Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation: Professors Share Their Techniques & Strategies

• Seventy professors share their tips, techniques, and strategies for overcoming roadblocks to the completion of a thesis or dissertation. • Many of the professors share their personal experiences in completing their dissertations. With hindsight, they offer advice based on these experiences. The personal nature of these essays makes fascinating reading. • The professors’ contributions cover a wide range of topics including · selecting a topic, · selecting a chair and a committee, · working with the chair and committee, · selecting literature to review, · writing a literature review, · time management, · overcoming writer’s block, · overcoming anxiety, · putting the thesis/dissertation into proper perspective, · establishing support groups, · understanding the role of the dissertation in professional development, · and many others! • This “in-their-own-words” book allows students to select the advice that is best suited to their situations and work styles. • Running sidebars throughout the book help students locate information on the matters with which they need help. • Ideal for independent reading by your students or use each of the contributions as a discussion topic in a thesis/dissertation preparation course.

Table of Contents:
Dissertation Defense Attend other students’ defenses Have it in final form Lay it all out Make a friend for it Outliers Preparation Scheduling the defense What is expected Getting Help from Others Feeling a sense of isolation Job shadowing Join a group for real progress Meet regularly with others Shadow researcher Support group Weak member of a group Goals and Timelines Begin with the end in mind Dividing it into parts Goal-Setting Theory Major life events Master calendar Allow for “wiggle” room Strict policy Six-step plan Plan on it taking longer Time orientation Work backward Humor (Ha!) Bathrobe Butter up the committee Committees eat elephants Create a Dissertation Dartboard Dedicated Donuts don’t always help Keep your advisor busy Latent chromosomal functioning Mom’s coffee table copy Outliers Recycle Regular schedule Take hours to answer Try smoking a pipe Words-to-peanut ratio Outside Pressures Being a first-year professor Finish school first Internship Leave only with an approved proposal Overcoming Self-Doubt/Anxiety Challenge the validity of negative feelings Don’t think “defense” Emotional support system Fun then, not fun now Information is power Seek help if immobilized/overwhelmed Small problems Using subgoals reduces anxiety Prospectus/Proposal As a contract Avoid vagueness Include all components Limit literature review Write a mini-proposal Write two to four of them Reviewing Literature Bibliographic computer program Collect reprints of papers Complete 90%, then 10% Consult Dissertation Abstracts Controversy Electronic vs. paper search Endless search General suggestions Know people at the reference desk Limit the number of references Rule of 19 for citations Thoughtfully selective Worksheets Rewarding Yourself Behavioral formula Build in time for fun Dance to the music Rewards Without guilt Selecting a Committee and Chair Ask major professor Avoid emeritus faculty Committee able to work together General suggestions Listen with three purposes Select someone with tenure Selecting a Topic Avoid grandiose ideas Avoid politically “hot” topics Consider prior knowledge Consider your passions Considering the future General suggestions Select during coursework Start early Writing Cheerfully rewrite Courses as a sounding board First draft not perfect Good writing is short Headings and subheadings Make a model Notes for the next writing session One day per page Pedantic writing Provide a rationale Results section Sequence of steps Use of the first person Use the required format Write introductions and conclusions last Write a “spew draft” Work Habits A “real” job Annotate everything Avoid isolation Daily progress “Dissertation days” Do something every day Organize articles Perseverance Number of hours per day Working with the Committee and Chair Allow sufficient time for review Avoid standoffs Check with your advisor first Create a visual presence Get feedback early Get to know other members Line numbers Prepare for the defense Put it in writing Seek closure Standing meeting Take notes What are their preferences? Write down your questions Writer’s Block Discover how you work best Imagine a sympathetic reader Start with what you can do Use a tape recorder Work on clerical Write—write anything