Part of the Survival Skills for Graduate Students workshops. This workshop provides strategies for starting and completing a thesis or dissertation.

1. Survival Skills for
Graduate Students
Research and
Dissertation
Basics
Dr. Deborah Lee
Professor/Coordinator
Graduate Student Services
Mississippi State University Libraries

2. Mississippi State University Libraries
Survival Skills for Graduate
Students: Workshops
 Research and Dissertation Basics
 Developing a Literature Review
 Research Ethics & the Graduate Researcher
 Money 101 for Grad Students
Survival Skills

3. Workshops….
 Job Hunting in Academe: Landing on the
Tenure Track
 Crafting the Winning Curriculum Vitae
 Publishing 101: Navigating the Academic
Publishing Process
 Publishing 201: Author’s Rights and Contracts
Mississippi State University Libraries

4. Mississippi State University Libraries
Session Overview
 What this session will NOT cover!
 Library Resources and Services
 Research Strategies
 Planning and Completing the Dissertation
Survival Skills

5. Mississippi State University Libraries
The Best Dissertation…
…..is a Finished Dissertation!
Survival Skills

6. Mississippi State University Libraries
Library Services
 Research Services (2nd Floor)
– Research Consultations
– Specialized Research/Reference Resources
– Ready Reference
 Ask-A-Librarian service:
http://lib.msstate.edu/help/
Survival Skills

7. Mississippi State University Libraries
Library Services
 Instructional Media Center (2nd Floor)
– Free Workshops
– Multimedia Workstations and Instructional Material
– Equipment Checkout
– Videos, CDs, DVDs
Survival Skills

8. Mississippi State University Libraries
Library Services
 Access Services (2nd Floor)
– Inter-Library Loan (Illiad)
– Check out books
 Theses-Dissertations (1st Floor)
– Dissertations and Theses
 James Nail
Survival Skills

9. Other Resources
 Writing Center
– http://www.writingcenter.msstate.edu/index.html
– Available at multiple locations (including the library!)
– Appointments also available online
Mississippi State University Libraries

10. Mississippi State University Libraries
Survival Skills for Graduate
Students: Web Page
 Related Library Links
 Workshop Materials
 Related Campus Materials
 Archive of workshop materials and recordings.
 http://library.msstate.edu/li/ssfgs/
Survival Skills

11. Mississippi State University Libraries
Challenges of the Dissertation
Process
 Why do a dissertation?
– Marks the transition from student to scholar.
 Challenges
– New experience
– Very large project!
– Substantively different in scope
– Thesis vs Dissertation
Survival Skills

12. Mississippi State University Libraries
Managing the Dissertation Process
 Managing your topic.
 Managing your advisor.
 Managing your committee.
Survival Skills

13. Mississippi State University Libraries
Managing your topic.
 Too narrow vs too broad.
 Significance to the profession.
 Flexibility.
Survival Skills

14. Mississippi State University Libraries
Managing your advisor!
 Selecting an advisor.
 Establish expectations.
 Pick a dissertation committee.
Survival Skills

15. Mississippi State University Libraries
Manage your committee.
 Selecting committee members.
 Establish expectations.
 Communicate!
Survival Skills

16. Mississippi State University Libraries
Plan the Dissertation Process
 Develop a timeline.
– Data/Research constraints?
– Graduate date?
– Funding considerations?
 Other considerations
– Approvals: human subjects, animals,
dangerous chemicals.
Survival Skills

17. Mississippi State University Libraries
Dissertation Process
 Dissertation Proposal
– Statement of the Research Question
– Literature Review
– Methodology
Survival Skills

18. What will your dissertation look
like?
 Varies by field, department, and advisor!
 Don’t assume; ask and check recent
dissertations produced by your
department/advisor.
Mississippi State University Libraries

19. Mississippi State University Libraries
Dissertation Planning
 Format (Traditional)
– Chapter One: Research Question
– Chapter Two: Literature Review
– Chapter Three: Methodology
– Chapter Four: Data Analysis
– Chapter Five: Conclusions
Survival Skills

20. Format: an alternative approach
Mississippi State University Libraries

22. Mississippi State University Libraries
“Mastering the Academic Style”
From: Writing the Winning Dissertation, by
Allan Glatthorn (1st edition)
 Too Confident: The study proves that schools
are loosely coupled systems.
Survival Skills

23. Mississippi State University Libraries
Too tentative (emphasis added):
One conclusion that might be drawn from
this study is that this particular school, on
the basis of this investigation, seemed to
have elements of organizational structure
that might enable it to be characterized in
general as a “loosely-coupled system,”
although there were clearly aspects of
tight coupling manifest in certain parts of
the system.
Survival Skills

24. Mississippi State University Libraries
Better…
The findings suggest that most of the
organizational elements of this school
were only loosely linked, so that it might
be generally characterized as “loosely
coupled.”
Survival Skills

25. Mississippi State University Libraries
Dissertation Advice
 Work where you are most productive
(place and time).
 Keep your committee informed of your
progress.
 Don’t become discouraged---seek help
when needed.
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26. Mississippi State University Libraries
Completing The Process
 Timing Completion
 Physical Formatting
 Submitting Your Dissertation
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27. Mississippi State University Libraries
After the Dissertation
 Publishing Your Results!!!!
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28. Mississippi State University Libraries
Available Handouts
 PowerPoint Slides (Available Upon Email
Request)
 Library Services Summary
 Dissertation Guides Bibliography
 EndNote Flyer
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29. Mississippi State University Libraries
 Questions?
– Dr. Deborah Lee, Professor
– (662) 325-0810
– dlee@library.msstate.edu
 Please give us feedback on this workshop!
Survival Skills