Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah

1. Navigating Graduate School and Beyond: Sow Well Now To Reap Big Later Ditch the Dissertation Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

2. Ditch the dissertation • Choose an overarching theme for journal papers. • Compartmentalize your research into 2-3 sections. • Write the first paper and submit. • Work on the second paper while you wait for your reviews and so on. • Put the papers together for your dissertation. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

3. Work with your advisor and committee • Confirm the data is accurate scientifically and technically. • Pay close attention to grammar, content, and style. • Consider including one of your committee members as a co-author. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

4. Pay attention to reviews • Your committee members may not be experts in your particular field. • Reviewers for your journal submissions ARE experts in your field. • The reviews from the experts will carry a lot of weight with your committee members. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

5. Generic journal format Title Abstract – Discuss the major focus areas, results, and implications Introduction – Provide relevant literature surveys and explain why the research matters Data and tools – Explain what was used to conduct the research Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

6. Generic journal format (con’t) Methods – Provide enough research so that the reader can duplicate the study if needed Results and discussions – Include figures Summary and conclusions – Put the results, discussion, and analysis in context with some guidelines for future work Acknowledgements References Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

7. Generic format for dissertation Title Abstract Data Methodology Results Conclusion with references, figures, and tables Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

8. Combining the papers into dissertation Title: Choose a “grand title” that describes all three papers Abstract: Seam the three abstracts together and edit for flow and content. Sign your name. Introduction: Write a 2-3 page introduction providing an overview of each paper Body: Place the papers in the body of the dissertation one behind the other Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

9. Steps to combine the papers (con’t) Conclusion: Write about the future work that can be done References, figures, and tables: Alphabetize your references Appendix: If you have more than three papers, either incorporate all into the dissertation or use the additional papers as an appendix. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

10. Benefits of this method • Published articles look good on your resume/CV • Your advisor can point to the publications as your success metric • Department and University have a top-notch dissertation • You only went through the process once Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

11. Additional benefits • Journal format provides conciseness and focus. • Expert reviewers provide valuable feedback that will be useful in further writing. • It will be difficult for committee members to argue against your dissertation if the articles are in press. • It is daunting to reassemble a dissertation into papers. Many times it doesn’t happen. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu

12. Food for thought • What are the advantages of writing peer-reviewed papers before you graduate? • What are the disadvantages? Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu