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© 2017 Laureate Education

Handout EDDD 8004: Think Like a Researcher: Project Study or Dissertation?

In every profession, an orientation process for newcomers develops their understanding of the overarching principles of the profession, and assists them in finding their way as they become a member of the profession. These orientations require that the newcomers learn the profession’s requirements and expected behaviors or customs, and the language of the profession to converse with colleagues.

The novice researcher faces this same orientation process. The companion courses in the EdD program are part of this orientation process. Like the research process itself, the orientation is an iterative process in which concepts will be introduced and later revisited and expanded upon to introduce variations and greater detail to enhance your emerging understanding of the research process.

Through these courses, you will learn the key to conducting your doctoral study—how to Think Like a Researcher.

One of the first important decisions that you will make as you Think Like a Researcher is to decide if your doctoral study will take the form of a project study or a dissertation,

the two options available for Ed.D. students at Walden. To make this decision, it will be helpful to understand how the two types of doctoral studies are similar and how they differ.

The criteria for each of these options are contained in detailed checklists. Because these checklists cover multiple pages and therefore may be difficult to compare, the major differences have been summarized in a table, Comparison of Walden Ed.D. Doctoral Study Formats. As you can see, the primary difference is that the project study includes a conducting a study and then developing a project, whereas the dissertation involves conducting a study but there is no project.