Thesis or Dissertation Library Research

This guide is issued by the College of Graduate Studies to assist students in completing their thesis/dissertation in the proper format. The general requirements presented in this manual pertain primarily to mechanical considerations. The purpose of this manual is to assure that each thesis/dissertation reflects Virginia State University’s rich history and the pursuit of Academic Excellence in graduate education while providing a degree of uniformity suitable for electronic and hard copy distribution.

A Concise Guide to Writing a Thesis or Dissertation provides clear, succinct, and intentional guidelines about organizing and writing a thesis or dissertation. Part I provides an overview for writing a thesis or dissertation. It describes the big picture of planning and formatting a research study, from identifying a topic to focusing on writing quality. Part II describes the framework and substance of a research study. It models the pattern generally found in a formal, five-chapter research study. Each chapter of a thesis or dissertation has a specific purpose, and this book focuses on each in an easy-to-follow structure. Chapter One reviews the headings and contents expected in the introduction of a study. Chapter Two provides advice for writing a literature review. Chapter Three discusses what to include when describing the methodology. These first three chapters form the proposal section of a study. Two additional chapters present results (Chapter Four) and provide discussion and conclusions (Chapter Five). Appendices offer resources for instructors and students, including a rubric for evaluating writing, exercises to strengthen skills in APA format, sample purpose statements, a research planning organizer, and a guide for scholarly writing. The book is designed overall to be a practical guide and resource for students for their thesis or dissertation process. Note to readers: Due to publishing limitations, some of the titles within the book do not accurately conform with APA format. For precise APA format, please see the APA manual (2010, pp. 62-63), or refer to Table 1.1, (p. 8) or Table D.1 (p. 107) in this book.

From Student to Scholar guides graduate students through the "hidden" developmental transition required in writing a dissertation and moving beyond, to become a successful scholar. Identifying common rhetorical challenges across disciplines, author Hjortshoj explains how to accommodate evolving audiences, motivations, standards, writing processes, and timelines. One full chapter is devoted to "writing blocks," and another offers advice to international students who are non-native speakers of English. The text also offers advice for managing relations with advisors and preparing for the diverse careers that PhDs, trained primarily as research specialists, actually enter. On the basis of more than thirty years of consultations with graduate students, this volume is an important addition to graduate thesis seminars and composition courses, as well as an invaluable reference for writing centers, workshops, and learning support centers.

Through conducting an ethnographic study about doctoral students from traditionally underrepresented groups who are learning to conduct ethnographic research, this volume offers unique insight into the challenges and experiences through which these students develop their skills and identities as qualitative researchers. Foregrounding the stories and perspectives of students from minority backgrounds including Latinx, Black, differently abled, and queer students, Graduate Students Becoming Qualitative Researchers identifies how the process of learning to conduct ethnographic research underpins doctoral students' success, confidence, and persistence in the academy. Chapters follow students during a one-year ethnographic research course during which they learn about ethnography, and also conduct observations, write field notes, interview participants, and gather artifacts. Offering important pedagogical insights into how ethnography and academic writing are communicated, the text also tackles questions of access and diversity within scholarship and highlights barriers to first-generation and minoritized students' success, including impostor syndrome, stereotype vulnerability, and access to time, knowledge, and capital. This volume will prove valuable to doctoral students, postgraduate researchers, scholars, and educators conducting qualitative research across the fields of education and rhetoric, as well as the humanities and social sciences. It will also appeal to those interested in multiculturalism and diversity within the education sector.

This book provides a step-by-step guide to writing the different chapters of a PhD dissertation, which will benefit aspiring, beginner and mid-track PhD students and candidates in the Social Sciences.

This book is for graduate students--and others--who want to become more productive writers. It's especially written for those who want to: * increase their motivation, focus, and persistence to move a project to completion * overcome procrastination and perfectionistic tendencies * reduce (or write in spite of) their anxiety and fear of writing * manage their time, work, energy (and advisor) for greater productivity The process or craft of sustained writing is not a matter that's taught to undergraduate or graduate students as part of their studies, leaving most at sea about how to start a practice that is central to a career in academe and vital in many other professional occupations. This book grew out of conversations Jan Allen has held with her graduate students for over 30 years and reflects the fruit of the writing workshops and boot camps she has conducted at three universities, her own and numerous colleagues' experiences with writing and advising, as well as the feedback she receives from her popular Productive Writer listserv. While Jan Allen recognizes that writing is not an innate talent for most of us, she demonstrates that it is a process based on skills which we can identify, learn, practice and refine. She focuses both on the process and habits of writing as well as on helping you uncover what kind of writer are you, and reflect on your challenges and successes. With a light touch and an engaging sense of humor, she proposes strategies to overcome procrastination and distractions, and build a writing practice to enable you to become a more productive and prolific writer. Jan Allen proposes that you read one of her succinct chapters - each devoted to a specific strategy or writing challenge - each day, or once a week. When you find one that increases your concentration, motivation or endurance, make it a habit. Try it for two weeks, charting the resulting increased productivity. It will become part of your repertoire of writing and productivity tools to which you can progressively add.

The Qualitative Dissertation in Education focuses on the experiences of students pursuing a doctorate in education and writing a qualitative dissertation. The literature on qualitative research has grown substantially over the past 25 years, but methods books often fail to consider the unique situations and resources available to students pursuing a professional doctorate. This book examines the entirety of the dissertation experience, walking readers through the process with examples and guidelines. The structure of the book outlines each chapter of the dissertation as well as the necessary steps to start and complete the dissertation, such as working with a faculty chair and committee, developing a peer support group, and organizing literature. Not only does the book cover each stage of the dissertation process, it also provides practical guidance on topics such as productivity, with exercises and resources to help students overcome obstacles and make progress in their writing. The Qualitative Dissertation in Education provides a foundation to understand both the basics of qualitative research and the expectations of the EdD dissertation.

This accessible guide equips students to succeed in their master's thesis or doctoral dissertation in psychology. The authors provide concrete assistance to the myriad tasks and requirements that students will encounter as they plan, conduct, and present their dissertation or thesis research. Drawing upon their many years of experience in working with graduate students, the authors address the multiple stages of the dissertation and thesis process. They take you through drafting the proposal, the advisor-advisee relationship, interacting with committee members, the writing process, handling obstacles, and the final presentation. Chapters provide guidance on using a research team, collecting data, conducting a literature review, and even acquiring financial support. Finally, students will find additional resources such as practical information on copyright issues, research methods, case analyses, and teleconferencing. This is an essential book for both graduate psychology students working on their master's theses or doctoral dissertations and their advisors.

Writing Strategies for the Education Dissertation offers a unique take on doctoral writing. It uses composition and rhetoric strategies to identify key activities for generating thought to keep students writing. It de-mythologizes the view of writing as a mere skill and promotes the view of writing as thinking. It uses writing to help students invent, think through, write, rethink, and rewrite as they develop and present their innovations. The book opens with this mindset and with the purposes of the task (adding to knowledge); it helps define a "researchable topic," and provides advice on invention ("brainstorming"). It then addresses each of the key sections of the dissertation, from Problem Statement, through Literature Review and Methods, to Findings and Conclusions, while underscoring the iterative nature of this writing. For each chapter, the book provides advice on invention, argument, and arrangement ("organization") - rhetorical elements that are seldom fully addressed in textbooks. Each chapter also looks at possible missteps, offers examples of student writing and revisions, and suggests alternatives, not rules. The text concludes with an inventive approach of its own, addressing style (clarity, economy, and coherence) as persuasion. This book is suitable for all doctoral students of education and others looking for tips and advice on the best dissertation writing.

A practical guide for students undertaking their dissertation, Writing Successful Undergraduate Dissertations in Social Sciences uses a mixture of exercises, strategies, case study material and further reading to give hints and tips on beginning and managing a research project and working with supervisors. Providing an accessible overview of the essential steps in conducting research and writing dissertations, this fully updated edition contains new sections on: * The varied sources of support for students and how to make use of them * The use of modern technologies, and digital platforms in data collection, storage and processing * The important issues relating to ethnographic and feminist research * How to publish through peer review publications or using self-publishing platforms * The General Data Protection Regulation and legal issues relating to collection, storage and use of personal data * The skills that students have acquired through writing dissertations and how those skills could become useful for future career and employability * How students can relate their dissertations to existing theories and concepts in social sciences that relate to their dissertation. Packed with proven practical advice from 'real-life' data, case studies and examples, Writing Successful Undergraduate Dissertations in Social Sciences is an essential and dependable starting point and guide for any student beginning their dissertation journey in the social sciences.