The document outlines preparation strategies for dissertation defenses, emphasizing the differences between proposal and final defenses. It includes details on presentation content, logistics, and specific recommendations for methodologies and results slides. Additionally, it offers consulting services for dissertation assistance via Statistics Solutions.

1. Preparation for Quantitative Defense
Justin D’Souza
Quantitative Specialist

2. Table of
Contents
Statistics Solutions Services
Defense Preparation
Summary
Q&A
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

3. Services Offered
by Statistics
Solutions
• Topic Development
• Prospectus or Concept Papers
• Introduction Chapter
• Literature Review Chapter (identifying articles)
• Methodology Chapter (Quantitative/Qualitative).
• IRB forms
• Data entry templates
• Survey Monkey upload
• Results Chapter (Quantitative/Qualitative)
• Discussion Chapter
• Powerpoints for Defense
• Journal Publications
 Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

4. WebinarArchive
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/webinars/
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/webinar-
archive/

5. Proposal Defense
vs
Final Defense
 The proposal defense involves providing a summary of the proposal
chapters (Introduction, Literature Review, and Methodology).
 Summarizing key points from these chapters.
 The primary focus should be providing background on why this
study is being conducted(identifying the gap in the literature).
Then, explain the methodology for the proposed study.
 The final defense contains a summary of the entire dissertation – with
the Results and Discussion chapters now being added.
 A lot of the information from the proposal defense will be retained,
but it needs to be condensed and shifted to past tense.
 Primary focus should be reporting what the quantitative results
were for the study, and the implications of these findings in context
of the literature.
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

6. Preparation
 Ask your school for a template to the proposal and
final defense presentations.
 Note if there is a minimum/maximum slide count and
an estimated length for the presentation.
 Request for approved examples from your
committee.
 Ask your committee what types of questions to
anticipate.
 Identify when the questions will be asked – during the
presentation or after the presentation?
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

7. Location
 If presenting remotely (through Zoom, Microsoft
Teams, Google Meet, etc) – use two monitors, print
out the entire dissertation, highlight key sections, and
have a summary of talking points. Test out of the
logistics of the software prior to the defense.
 If presenting in person, familiarize yourself with the
equipment you will be using (projector, USB, HDMI,
PowerPoint).
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

8. Sample
Template
 Problem Statement
 Purpose Statement
 Theoretical Foundation
 Research Questions
 Research Method and Design
 Population/Sample
 Data Collection Process
 Data Analysis Process
 Research Results
 Implications/Conclusion
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9. What to Present
on Methods
Slides?
 For the proposal defense, the methodology section is
where you will provide most of your content. For the
final defense, this section needs to be condensed – to
leave room for Results and Discussion.
 Present research questions and hypotheses.
 Summarize the research design (quantitative correlational,
quantitative quasi-experimental, quantitative predictive, etc.).
 Define the population and sample. Provide sample size estimate
with G*Power of sample size calculator.
 Describe data collection procedures
 Describe instrumentation or archival data.
 Describe data analysis procedures (how is each research
question going to be statistically analyzed).
Need help with your dissertation? Call 727-442-4290

10. What to Present
on Results
Slides?
 If you reported on demographics, copy/paste the entire
table or figures into the presentation.
 Briefly summarize the trends of your demographics and
discuss how the numbers align with the population.
 Present descriptive statistics for variables of interest.
 Sample size, Means, Standard Deviations, Cronbach alpha
 Briefly review the statistical assumptions (normality,
outliers, homogeneity of variance, etc)
 Present findings for each hypothesis (1-2 slides per).
 Summarize the key takeaways (test statistics, mean scores,
betas, p-values)
 Conclude with a definitive statement for whether the
hypothesis is supported or not supported.
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