For Ann Harris
benjamin03
DCOR700-Module4-DissertationChapter11.pptDCOR700 – D.Min. Orientation:
Module 4
The Dissertation: Chapter One – Understanding the Big Picture
Where Does Chapter One Fit?
Step 1: Chapter One ~ Introduction of the Study
Step 2: Chapter Two ~ Literature Survey
Step 3: Chapter Three ~ Biblical/Theological /Historical
Foundations
Step 4: Chapter Four ~ Description of the Project
Step 5: Chapter Five ~ Results and Conclusions
Understanding Chapter 1 in the Flow of the Dissertation
Step 1: Pose Problem ~ What is Puzzling Me? (Chapter 1)
Step 2: Put in Context ~ Who Else Cares About it? (Chapter 2)
Step 3: Select a Theory ~ Best Way to Handle it? Why? (Chapter 3)
Step 4: Implement an Intervention ~ What Shall I Do? (Chapter 4)
Step 5: Evaluate it ~ Did it Work? How Well? What Next? (Chapter 5)
Analogy: Curing a Sickness
Step 1: Chapter One ~ What is the sickness?
Step 2: Chapter Two ~ Who else has tied to cure it?
Step 3: Chapter Three ~ What makes up your “pill”?
Step 4: Chapter Four ~ Describe the “pill”/give it.
Step 5: Chapter Five ~ What happened to the
sickness?
Analogy: A new Cooking Recipe
Step 1: Chapter One ~ What do you want to cook?
Step 2: Chapter Two ~ Who else has recipes?
Step 3: Chapter Three ~ What are the ingredients?
Step 4: Chapter Four ~ Your exact recipe/cook it.
Step 5: Chapter Five ~ How did the recipe turn out?
Philosophical Foundation
The D.Min. degree is a professional doctorate
The focus is practical problem-solving in your ministry context
The approach is a reasoned research-based approach to problem solving
The outcome is a measurable solution to the problem, resulting transformation and renewal
The result is a research-based reasoned and critical thought paradigm that is learned for problem-solving in ministry needy areas
What is Chapter One?
Introduction to your dissertation
Defines the ministry problem addressed
Clarifies the rationale/reason for doing the project
Places limits on the scope of the dissertation
Articulates the underlying assumptions of the solution
Orients the reader to your methodology for analyzing & solving the problem
Summarizes the results of the project and its unique contribution
Evaluates the effectiveness of your project in solving the ministry problem
Chapter 1 Topic and Focus
Chapter 1 introduces your dissertation, and is therefore all about focus
The topic and focus of your dissertation are not about “what?” but rather about “who?”
You are not selecting a topic, as much as refining who you are and the evidence of God’s focus in your life – that is the direction for your dissertation
Is 46:9, 10: God knows the end from the beginning: What threads, relationships, experiences, ministry directions, pain, joy, or passions suggest an opportunity for life-focus in this dissertation experience?
Chapter 1 Topic and Focus
What/Why?: Based on the unique threads God has woven into your life, what specific problem in ministry will you focus on to provide a solution and why is it worth your time?
Where/When?: Based the past, present, and future contexts for ministry, what specific location (geographic, culture, denominational, etc.) will you choose for implementation of your problem-solving?
How?: Based on your review of literature and experience, what research-based intervention will you introduce to solve the problem and how will your measure the effectiveness of the solution?
The Remainder of this Module
Chapter 1: Structure and nuances
Proposal: Its similarity to Chapter 1 and structure
Front Matter: What does the beginning of the dissertation/proposal look like and how is it formatted
Resources: In this week’s Blackboard module, you will find:
An example of a completed dissertation
Chapter One example
Proposal example
Front Matter Example
Works Cited Example
Copies of the D.Min. Guide & D.Min. Research Guide
Chapter 1 Structure: General
There is a specific structure and format for each of the five chapters in the dissertation. For Chapter 1, the precise format is:
Overview
Statement of the Problem
Rationale for Doing the Project
Limitations and Assumptions
[Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives] (Optional)
[Summary of the Literature] (optional)
Methods of Solving and Analyzing the Problem
Results and Contributions
Evaluation of the Project
Summary
Chapter 1 Structure: Overview
The dissertation is a formal document. As such, every chapter should begin with a short overview, and end with a short summary that orients the reader to the contents of the chapter (see example):
The Overview states what the purpose of the chapter is
It succinctly states what topics will be addressed in the chapter
Chapter 1 Structure: Statement of the Problem
The dissertation is about focus in your professional, personal, and spiritual life. Your depth and precision of focus will largely determine your success with the dissertation.
The Statement of the Problem begins with a one-sentence question that frames the entire dissertation’s focus and direction
This statement will be refined throughout the dissertation process as you become more and more focused
A sharply focused statement of the problem directs what you will research, how you will approach the ministry project as a solution, and what you expect the outcome or results to be.
The Statement of the Problem answers the big questions: What/Where?; Why/When?; How?
The rest of this section elaborates on the problem being solved, why you are attempting to solve it, and why it is important to solve.
Chapter 1 Structure: Rationale for Doing the Project
The “Rationale” section presents a case for why you have chosen to address the specific problem in ministry:
This section introduces the reader to the context for the problem you are addressing
It introduces some of the reasons that make solving the problem important and valuable
It clearly articulates the specific reasons for doing this specific ministry project
It can use bullet points to summarize or introduce the reader to the specific rationale points
It can elaborate on the specific rationale points one-by-one, and in order (firstly, secondly, etc.)
Chapter 1 Structure: Limitations and Assumptions
As mentioned, the whole dissertation is an exercise in focus and distillation. The limitations and assumptions section allows you to clearly spell out the precise focus and assumptions used for your dissertation:
It allows you to describe a specific geographical location
It allows you to describe a particular religious, cultural, or ethnic limitation
It allows you to dictate key assumptions that govern the project, or the solution you introduce
It allows you to introduce any contingencies upon which the dissertation, data collection, or project execution depend
Chapter 1 Structure: (Option) – Biblical, Theological, Historical Perspectives
The biblical, theological, and historical foundations that support the project and dissertation can be found in Chapter 3. They were originally a section in your Proposal. Due to their importance, novelty, or centrality, some committees chose to retain this section as a summary in Chapter 1 of the dissertation:
Presents a summary of the key biblical passages, principles, paradigms, and support for the intervention used to solve the problem
Presents clear theological support and reasoning as a philosophical support for the problem and intervention
Presents the historical evidence (church, local, etc.) that support the project and intervention
Chapter 1 Structure: (Option) – Summary of the Literature
The Summary of the Literature was originally part of your Proposal, and has now been expanded into Chapter 2 of the dissertation. Some committees may choose to retain this summary in Chapter 1, because of centrality and importance to the focus of the dissertation:
The summary should review the most important sources that inform your approach to the ministry problem and solution
It is designed to demonstrate that the literature has informed your solution, rather than random guesses
This summarizes only the most important theories, paradigms, principles, and practices used to frame your project, solution, and/or methodologies.
It should be written as a dialogue between you and the sources, as well as between source and source
Chapter 1 Structure: Methods of Analyzing and Solving the Problem
Your ministry project is an intervention that is designed to solve a specific problem in ministry. As such, you must correctly analyze the nature of the problem, as well as design a measurable solution:
This section is a partial summary of Chapter 4 in the disseretation
This section describes your specific approaches to understanding the dimensions of the problem that is being addressed
It breaks the complex problem down into “bite-sized” pieces that can be understood and addressed by a specific facet of your intervention
It enumerates the outcomes that you are aiming for through the intervention
It describes exactly what methodology you will use to measure the degree of success in solving the problem (qualitative and/or quantitative)
Chapter 1 Structure: Results and Contributions
This section describes the results you obtained from your ministry intervention and the contributions these results have made to general knowledge and ministry practice
This section is a partial summary of the results recorded in Chapter 5 of the dissertation
It describes the results that were obtained after completion of the ministry project
It can use a bullet point summary of the results, followed by a more detailed exposition of each point
It describes the contributions that the results have made toward the general knowledge base, and/or toward the practice of ministry
Chapter 1 Structure: Evaluation of the Project
This section is an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the project in addressing the specific outcomes that were the target of the ministry project and their effectiveness at solving the problem:
This section is a summary of the effectiveness of the ministry intervention for solving the specific ministry problem
It can summarize potential solutions gained from the ministry project experience or possible future direction
Chapter 1 Structure: Summary
As mentioned, each chapter in the dissertation begins with an overview of the contents and purpose of that chapter, and ends with a summary that restates these points.:
The “Overview” tells the reader what the chapter will do
The “Summary” tells the reader what the chapter did
The “overview” and the “Summary” have much similarity
They exist to provide clarity and succinctness for the reader and the author
Integrative Exam and Proposal
After completion of the Core and the Elective classes in the D.Min. program, you will take an “Integrative Exam” that will allow you to enter into the dissertation process:
The Integrative Exam (covered in a later module) assesses your growth against the same Ministry Leadership Profile you did when you applied for the D.Min. program
It also allows you to present a formal “Proposal,” in written form, of what your plans are for the dissertation process.
The “Integrative Exam” is the professional doctorate’s equivalent to the “Comprehensive Exam” process involved in a Ph.D. degree
The Integrative Exam allows you to demonstrate practical growth and synthesis of learning into your personal, spiritual, professional life and ministry
Because of its reflective and synthetic nature the exam is oral.
Integrative Exam and Proposal
You will select a dissertation committee and have your Integrative Exam with them. You will submit a written summary of your growth toward the Ministry Growth Profile and a formal Dissertation Proposal to them in advance:
When you pass the Integrative Exam, you are now considered a “Candidate” for the Doctor of Ministry degree
You are cleared to proceed with the dissertation according to the proposal as accepted or revised
You become “A.B.D.” (all but dissertation), with access to the “D.Min.” title, but written Joseph Smith, D.Min., (A.B.D.)
You remain in constant communication with your committee about the dissertation, ministry project, evaluation, etc., presenting them with drafts of the dissertation chapters along the way
Proposal Structure: General
You have already been working on your dissertation proposal as part of the pre & post-session assignments for DCOR700. The Proposal structure is almost identical to Chapter 1 of the dissertation, with a few additions:
Overview
Statement of the Problem
Rationale for Doing the Project
Limitations and Assumptions
Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives (will be Chap 3)
Summary of the Literature (Will be Chapter 2)
Methods of Solving and Analyzing the Problem
Results and Contributions
Evaluation of the Project
Summary
Dissertation Timeline
Proposal Structure: Specifics
You have already been working on your dissertation proposal as part of the pre & post-session assignments for DCOR700. The Proposal structure is almost identical to Chapter 1 of the dissertation, with a few additions. Follow the same guidelines of the general sections of the proposal that were presented earlier for the dissertation:
The Proposal is written by strict Turabian formatting guidelines
It includes a “Front Matter” section, that is Turabian formatted (discussed in a moment)
It includes a “Bibliography” section that is a list of potential sources for your project
It always contains the “Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives,” which is an option for the dissertation (will be Chap 3)
It always contains a “Summary of the Literature,” which is an option for the dissertation (Will be Chapter 2)
It contains a Dissertation Timeline section that lays out the plan of attack for your dissertation, based on the guidelines and schedules in the D.Min. Research Guide and D.Min. Handbook
Proposal and Dissertation Front Matter (see example, this week’s module)
Your Proposal and the Dissertation have an identical and specific format, based on Turabian style, for the information that occurs “up front,” before the body of the dissertation. This is called “Front Matter,” and may contain the following:
- Title Page: See Sample Supplied in Turabian (T) - T 1.7
- Copyright Page: See Sample Supplied - T 1.8
- Signature Page: See Sample Supplied
- Dedication and/or Epigraph - T 1.9 & 1.10
- Abstract: 350 words or less / one page - T 1.32
- Acknowledgements: Personal Remarks - T 1.26
- Table of Contents: Indicate Every Section; Capitalize all chapter headings - T 1.11 - 1.18
- List of Illustrations: T 1.19-1.23
- List of Tables: T 1.24
- List of Abbreviations: T 1.26
- Glossary: T 1.28-1.30
- Front Mater Pagination - Roman Numerals, 0.50” off bottom center; appears first on abstract page
Some Final Thoughts…..
Doctoral level work pushes us to the limits. It forces deep reflection, integration of life, ministry, and educational experience, and life focus to produce a new mind-set and paradigm in your life and ministry for problem-solving:
Both the proposal and Chapter 1 of the dissertation are designed to force the issue of focus and direction
The reflection, integration of research, and synthesis of this with a real world intervention and evaluation process are what a professional doctorate is about
The price is high, but the results in your life, and those you serve, make the effort worth it all!
If you are willing to pay the personal and professional price, the reward will be transformational for your life and ministry
