The Qualitative Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty

"The authors coach students through processes of conceptualizing the dissertation and treating it as an integral dimension of the journey of living. They enable students to develop the dissertation into a line of inquiry that evolves and enriches a career in academe or practical leadership." —William H. Schubert, Professor of Education, Director of Graduate Studies University of Illinois at Chicago Make reflection an integral part of your dissertation journey! Most dissertation guides offer a basic recipe for the research and writing process. Like those books, this resource provides all the necessary steps for crafting and conducting a qualitative dissertation, but it also adds one key ingredient: reflection. This book guides students through the issues and questions that may arise as they conduct qualitative research, taking a reflective, experiential approach to turn student-researchers into instruments of inquiry. The authors show readers how to integrate themselves into the research and writing process by using their own beliefs, experiences, interests, and strengths. Updated with new examples and cases, this comprehensive resource guides readers through the process of: Preparing for the dissertation journey Rethinking the concepts of method and data Working through the proposal process Defending the dissertation Living life after the dissertation This essential guide helps student-researchers learn both the practical aspects of writing a qualitative dissertation as well as the mental and emotional preparation required for success.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Frances Schoonmaker Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgments About the Authors Part I. Facing the Dissertation Journey 1. Coming to Study 2. On the Deliberative Nature of the Dissertation 3. Meanings of the Dissertation 4. Facing the Dissertation Part II. Preparing for the Dissertation Journey 5. Orienting Oneself to Interpretive Inquiry 6. Situating Oneself in the Inquiry 7. Rethinking the Concept of Method 8. Rethinking the Concept of Data 9. Moving From the Experiential to the Theoretic Part III. Entering Into and Living Through the Dissertation Journey 10. Developing Ideas for the Dissertation Proposal 11. Crafting an Interpretive Dissertation Proposal 12. Proposing the Dissertation Study 13. Living With the Study 14. Entering Into Public Discourse: The Dissertation Meeting 15. Life After the Dissertation Afterword Part IV. Case Examples of Interpretive Dissertations Case Example 1. Problematizing Educational Inclusion: A Practice-Based Heuristic Inquiry Case Example 2. Pictures in Our Minds: A Narrative Study of the Incorporation of Creative Dramatics as Pedagogy in Elementary Classroom Content Areas Case Example 3. A Narrative Study of Three Levels of Reflection in a College Composition Class: Teacher Journal, Student Portfolios, Teacher-Student Discourse Case Example 4. Promises Made, Promises Broken: A Literary Criticism of the Pennsylvania Lead Teacher Experience Case Example 5. Our Changing Town, Our Changing School: Is Common Ground Possible? Case Example 6. A Special Program for Gifted Female Adolescents: A Conceptual Case Study for Planning Curriculum References Index

About the Author :
Maria Piantanida is an adjunct associate professor in the School of Edu¬cation at the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow University. As a curriculum consultant, she has worked with a variety of programs for health and human services professionals. For her efforts to catalyze research among hospital-based educators, she re¬ceived the 1989 Distinguished Author Award and the 1987 Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Society for Healthcare Education and Training. In 2007 she received the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award from Carlow University. Noreen B. Garman is a professor in the Administrative and Policy Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Previously she directed the University′s Institute for International Studies in Education and the Social and Comparative Analysis in Education Program. A former high school English teacher and recent Fulbright scholar, Garman has published journal articles and chapters in the fields of clinical supervision, curriculum studies, and qualitative research. From 1994 to 1997, she directed programs for teacher education planning and development in Bosnia and Her¬zegovina. She has served on more than 70 dissertation committees during her career, and in 1994, she received an award from the American Educational Research Association, "For Mentoring Women and Activism in Women′s Issues." In 2007 she received the Provost′s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.

Review :
"The book is chock full of very practical advice and strategies for doing qualitative dissertation studies. But, unlike any other research methods text I know, it also exudes concern and support for those embarking on the research journey. The authors metaphorically hold the reader’s hand as they tell the reader how to produce a coherent, comprehensive, and rigorous document. Bravo!" "The authors coach students through processes of conceptualizing the dissertation, treating it as an integral dimension of the journey of living. Moreover, they enable students to develop the dissertation into a line of inquiry that evolves and enriches a career in academe or practical leadership. Those who teach qualitative courses will find this book a guide that organizes and enriches their own strengths in guiding students through the qualitative dissertation experience.” "While a number of books have appeared in the last few years to help students know about approaches to a qualitative dissertation in the social sciences and particularly in education, this book seeks to help staff and students know these processes in a different way: to know them as lived experiences. This text conveys what doing a dissertation in search of deep rather than surface learning is actually like, what it takes, and what it leads to." "Piantanida and Garman provide an invaluable set of intellectual, experiental, and practical resources for both students and advisers to use to think about the complex tangle of doctoral text and identity work. They avoid formulaic prescriptions and offer instead an engaging and eminently readable guide to the interrelated processes of forming a scholarly self and a clearly situated and focused inquiry."