How to Design, Write, and Present a Successful Dissertation Proposal, by Elizabeth A. Wentz, is essential reading for any graduate student entering the dissertation process in the social or behavioral sciences. The book addresses the importance of ethical scientific research, developing your curriculum vitae, effective reading and writing, completing a literature review, conceptualizing your research idea, and translating that idea into a realistic research proposal using research methods. The author also offers insight into oral presentations of the completed proposal, and the final chapter presents ideas for next steps after the proposal has been presented. Taking the view that we “learn by doing,” the author provides Quick Tasks, Action Items, and To Do List activities throughout the text that, when combined, develop each piece of your research proposal. Designed primarily for quantitative or mixed methods research dissertations, this book is a valuable start-to-finish resource.

How to Design, Write, and Present a Successful Dissertation Proposal, by Elizabeth A. Wentz, is essential reading for any graduate student entering the dissertation process in the social or behavioral sciences. The book addresses the importance of ethical scientific research, developing your curriculum vitae, effective reading and writing, completing a literature review, conceptualizing your research idea, and translating that idea into a realistic research proposal using research methods. The author also offers insight into oral presentations of the completed proposal, and the final chapter presents ideas for next steps after the proposal has been presented. Taking the view that we “learn by doing,” the author provides Quick Tasks, Action Items, and To Do List activities throughout the text that, when combined, develop each piece of your research proposal. Designed primarily for quantitative or mixed methods research dissertations, this book is a valuable start-to-finish resource.

A complete, step-by-step, practical overview of the process of writing successful theses and dissertations Every year thousands of graduate students face the daunting–sometimes terrifying– challenge of writing a thesis or dissertation. But most of them have received little or no instruction on doing it well. This book shows them how in ways no other book does. It combines the practical guidance and theoretical understanding students need to complete their theses or dissertations with maximum insight and minimum stress. Drawing on her extensive research and experience advising hundreds of graduate students, Dr. Irene Clark presents a solid overview of the writing process. Clark shows how to apply innovative theories of process and genre and understand the writing process for what it is: your entrance into a conversation with the scholarly community that will determine your success or failure. This book offers useful strategies for each phase of the process, from choosing advisors and identifying topics through writing, revision, and review. Coverage includes • Getting started: overcoming procrastination and writer’s block • Understanding the genre of the thesis or dissertation • Speaking the “language of the academy” • Writing compelling proposals • Developing and revising drafts • Constructing effective literature reviews • Working with tables, graphs, and other visual materials • Working with advisors and dissertation committees • Avoiding inadvertent plagiarism Experience based, theoretically grounded, jargon free, and practical, Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation will help you become a more effective writer–and a more meaningful contributor to the scholarly conversation. Preface xi Introduction: Writing a Thesis or Dissertation: An Overview of the Process xix Chapter 1: Getting Started 1 Chapter 2: So What? Discovering Possibilities 17 Chapter 3: The Proposal as an Argument: A Genre Approach to the Proposal 33 Chapter 4: Mapping Texts: The Reading/Writing Connection 63 Chapter 5: Writing and Revising 83 Chapter 6: Writing the Literature Review 103 Chapter 7: Using Visual Materials 125 Chapter 8: The Advisor and Thesis/Dissertation Committee 139 Chapter 9: Working with Grammar and Style 155 Chapter 10: Practical Considerations 175 Index: 193

Provides a practical resources for thesis writers in all fields of study. Guides from topic selection and proposal, through the research and writing process, to the defense and subsequent presentation to professional audiences.

Aimed at graduate students and the faculty members who supervise them, this text describes skills and strategies helpful in the various stages of the dissertation writing process. The 20 contributions from Farmer (education, Pennsylvania State U.), Rojewski (occupational studies, U. of Georgia) and other academics discuss such topics as finding a researchable topic, conducting an extensive review of the literature, designing quantitative research, analyzing data, proofreading, and editing. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR