2. General things to know
For Workforce Education program:
One month to respond to four questions:
Theory
Foundations
Research
Practice
15 pages double-space excluding references for each question
Cover page for each question before your response
References could be at the end of all four responses or of each response
(the latter is preferred)
Binders with responses to all four questions for each of your committee
member
APA format
3. When will you know
Preliminary meeting with your committee
Introduction about yourself, program of study, current research
Your dissertation proposal abstract (one page, references upon request)
Brief intro
Statement of Purpose
Methodology (Design, Participants, Instrumentation, Procedure, Data
analysis)
Your committee will ask you questions about your proposal
Each committee member picks up a question and imply you the direction of
his/her question
Communicate with your advisor to make sure you understand what questions
are probably going to be asked
4. Strategies to complete
Start when you are ready!
Have a draft of Ch1, 2, 3 before you start
Your comps questions are entirely based on your research
The deeper you understand your research, the better you are prepared
The aim of comps is to prepare you for your proposal/prospectus
Once your start:
Make sure you understand each question well – Never start writing
when you are not sure!! Stop! Go to that committee member and ask!
Manage your time well
Always save your work
Try to write down your responses and then revise once or twice
Remember the big picture!
5. Let’s be prepared!
Theory
What theory explains your Dependent Variable (DV) ?
What do we know about that theory?
What does that theory say about your DV?
What part of that theory guide your study? And How?
How does that theory explain the relationship between your DV and your
selection of Independent Variables (IVs)?
Foundations
Research
Practice
6. Let’s be prepared!
Theory
Foundations
What are some foundational issues of your study?
If you are constructing a test, the question may be “what is the process of
test construction”
If you are studying the impact of A on DV, the question may be “what are
impacts of A on DV based on the literature”
Research
Practice
7. Let’s be prepared!
Theory
Foundations
Research
What method are you going to use in your study?
What do we know about that method?
How should that method be used (procedures, assumptions, data
analysis, interpretations)?
Why do you select that method?
Practice
8. Let’s be prepared!
Theory
Foundations
Research
Practice
What is the practical implementation of your study? or
What is the educational systems in China? or
How does student-run business work (suppose you are studying work-
based learning activities)? or
What is the procedure of policy-making?
9. Golden tips
Use the most updated literature!
Communicate with your committee when you encounter problems!
Go back to your statement of purpose and remind yourself why you want to
do this study when necessary!
Reward yourself and have some fun during comps!
