Dissertation Advising

If you are interested in having me as a member of your committee or advisor, the following is meant to give you advice, demystify the "bid D," and to let you know about my philosophy on dissertation advising. The dissertation is a serious scholarly endeavor; it is not just another "hoop" to jump through. I've taken the time to write about this in hopes that it will generate, rather than close off, further conversation between us.

As a candidate at the dissertation phase, you are expected to become an expert in a body of theory and its research, and to propose a piece of original research that will make a contribution to the discipline. You must be familiar with and understand a topic to be able to write about it with ease and in a critical manner and to be able to field questions about it in meetings. Sounds simple? Well it's not.

A dissertation is an experience quite different from coursework. Through coursework you have become a generalist on a gamut of topics. Your comprehensives will assess your broad-based knowledge. But, in the next phase, as a doctoral candidate, you are expected to become a specialist, perhaps even more of an expert than your advisor or member of your committee.

A dissertation also requires you to be self-directed. You should "know thyself" and be familiar with your own learning, work, and writing styles. A dissertation requires you to conceptualize, theorize, and synthesize ideas and research. If you have been a typical student, you may have learned to come to rely on direction and feedback. You still get direction and feedback but it will be different. You set your own schedule, seek out and acquire information, and approach an advisor and/or members of the committee as needed. But the dissertation can be a process wrought with ambiguity. There will be many times when you leave your advisor that you won't know what hit you, or you'll feel that you did what your advisor asked and it's still not "right." That's just part of the process of seemingly endless drafts. Your own advisor will have a specific philosophy of how you will work together. Some advisors give more or less time to candidates, depending on the topic, the 2 candidate, and the advisor's schedule.

How do you become an expert on a topic? There are many signals. You begin recognizing noted scholars whose names continue to reappear, as cited by others in text and references. You develop a perspective on your topic's history, especially if different labels have been used to describe it over the years. You focus on its concepts, synonyms, and definitions to learn the language that is used by this community of scholars, so that you can be apart of that community through your writing. You learn the descriptors that best capture articles on your topic in computerized databases and Dissertation Abstracts International. You become able to differentiate articles that are oriented to scholars, to practitioners, and to researchers. You look for pieces that synthesize research in articles or handbooks and the most current pieces that are not yet published. You begin to recognize whether the design of research has been primarily empirical or interpretive in nature, and what method is typically used. You come to recognize at a more knowing level of understanding, its characteristics, trends, and gaps, so that you are then able to say with some assurance, "Here is where my research makes a contribution and this is why!" Similarly, you must be able to write with precision and clarity about the topic, using the language that is used by your community.

When do you become an expert? You need not have the expertise, but develop it by the end of your research. However, the earlier you select a topic in your program, the less overwhelming it will seem when you're ready to write your prospectus. You may be able to do readings and papers along the way in coursework that will allow you this familiarization.

How long does a dissertation take? This is a frequently asked question that cannot be answered, since each candidate has different circumstances. Those circumstances include: family demands, no or released time from job, pace of dissertation work, and topic and research design. It could take anywhere from one to two years. If you are considering taking time off, your advisor can help you consider the high peak times of data analysis and writing. The most difficult time to estimate is the formulation of the appropriate research questions.

When do I come up with my topic? One recent graduate reminded me: "Some candidates may have to eat their peas before they eat their 3 potatoes, and then their meat; while others can eat from all the food on their plate." Some think that when they finish all coursework and pass their comprehensives, then its time to get serious about the topic. I, on the other hand, counsel students when they apply to the program to begin thinking. This can provide a focus and sense of relevance to coursework that might otherwise seem abstract and removed from "the real world."

Am I a potential "ABD?" An ABD is "all but a dissertation." I have known a few. These individuals look like the rest of us, but when it comes to digging in their heels and getting serious about the dissertation something "snaps." They get overwhelmed. They easily find excuses to avoid the "big D": a change in jobs, the 1-2 hour commute to campus that seemed easy for coursework but becomes insurmountable for time in the library, the extra work assignments become burdensome, or a recent addition to the family becomes preoccupying--all of these and others can become signals of avoidance.

To this end, when you come close to the "big D," you should consider simplifying your life, so that you can make the dissertation your priority. Trust me, it will become all- consuming. You should not consider a new job or a divorce. Eliminate extracurricular activities and minimize life changes that could become stressors or distracters.

How will a dissertation "consume" me? You must be "immersed" enough in it to develop familiarity and confidence. You should be able to devote prolonged periods of time to it. During different phases, a "weekend dissertation" will not cut it. Material that you read and write about can become "cold." If you put something aside for a week, it takes time for you to become familiar with it again, so that you can get back up to a level where you can then write about it as you just did. Granted, there will be times that you will have to set something aside because you need the distance to gain a new perspective. But the dissertation will have its own "ebb and flow" that you will need to recognize. Setting up a schedule is perhaps too simplistic a way of thinking about this ebb and flow. Some days will be productive, while other days will not. The mind is a mysterious and unpredictable thing. You are not just producing this book, you are engaged in a creative endeavor.

What shape will this dissertation take? Doing a dissertation is not like doing a paper. You are involved in inquiry and the result of this inquiry is a creative and scholarly report of that inquiry. Pick 4 one up early in your program and read it from cover to cover; but do not get fixed on that as the model for your own, since it will be shaped by you and your advisor. Sit in on a prospectus or final defense that are open to the public so that you can demystify the process.

The Advisor

An advisor is usually one with expertise in dissertation design. We acquire such expertise from our own dissertation, continuing to do our own research and readings on research, by directing dissertations, and through trial-and-error. We need not be an expert in that same body of knowledge, but it helps. If we are not, we hope either the candidate becomes that expert, and/or another member of that committee has the needed expertise. If we are not expert in empirical or qualitative design, we expect someone else on the committee to have it.

Know your advisor well and the amount of time (s)he is willing to devote to you. Hopefully throughout the program you will have been establishing a working, trusting relationship. But even the best of relationships can become strained during the dissertation. Key things to consider are: access, communication style, problem resolution style, expertise, and philosophy in working with students.

As you come closer to your prospectus, if you find that another member of your committee has more of the necessary expertise, consider switching chairs and consult your assigned chair.

The Committee

Although committees are formed at the onset of the student's program, by the time you are ready for your prospectus, you should know the kinds of expertise that each member of your committee has, what is missing, and what has to be added formally or informally. It is not unusual to add or replace members at this time.

As you take your first 9-12 hours of coursework, you should be evaluating whether you want a professor on your committee. You should be assessing their strengths in theory, research design, and communication style. If you are unable to sample all the professors within a department, I encourage candidates to schedule an appointment 5 for an interview to acquire that information. Find out their interests, content and research expertise, and ideas for potential research topics. Although much information is available in a student "underground," your interests will be best served if you get the necessary information directly from "the horse's mouth," so to speak.

The committee is often viewed as a body who approves or disapproves of the research. If the candidate continues to view the committee in this light, it has the potential for being debilitating. Rather, the candidate should consider the committee as a resource for (s)he to manage throughout the different phases of the dissertation. Members should be receptive to providing feedback on drafts of different chapters.

The Stress

A dissertation can be a stressful time. I have found that women analogize it to having a baby (only longer). This is and will be one of the most difficult things you'll have to do in your lifetime. Your family and friends may be able to sympathize with you, but will not fully understand or appreciate it unless they themselves have attempted such an ordeal. Often a simple question, "Aren't you done yet?" can strike terror in the most stalwart. Find ways to involve family in proofing, copying or checking references.

Sometimes stress gets manifested physically in individuals (e.g. warts, back problems, shingles, lockjaw) and emotionally (e.g. divorce, neglect). It's not unusual for people to report that they've moved out of the house, alienated their family, or dreamt about the dissertation in some period of writing. If you have the potential to become stressed, recognize its signs and find ways of coping with it, e.g. other students going through the same demands, a stress-sensitive advisor.

The Researchable Question

The most difficult aspect of the dissertation is zeroing down on the questions. (Since I use the term "question" this should clue you into my interest and expertise in directing interpretive or qualitative studies.) Some advisors hand students topics, some wait for the topic to emerge from the soul of the student, and some vary their approach depending on the needs of the candidate. I first spend a lot of time listening to the candidate to help her/him ferret out a 6 "burning" question; and I've learned to vary my approach. Your topic can become real and "alive" if it comes from your own practice or experience.

Because of the complexity of research in education, the candidate often needs time to "spin their wheels," be lost in the literature, for a while. During this foray, the candidate's job is to go from "somewhere in the United States" to "Allen Hall, Morgantown, WV." This geographical analogy seems useful to students in the "zeroing down" process. The candidate acquires the aforementioned expertise along the way. Sometimes you travel down tangential paths and sometimes down dead ends. The key consideration during this step into ambiguity is to select the topic that is of interest and that you will want to live with for an unknown amount of time.

Topic interest is not something to be minimized. It must be able to sustain you "through your darkest hours." Hopefully, it will be the beginning of a professional and/or research career and not the end product of doctoral study. If you find interest in it, then its excitement will carry you through a journey where you ultimately discover, like the rest of us, that there are a lot more questions than answers. The bottom line here is that it is your study.

Drafting of Documents

Throughout this step, as through all steps, you will produce drafts of documents. Many drafts are necessary and are but a representation of your thinking process. Writing and thinking are intricately related. Since you are working with your advisor, the drafts get shaped by feedback. Precision and clarity of thought is the goal. The more the drafts, the more precise and clear is the thinking. Quality is not indicated by quantity.

Each advisor has a preference for when a draft gets out to other members of the committee. When you get input from many, your job is to spot discrepancies of advice, and to alert your chair. Your chair's job is to know when a document is ready for other feedback and to resolve any discrepancy that may result.

Your chair will indicate how to get started and what citation style to follow. I prefer the APA style and encourage a 5-10 page mini document that becomes the working draft that then becomes expanded into successive drafts. We will have a series of conversations that 7 become the basis of this document. This mini document can include the following:

Title
Basic Difficulty/Topic/Introduction
Why You're Interested in the Topic
Statement of Purpose/Problem
Rationale and Theoretical Base
Importance of Study
Research Objectives/Questions
Research Design/Procedure
Definitions of Terms
References

The language used in the titles of each of the above sections will vary, depending on whether the research is empirical or interpretive. Also, your topic will shape the titles of the sections.

This mini document then becomes shaped through feedback and revision. You may be asked to locate: the etymology of a word; syntheses of research; historical information; national and state perspectives; and talk to individuals from the state department, professional associations, or national scholars themselves (who are remarkably receptive to phone calls). Along the way I will ask for reports of findings (especially if the information does not yet result in something written) and evaluate your grasp of the material as it is received. Along the way I will also look for ways to help you manage and simplify the information you are collecting.

Since you will continue to collect and integrate new information in an ever-enlarging spiral, I have to be sensitive to when its time to stop and process information through outlining or writing and when its time to collect more. This can seem like a shaky time because the candidate can easily get lost in any new information, before becoming grounded in what they do know and can manage. Sometimes the chair can see where the dissertation is going before the candidate can. Thus, unspoken trust has to operate here.

Research Design

Sometimes candidates prematurely "lock on" to a research design. Method is different from research design. Since method is often the most concrete aspect of this ambiguous process, it is easy for the 8 candidate to think that they know what they are going to do. This brings premature closure. If this occurs, sometimes the advisor has to "break open" the candidate's way of thinking, until able to refocus, and be more settled and grounded than before.

Sometimes students know that they do not want to do a study involving statistics, and prematurely decide on a qualitative study. This involves a danger. Qualitative research is just as demanding and rigorous as empirical research. If you have done readings in qualitative research or taken a class you may be more informed about the consequences of such a decision. A qualitative study is time consuming in terms of its rationale, data interpretation, result, and finally its write up. If your committee members have had experience with qualitative research, they may be more receptive to your design.

Your Best Friend

In addition to your chair, Char Allen in Student Advising (293- 3126) is the person with which you will have the most contact. She knows all the procedures, paperwork, and deadlines, perhaps better than a chair. She is friendly and responsive to students.

The Meetings

After your program meeting (which is the first), you will only have two formal meetings with your committee (prospectus and final defense), but may spend time with each individually. This will vary depending on the chair and study. You will follow certain procedures to schedule meetings and to get your prospectus and final document out to your members. The more contact you've had with your committee, the less of a surprise their responses will be. You will also discuss with your chair how the meeting will be structured and run.

Sometimes the chair will push a candidate to produce a document for a particular date, only to cancel the meeting. This may occur only if I feel the document or candidate is not ready. Deadlines (for drafts, documents, meetings, and graduation) are also part of the natural part of the ebb and flow of the process. I see a deadline as a positive motivator. If I or you see it as a stressor, then it will change. When the family asks when you're going to be through, only answer in approximates.

Each committee member will have his/her own style in a meeting. 9 From taking course(s) with those members (and having meetings) you will learn to anticipate the kinds of questions they will ask. Questions are to be anticipated and not feared. We ask questions to clarify, to look at taken for granted assumptions, to stretch, or to involve you in critique of your own work. After all, you are being admitted into a professional community, and in that community we ask such questions of each other. We do no less for you.

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As a former English teacher and someone who continues to write and publish in the field of supervision, I tend to think of myself as rigorous with high expectations, yet extremely supportive--one who aims for precise thinking with an economy of words. It is no less than I expect of my own writing and research. If you take me for a course or check out my writings, you will learn that first hand. Above all, however, I am concerned about helping you do original research of which you will be proud. The dissertation is another vehicle for your learning, where ideas are conceived and delivered into the world, and where we discover our own strengths and limitations. Although there is the potential for pain in such a process, I can only promise to minimize it, and hopefully, attempt to make it exciting. The dissertation (and not me) is what's demanding!

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When a student’s document goes to the committee, it is (and you are) ready. We know its gaps and we fill them in the 2-3 weeks that the committee has the document to read. In that time the student prepares the presentation and/or the IRB document. Any corrections are either sent to the committee or given to them at the meeting. You are able to anticipate and address their questions. You are so thorough, that little is touched in the research design or document of one of my students. If problems, you even have contingency plans prepared, if need be. You will see this first hand, when you are invited to attend a prospectus or final defense.