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Overview of Dissertation Process . EdD Instructional Leadership for Nurse Educators Dr. Natalie Adams . What is a Dissertation?. Contributes to the research and literature in your field An academic work intended to demonstrate your ability to undertake research and scholarship in your field
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Overview of Dissertation Process EdD Instructional Leadership for Nurse Educators Dr. Natalie Adams
What is a Dissertation? • Contributes to the research and literature in your field • An academic work intended to demonstrate your ability to undertake research and scholarship in your field • Self-directed, independent project • Demonstrates your ability to build theory, text ideas, and discover new knowledge • Marks the transformation from student to scholar
More on Dissertations • Focus on a topic that is important to be studied and worthy of substantial inquiry • Represents the student’s ability to identify a problem; develop an understanding of the relevant literature and previous research in an area of inquiry; formulate cogent research questions or hypotheses; report and discuss results of investigation; and derive conclusions, implications, and recommendations from results (UA Graduate School Catalog)
Nuts and Bolts • Typically is 5 chapters: Introduction, Review of the Literature, Methodology, Discussion of Findings, and Implications/Conclusions/Recommendations • Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval • 5 members serve on your dissertation committee; one outside person • Dissertation proposal (typically first 3 chapters) must be formally approved by dissertation committee before one can conduct the research
Dissertation Process – Backing it Up • Take courses – (plan of study); during this time you should begin developing ideas for a dissertation • Choose dissertation team – last year of courses • Comprehensive exams – in your last semester of coursework • Prospectus meeting – you will work on prospectus in NUR 696 in final semester; meet with committee to discuss ideas • Proposal meeting – Formal meeting; paperwork required; advance to candidacy • Dissertation Defense – defend your dissertation; public is invited
Practical Advice • Completing a dissertation is what defines a doctoral degree, not the completion of coursework; don’t be ABD • Choose your topic wisely; be passionate about it • Use coursework assignments to begin exploring possible dissertation topics • Choose dissertation committee wisely • Don’t wait until your last semester of coursework to begin developing ideas for dissertation • Talk to your professors about possible dissertation topics