Proposal Defense (US only): Proposal/Prospectus Polished: Are you and your Proposal Prepared for Defence? James & Slater (2014)

1. Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation
or Thesis Faster
A Proven Map to Success
by E. Alana James and Tracesea Slater
Are You and Your Proposal
Prepared for Defense?

3. Polishing Your Proposal

4. • Abstracts
– Guidelines/Template from Scientific Research
1. The purpose of this study was . . .
2. The scope (or population) of the study was . . .
3. The methodology used (include data collection
and analysis) . . .
4. Findings from the study show . . .
5. Conclusions reached . . .
6. Significance of the study is . . .
7. It contributes to the literature . . .
• Preparing Your Slides

5. Getting Ready for a Live Defense

6. • The
Defense
From
the
Professor’s
Point
of
View
• Set
Yourself
up
for
Success
• Building
on
a
Solid
Founda=on
• The
Two
Approaches
to
Reading
a
Disserta=on
or
Thesis
• Comments
and
Revisions

7. Relationships: Your Advisor
and Committee Members

8. • Moving Past Issues to Greater Support
– Choose a committee wisely
– Not Supportive?
– Lack of Timely Feedback
– Does Not Give Instruction
• Moving Past Issues to Greater Support
– Reengaging, Especially if You Have Been Away From
the Process for a While
– Handling Criticism
• Before You Go into Defense of Proposal
• After You Have Received Difficult Criticism

9. Ethical Review
• It
is
at
the
=me
of
the
defense
of
proposal
that
doctoral
students
are
first
trained
in
and
then
make
applica=on
to
their
universi=es
ethical
review
board.
– Inves=gate
university
guidelines
– Talk
to
students
who
have
recently
passed
defense
and
are
collec=ng
data
– Ask
your
advising
professors
for
specific
guidelines
– Know
what
you
are
geIng
into
before
you
have
to
face
it

10. Things to Do During and After Your Defense of a
Dissertation Proposal

11. • Step
1:
Ask
Your
CommiLee
What
Specific
Things
They’ll
Look
for
in
Your
Analysis
of
Data
• Step
2:
Take
Good
Notes/Journal
Your
Data
Collec=on
and
Analysis
Procedure
• Step
3:
Send
Preliminary
Data
Analysis
and
Findings
• Step
4:
Keep
Asking
Ques=ons
Un=l
You’re
Sure
You
Understand
What
Others
See
in
Your
Data
• Step
5:
Read
All
the
Disserta=ons
You
Can
That
Model
Your
Methodology

12. Where
Should
I
Go
to
Dig
Deeper?
Suggested
Resources
to
Consider
• Brause,
R.
S.
(2000).
Wri$ng
your
doctoral
disserta$on:
Invisible
rules
for
success.
London:
Routledge
Falmer.
Pages
133
through
142
contain
a
detailed
discussion
of
the
defense
process,
including
ques=ons
frequently
asked
during
an
oral
defense.
• Garson,
G.
D.
(2002).
Guide
to
wri$ng
empirical
papers,
theses,
and
disserta$ons.
New
York:
Marcel
Dekker.
Pages
290
through
307
offer
further
discussion
of
choosing
a
commiLee,
providing
a
checklist
for
the
proposal
hearing
and
a
discussion
of
the
defense
from
the
perspec=ve
of
a
university
built
on
the
European
model.
• Mauch,
J.
E.,
&
Park,
N.
(2003).
Guide
to
the
successful
thesis
and
disserta$on:
A
handbook
for
students
and
faculty.
New
York:
Marcel
Dekker.
Pages
143
through
198
build
on
the
discussion
by
Garson,
adding
func=ons
of
the
commiLee
and
assessment
guidelines
to
which
you
may
be
responsible.
• Roberts,
C.
M.
(2004).
The
disserta$on
journey.
Thousand
Oaks,
CA:
Corwin
Press
(pp.
184–191);
GlaLhorn,
A.
A.,
&
Joyner,
R.
L.
(2005).
Wri$ng
the
winning
thesis
or
disserta$on:
A
step-­‐by-­‐step
guide
(2nd
ed.).
Thousand
Oaks,
CA:
Corwin
Press
(pp.
221_226).
Both
of
these
books
have
scenarios
as
to
what
to
expect
from
a
defense
at
a
university
using
the
model
most
common
in
the
United
States.
• Western,
S.
(2012).
Coaching
and
mentoring:
A
cri$cal
text
(1st
ed.).
Thousand
Oaks,
CA:
Sage.
This
gives
both
advisor
and
student
an
excellent
and
academic
view
of
the
poten=al
of
this
rela=onship.