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Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation
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Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation
Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences



February 2008 | 352 pages | Corwin
Written for both faculty and students, this user-friendly book provides a comprehensive 'how-to' compendium for completing a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation.

The authors discuss sources and criteria for selecting a suitable topic and cover:

- Both quantitative and qualitative research methods

-Using technology effectively

-An overview and tips on the oral defense and presentation

-Tips on adapting the thesis or dissertation for publication

-Suggestions for publishing the research

 
Preface
 
About the Authors
 
Part I. Getting Started
 
1. Selecting a Suitable Topic
Sources of Topics

 
Criteria for Topic Selection

 
Summary

 
 
2. Selecting a Chair and Committee
Criteria to Consider in Selecting a Chair

 
Composition and Role of the Committee

 
Research Prospective Committee Members

 
The Desirable Student

 
Summary

 
 
Part II. What You Need to Know
 
3. Quantitative Research Designs
Descriptive Research

 
Correlational Research

 
Causal-Comparative Research

 
Quasi-Experimental Research

 
Experimental Research

 
Theory Development

 
Summary

 
 
4. Basic Statistics
Descriptive Statistics

 
Inferential Statistics

 
Summary

 
 
5. Qualitative Research Designs
Phenomenological Research

 
Case Study Research

 
Ethnographic Research

 
Grounded Theory Research

 
Mixed Method Research

 
Summary

 
 
Part III. The Dissertation Chapters
 
6. Writing the Introduction Chapter
Background of the Study

 
Statement of the Problem

 
Purpose of the Study

 
Significance of the Study

 
Definition of Terms

 
Theoretical Framework

 
Models

 
Research Questions (or Hypotheses)

 
Limitations

 
Delimitations

 
Assumptions

 
Organization of the Study

 
Summary

 
 
7. Writing the Literature Review Chapter
Searching the Literature

 
Writing the Literature Review

 
Synthesizing the Literature

 
Summary

 
 
8. Writing the Methodology Chapter
Introduction

 
Selection of Participants

 
Instrumentation

 
Data Collection

 
Data Analysis

 
Summary

 
Conclusion

 
 
9. Writing the Results Chapter
Introduction

 
Descriptive Statistics

 
Testing the Research Questions (Hypotheses)

 
Additional Analyses

 
Summary

 
Conclusion

 
 
10. Writing the Discussion Chapter
Summary

 
Discussion

 
Implications for Practice

 
Recommendations for Further Research

 
Conclusions

 
Summary

 
 
Part IV. The Defense and Afterward
 
11. The Proposal and Final Defense
Prepare a Well-Written Document

 
Know the Format

 
Prepare Your Presentation

 
Practice Your Presentation

 
Anticipate Questions

 
Final Oral Defense

 
Tips on How to Avoid Common Mistakes

 
Summary

 
 
12. Publishing Your Dissertation
Presentations

 
Job Interview

 
Academic Journals

 
Books

 
Chapters in Books

 
Popular Press

 
Internet Publishing

 
Desktop Publishing

 
Planning the Writing Process

 
Summary

 
 
Appendix A: Initial Letter to Participants
 
Appendix B: First Follow-up Letter to Participants
 
Appendix C: Second Follow-up Letter to Participants
 
Appendix D: Dissertation Proposal Outline (Correlational)
 
Appendix E: Dissertation Proposal Outline (Analysis of Variance)
 
Appendix F: Dissertation Proposal Outline (Multivariate Analysis of Variance)
 
Appendix G: Dissertation Proposal Outline (Qualitative)
 
Appendix H: The Qualitative Research Critique
 
Appendix I: Agreement: Guidelines for Chairing a Dissertation
 
Appendix J: Checklist for Dissertation Quality
 
References
 
Index

"Accurate, clearly written, and easy to understand even for the beginning researcher, with equal coverage of both qualitative and quantitative research. This is the only book where the authors combine a textbook approach to teaching research with a how-to approach."

Carol Roberts, Professor, University of La Verne
Author, The Dissertation Journey

"During 40-plus years of working with doctoral students, this reviewer has encountered a large number of manuscripts written by various professors who give advice to doctoral students in writing their research in dissertation styles. None comes close to comparing to this work done by Lunenburg and Irby, who have developed their book with a plethora of examples of every sort in order to demonstrate to the student many ways of dealing with a host of issues that are encountered in writing a dissertation."

Education Review, November 2010

“The best book of its kind I have ever seen. It is succinct yet thorough and includes lots of appropriate examples. It takes the reader from the process of developing a topic through all the stages of writing and defending the dissertation, up to and including presentation and publication. It is academic, pragmatic, and politically astute.”

Sharon Toomey Clark, Educational Consultant
Clark & Associates

"This is a very practical book and will be immediately usable for graduate students at any stage during their research. The multitude of examples is wonderful, and the content is very current."

Mary Betsy Brenner, Professor of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara

"This book may soon become as dog-eared in my reference library as my APA manual. Some may see a dissertation journey as a thousand miles, but these authors help the writer see the process one step at a time."

Monica Kempland, Academic Advisor, St. Louis University
NACADA Journal, Vol. 28, No. 2

Great book , students love it

Dr Dawn Piper
LMS Administration, University of Fort Lauderdale
September 30, 2020

For instructors

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