The education dissertation: a guide for practitioner scholars

List of Figures

Preface

Who Should Read This Book and Why

Key Features and How to Use Them

Organizational Templates

Synthesis of Research

Key Milestones and Procedures

Hints Along the Way

Relevant Activities

Examples of Student Work

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Dedication

1. A Guide for Practitioner Scholars

Questioning the Doctorate

Seeing the Doctoral Process Through Doctoral Students' Eyes

This Book as Guidelines and Guardrails

Strategies for Success

Hint! What Exactly Does a Quality Dissertation Look Like?

2. A Roadmap From Start to Finish

The Big Picture: An Outline of the Process

The Dissertation Timeline

Your Own Timeline and Benchmarks

Use This! Dissertation Research Timeline Template

Hint! Roles and Responsibilities of Your Dissertation Chair

Embracing Technology: The Table of Contents and Reference List

Hint! Creating an Automated Table of Contents

Use This! Table of Contents Template

Structuring Your Life as a Doctoral Student

3. Focusing Your Research

Articulating a Topic in Academic-Speak

Try This! Developing Your Academic Word Bank

Narrowing Your Topic

Hint! Writing Your Other Dissertation Next Time

Try This! Disaggregate This!

Your First Success at Focusing: Creating a Title and Research Question

A Final Thought: Focusing Your Research at a Cocktail Party

4. Structuring Your Research

Choosing a Theoretical Framework

Doing a Literature Review

Hint! Differentiating Between a Reference List and a Bibliography

Hint! Knowing When Your Dissertation Idea Is Focused Enough

Understanding Research Methodology

Try This! Can You Operationalize That?

Choosing a Research Method

Empirical Methodologies

Linking Research Purpose to Research Method

5. Conducting Your Research

Linking Research Methods to Research Tools

Quasi-Experimental Research

Try This! Understanding Dependent and Independent Variables

Analysis of Existing Statistical Data

Surveys

Interviews

Document Analysis

Field Observations

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Some Final Thoughts Before ABD-Land

6. Putting It All Together: Completing Your Dissertation

The Dissertation as a Machine

Reverse Engineering Your Dissertation

What Are the Remaining Key Issues?

Triangulating Data

Using Your Own Voice

Answering Your Research Questions

Finding No Finding

Remembering the Big Picture

Formatting the Dissertation

Use This! Key Formatting Guidelines for the Dissertation Final Submission

Citation Style

Chapter Length

Hint! How to Write a Good Abstract

Front Matter

7. Defending and Moving On

The Dissertation Defense

Hint! Key Points About Your Dissertation Defense

Hint! How to Handle Conflict and Difficult Situations at Your Dissertation Defense

Publish Your Findings

Hint! Tips for Academic Journal Publishing

Apply Your Research: Impacting K-12 Education

Teach the Next Generation: Teaching in Higher Education

Hint! Tips for Finding a Full-Time Job in Higher Education

The Beginning of Your Journey as a Practitioner Scholar

Key Resources by Topic

References

Index