The Education Dissertation
A Guide for Practitioner Scholars

Edited by:

Dan W. Butin - Merrimack College, USA, Cambridge College

Courses:
Research Methods in Education | Thesis & Dissertation Guides

November 2009 | 184 pages | Corwin

"With each turn of the page I found myself nodding 'exactly!' Whether as a class text assigned by faculty or as a self-study resource used by students, this book will resonate with readers."
—Doug Leigh, Associate Professor of Education
Pepperdine University

Use these focused guidelines to help you through every stage of the dissertation process!

Writing a dissertation requires focus and commitment. The Education Dissertation provides a step-by-step process for developing and completing an academically rigorous dissertation in a time-efficient manner.

Written for doctoral students in education who are also currently working in the field, this book provides specific and accessible guidance for the entire process, from finding a topic to conducting the literature review to writing and defending the dissertation. Grounded in adult learning theory, this volume:

Offers a clear, easy-to-follow approach that highlights key milestones with concrete goals and workable methods at each step
Discusses how practitioner scholars can apply their work experience to the dissertation
Includes organizational templates complete with detailed charts, checklists, a timeline, student examples, and rubrics
Provides tips throughout to help students think through situations
Covers both quantitative and qualitative research

Perfect for practicing educators at any stage of the dissertation process, this resource provides the "big picture" framework as well as the nitty-gritty details.

Available Formats

ISBN: 9781412960441	Paperback	Suggested Retail Price: $42.95	Bookstore Price: $34.36
ISBN: 9781452239774	Electronic Version	Suggested Retail Price: $39.00	Bookstore Price: $31.20

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List of Figures

Preface

Who Should Read This Book and Why

Key Features and How to Use Them

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Dedication

1. A Guide for Practitioner Scholars

Questioning the Doctorate

Seeing the Doctoral Process Through Doctoral Students’ Eyes

This Book as Guidelines and Guardrails

Strategies for Success

2. A Road Map From Start to Finish

The Big Picture: An Outline of the Process

The Dissertation Timeline

Your Own Timeline and Benchmarks

Embracing Technology: The Table of Contents and Reference List

Structuring Your Life as a Doctoral Student

3. Focusing Your Research

Articulating a Topic in “Academic Speak”

Narrowing the Topic

Your First Success at Focusing: Creating a Title and Research Question

A Final Thought: Focusing Your Research at a Cocktail Party

4. Structuring Your Research

Choosing a Theoretical Framework

Doing a Literature Review

Understanding Research Methodology

Choosing a Research Method

Empirical Methodologies

Linking Research Purpose to Research Method

5. Conducting Your Research

Linking Research Methods to Research Tools

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Some Final Thoughts Before "ABD-Land"

6. Putting It All Together: Completing Your Dissertation

The Dissertation as a “Machine”

Reverse Engineering Your Dissertation

What Are the Remaining Key Issues?

7. Defending and Moving On

The Dissertation Defense

Publish Your Findings

Apply Your Research: Impacting K-12 Education

Teach the Next Generation: Teaching in Higher Education

The Beginning of Your Journey as a Practitioner Scholar

Key Resources by Topic

References

Index

"The book is rich with ideas and strategies for thinking about every phase of the dissertation and for undertaking each phase once it has been carefully thought out."

Daniel L. Duke, Professor of Educational Leadership

University of Virginia

"The author does an excellent job of taking a serious, technical, overwhelming topic and making it fun and interesting to read."

Tammy J. Graham, Assistant Professor of Education

The Citadel

"With each turn of the page I found myself nodding 'exactly!' Whether as a class text assigned by faculty or as a self-study resource used by students, this book will resonate with readers."

Doug Leigh, Associate Professor of Education

Pepperdine University

Key features

Guides the student through the entire process of writing a rigorous dissertation from selecting the research topic to defending the dissertation
Offers the student a road map complete with detailed charts, checklists, a timeline, many student examples and rubrics
Provides numerous "hints" throughout the book to help students think through situations before proceeding
Explores the various types of research and the implications of each for the particular research topic selected by the student
Incorporates "Try This!" activities at each stage of the process to help students understand important concepts, e.g., how to start a literature review correctly, how to focus research questions, and how to operationalize their ideas

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A Guide for Practitioner Scholars

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