Do you need to finish your doctorate to advance your career? Many people start doctoral programs but don’t finish, losing out on future income and promotions. Did you get stuck trying to get your proposal approved? Take heart. Here are five tips to help you get back on track, finish your proposal, and earn your doctorate.
1. Dissertator, know thyself
Know your institution’s dissertation requirements. Every school has different guidelines. You need to know them and follow them. Requirements can be inconsistent, and many things can go wrong. Familiarize yourself with your institution’s dissertation handbook.
Update your computer skills. You may have gone to college before the Internet. In some ways, studying now isn’t much different than it was then, but now we have technology to dazzle and confound us. You may not need fancy software to analyze your data. Plain old Word and Excel might be enough to get the job done. Keep it simple, keep learning, and don’t give up.
Choose a topic that suits you. Out of the billion or so fascinating topics in your field, how do you narrow the choices down to one that is manageable? Do some journaling using these prompts:
- In your graduate courses, what were your favorite subjects and controversies?
- Where do you see yourself in five years, 10 years?
- What topics will position you for the career you want?
- Talk to practitioners in your field. What problems do they face? Can you help?
2. Find and manage your sources like a pro
Look for journal articles that have been “peer-reviewed.” Peer-reviewed means the source has been reviewed and approved by a jury of the authors’ peers (i.e., fellow researchers). The very best (i.e., the most reputable, top tier, well-respected, super hard to get published in) journals use a blind review process, in which the reviewers don’t know the identity of the author or authors, so there can be no taint of bias. The work stands or falls on its own merit.
Manage your sources efficiently. Once you find all those peer-reviewed sources, what do you do with them? Managing sources can be like herding cats when your research folders begin overflowing with files. Some dissertators use source management software like Endnote or Mendeley. I managed thousands of sources by labeling them with codes that I could easily search on using only Windows Explorer. See my method in my book.
Write a strategic literature review. Save online sources as Word or pdf documents. Highlight important ideas as you read. That will save you time when it is time to incorporate the sources into your literature review. The literature review, typically Chapter 2 of your proposal, provides the background for your study and the proof that you have identified a viable problem worth researching. It takes time and effort to distill all the sources you’ve studied into a succinct and readable rationale for why the world needs your study. Be strategic: You don’t need to include everything; however, all the sources you choose to include should be synthesized into a clear argument and justification for your study.
3. Search for the elegant bones
Define the research problem accurately. Are you having trouble figuring out how to state your research problem? I wrote in circles for weeks, writing around the problem without succinctly identifying it. Once you get the research problem clearly defined, things flow much more smoothly. Use a simple worksheet, like this one.
Let your research problem dictate your theoretical framework. As you wrestle with your research problem, think about a logical theory that can provide the backbone for your study. You usually only need one main theoretical framework to hold the study together. Don’t overdo it by proposing multiple theories. You can discuss them all in your literature review, but choose one or two to focus on for YOUR study. Applying theory is one of the biggest hurdles dissertators face. See more in my book.
Align the bones around a strong framework. All the main elements of your study—the problem, purpose, research questions, methodology, and methods—should be built around the theoretical framework you’ve chosen. Getting these pieces to work together, or “align,” is an iterative process that can take time, but it’s important to get it right if you want to get your proposal approved. Hone the pieces down to the bones of your study. Start adding flesh when you are sure the bones can stand on their own.
4. Study the work of previous researchers
What is your study’s contribution? To get your proposal approved, you must convince your reviewers that your study will contribute something valuable to the body of knowledge. The best way to do this is to study how other researchers have contributed. Read how previous researchers chose their methods, recruited their samples, and collected and analyzed their data.
How did others do it? Read everything you can to learn the jargon researchers have used to describe their procedures. Certain words signal to reviewers that you understand the nuances of the research process. For example, you may notice the word “explore” is often used for qualitative studies and “examine” is used for quantitative studies. Phenomenologists cite Moustakas (1994). Case study researchers cite Yin (2009). If you use the “correct” words and cite the “right” sources, your reviewers will see you’ve done your homework.
5. Be an ethical researcher
Identify your study’s assumptions and limitations. Every study has assumptions, limitations, and delimitations, whether they are explicitly stated or not, so don’t panic. Some assumptions are unavoidable—for example, we hope our respondents answer honestly. Some limitations are inescapable—for example, for all you quantitative dissertators, remember, we aren’t studying the entire population of the planet, or even of one town or one school. We limit our sample to a certain randomly selected group and hope through the magic of probability and the bell-shaped normal distribution that this group’s views reflect the views of similar people who weren’t studied.
Follow IRB guidelines. Most dissertators collect data from people. Whenever we involve people in our research, specific ethical guidelines apply. Make sure you are familiar with your institution’s IRB guidelines.
Don’t be a plagiarist! Many dissertators seem to believe that citing their sources is optional. Citing your sources, either in the text or in footnotes or endnotes, is a requirement of academic writing. Plagiarism is no joke. Your degree can be rescinded decades later. Careers can be ruined.
Validate your study. Desperation can motivate even the most ethical person to consider engaging in unethical behavior. Sadly, desperation or arrogance causes some researchers to cut corners, throwing the trustworthiness of the entire research process into question. Validation is the process you will undertake to ensure your study is as robust and trustworthy as it can be.
What should you do now?
Consider buying my book. As I was struggling to get my own dissertation proposal approved, I identified 28 1/2 potential obstacles. I discuss each one in detail in my book RESUBMIT! 28 1/2 REASONS WHY YOU CAN’T GET YOUR DISSERTATION PROPOSAL APPROVED. It’s a big fat book with lots of worksheets and diagrams, but luckily you only need to read the chapters that apply to you. I tried to make it reader-friendly. Let me know if I succeeded.
Sources
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Applied Social Research Methods Series Vol. 5. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
