Dissertation Solutions: A Concise Guide to Planning, Implementing, and Surviving the Dissertation Process

New graduate students are often unaware of the many hazards and pitfalls that occur during the dissertation process: intensive schedules, dwindling motivation, difficult or unavailable mentors, and research and publication complications. Lacking the experience and wherewithal to successfully overcome or avoid these impetuses for derailment, many students are unable to complete the dissertation process, losing sight somewhere in between reading, studying, collecting data, and writing a thesis. Based on the authors’ inside knowledge and extensive experience, Dissertation Solutions provides graduate students with the basic tools and skills to help them navigate the whole process with minimal damage, making the whole process of planning, researching, and writing more manageable. This thorough, but concise guide will help even the most naïve graduate student become experts in navigating and surviving their graduate experiences. Outlining the dissertation process, explaining the key players involved, and offering advice to help complete any research project, this book will also provide overwhelmed, intimidated, or just reluctant students with the motivation required to complete this arduous project.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Background Chapter One. It Isn't Simply Hazing Chapter Two. The Dissertation Process Part II: Before, During, and After the Dissertation Chapter Three. Don't Fear Starting Chapter Four. Get it Out of the Box -- Work on it Early and Often Chapter Five. Work Ahead Chapter Six. Back it Up Part III: Selecting Your Topic or Research Study Chapter Seven. Use Coursework Strategically Chapter Eight. Read Journals and Attend Conferences Aggressively Chapter Nine. Investigating Faculty Members’ Research Chapter Ten. Save the Nobel Prize for Later Chapter Eleven. Pitfalls of Concurrent and Absentee Data Collection Chapter Twelve. Pitfalls of Archival Data Collection Chapter Thirteen. Maximizing Flexibility Chapter Fourteen. Locale and Availability of Data Collection Chapter Fifteen. The Financial Pain of Research Part IV: Selecting Your Committee Chapter Sixteen. Selecting Your Advisor Chapter Seventeen. Selecting Other Committee Members (Part I)…Choose Who You Know Chapter Eighteen. Selecting Other Committee Members (Part II)…Know Who You Choose Part V: Preparing to Begin Chapter Nineteen. Marriages Are For People, Not Work Products Chapter Twenty. The Runaround and Getting your Ducks in a Row Chapter Twenty-One. The Human Investigating Committee and the Institutional Review Board Hurdle Part VI: The Project: Ins and Outs of the Process Chapter Twenty-Two. Managing Anxiety Chapter Twenty-Three. Managing Indifference Chapter Twenty-Four. Managing Lunacy Part VII: Approaching the Defense Chapter Twenty-Five. No Surprises -- Certainly Not During the Proposal or Defense Meetings Chapter Twenty-Six. Preparing for the Defense Chapter Twenty-Seven. You Know More Than You Believe You Know Chapter Twenty-Eight. The Ruler Lady Part VIII: Publishing Chapter Twenty-Nine. Authorship Chapter Thirty. Finding a Journal Chapter Thirty-One. The Reviewers Said What? Chapter Thirty-Two. Editors and Reviewers are People, Too Part IX: Collaborating Chapter Thirty-Three. Making a Team Chapter Thirty-Four. Who is Doing What on the Project? Part X: Wrapping It Up Chapter Thirty-Five. Congratulations! You Did It! Now, Where do You Go from Here? Appendices Appendix A. Recommended Resources Appendix B. References