Writing your doctoral dissertation invisible rules for success - Brause, Rita S. (Falmer Press, 2000)
Includes bibliographical references and index
1. Comparing a dissertation to a long term paper -- Writing a dissertation -- Writing a term paper -- 2. Jumping through hoops, going on a journey : personal metaphors for the process -- Metaphors for dissertation writing -- Reflecting on the reflections -- 3. The stages in writing a dissertation : an overview -- Institutional stages in the process : labels of progress -- The Coursework phase -- The Examination phase -- The Dissertation phase -- Noncompleters in doctoral programs -- 4. Pithy insights and suggestions for success -- Dissertation topic selection -- The dissertation committee -- Organization -- Writing -- The university community -- Personal stance -- Preparing for your study -- 5. Identifying your dissertation topic and your research questions -- Creating a setting for working on your dissertation -- Identifying your research problem or question -- Alternative starting points -- 6. Forming your dissertation committee -- The dissertation committee structure --
- Characteristics to consider in selecting your committee chair -- Selecting the chair of your dissertation committee -- Selecting the readers on your doctoral committee -- 7. Roles and responsibilities of dissertation committees -- University concerns -- The university's commitment to your dissertation work -- Starting to work with your committee -- The complexities of the committee's power -- 8. Creating a professional setting: student-colleagues and other important resources -- Student-colleagues -- The university community -- Professional conferences and colleagues -- 9. Developing a productive setting -- The doctoral student's mind-set -- Your dissertation work -- The other people in your life -- Doing your study -- 10. Writing your dissertation proposal while designing your dissertation research -- Purposes for writing a dissertation proposal -- Contents of the dissertation proposal -- Steps towards approval of your proposal -- 11. Conducting your study --
- Collecting and storing your data -- 12. Analyzing and interpreting your data -- Preliminary organization of your data -- Starting your analysis -- Why is explicit documentation important? -- Direct connection to your research questions -- Reducing your data -- Interpreting your findings -- Knowing what you found -- 13. Presenting your findings : drafting and editing your dissertation -- Creating a compelling argument for your findings -- 14. Defending your dissertation : preparing for orals