How to Write a PhD Dissertation Proposal & a PhD Dissertation

Many aspects of writing a dissertation are the same as those for preparing a Master’s Thesis. However, PhD dissertations are somewhat more involved and complex but yet they can be broken down in stages and completed part by part making them much more manageable. Just as with a Master’s thesis, a dissertation involves the assignment of a supervisor, a mentor, or a tutor depending on where you are going to school. Additionally, there is also a committee that must be selected which consists of different professors from a variety of disciplines that will act to review the final dissertation document and approve or disapprove it. Bear in mind, between your tutor or mentor and the committee, you are going to deal with a lot of intellectual phlegm from academics who make a career out of being critical.

That said, just stay focused on your research project and work on it one stage at a time. The first thing that you should do is examine the outline of what a completed dissertation should include. For your benefit I have included a detailed table of contents below that you can look over to get an idea of the type of work and thesis you must become familiar with. You would be surprised at how many people enter aPhD program without any idea of what is involved in terms of the final completed project which is the dissertation. Just by looking over the various chapters and stages of the typical dissertation you can get better grasp of what you need to do and where you should start:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Problem

Statement of the Problem

Purpose of the Study

Significance of the Problem

Nature of the Study

Research Questions

Hypotheses

Theoretical Framework

Definition of Terms

Assumptions

Limitations

Delimitations

Summary

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Documentation

Literature Review

First Subthesis – Heading level Two

Second Subthesis – Heading level Two Title Case

Subheading Level Three Title Case

Subheading Level Three – Title Case

Summary

Conclusion

CHAPTER 3: METHOD

Research Design

Appropriateness of Design

Research Questions

Population

Informed Consent

Sampling Frame

Confidentiality

Geographic Location

Instrumentation

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Validity and Reliability

Summary

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

Findings

Summary

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

Implications

Recommendations

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: TITLE THAT IDENTIFIES APPENDIX TO THE READER

APPENDIX B: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

One of the first things that you should notice is the level of detail that you must achieve in relation to a specific thesis and that is where you should first focus you energies on—identifying an appropriately refined thesis. Basically, if you thesis is specific enough and, better yet, is one that you are actually interested in then half the battle is over because you will enjoy doing the project except for dealing with the bloated heads who you are going to have kowtow to in order to get your project approved. So, before beginning your dissertation I have detailed some steps that you should take in preparation for getting started on your PhD dissertation proposal which is usually the first three chapters, in shortened form:

*Identify a narrow thesis that is interesting to you

*Identify a methodology which is going to be either qualitative or quantitative (Hint: if you have a choice select a qualitative methodology and go with the case study or bracketing method if you can. However, if you must choose a quantitative methodology then utilize descriptive statistics because these are relatively simple statistical analysis procedures and can be accomplished in Excel. If you go with a more complex statistical analysis method such as ANOVA or MANOVA then you will need SPSS or a similar statistical analysis application)

*Do a brief online database search for similar research reports or articles

These simple steps will accomplish much in preparing you to formulate your proposal and crystallize your overall dissertation project.

Writing Thesis/Dissertation Proposals

Your thesis/dissertation proposal provides an overview of your proposed plan of work, including the general scope of your project, your basic research questions, research methodology, and the overall significance of your study. In short, your proposal explains what you want to study, how you will study this thesis, why this thesis needs to be studied, and (generally) when you intend to do this work. (Occasionally, you may also need to explain where your study will take place.)

Purpose:

Dissertation/Thesis proposals are designed to:

* Justify and plan (or contract for) a research project.

* Show how your project contributes to existing research.

* Demonstrate to your advisor and committee that you understand how to conduct discipline-specific research within an acceptable time-frame.

Audience:

Most proposals are written specifically for your academic advisor and committee.

Proposal Writing and Anxiety

General Advice:

* Establish a writing schedule, preferably writing at the same time and place each day.

* Begin by free-writing. Remember that no one but you has to see the initial draft.

* Keep a small notebook with you throughout the day to write down relevant thoughts.

* Say parts of your writing into a recording device and then play it back to yourself.

* Compose different parts of the proposal in different computer files or on different index cards to help with arranging and rearranging.

* Start with more “clear cut” stages first, rather than with the Introduction, since it may be the most difficult part to write.

Proposal-Specific Advice:

* Understand that the proposal will be a negotiated document, so be prepared to draft, redraft, and resubmit it.

* Think of the proposal as an introduction to your thesis—not a chapter, not an extensive literature review, not an opportunity to rehearse the major conflicts in your field. You are “bridging the gap” between existing work and your work.

* Remember that the proposal is not a contract that determines what your thesis will demonstrate. You will likely modify and refine your scope, argument, and methods.

* Remember that your proposal is not meant to limit your ideas, but to help you think in practical terms about how you intend to research and write your dissertation.

* Ask colleagues to form a writing group that you can use to exchange ideas, drafts, and experiences. As lonely as it may seem sometimes, writing is a social activity.

Because proposal requirements vary broadly by department, program, and advisor, generalizing them is difficult. The best advice is the simplest: consult with your advisor, ask to see past successful proposals, and talk to your colleagues. Using other proposals to help you generate ideas in not plagiarizing!

The following table provides an overview of the entire dissertation proposal and dissertation process that you can check off as you complete each stage or step:

PARTS OF A PROPOSAL

Despite their wide differences, proposals across programs generally include at least some form of the following stages (though you will want to check with your academic advisor about the specific stages s/he requires): Title, Abstract, Introduction/Background, Problem Statement, Purpose/Aims/Rationale, Review of Literature, Methodology, Significance/Implications, Overview of Chapters, Plan of Work, Bibliography.

Sometimes these stages may be combined—in some fields, the problem statement, aims, and review of literature are all part of the introduction. The most common elements are the introduction/problem statement, review of literature, and methodology (which in some fields roughly correspond to the first three chapters of the dissertation).

At this early stage, you need only provide a working title. You can decide on the exact wording for your title when you are nearer to completing your dissertation. Nevertheless, even at the start, aim to create a title that conveys the idea of your investigation. Normally, a title beginning “A study in . . .” is too vague; decide whether you want to compare, collate, assess, etc.  Also, don’t worry if you compose a long title. You are preparing to write an academic document, not to devise a snappy headline for a tabloid newspaper.

A good title should:

* Orient your readers to the thesis you will research.

* Indicate the type of study you will conduct.

Not all fields require abstracts, so check with your advisor to see if you are required to include one. The abstract should:

* Provide a brief (100-350 word) overview of the proposal that gives a reader a basic understanding of your proposal and encourages her or him to read more.

* Summarize Introduction, Statement of the Problem, Background of the Study, Research Questions or Hypotheses, and Methods and Procedures.

* (In some cases, the abstract may need to be very brief—no more than 50 words—in which case, it will be more descriptive than complete.)

The introduction helps put your project in conversation with other projects on similar thesis. Generally, the introduction provides necessary background information to your study and provides readers with some sense of your overall research interest. A good introduction should:

* Establish the general territory (real world or research) in which the research is placed.

* Describe the broad foundations of your study, including some references to existing literature and/or empirically observable situations. In other words, the introduction needs to provide sufficient background for readers to understand where your study is coming from.

* Indicate the general scope of your project, but do not go into so much detail that later stages (purpose/literature review) become irrelevant.

* Provide an overview of the stages that will appear in your proposal (optional).

* Engage the readers.

Statement of the Problem

This stage may be incorporated in your introduction or your purpose stage, or it may stand independently (it depends on the field). Some proposals start with the statement of the problem, rather than a more general introduction. Regardless of placement, at some point you need to clearly identify the problem or knowledge gap that your project is responding to. This stage should:

* Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that needs to be solved?”

* State the problem clearly early in a paragraph.

* Limit the variables you address in stating your problem or question.

You may want to consider framing your problem “statement” as a question, since you are really seeking to answer a question (or a set of questions) in your study.

Most proposals include a clear statement of the research objectives, including a description of the questions the research seeks to answer or the hypotheses the research advances. This may be included as part of the introduction, or it may be a separate stage. Spend significant time brainstorming before and while you draft this stage. Once you begin your dissertation research, you may find that your aims change in emphasis or in number. What is essential for you at this point, though, is to specify for your readers—and for yourself—the precise focus of your research and to identify key concepts you will be studying.

A clear statement of purpose will:

* Explain the goals and research objectives of the study (what do you hope to find?).

* Show the original contributions of your study by explaining how your research questions or approach are different from previous research (what will you add to the field of knowledge?).

* Provide a more detailed account of the points summarized in the introduction.

* Include a rationale for the study (why should we study this?).

* Be clear about what your study will not address (this is especially important if you are applying for competitive funding; narrowly focused studies are more likely to win funding).

In addition, this stage may:

* Describe the research questions and/or hypotheses of the study.

* Include a substage defining important terms, especially if they will be new to some readers or if you will use them in an unfamiliar way.

* State limitations of the research.

* Provide a rationale for the particular subjects of the study.

The literature review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that you are carrying out. Obviously, at this point you are not likely to have read everything related to your research questions, but you should still be able to identify the key texts with which you will be in conversation as you write your dissertation. Literature reviews often include both the theoretical approaches to your thesis and research (empirical or analytical) on your thesis.

Writing the literature review allows you to understand:

* How other scholars have written about your thesis (in addition to what they have written).

* The range of theories scholars use to analyze their primary materials or data

* How other scholars connect their specific research thesiss to larger issues, questions, or practices within the field.

* The best methodologies and research techniques for your particular thesis.

The literature review has four major functions or rhetorical goals that you should keep in mind as you write:

* It situates the current study within a wider disciplinary conversation.

* It illustrates the uniqueness, importance of and need for your particular project by explaining how your research questions and approach are different from those of other scholars.

* It justifies methodological choices.

* It demonstrates your familiarity with the thesis and appropriate approaches to studying it.

Appropriate literature reviews should:

* Flesh out the Introduction’s brief description of the background of your study.

* Critically assess important research trends or areas of interest relevant to your study.

* Identify potential gaps in knowledge.

* Establish a need for current and/or future research projects.

Advice on drafting your Literature Review:

* Categorize the literature into recognizable thesis clusters and begin each with a sub-heading. Look for trends and themes and then synthesize related information. You want to

1)      stake out the various positions that are relevant to your project,

2)      build on conclusions that lead to your project, or

3)      demonstrate the places where the literature is lacking, whether due to a methodology you think is incomplete or to assumptions you think are flawed.

* Avoid “Smith says X, Jones says Y” literature reviews. You should be tying the literature you review to specific facets of your problem, not to review for the sake of reviewing.

* Avoid including all the studies on the subject or the vast array of scholarship that brought you to the subject. As tempting as it might be to throw in everything you know, the literature review is not the place for such demonstration. Stick to those pieces of the literature directly relevant to your narrowed subject (question or statement of a problem).

* Avoid polemics, praise, and blame. You should fight the temptation to strongly express your opinions about about the previous literature. Your task is to justify your project given the known scholarship, so polemics, praise, and blame are unnecessary and possibly distracting.

 Point to Remember: You are entering a scholarly conversation already in progress. The literature review shows that you’ve been listening in and that you have something valuable to say.  After assessing the literature in your field, you should be able to answer the following questions:

* Why should we study (further) this research thesis/problem?

* What contributions will my study make to the existing literature?

Methodology

This stage is essential to most good research proposals. How you study a problem is often as important as the results you collect.  This stage includes a description of the general means through which the goals of the study will be achieved: methods, materials, procedures, tasks, etc.

An appropriate methodology stage should:

* Introduce the overall methodological approach for each problem or question. Is your study qualitative or quantitative? Are you going to take a special approach, such as action research, or use case studies?

* Indicate how the approach fits the overall research design. Your methods should have a clear connection with your research questions and/or hypotheses. In other words, make sure that your methods will actually answer your questions—Don Thackrey notes that the most common reason for the rejection of professional proposals is that “the proposed tests, or methods, or scientific procedures are unsuited to the stated objective.”

* Describe the specific methods of data collection you are going to use—e.g. surveys, interviews, questionnaires, observation, archival or traditional library research.

* Explain how you intend to analyze and interpret your results. Will you use statistical analysis? Will you use specific theoretical perspectives to help you analyze a text or explain observed behaviors?

* If necessary, provide background and rationale for methodologies that are unfamiliar for your readers. (Typically, the social sciences and humanities require more explanation/rationale of methods than the hard sciences).

* If applicable, you may also need to provide a rationale for subject selection (particularly if you have not already provided one). For instance, if you propose to conduct interviews and use questionnaires, how do you intend to select the sample population? If you are analyzing literary texts, which texts have you chosen, and why?

* Address potential limitations. Are there any practical limitations that could affect your data collection? How will you attempt to control for potential confounding variables and errors?

Advice on drafting your methodology stage:

* Break down your methodology into easily digestible substages.

* In the physical sciences, these stages may include subjects, design, apparatus, instrumentation, process, analysis, etc.

* In the social sciences, these stages may include selection of participants, interview process, profiles, interpretive and analytic framework, methods of qualitative analysis, etc.

* In the humanities, these stages may include scholarly research, archival research, theoretical orientation, etc.

* Remember that your methods stage may also require supporting literature.

* Anticipate and pre-empt the audience’s methodological concerns.

* If the audience might have a problem with a facet of the methodology, admit this difficulty and justify your approach.

* If your methodology may lead to problems you can anticipate (including timeframe problems), state this openly and show why pursuing the methodology outweighs the risk of these problems cropping up.

Point to Remember: If you have demonstrated that you have considered even the downside of your methods, their advantages will seem more carefully developed.

Significance/ Implications

Some proposals require a separate stage stating the significance of the study. A clear statement of significance may:

* Discuss the methodological, substantive, and/or theoretical contribution you anticipate making to existing knowledge in your (sub)field.

* Plainly state the practical and/or theoretical importance of the problem and/or objectives of your study, given current knowledge and practices.

* Explain the usefulness or benefits of the study, if possible (and especially for funding agencies), to both the outside world and the research community.

Overview of Chapters

Some proposals also include a brief description of relevant chapters. Check with your advisor to see if this is required for your proposal. Finally, I have included the following table that allows you to synthesize the proposal into the final project and to complete the overall dissertation. Remember, the more detail and effort you put into your proposal then the less work and effort you will have to put into the final dissertation:

3) What makes a compelling character in a book or movie?

A compelling character, in a book or a movie, is a character to which the reader or viewer can relate. This does not imply that the character resembles or is perceived as resembling the reader or viewer but only that some form of connection between them can be made. Readers and viewers must be able to recognize some quality in the character that they admire or, alternatively, detest. This ensures that love or hate, the character makes an impact. Likewise, the character being portrayed can also be experiencing something that the reader or the viewer can relate to such as suffering through tragedy or achieving some type of victory. In essence, all good characters either have some heroic quality or a tragic flaw (or both) and experience or overcome some form of hardship through to the story’s ultimate denouement.

The state of general education within the US has long been a subject much in dispute. Critics have argued that the nation’s primary and secondary public education systems have lost sight of educating children in the core disciplines of science, mathematics and reading. Yet, it is difficult to argue against the US’ equally long leadership role in the creative arts, scientific research, and technology development. The necessity of finding a compromise between emphasizing core disciplines while maintaining the US’ public education system’s recognized capacity to produce creative graduates who are able to reason effectively and solve problems in a creative fashion should be the focus of education reform. A recent article in the New York Times demonstrated just how effective emphasis on the core disciplines can be on students’ performance in Shanghai, China where it was found that secondary students in Shanghai led the world in terms of strong performance in core disciplines. While these types of results point out how effective China’s education system is at producing competent students it is also clear that the system in China deemphasizes creativity and problem solving as well. The lesson is that the US’ public education system is not all that bad with respect to producing competent scholars but that there is a need to improve core skills performance in the US’ public education system graduates.

Getting a small business loan right now is extremely difficult. Making this fact much more depressing is that so many people right now view starting a small business as their only way to survive due to job loss, pay cuts, or the closing of their previous business. For many older unemployed individuals, getting another job is a virtual impossibility because firstly, businesses aren’t hiring and secondly, those that are tend to select from the myriad young unemployed fresh out of college and willing to work for much less. Thus, starting a small business can provide one of the only bright spots in an otherwise drab professional outlook for many. Yet, getting funding for any business right now is extremely difficult because the credit markets have tightened up so much and the underwriting has become another Spanish Inquisition. Here are 7 tips that can help in getting a small business (SBA) loan: 1) make sure to list how much money you want and exactly how you are going to spend it, 2) detail who the business’ management is and provide the management’s professional background, 3) you will likely have to offer personal collateral, 4) ensure that you have a decent credit report and history, 5) you must provide all tax returns and financial statements for at least the past 3 years, 6) be sure to list in detail your operating plan, and 7) expect to answer a lot of questions and also expect to wait. So if you need an SBA loan these are some of the most important aspects of the process and it all starts with a well-written business plan which will address all of these points except your personal credit history.

Getting into training programs, colleges and universities often requires application letters and personal statements as well as other statements. Furthermore, business plans, small business loans and grant applications for funding both businesses and academic research also require application letters and professional statements. For example, some colleges and universities require both application letters and personal statements as well as essay responses to set questions such as stating how one’s personal experiences relates to their chosen field of study or similar. These letters and personal statements are the first requirement just to be considered for acceptance into a training program, college or university and are necessary at all levels from certificate studies, to Bachelors programs to graduate degrees. We have a great deal of experience in writing personal statements and application letters and all we require is some basic information about you and our writers are able to incorporate this information into a concise, well-written letter, statement or application.

Not quite but it really feels like it to many, many people. The global recession and the national recession in the US officially came to an end in June of 2009 but no-one would really seem to know it. While the stock market has recovered somewhat the average investor is largely staying away from the markets because they same stacked against the individual investor. Hence, the influence of phenomena such as the Flash Crash in which large, institutional investors can cause dramatics shifts in the markets with 1 or 2 large trades. Additionally, other research now reveals that some 85% of college graduates are actually moving back home—so called boomerang kids. Everyone knows about the 9.6 to 9.7% official unemployment rate which means that the real unemployment rate is substantially higher. And finally, housing, which typically leads economies out of recessions, is nowhere near reaching bottom as the ongoing foreclosure crisis keeps dragging the economy down. An estimate 10 to 12% of all homes are in some state of distress and recent data indicates that foreclosure auctions just hit a record high of 930,437 which is a 4% increase over the previous quarter. So what’s the point of all of this gloom and doom? The point is that now is a great time to start a business. Sure, obtaining a business loan is difficult and the Three FFF Bank (friends, family & fools) might be closed but it’s a great time to take a risk and put some savings into a small business and successful small businesses begin with a business plan. If you have a little more funding available you can have a custom written business plan completed for several hundred dollars which is always advised. However, if you are truly strapped for cash there are numerous pre-written business plans or business plan templates that can be had for $20 or $30 which cover the most common businesses  such as coffee shops, drycleaners, ice cream parlors, restaurants and bars to taverns, among others. Remember out of great strife comes great opportunity so don’t let the economy get you down.

Initial Public Offerings or IPOs are the often viewed as the ultimate indication that a small business has become successful. IPOs can be an important method for small businesses to make the transition to a large, growth oriented firm. This is because by going public and accepting outside investors, small businesses gain access to enormous sums of capital that is then re-invested into the firm. This capital can then be directed at exploring new markets, developing new products or services or at improving core infrastructure and developing human and intellectual capital. Recently, IPOs have begun to recover as a financing medium for small and large businesses alike after several years of difficult IPO markets. So, if your dream as a small business owner is to gain access to enough capital to fund growth and expansion then now is a good time to examine the public option.

Students the world over have come to recognize that they have long been ripped off by the textbook publishing establishment to which the higher education system panders. Thus, the cost of college textbooks has increased geometrically compared to regular inflation and colleges and universities are partly to blame. Higher education institutions regularly require the “most recent” editions of textbooks that the publishing houses have simply reworked by changing the page count, adding some useless fluff, and perhaps re-organizing the chapters. Thus, every year or every couple of years students must continually purchase their textbooks new and some texts can cost over $200 or $300 each! It’s a rip-off—you known it, I know it, the colleges and universities know it and the publishing houses certainly know it. Add on to this the insult of constantly increasing college tuition and we all begin to understand that the higher education system in most developed markets is not about higher education but is about fleecing as many students as possible of their money. One new development that can ease the cost-burden of pursuing higher education is the current electronic textbook initiative that is expanding with the introduction of the iPad and other electronic readers. Electronic textbooks are quite promising not only because they are less expensive that regularly printed college textbooks but because they allow the integration and instant viewing of a multitude of different media such as hyperlinks to websites and other online data sources, video and sound files, and collaborative networks for students. Even more promising is that there are organizations and firms that are beginning to develop open source textbooks and electronic textbooks that are distributed online for free or for reasonable associated printing costs.  Open source textbooks may not be fully developed at the moment but it is only a matter of time before they begin to challenge the publishing establishment and colleges and universities should begin to examine these alternatives for their students. Perhaps one of the most promising of all of these developing alternatives to the traditional textbook is business textbooks and other specialties being offered and developed by flatworld KNOWLEDGE. So, investigate these traditional textbook alternatives and complain to your colleges and universities about the high costs of textbooks and of higher education in general.

Most small business owners are aware of web and internet based marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). For those of you who thought these were the same things maybe you should do further research. At any rate, another emerging aspect of marketing on the web is that related to social network marketing which is somewhat related to SEM but actually is growing into its own unique category. Social network marketing (SNM) involves establishing business accounts on the major social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, Twitter and others and then building a network of friends or contacts within them. This type of SNM focused marketing requires regular updates on those sites as well as the development of marketing tools such as an email newsletter in order to keep all the clients, friends and contacts from these sites updated on your business, your activities and your services and industry. So start adding SNM to your SEO and SEM and start building your revenues.

Every entrepreneur, whether with an established enterprise or with a new startup, needs a business plan. A recent article in USA Today illustrates this point quite effectively. The common misconception is that a new business owner or entrepreneur only needs a business plan if he or she is seeking some type of funding. It is true that a business plan is necessary if one is seeking funding but there are countless other reasons that an entrepreneur requires a business plan even if he or she is not seeking funding. Simply put, business plans are road maps of where you want to take your business whether asking for money or not. Business plans force you to examine your market more in-depth and to further segment if necessary. This can save you dramatically on marketing costs by encouraging you to focus your marketing efforts on more narrow or niche segments. Additionally, business plan include detailed financial projections which force you to examine how you intend to spend money on the business and how to project your costs into the future. These can be a real wake-up call if you haven’t done your homework on expenses and cost projections. Finally, business plans are good basic documents to have that can be referred to from time to time in order to see how your business is progressing and as such they should also be periodically updated as well.  However, entrepreneurs are focused on starting, running and growing their businesses and sometimes writing a business plan can seem daunting. We offer a host of different prewritten business plans that you can use as a model to design your own making the process much easier and, better yet, these are only $24.95. For those who require help with customization of the prewritten business plan we also offer that as well. Finally, the recommendation is that each business, at some point in time, should have a custom written business plan designed solely for the business in question and we also provide this service for just $495 per plan. Thus, a business plan is in every entrepreneur’s grasp and at all cost levels so there is no excuse not to have one.