Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Thesis Faster

A Proven Map to Success

by E. Alana James and Tracesea Slater

•  Do You Understand How to Fine-Tune Your Methodological Choices?

•  Moving from Basics to Getting Ready to Write

Basic Research Logic

Other aspects of research logic    

•  A theoretical base that forms the conceptual foundation on which your design rests

•  Specifics of the context in which you will work to help determine the population, size, and scope of your study

•  Issues of validity and reliability that you build into your research design to help it measure just what you have in mind

Simplified Research Logic

•  If and when all the aspects of the design lead easily one to another, your efforts should bring credible results from which you will be able to draw the conclusions you need to address the problem you set.

•  Any wobble in logic and the stretch from design to credible results becomes much more difficult.

Theoretical Issues

•  Developing a theoretical base –  Empiricism, positivism, post modernism,

critical theory, pragmatism, constructivism etc.

•  What theoretical stance fits most closely with your views?

•  What are the theoretical positions of your university, department and professors?

•  Theoretical justification for methodology

Size and Scope

•  Small studies run the risk of being considered insignificant •  Large studies can become overwhelming and cause failure •  Consider your ideal population •  Consider practical aspects:

–  Access to permissions, access to data and people –  Extent that the smaller group reflects the larger group

who may be affected –  If the population is large, will you be able to gather

enough evidences to speak to the issues of that large a group?

Local Context

•  Stakeholder buy-in •  Archival evidence •  Your context’s relationship to the significance

of your study

Find out who is in charge, meet with them to discuss your study, and get them on board. Having the support of stakeholders and others who hold power is often essential for gathering the data you will need.

Validity and Reliability

•  Your research design (the way in which your instruments measure your concept) needs to be logical so that the findings that develop from your data build credible results

•  Internal vs. external validity •  Is it credible that data collected from your sample is

representative of the wider population you are studying? •  Are your measurements valid? Are you actually measuring

what you intended to measure? •  Do your data cluster in a way that indicate your questions or

measures produce consistent results?

An excerpt from ‘Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Thesis Faster’

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Where Should I Go to Dig Deeper? Suggested Resources to Consider

•  Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. On pages 5 through 11, this book has a particularly clear discussion of the philosophical worldviews that underpin most theoretical approaches to research.

•  Garson, G. D. (2002). Guide to writing empirical papers, theses, and dissertations. New York: Marcel Dekker. Section IV, “Presenting Your Case: Telling a Story,” pages 177 through 221 gives you a great picture of the end game you are striving for. To the extent that you can begin with the end in mind, your path may suffer fewer detours along the way. Also pages 190 through 197 give an excellent overview of the different types of validity and reliability you will want to consider as claims in your methodological design.

•  Hawking, S., & Mlodinow, L. (2010). The grand design. New York: Bantam Dell. This is an excellent, readable book by notable authors about the way theory plays out in the complex quantum scientific worldview. Model-dependent realism allows the student to build a model that fits their context and circumstance.

•  James, W., & Gunn, G. (2000). Pragmatism and other writings. New York: Penguin Group. A revision of the seminal work on pragmatism by William James. A must read for anyone following this theoretical path. Mauch, J. E., & Park, N. (2003). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: A handbook for students and faculty. New York: Marcel Dekker. Pages 97 through 143 and 167 through 199 cover the characteristics of a sound overview or proposal as conducted as per the U.K. model of dissertation and thesis development.

•  Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers. This book has a very good section on validity, types to consider, and threats that may need to be taken into account.