Discussion Board #1

DISSERTATION PROCESS The idea of completing a dissertation can be overwhelming. In fact, the process seems so

threatening to some Doctoral Students that they never begin or finish their dissertation.

It is helpful to disregard the dissertation as one enormous journey, but consider it a series of steps.

For practical purposes, HSOG conceptualizes the dissertation process as having the following steps:

1. Select a topic: this occurs through the process of the student’s chosen cognate and/or other courses in the degree.

2. Chair and Committee selection process: students will be assigned a chair and

reader as part of their chosen research path/cognate and will also have some opportunity to solicit a chair and reader of their preference.

3. Complete the proposal

4. Defend the proposal

5. Obtain approval by the Internal Review Board (IRB) 6. Conduct the research

7. Complete the final chapters

8. Submit the entire dissertation for final approval 9. Obtain a professional editor to review for form and style

10. Defend the dissertation

11. Submit the final dissertation and resubmit for further professional editorial review if further changes were made to the document post defense.

Below is an overview of how the dissertation process fits within the Student’s degree completion plan:

CJUS/PADM/PLCY 885 Comprehensive Exam & Research Concept In this course the student completes the comprehensive exam and writes a paper which serves as a “proto - dissertation”. CJUS/PADM/PLCY 987 Dissertation I Proposal (Chapters 1-2) This course is the first step for doctoral candidates in the process of developing and completing their research study and dissertation. Doctoral candidates will develop Section 1, which includes the Foundation of the Study, to include a detailed Literature Review relevant to the proposed research study.

CJUS/PADM/PLCY 988 Dissertation II Chapter 3 & Proposal This course is the second step for doctoral candidates to develop and complete their dissertation. Doctoral candidates will develop Section 2, which includes their methodology for conducting the study, and combine it with Section 1 into a single document. Candidates will also complete and submit their IRB package to complete their proposal defense.

CJUS/PADM/PLCY 989 Dissertation III Chapters 4-5 This course is the final step in developing the dissertation manuscript. Doctoral candidates will conduct their field study, analyze their data, and present their findings and develop Section 3 of their dissertation. Candidates will combine all three sections into their completed dissertation manuscript in preparation for their dissertation defense. CJUS/PADM/PLCY 990 Dissertation IV Dissertation Defense This course is the last step in the doctoral program. Doctoral candidates will defend their dissertation and finalize their dissertation manuscript for publication.