Navigating the Dissertation
Process - Qualitative Methods
of Research | EDUC 817
History of
Education Liberty
University (LU) 7
pag.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
Interview Templates
Interview #1
General Information Questions
Date Month: May Day: 29 Year: 2018
Time Start time: 9 am End time: 10 am
Location Spartanburg High School
Method face-to-face
Your Name Cheraw Miller
Your Email [email protected]
Participant Demographics
Current Age 62
Gender Female
Race/Ethnicity Caucasian
Occupation Assistant Principal
Full or Part time Full Time
Degree Earned ED.D Curriculum and Instruction
Time to degree
Completion
3 years
Type of
Program
Online Program
Full or Part time
Student
Part-time
Financial
Assistance
Did not receive any additional financial support outside of what she paid.
Year Completed 1998
Interview Questions
Below each question, transcribe the participant responses verbatim. If you feel the need, ask clarifying
or probing questions to elicit more depth or understanding of the issue (e.g., “Can you provide an
example?” Or, “Can you tell me a little more about that experience?”).
Entry and Coursework:
1. Why did you decide to pursue a doctoral degree? For financial reasons and wanted more
options as far as career.
2. What challenges, if at all, did you experience during the coursework phase of your
doctoral degree? The main challenge I experienced was time management.
3. How did you address these challenges? I addressed it by putting myself on a schedule.
Beginning the Dissertation:
4. Please describe your transition from the coursework stage of your doctoral degree to the
dissertation stage. It was difficult because I had to use time management and set dates for
myself because I was not told when it is due and I had to know when to submit my work.
5. How does the dissertation phase of the degree differ from coursework? I knew what to
expect with coursework. With a dissertation a committee reviews your work. If it not up to
their standards you have to rework it. You have to be able to defend your work.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
What do you mean by defend? Tell why you choose to research a topic.
6. How did you select your dissertation topic and method? My chair helped me decide. I
submitted several proposal ideas to him and he rejected them because he wanted to topic to be
positive.
Did you do qualitative or quantitative? I preferred quantitative but I ended up doing a
qualitative study. All my research prepared me to do a quantitative dissertation but that is not
what I ended with.
7. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to choosing a topic and
method? I would advise you to make sure it is something you are interested in.
8. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to entering the dissertation
phase? Time management, when you decide on a topic make sure you know as much about it
as you can because when you defend your dissertation they can ask you pretty much anything.
Chair and Committee:
9. Please describe how you identified your dissertation chair and committee. I was sent a list
of names. I had to email them ask if they would be my chair.
10. Please describe your relationship with your chair and committee members during your
dissertation and your relationship with them now. The lead chair and I had a good
relationship. The other two and I were not familiar with. Head chair skyped with me,
promptly returned emails, quickly responded to me and guided me.
11. Please describe the mentorship or support you received from your chair and committee.
The lead chair guided me when I had questions. After a review of my work, he would skype
with me and review each section to make sure I understood my mistakes and what I needed to
do to correct them.
12. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to selecting and working with
a chair and committee? Form a good relationship with them so when you have a question or
concern they will work with you.
Dissertation Proposal:
13. Please describe your experience in the proposal development stage of your dissertation. It
helped me narrow down my choices. The whole process took about six weeks. The ones I
previously submitted were rejected because they wanted to know the overall positive affect it
would have.
14. What challenges did you face while developing your proposal and how did you address
them? What to write about. My first two was rejected and when it was explained to me why
they were rejected, it helped me make up my mind.
15. Please describe your experiences applying for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval
to conduct your research. It was stressful because of the wait.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
16. What advice do you have with regard to the IRB? If you are going to submit a proposal
make sure it is something you enjoy.
Data Collection and Analysis:
17. If applicable, please describe your experiences collecting and analyzing data for your
dissertation. I set a time when I would work on it. I predetermined how many articles I would
review weekly. I printed out hard copies of the articles, highlighted, wrote on them and made
note cards to review.
18. What advice do you have with regard to preparing for data collection and analysis? Time
management.
Final Defense:
19. Please describe how you prepared for your final defense. I reviewed my note cards, reread
the articles, and reviewed my previous work.
20. Please describe your final dissertation defense. Intense, I felt like I was prepared. They
asked questions that was not what I expecting them to ask.
21. To what do you attribute your persistence to complete your doctorate? Family support.
Summary:
22. Looking back across you whole doctoral journey, what were your greatest challenges?
Learning to manage my time and putting myself on a schedule.
23. What supports or strategies do you attribute to your success? Family and a great chair.
24. Please describe the role(s) of your family and peers during the doctoral process. My
family supported me by giving me time to complete assignments, and helping me manage my
time.
25. What can individuals do to ensure they are able to persist to completion? Take time out
from working on it so you want get burned out, time management, and put yourself on a
schedule.
26. What can institutions do to foster persistence in doctoral students? I don’t know. If you
have a complaint you can’t complain because the committee members hold your grades in their
hands. I guess have an unbiased party to handle complaints.
27. What final words of advice do you have for individuals contemplating beginning a
doctoral degree with regard to persisting through coursework and the dissertation? Take
time for yourself and prepare as much as possible, work ahead if you can.
28. Is there anything else related to this topic you would like to add? Remember time
management.
Reflective Notes
Please write out your thoughts and observations while conducting this interview. What surprised you?
What responses could you personally identify with? Track your running thoughts and observations by
typing them in the box below.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
She was welcoming and seemed to be comfortable with me and answering questions. The entire
process took an hour to complete. I know my subject because I had worked with her in the past. She
has a sweet spirit and a welcoming personality.
The thing that surprised me the most is knowing you pretty much have to do what the chair wants.
You do not have anyone you can complain to because there is no one. That makes me feel
discouraged. My biggest fear is I will eventually end up working on something I have no interest.
It was really easy for me to identify with her statement about the chair holding your grade in their hand.
I feel like they may be terrorist holding your degree hostage until you give them what you want. Your
interest does not matter.
I have to get better at time management and working ahead. I also need to be better at breaking down
an assignment into something manageable so I want become overwhelmed.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
Interview #2
General Information Questions
Date Month: May Day: Year: 2018
Time Start time: 9 am End time: 9:35 am
Location Spartanburg High School
Method Face-to-face
Your Name Cheraw Miller
Your Email [email protected]
Participant Demographics
Current Age
Gender Female
Race/Ethnicity African American
Occupation Math Teacher
Full or Part time Full time
Degree Earned EDS in Educational Leadership
Time to degree
Completion
3 ½ years
Type of
Program
Blended/hybrid
Full or Part time
Student
Part-Time
Financial
Assistance
no
Year Completed Dec 2004 finished course work in July
Interview Questions
Below each question, transcribe the participant responses verbatim. If you feel the need, ask clarifying
or probing questions to elicit more depth or understanding of the issue (e.g., “Can you provide an
example?” Or, “Can you tell me a little more about that experience?”).
Entry and Coursework:
1. Why did you decide to pursue a doctoral degree?
I had my Education Specialist degree and I wanted to become a principal.
2. What challenges, if at all, did you experience during the coursework phase of your
doctoral degree? The best thing about it when I got my degree USC had created a standalone
dept. in Greenville so I was able to finish the Doc and have to go to Orangeburg 2 time and
maybe two time had to attend meeting. I had a teenage daughter at the time. We went on
Friday evenings and all day sat. That was the biggest challenge because I had an active
teenager. I was working full time in Spartanburg and lived in Mauldin SC. I wasn’t in the
classroom I was a math specialist and that took up a lot of time.
3. How did you address these challenges? This was explained above but basically she had an
action plan.
Beginning the Dissertation:
4. Please describe your transition from the coursework stage of your doctoral degree to the
dissertation stage. I guess I am one of those people who dived in. I had an idea of what
interested me and which way I wanted to go with my
dissertation. I started doing as much research as I could so and brought it all together and then
when I actually started working I went from this one to this one. I don’t know where I am
going but I got this.
5. How does the dissertation phase of the degree differ from coursework?
6. How did you select your dissertation topic and method? This was explained above. She
chose a topic she was interest.
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
7. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to choosing a topic and
method? I had an idea of what I wanted to do because I was working at Whitlock at the time.
I saw a calendar so I wanted to see what was some of the root causes why some scores were
higher than others. (She was referring to MAP or measure of academic scores).
8. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to entering the dissertation
phase?
Chair and Committee:
9. Please describe how you identified your dissertation chair and committee. I didn’t get a
chance it was composed of the professors we had.
10. Please describe your relationship with your chair and committee members during your
dissertation and your relationship with them now. No relationship was established because
it was a distant learning situation. When class was over they were trying to back where they are
from and we were trying to get back to where we were from.
11. Please describe the mentorship or support you received from your chair and committee.
As noted above non received.
12. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to selecting and working with
a chair and committee? She previously discussed that she did not have a relationship and
was not allowed to choose her chair or committee.
Dissertation Proposal:
13. Please describe your experience in the proposal development stage of your dissertation.
My chair gave me a lot of assistance as to what he wanted me to research. He sent me back
and prodded me towards what interest him.
14. What challenges did you face while developing your proposal and how did you address
them? My chair told me what I would complete my Dissertation.
15. Please describe your experiences applying for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval
to conduct your research. It was strictly the chair’s baby.
16. What advice do you have with regard to the IRB?
No experience in this area.
Data Collection and Analysis:
17. If applicable, please describe your experiences collecting and analyzing data for your
dissertation. Collection process was so, so. The district said you could not do it. I asked
permission to superintendent at another school and my request was denied. I got the exact
same rejection letter, same words. I said that is alright because I had a friend at a school in
Florence and Winnsboro. I had three rural and three urban school so I could compare them. It
was almost like I had to find schools and go underground to find data.
18. What advice do you have with regard to preparing for data collection and analysis?
Previously answered: organization
Final Defense:
19. Please describe how you prepared for your final defense. I remember cutting up into 500
cards and knowing what information.
20. Please describe your final dissertation defense. I wanted to zero in on and knowing the
information so I could talk to them and not read so it would not be boring.
21. To what do you attribute your persistence to complete your doctorate? I love a challenge
and one I start nothing will stop me.
Summary:
22. Looking back across you whole doctoral journey, what were your greatest challenges?
Not being able to choose my topic. The job I had. I left Whitlock a lot of times late at night. I
wrote the accreditation and tying to work with the teachers and truing to be there for my
daughter. Trying to find a balance.
23. What supports or strategies do you attribute to your success?
EDUC 817-- Navigating the Dissertation Process
I did what I had to do.
24. Please describe the role(s) of your family and peers during the doctoral process. Family
and friends did not help her.
25. What can individuals do to ensure they are able to persist to completion? Have a plan.
26. What can institutions do to foster persistence in doctoral students? I was scared to ask this
question after listening to her experience.
27. What final words of advice do you have for individuals contemplating beginning a
doctoral degree with regard to persisting through coursework and the dissertation?
Know it is not easy. There are a lot of bumps in the road and he process. Get yourself
organized.
28. Is there anything else related to this topic that you would like to add? Look at where you
are picking your school. As you decide you are going to do this, if you are in any activities, let
them know you are going to have to cut back.
Reflective Notes
Please write out your thoughts and observations while conducting this interview. What surprised you?
What responses could you personally identify with? Track your running thoughts and observations by
typing them in the box below.
The interview took place the last day of school for my interviewee. She thought she would not have
any students but she did have student. By the time I arrived they had finished their exams. It was
important for me to interview her before she left school because she is retiring.
I previously worked with her and as usual, she was very nice. It surprised me how well-mannered her
students were. They sat until the end of class and allowed us to interact without being disruptive.
I could identify with having a lot to do for yourself and a child. I know that is a very hectic time and it
calls for a lot of organization. I have that part down.
It really surprised me that her chair was willing to sacrifice her education just to make her research
something she had no interest.
Basically it is the same as my first interview where there is no one to complain to if you and your chair
do not have a good relationship.
Know I understand why people get to the dissertation phase and decide not to continue. It is really
frustrating having your mind set on something only to be told you have to change it to a subject you
have no interest.
The interview only lasted 30 minutes which surprised me. I thought it would last a lot longer but some
of the questions could not be answered because she had not experienced he situation.
I was scared to answer question #26 because she had such a bad experience.
I felt that she answered the questions to the best of her knowledge. I was kind of surprised I had to
prompt her on some questions. I guess the whole thing was so unpleasant she just wanted to forget
about her experience. I completely understand.
