. At that time, the

department chair recommends the candidate for graduation.

The EdD and PhD programs are designed for dissertations to be completed in four

courses. Candidates needing additional time may enroll in additional courses providing the total

time in the program does not exceed five years. Enrollment in courses beyond LEAR 931 must

be approved by the department chair.

Dissertation Style

The dissertation, a scholarly document, is written for professionals in the field of

education. The dissertation may include a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods study.

Quantitative Dissertations

While there is no set number of pages, a dissertation typically includes approximately

100 pages for quantitative studies. The quantitative dissertation follows a five chapter format

and deductive approach (see Appendix A). The sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association (APA) is the style manual to be used in writing the

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 8

dissertation. All APA guidelines should be followed except for the left margin. Due to binding

of the dissertation, left margins should be increased to 1.5 inches.

Qualitative Dissertations

Unlike the EdD and Quantitative PhD dissertations, which follow a five-chapter format,

the qualitative dissertation is not bound by those requirements. Rather, the qualitative

dissertation should be approximately 45,000 words. This word requirement applies to the text of

the dissertation only; it does not cover the title page, acknowledgements, table of contents, or

other non-content related pages. Thus, with a small indulgence in tautology, the dissertation,

should be as long as it needs to be, as long it meets the minimum word requirement.

The Department of Leadership Studies requires the use of footnotes (when necessary), citations,

and references for all qualitative dissertations. All qualitative dissertations should be double-

spaced, typed in 12pt, Times New Roman with 1.5 left margins and 1’ margins for the rest.

Footnotes must be in 10pt Times New Roman with a double space between notes, but a single

space inside the note itself (examples will follow). The acknowledgements and other non-textual

pages at the beginning of the dissertation should be in roman numerals at the bottom-center of

the page, and they should be continuous. The title page does not have a page number. When

quoting, place punctuation marks inside the quotation marks. For visual examples of the title

page, bibliography, and general formatting, please refer to the APA 6th edition manual.

Final Document

The final dissertation document must be submitted while enrolled in the last research

course, typically LEAR 931. The final document is submitted after the successful oral defense is

presented and all committee member recommended edits have been made. An error-free, print-

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 9

ready copy of dissertation is submitted as a Word document after a successful defense. The copy

is to be submitted electronically to the dissertation chair and Mrs. Debbie Wood. Candidates

print a minimum of five one-sided copies using white, 24 lb. resume paper. Candidates then

submit a minimum of four printed copies of the dissertation to the program office prior to the

designated semester deadline. After having those copies bound, the UC Binding Department

will return two of the copies to the candidate. If the candidate wishes to keep more than two

bound copies, he/should submit the number desired. The Binding Department will bill the

student for the additional copies at a minimal cost per copy.

Dissertation Research Approval Process

Approval for conducting the dissertation research must be obtained while enrolled in

LEAR 839 and is a pre-requisite to enrolling in LEAR 930. The Institutional Review Board

application to conduct research and all supporting documents must be submitted in LEAR 839.

The dissertation chair will review the document, and then the student should submit the

documents to the Department of Leadership Studies (debbie.wood@ucumberlands.edu).

Candidates will receive an IRB Approval Letter once the research has been approved. No

research is to be executed until IRB approval is granted and all necessary consents (adults) and

assents (minors) are secured from participants. The IRB Approval Letter is to be placed in the

dissertation as Appendix A.

Oral Defense

While enrolled in the final dissertation course, the candidate must present an oral defense

of her/his research. This oral defense is presented after the committee chair and all committee

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 10

members have given feedback and all edits have been made to the dissertation document. The

Department of Leadership Studies will schedule the defense session. All three committee

members must be present for the oral defense. The oral defense session normally takes 45-60

minutes. The committee members and chair will ask questions and offer comments. The

candidate will then be dismissed for committee deliberation. Once the committee and chair have

deliberated and reached a decision, the candidate will be invited to re-join the group for the

committee decision. The committee will make one of the following decisions:

 approved with no revisions,

 approved with minor revisions,

 provisionally approved with major revisions, or

 not approved with recommendation to write a new dissertation.

If one of the first two decisions is made, the committee chair will work with the candidate to get

the final document ready to send to the department chair for review. If the committee decision

requires major revisions or a new dissertation, the candidate will enroll in another research

course to complete the revisions or rewrite.

The defense must be successfully completed by the department defense deadline for the

semester. The dissertation chair and committee will evaluate the candidate using the department

rubric (see Appendix C).

Graduation

Candidates should apply for graduation at the beginning of the semester in which they

plan to graduate. The application for graduation is located at

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 11

https://inside.ucumberlands.edu/academics/registrar/graduation_application.php. Once the

research has been successfully defended and copies of the dissertation are received by the

department chair, the department chair will notify the registrar that the candidate has completed

all program requirements and is eligible to graduate. Graduation exercises are held in May.

Candidates are hooded during the graduation exercise.

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 12

Appendix A

Quantitative Dissertation Format

Title Page

Signature Page

Acknowledgements

Abstract (150 words maximum)

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Chapter One (Introduction)

Overview

Background and Problem Statement

Purpose of the Study

Research Questions

Limitations of the Study

Assumptions

Definitions

Summary

Chapter Two (Review of Literature)

Introduction

Subsections based on a deductive approach

Summary

Chapter Three (Procedures and Methodology)

Introduction

Research Paradigm (qualitative or quantitative)

Research Design

Sampling Procedures and or/

Data Collection Sources (reference Informed Consent and IRB approval placed in Appendices)

Statistical Tests

Summary

Chapter Four (Research Findings)

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 13

Introduction

Analyses of Research Questions (one at a time)

Supplementary Findings (if any)

Summary

Chapter Five (Summary, Discussion, and Implications)

Introduction

Practical Assessment of Research Question(s)

Limitations of the Study

Implications for Future Study

Summary

References

Appendices (This section contains any tables, figures and possible data sources that could not

be placed in the text of the paper due to its size, as well as copies of consent forms and IRB

letters.)

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 14

Appendix B

Qualitative Dissertation Information

Title Page

Signature Page

Acknowledgements

Abstract (150 words maximum)

Table of Contents

Introduction (Example):

Title of Your Project

Overview

The introduction is where you will establish for your readers the overall scope of your

project. You will establish the topic, the thesis, and general thesis map. It is in the Introduction

where you “hook” your readers into wanting to know more about your topic and argument. In

many ways, this your chance to show off your writing, thinking, and expertise on the subject as

the Introduction serves as your place to show the readers why your project is important and

worthwhile.

Please note several things regarding the format. First, at the top-center, you note the

Introduction, Chapter, Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, or Dedication, placing a colon at

the end. Second, for the Introduction and Chapters, you will then space one line down, and place

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 15

the title of each chapter. The exceptions are Introduction where you will place the dissertation’s

title and Chapter 1, which you will title “Literature Review.” From there, double-space between

the chapter title and the start of the text. Please note: unlike this example, the page number at the

start of the Introduction and each chapter must be bottom-center.

Despite the open-ended nature of the qualitative dissertation, each dissertation must start

with an Introduction. In the “Introduction,” the author must present his or her research project,

the overall scope of the work, and produce the general thesis of the work as well a thesis map

elaborating the sub-topics/extent of each chapter. The thesis map should logically support the

thesis statement. The introduction of each chapter should be the only place where an outright

thesis statement and map are used. The thesis can (and probably should) be referred to

throughout the work, but it should be done in a more subtle, literary style. Allow the

introduction to be the place where you state the thesis in a bold, upfront, and “in your face”

manner.

Chapter One

After the Introductory chapter, Chapter One of the dissertation should be your Literature

Review. Here, you will elaborate and engage what the secondary literature says about the general

topic you are writing about. You are expected to discuss and analyze both the seminal works –

those writings which have had an important and lasting impact on how a topic is understood – on

the topic as well lesser-known contributions. You should make special note of potential trends,

how understanding of the topic has changed over time, and any potential paradigms that might

have emerged and been influential on the writings on your topic. This does not mean, however,

you must cover everything ever written on the topic or even talk about them in glowing terms.

Remember, be critical and set your perspective and work apart from the other pieces on the

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 16

subject. For many topics, it would take a lifetime or more to master that literature. Rather, a

good-faith effort to master the literature is what is expected.

After the Introduction and Chapter One, the rest is up to you. You will spend the next

chapters (however many) elaborating your contribution and understanding of the topic. These

chapters need to be primary source-driven. The last element of the textual part of the dissertation

must be a Conclusion. In it, you must provide a general overview of the literature, what your

work just argued, and offer suggestive questions for future researchers on the topic.

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 17

Appendix C

Dissertation Evaluation Rubric

Standard Score 4 3 2 1 Score I.

Demonstrates critical

and reflective thinking

capable of facilitating

institutional problem-

solving or school/

college improvement.

Accurately

assesses two

issues affecting

an institution’s

effectiveness as

well as offers a

convincing

argument for

improvement.

Accurately

assesses two

issues affecting

an institution’s

effectiveness.

Accurately assesses

one issue affecting

an institution’s

performance.

No evidence is

presented.

II.

Demonstrates

consideration for the

impact of leadership

on institutional

constituents.

Shows balance

between the

needs of two or

more constituent

groups while

maintaining

organizational

goals.

Shows realistic

consideration

for the needs of

two or more

constituent

groups.

Shows realistic

consideration for

the needs of one

constituent group.

No evidence is

presented.

III. Demonstrates

effective analytical and

communication skills.

Demonstrates a

professional

level of skills

associated with

formatting,

grammar,

spelling, syntax,

and use of

numbers.

Demonstrates

acceptable

skills

associated with

formatting,

grammar,

spelling,

syntax, and use

of numbers.

Needs minor

improvement in

skills associated

with formatting,

grammar, spelling,

syntax, and use of

numbers.

Needs

significant

improvement in

skills associated

formatting,

grammar,

spelling, syntax,

and use of

numbers.

IV.

Demonstrates

knowledge of genres,

paradigms, theories or

trends in business,

education, English,

history, math,

psychology, or

religion.

Subject is

identified,

realistic, and

grounded in a

recognized

genre, paradigm,

theory, or trend.

Subject is

identified and

is realistic, but

it lacks

grounding in a

recognized

genre,

paradigm,

theory, or

trend.

Subject is identified

but is not realistic

or grounded in a

recognized genre,

paradigm, theory, or

trend.

Subject area is

not established.

Score

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 18

Appendix D

Reporting Statistical Tests

For quantitative dissertations, the statistical tests are reported in the abstract and Chapter

Four. The alpha should be set at .05. Some common examples of tests used in quantitative

analysis are listed below as examples. All statistical symbols are italicized. For all tests listed

below, report the degrees of freedom (except the Spearman’s rs, where you report the number of

pairs).

Symbol Report findings Null hypothesis

Chi-Square Test X 2 (X

2 [df, N = ] = result, p < or >

.05)

The variables are independent.

Spearman’s rs rs (rs [number of pairs] = result, p

< or > .05)

There is no relationship between the

ranked data.

t-test

(Independent and

paired samples)

t (t [df] = result, p < or > .05) There is no difference in the means.

ANOVA F F [df] = result, p < or > .05) There is no difference in the means.

(If the null hypothesis is rejected,

then run post-hoc testing).

Regression or

Pearson Product

moment

correlation

coefficient r

r r [df] = result, p < or > .05) There is no relationship between the

variables.

*For additional tests, please follow current APA guidelines.