Having to go to the "Big Gun" - Practical Research: Planning and Design by Paul D. Leedy and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod - for this one. This book was integral to what I call "Proposal, Take One" (see earlier blog post) as I had little guidance on how to write a dissertation proposal back in 2007.
Going back to it, I realize that even then, I didn't use it as well as I could have. So now, with "Take Two," I've got some better insight.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Geez, this is a lot of stuff. I certainly want to go the quantitative route--see my purpose statement. I'll be using studies already done by others and correlate results. To my knowledge, it doesn't look like anyone has actually correlated the three studies I have in mind yet. That's both good news and bad. Good news is that that's perfect for a dissertation. Bad news (maybe) is that it can't be done.
That's nothing to be decided for the proposal, though, so I'll keep moving and cross that bridge when I get to it.
What I'm doing for the proposal: Each of the research questions contain at least one independent variable and one dependent variable. I'm naming the studies behind each variable and organizing the proposal write-up around the correlations of each. For example, I want to compare risk cultures with venture capital investment. I have a study for cultural dimensions and a five-year longitudinal study on VC. I can run the data on both to determine what--if any--of the correlations are.
I'll do that for each of the five research questions. This is probably the part of the proposal I'm most uncomfortable with...I expect some clarification will be needed after my submission.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Academic Bubble
The guide book I found a few months ago - Dissertation and Research Success (2013) by Robin Buckley (PhD) and Timothy Delicath (PhD) - said to create an "Academic Bubble" in which to keep your notes, research, resources, etc. out all the time. Here's a photo of mine.
It's a little tricky as my computer and peripherals cease to become part of the Bubble at 9:00 a.m. ET, Monday through Friday when I take my student hat off and put my systems engineer manager hat on. The rickety desk on the left remains part of the Bubble, but I have to go through it almost daily to keep it from becoming a collector of odds and ends that have absolutely nothing to with my dissertation.
I finally got the three-monitor set-up to work this morning. Windows 7 makes a two-monitor set-up easy. I had to get a USB video adapter (from StarTech) to make the third monitor work. By the way, I found an awesome sale on those three Samsung monitors at Staples a couple of weeks ago. The monitor stand is pretty cool, too (found it on Amazon)--it's hard to see in the picture, but they all are attached to a stand with a single pedestal. Underneath the center monitor is a brick wrapped in a towel to give the stand a bit more stability. These 24" monitors are heavy.
For the dissertation, my main document appears on the center screen. Endnote (with the file containing my research and resources citations) is on the right. Research is on the left.
Proposal Part 6 - Justification of Study
My assignment says: "Theoretical and practical justifications of topic suitability for research (around one page)." I'm a little foggy today; I need more than that to figure out what to write. I found this article "How to write a research proposal" that has a good explanation, IMHO.
Scrolling down to the section entitled, "Objective of the research project," I find:
Give a concise and clear outline of the academic (possibly also non-academic, e.g. social and political) objectives that you want to achieve through your project. Your proposal needs to show why the intended research is important and justifies the search effort. Here you outline the significance (theoretical or practical) or relevance of the topic.
Such justification may either be of an empirical nature (you hope to add to, or extend an existing body of knowledge) or of a theoretical nature (you hope to elucidate contentious areas in a body of knowledge or to provide new conceptual insights into such knowledge). All research is part of a larger scholarly enterprise and candidates should be able to argue for the value and positioning of their work.
That explains it nicely. I'll have to remember this article...it has a lot of other good stuff in it.
Scrolling down to the section entitled, "Objective of the research project," I find:
Give a concise and clear outline of the academic (possibly also non-academic, e.g. social and political) objectives that you want to achieve through your project. Your proposal needs to show why the intended research is important and justifies the search effort. Here you outline the significance (theoretical or practical) or relevance of the topic.
Such justification may either be of an empirical nature (you hope to add to, or extend an existing body of knowledge) or of a theoretical nature (you hope to elucidate contentious areas in a body of knowledge or to provide new conceptual insights into such knowledge). All research is part of a larger scholarly enterprise and candidates should be able to argue for the value and positioning of their work.
That explains it nicely. I'll have to remember this article...it has a lot of other good stuff in it.
Proposal Part 5: Literature Review (and Outline for Lit Review)
The Proposal requires a five-page Literature Review rather than an Outline for a Literature Review. But an outline may make the task a bit easier.
Found this outline from Western Oregon University. I also found these videos by David Taylor at the University of Maryland University College for a straight-forward explanation of how to do a literature review: Part 1 and Part 2. Taylor also has a Part 3, but it is designed specifically for his students (the dog entering the video provides a little comic relief). But he does provided a little insight on a literature review outline in this one.
I wrote a few pages of the literature review over the holidays. I've got over 200 pieces of literature to plow through, however, as the actual dissertation will have 40 to 50 pages devoted solely to the review of the literature. Dr. S says that this will make me the foremost expert on the topic. I think that's pretty cool.
I think that I will have all of the sections completed - except for the 5-page literature review - done by April 1st. The review is going to take a little extra time. Plus, it's been two months since I tried to tackle that, so I've got to go back to my notes and David Taylor's YouTube videos for a bit of a refresh.
Found this outline from Western Oregon University. I also found these videos by David Taylor at the University of Maryland University College for a straight-forward explanation of how to do a literature review: Part 1 and Part 2. Taylor also has a Part 3, but it is designed specifically for his students (the dog entering the video provides a little comic relief). But he does provided a little insight on a literature review outline in this one.
I wrote a few pages of the literature review over the holidays. I've got over 200 pieces of literature to plow through, however, as the actual dissertation will have 40 to 50 pages devoted solely to the review of the literature. Dr. S says that this will make me the foremost expert on the topic. I think that's pretty cool.
I think that I will have all of the sections completed - except for the 5-page literature review - done by April 1st. The review is going to take a little extra time. Plus, it's been two months since I tried to tackle that, so I've got to go back to my notes and David Taylor's YouTube videos for a bit of a refresh.
Objectives and Alligators
I'm reminded this morning of the objective of this dissertation:
To research without bias—NOT to prove and support my position on a topic.
I have also posted this on a pptx slide, and it hangs on my wall. I have to look at it all the time...this is so different than what I'm used to in writing for my work where my bias is wanted. But really, this is easier (theoretically). The dissertation process is hard enough as it is without trying to make it a "Magnum Opus."
I just have to remember that my position, my view, my bias are the alligators that will keep me off-track.
"When you're up to your neck in alligators, it's easy to forget you came to drain the swamp."
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Proposal Part 4: Research Objectives/Hypotheses Related to Research Problems
A simple four-minute video explains how to write research questions and hypotheses from "MsLemmonsClass." I assume this was written for high school kids (though I never saw anything like this in high school).
I like it. This really makes the task look a bit less daunting.
So basically, you take each individual research problem and find the independent and dependent variables.
Hypothesis:
The hypothesis is my prediction, my claim. It is what I think is going to happen based upon my prior information and my prior observations.
IF: If the IV does something (increases, decreases),
THEN: then DV is going to (increase, decrease)
BECAUSE: because ___________. Why do I think this? What led me to this claim or hypothesis?
This made writing the hypotheses fairly easy to do. Got them done in a couple hours.
Proposal Part 3: Research Problems
I've structured my five research problems around the methodology by Associate Professor (Australian Catholic University) Denis McLaughlin's "Identifying the Research Problem" ppt. Wish Dr. McLaughlin would publish a video on this...it would make it easier to follow. I'm sure that his actual presentation is worth seeing.
Summarized:
What was the issue/problem you want to study?
What is the concern being addressed “behind” this study?
Why do you want to undertake this study?
Why is this study important to the scholarly community?
Summarized:
In business, a research problem is a concern to managers that exists in business settings. To find them, ask yourself:
Proposal, Take One
I should point out that this blog describes what is actually my second dissertation proposal. The original one (what I'm calling "Proposal, Take One") was submitted in March 2007. It was approved a little later that year.
Shortly after that, I changed jobs and moved to another state while Hubby stayed behind to remodel the house (that really sucked!--the weekend-only marriage, not the remodel). That job was virtual hell...worked on average 80 hours a week, gained a lot of weight, had NO time for coursework, much less the dissertation.
Shortly after that, I changed jobs and moved to another state while Hubby stayed behind to remodel the house (that really sucked!--the weekend-only marriage, not the remodel). That job was virtual hell...worked on average 80 hours a week, gained a lot of weight, had NO time for coursework, much less the dissertation.
After 16 months of hell, I moved to my current company - work is hectic, particularly in Q1 each year - but no where near the insanity of 80 hours a week with no time for anything but comfort eating and fitful sleep. Six months after that move, not surprisingly, I was diagnosed with Stage II cancer. For about a year, I was in no state - either mentally or physically - to do much academically.
Due to the job in hell and the cancer treatment and recovery, I lost about 28 months of my seven-year doctoral program. Two years ago (program was to conclude on March 31, 2012), ISM graciously granted me a two-year extension. I completed the four PhD core courses in those two years - three of the four since June 2013 (I obviously got moving last year!) plus getting my teaching requirement done in Paris in the winter of 2013 (it sounds more glamorous than it was) - becoming ABD just two weeks ago on March 18th.
So if you're counting, tomorrow (March 31st) marks the end of my program. ISM doesn't appear to be enthused by the dissertation going past 3/31, but it's being tolerated for the time being. There's a note in the PhD handbook about a six-month extension period being given to finish the dissertation. So I think I'm OK.
So, why am I not going ape-crazy about my original proposal not being valid anymore? A few reasons:
- Take One proposed a 16-chapter, 100,000-word paper on something that is very boring.
- The newest requirements mandate only five (big) chapters and 80,000 words. Plus this topic is much more interesting (to me, anyway).
- For the "new and improved" dissertation process, unless its a germinal work, I can't use any literature older than seven years. So NONE of the entire literature collection made for the last submission can be used. I'd have to start over anyway.
- The title plus subtitle of Take One contains 28 words. I'd owe Dr. S $105! :-)
Proposal Part 2: Purpose of the Study
The Proposal Prep instructions simply say, "One or Two Sentences," under the Purpose of the Study. Some lovely folks at www.dissertationrecipes.com have put together "Writing a Purpose Statement" which is a "how to" with some examples for purposes statements.
Currently, my purpose statement has two sentences. The first starts with "The purpose of this quantitative correlational study will be to determine the relationship...". The second explains the significance of that relationship. I actually modeled the statement after Example 3 in the document cited above - I very much liked the conciseness of it.
What I've also done is put the Purpose Statement in a pptx slide, printed it out, and have it posted on the wall just above the main monitor in my office. As this proposal evolves, and the dissertation paper gets written, that slide will keep me on the right track.
Currently, my purpose statement has two sentences. The first starts with "The purpose of this quantitative correlational study will be to determine the relationship...". The second explains the significance of that relationship. I actually modeled the statement after Example 3 in the document cited above - I very much liked the conciseness of it.
What I've also done is put the Purpose Statement in a pptx slide, printed it out, and have it posted on the wall just above the main monitor in my office. As this proposal evolves, and the dissertation paper gets written, that slide will keep me on the right track.
Proposal Part 1: Title of the Study
The Proposal Prep document from Dr. S says that the title of the study has to be "10-12 words maximum (plain English)." I think this is much like naming your baby after he's already earned his driver's license. (!)
However, I found more than a few examples from Harvard's recent grads at this link. Most of those grads managed to be short and sweet with their titles. Dr. S says that for every word in my title over seven, I owe him $5!
My title currently has nine words in it ($10 to Dr. S). This is also the ninth iteration of it. It seems to change as I go through the rest of the parts of the proposal.
Stay tuned...
However, I found more than a few examples from Harvard's recent grads at this link. Most of those grads managed to be short and sweet with their titles. Dr. S says that for every word in my title over seven, I owe him $5!
My title currently has nine words in it ($10 to Dr. S). This is also the ninth iteration of it. It seems to change as I go through the rest of the parts of the proposal.
Stay tuned...
Ten Parts of the Proposal
Since I put the proposal work away for two and a half months to finish up coursework, I'm finding that I have to go back to review the process I started in December. Dr. S (the dissertation guide and gatekeeper) will assign an advising prof to me after the proposal is in. In the meantime, I've got to submit ten items in the proposal. Here they are:
- Title of the Study
- Purpose of the Study
- Research Problems
- Research Objectives/Hypotheses Related to Research Problems
- Overview of Literature
- Justification of Study
- Method and Sample
- Limitations of the Study
- Operational Definitions of Key Terms
- References
I've already written about some of these, but I'll probably take them one blog post at a time as I work through them. As of this writing, I'm through Parts 1 through 4, but they sort of evolve as I get through the literature.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Dissertation + 7 Other Life Facets
Over the holidays, I discovered a great guide to fitting the dissertation process into one's life: Dissertation and Research Success (2013) by Robin Buckley (PhD) and Timothy Delicath (PhD). First things first...you focus on the dissertation as just one facet of your life. It stresses that you need balance. This is proving to be quite difficult, but I get it.
I put together a bit of a plan...a list of "to do's" for each day, each week, each month. Following that plan is another story altogether. But I'm trying.
One of the facets is health. Since the first of the year, we've run two half-marathons and are scheduled to do a third on April 13th. Weather and workload have hindered the training schedule quite a bit. Oh well, if I have to walk the thing in two weeks, I'll walk it. I sure hate seeing the sag wagon, but that's small potatoes.
Saturday Morning and Rabbit Trails
Yes, it's early. And yes, it's a Saturday morning. I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to add a third monitor to my computer system to keep a lot of work projects at the forefront. A third monitor should also help with the dissertation (at least, that's what I keep telling myself) as one displays the proposal--and eventually the dissertation paper itself. Another has my Endnote file for handy reference, and the third has Chrome on it for quick browsing. OK, the third also has email, Google Play (gotta have my tunes), and any occasional rabbit trail I choose to go down.
Admittedly, the rabbit trails can be distractions, but there are points where thinking and writing about "Using Predictive Risk Analytics for Venture Capital Investment Decisions" turn my brain into oatmeal. Speaking of distractions, I hear the hubby rumbling around downstairs. He has a sort-and-go-through-boxes project on our schedules today, so my Saturday certainly won't be devoted solely to the dissertation. That's probably a good thing.
Admittedly, the rabbit trails can be distractions, but there are points where thinking and writing about "Using Predictive Risk Analytics for Venture Capital Investment Decisions" turn my brain into oatmeal. Speaking of distractions, I hear the hubby rumbling around downstairs. He has a sort-and-go-through-boxes project on our schedules today, so my Saturday certainly won't be devoted solely to the dissertation. That's probably a good thing.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
ABD!
As of last week, I am officially "ABD." Over the holidays, I started the dissertation process, taking two week's vacation (I work full-time) to start the dissertation proposal process. As I had one class to go, after putting together a draft proposal, I put the dissertation down to plow through the last class. Now, it's just a matter of "gittin' 'er done!"
Because blogging was extremely helpful during a tough period in 2009 (cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment--I'm fine now!), it was recommended that I blog through the dissertation process. I hope that it helps other PhD students. But even if it helps only me, it will be worth it. It's been a very long journey, and I'm anxious to complete it.
Because blogging was extremely helpful during a tough period in 2009 (cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment--I'm fine now!), it was recommended that I blog through the dissertation process. I hope that it helps other PhD students. But even if it helps only me, it will be worth it. It's been a very long journey, and I'm anxious to complete it.
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