ALIGNING THE ELEMENTS – Love Your Dissertation

Aligning the Elements, the second book in the Desperate Dissertator series, is especially for Ph.D. candidates who attend for-profit online universities and seek help to get their proposals and manuscripts approved. Readers will see what others have done to succeed and gain insights from Dr. Carol M. Booton, a professional dissertation editor (and former dissertator).

Dissertators often struggle to align the main elements of their research projects. This guide offers suggestions from Dr. Carol’s own experience and reveals how other dissertators have aligned their research elements successfully and earned their doctorates.

Written in a friendly, nonscholarly manner, Dr. Carol demystifies the challenges of aligning the research elements. You will learn that alignment is a fascinating logic puzzle. This powerful little book will help you align your elements and achieve your dream of earning your Ph.D.

“The first time I heard the term alignment in relation to my dissertation, I was working on my concept paper (the precursor to the proposal), which had just been rejected by the graduate school reviewers. The biggest problem they identified was that the elements of my paper weren’t aligned. I was confounded. What elements? What alignment? Is that like when Mars aligns with Mercury? Feedback like that is so vague. What is a poor dissertator to do?”

—Carol M. Booton, Aligning the Elements, p. 4

Are you confounded by the challenge of aligning the elements of your academic dissertation or thesis?

In simple language, Dr. Carol explains the basics of aligning the dissertation elements and answers all the questions you were afraid to ask your Chairperson:

What is this mysterious “alignment” thing?
What are the elements that need aligning?
How do I align my problem, purpose, and research questions?
How do I align my methodology and methods?
How do I align my assumptions, limitations, delimitations?
How have successful dissertators aligned their elements?

This brief guide will help you corral your dissertation elements into a logical order. First, we’ll identify the elements we need to align. You are familiar with many of the culprits: The problem, purpose, and research questions are a few. Along the way, I show you what others have done to succeed and offer you some tips from my own experience as a dissertation editor and former dissertator. I predict you will soon be collecting data and achieving your dream of earning a Ph.D.

Print version USD $15.99
Kindle version USD $7.99

Aligning the Elements
Series: The Desperate Dissertator Series (Book 2)
Paperback: 251 pages
Publisher: Independently published (May 21, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1099364760
ISBN-13: 978-1099364761
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches

TABLES
FIGURES
ABOUT THE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF DISSERTATIONS STUDY
1 THE QUEST FOR ALIGNMENT
2 WHAT IS “ALIGNMENT”?
3 HOW TO ALIGN THE ELEMENTS
4 ALIGNMENT IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS
5 EXAMPLE OF BAD AND GOOD ALIGNMENT
6 HOW DID 35 DISSERTATORS ALIGN THEIR ELEMENTS?
7 ALIGNING THE PROBLEM AND THE PURPOSE
8 ALIGNING THE PURPOSE AND THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
9 ALIGNING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THE PROBLEM
10 ALIGNING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
11 ALIGNING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGY
12 ALIGNING THE METHODOLOGY AND METHOD
13 ALIGNING THE SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT
14 ALIGNING THE ASSUMPTIONS
15 ALIGNING THE LIMITATIONS
16 ALIGNING THE DELIMITATIONS
17 CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A: CONTENT ANALYSIS OF DISSERTATIONS STUDY
APPENDIX B: BRACKETING MY ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ACADEMIC QUALITY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tables

Table 1. An example of bad alignment
Table 2. An example of good alignment
Table 3. Alignment scores and average scores
Table 4. Alignment Scores—Summary
Table 5. Nature of the research problem
Table 6. Problem to purpose alignment—Problem 1
Table 7. Problem to purpose alignment—Problem 2
Table 8. Problem to purpose alignment—Problem 3
Table 9. Defining the research problem
Table 10. Research objectives in the purpose statement
Table 11. Research objectives in the purpose statement (by institution type)
Table 12. Methodology of those who included a purpose statement (by institution type
Table 13. Example of developing a purpose statement
Table 14. An example of too many purposes
Table 15. First words in the research questions
Table 16. Hypotheses in sample dissertations
Table 17. Alignment of problem and research questions
Table 18. Alignment of research questions and theory
Table 19. Worldviews (identified as such or not)
Table 20. Research question examples
Table 21. Alignment of RQs and methodology
Table 22. Alignment of RQs and methodology
Table 23. Analysis of methods
Table 24. Keywords in significance statement
Table 25. Assumptions
Table 26. Aligning the assumptions
Table 27. Limitations
Table 28. Limitations—Keywords by methodology
Table 29. Sample size ranges and means
Table 30. Aligning the limitations
Table 31. Delimitations
Table 32. Identifying delimitations—An example
Table 33. Aligning the delimitations

Figures

Figure 1. Alignment of the dissertation elements—1
Figure 2. Alignment of the dissertation elements—2.
Figure 3. Alignment of the dissertation elements—3.
Figure 4. Alignment of the dissertation elements—4.
Figure 5. Alignment of the dissertation elements—5.
Figure 6. Alignment scores (0 to 4)—Frequencies.
Figure 7. Alignment scores (0 to 4)—Frequencies (by institution type).
Figure 8. Does the problem statement section exist?
Figure 9. Does the problem statement section exist?
Figure 10. Does the problem statement section exist?
Figure 11. Number of words in the problem statement section.
Figure 12. Number of words in the problem statement section (by institution type).
Figure 13. Does the purpose statement section exist?
Figure 14. Does the purpose statement section exist?
Figure 15. Does the purpose statement section exist?
Figure 16. Number of words in the purpose statement section.
Figure 17. Number of words in the purpose statement section (by institution type).
Figure 18. Does the research questions section exist?
Figure 19. Does the research questions section exist?
Figure 20. Number of research questions.
Figure 21. Number of research questions (by institution type).
Figure 22. Type I and Type II errors.
Figure 23. Does the theoretical framework section exist?
Figure 24. Does the theoretical framework section exist?
Figure 25. Number of words in the theoretical framework section.
Figure 26. Number of words in the theoretical framework section (by institution type).
Figure 27. Did the dissertator build the research questions on the theoretical framework?
Figure 28. Was a worldview section included?
Figure 29. Was a worldview identified?
Figure 30. Was a worldview identified? (by institution type).
Figure 31. Methodology used.
Figure 32. Methodology used (by institution type).
Figure 33. Number of methods used.
Figure 34. Number of methods used (by institution type).
Figure 35. Does the significance section exist?
Figure 36. Does the significance section exist? (by institution type).
Figure 37. Number of words in significance section.
Figure 38. Number of words in significance section (by institution type).
Figure 39. Does the assumption section exist?
Figure 40. Does the assumption section exist? (by institution type).
Figure 41. Number of words in assumptions section.
Figure 42. Does the limitations section exist?
Figure 43. Does the limitations section exist? (by institution type).
Figure 44. Sample size (quantitative).
Figure 45. Sample size (qualitative).
Figure 46. Number of words in the limitations section.
Figure 47. Number of words in limitation section (by institution type).
Figure 48. Does the delimitations section exist?
Figure 49. Does the delimitations section exist? (by institution type).
Figure 50. Number of words in delimitations section.
Figure 51. Number of words in delimitations section (by institution type).

Are you confounded by the challenge of aligning the elements of your academic dissertation or thesis?

Contents

Tables

Figures