In this webinar, we will provide tips on keeping a positive attitude for the dissertation journey, selecting a dissertation topic, and picking your committee. We discuss the best practices when choosing your committee, the importance of your research questions when developing your topic, and the importance of making sure your research questions are researchable. There will be a brief Q & A session that follows.

1. Dissertation:Attitude, Committee, and
Topic Selection
Dr. Johanna Broussard
Qualitative Specialist

2. Attitude
 The dissertation process can be very long
and tedious
 Sometimes it can be hard not to get
discouraged or burnt out!
 Make sure to stay focused on things you can
control – not the things you cannot

3. Attitude
 Stay in balance
 Diffuse stress when possible (ex.Take one day a
week off to spend time with friends or relax)
 Timeframes are important but not the end all be
all!
 Try to let go of any unrealistic expectations
 ex. thinking you won't have revisions- you will
have revisions. Probably a lot of revisions…

4. Committee
 Picking your dissertation
committee can be daunting!
 Your committee chair may
have a few suggestions on
who to pick but ultimately you
should pick someone who will
serveYOU best!

5. Committee
Do your research on each potential member!
 Talk/email other students who have worked with
them
 Look at papers they have published- is their area of
expertise something that could help your research?
 Make sure to ask potential committee members
questions
 What kind of time do they have to be on a
committee? How often would they be available to
meet and discuss?
 What is their feedback/ teaching style? Are they
more hands on or hands off?

6. Committee
 Some other helpful tips and questions to ask
yourself:
 How easy do they seem to work with?
 Is their personality one you can mesh with?
 Do they have any skills or knowledge you or
another member of your committee is lacking/
would need?
 Are they familiar with your proposed methods?
 In general- try to stay away from people who are
unknown to you or your chair

7. Committee
 Ultimately: trust your instincts!
 Only you know what's best for you and your
project!

8. Topic Selection
 Work backwards-What variables are you interested in? How
would you want to collect/ obtain your data (including
secondary data)
 Get your hands on other papers in similar areas of interest
 Are there any gaps in the literature you could fill?
 Are there any future directions mentioned in a paper?
 Are there any issues or limitations that could be turned
into questions?
 Would a replication study be appropriate?
 Produce multiple questions you are interested in and pick
from there

9. Topic Selection
 The research question should be reasonable- not to
complicated that you would not be able to finish
before graduation
 ProQuest, Google Scholar, and your libraries database
are all good places to look for literature
 When reading through previous literature, make an
annotated bibliography as you go
 Ask questions after each paper you read and see if there
are any common questions that continue to pop up!
 You can even ask your chair for professional opinions-
they will probably be respectful but honest

10. Questions?
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

11. Additional
Support
Statistics Solutions is a full-service dissertation consulting
company providing graduate students timely, editorial
support for their dissertations and scholarly projects
For information about our services, receive a
complementary 30-min consultation available Mon-Fri 9-5
ET
Contact us at info@statisticssolutions.com
Phone: 727-442-4290