The Proposal- from a Faculty View

As a faculty member when I receive a complete proposal, I am looking at a number of things. First, I look at the writing- is it clear and does it make sense? Is the grammar correct? Are there misspellings? It is always surprising how many students cannot pass this initial test.

Second, I look at the APA formatting. Are citations used correctly? Are there citations for every fact? Are there no contractions nor are there colloquial comments (e.g., "kids")? Are references written correctly and are they from primary sources?

Third, I look at the content. Does the student's logic make sense? Have they discussed all of their variables and made a strong case as to why their study is needed? By the end of c. 1, I should feel convinced that the student's study is needed and is an appropriate answer to that need. By the end of c 2, I should feel convinced that the student has a good understanding of the literature and the variables in his or her study.

In c. 3, I am looking for a complete description of the study in enough detail that I could go out and do the study based on the description. I want to know who will be the participants, how they will be recruited, what will happen to them during the study, and what they will be told. I expect to see any surveys or interview questions that will be in the study given in the appendixes (and referred to in c. 3). Similarly, the consent form(s), demographic surveys, and permission agreements should all be in the appendixes. I will take a close look at the methodology and see if it is described correctly, given the population. I will also consider whether any ethical issues will arise when the student goes through the IRB.

I should be able to print out the references and read through the paper crossing off each the reference when it is cited in the paper- and have no citations without references and vice versa. Citations with 3+ authors should be using et al. after the first citation. All references should be in correct APA format.

Finally, I will take one more look at the study as a whole- is it consistent through the three chapters? Are all variables described and addressed in the study? Are the research questions consistent with the methodology? Does the theory make sense given the study as a whole?

Next time, we will take a look at the final dissertation from the faculty view. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

The Prospectus – from a Faculty View

A prospectus shows up in my inbox, what do I look for? First, I read through the paper making general notes in track changes. Is the APA correct? Are there misspellings? Does the general topic make sense? Is the topic area original or has it been done before?

Then I go through the paper again reading more carefully. Does the literature make sense? Is there a logical flow to how the rationale is described? The student should be making a case that his or her study is needed through citations of literature and previous research. By the time, I finish the Background section I should be nodding and thinking, yes, this study is needed.

Another consideration is if the topic is one that student has either been trained in at Walden or demonstrated he or she has a previous background in the topic. Therefore, if you want to examine the deaf, you must show that you have outside experience in this area. Save yourself revisions by including a sentence or two documenting your experience.

Do the theories discussed in the Framework section make sense with the topic? Has the student provided enough detail that I am convinced he or she understands the theories? Will the theories provide interesting areas to discuss when the student has results?

Do the research questions fit with the research methods? These two sections must fit together well. A common error here is to have a quantitative wording for a qualitative study; an example, Is there a correlation between X and Y? This is not a qualitative question. Will the student be able to answer the research questions given their methods? Sometimes I see students wanting to know about a variable, but do not indicate that they will be measuring/ asking about it. Alternatively, it a variable that it isn’t possible to realistically examine- for example, how people learn a language. I suppose you could watch a child for 24 hrs. a day for several years, and know what words he or she learns, but you still will not really know how he or she learned them.

Save yourself revisions and go into detail with your research methods. How many participants are you thinking of having? How did you arrive at that number? How will you recruit them? What measures/ surveys will you use? It is ok to say that the specific instrument is to be determined- but at least have an idea of the variable. If you are doing a qualitative study, give a couple of example interview questions. Talk about where and how you will do the interviews. I will consider whether ethically, you will be allowed to do the study- for example, interviewing your own students or subordinates is not ethical.

Briefly, discuss the analysis, what statistics or qualitative techniques will you use. The idea is to give the reader an awareness that you have thought about these topics.

Finally, I look at the references. Are they in APA format? Are they primary sources? The best prospectus has all of the elements I have discussed. Everything is consistent and pieces build upon each other.

Next time, we will take a look at the proposal from a faculty viewpoint. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Theory and Research Design

One of the common issues students have when they are beginning to think about doing research is how all of the pieces, which are necessary, fit together. Do you begin with the research design and try to find a study to fit it? What is the deal with theories, where do they fit into the thinking? There actually is a way to clarify these pieces. Let us begin even broader by considering reviewing the literature. What does that mean? It means finding recent articles on your general topic of interest and beginning to read. Notice what theories the authors discuss when talking about the topic. After you have read 10 articles or so on the topic, stop and evaluate. Are there consistent issues mentioned? What theories were discussed; did the authors make predictions for their study based on the theory? If you are not seeing any predictions or discussions about how the theory is impacted by the new findings, you need to look for a new theory. It is important that you are able to make predictions based on the theory you will finally use.

As an example, say you have narrowed the search down to two theories. It is time to go back to the library and find some review articles using those theories. When you have read those, you should have a good understanding of the theories and how they relate to your topic of interest. Think about the variables other researchers have used, which are related to your topic and how the theory suggests the variables should interact.

Next time we will consider the prospectus from a faculty view. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Alternative Sources for Articles, part 2

Previously I discussed the easy sources for articles, however, there are some other alternatives. If you have a college or university near you, you might check if they have the article you need. If all else fails, you can write to the author, although this will probably require some detective work. You can try the email he or she listed in the article (often listed on the abstract page), however, be aware faculty tend to move around a lot, and it may no longer work. The problem is you usually do not receive any notice the person no longer works there, so if you do not get a reply you do not know if they are just rude or never got it. If you know what affiliation (college, university, etc.) they listed on the article (it is usually listed near the title or as a footnote), go to the institution's website, and see if they are still employed there. They usually provide email addresses. If you still cannot find the author, do a Google search on him or her; you may pick up a clue where they work now and can try to track down an email address.

What do you say when you write them? Tell them you are very interested in their work on X and ask if they could send you a copy of their article (give the citation for it). Also, ask them if they have any other papers in this area. Be sure to include your mailing address in case they want to send it that way. Here is a sample letter:

Dear Dr. Jones,

I am very interested in your work on fear of pencils. I am a doctoral student in psychology at Walden University and my dissertation is in this area. I have been unable to locate your paper Jones and Smith (2010) "Fear and Pencils: How do I function now?" I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a copy of this article. In addition, if you have any subsequent papers in this area, I would love to get copies of those too.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide,

Suzy Student

17 Hopeful Lane

Johnston, NY 98765

Unfortunately, some people are rude, and you may not get a response. Give the author a week or two to respond; the final step would be to try to track down other authors on the paper.

Next time we will consider theory and research design. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Graduation Thoughts

Today I am in Tampa, attending faculty meetings. Saturday is graduation. What realizations have you gained since starting your dissertation? Here are few things graduates have reported.

"Writing a dissertation is harder than I thought it would be." This is a common realization that students have- they went into the process, having written many papers before; however, writing a dissertation is very different. It takes longer to research the literature, write, conduct the study, and revise than most people assume it will take. There are also many approvals you will have to get along the way; each person will want more changes.

"I was surprised that I actually enjoy the process." I hope students discover this one. Writing the dissertation is an intellectual challenge, it will force you to grow, to stretch, and to develop as a professional. Most researchers have a deep intellectual curiosity that research satisfies. It allows you to ask interesting questions and to find out the answers. Enjoy the process!

"It is a much more lonely process than I anticipated." For online doctoral students, this is a very real aspect. You need to develop a way to counter this. Get a support group, find a dissertation buddy, you need someone to talk to that is also going through the process.

"My family is supportive, but they just don't get the work involved." People who have not gone through it do not really understand how difficult the process is. It may help to share with them the day-to-day highs and lows, and incorporate them into the process. Help them to understand both the pressure and your drive and motivation to succeed. Also, get a support group!

"My defense was much more collaborative that I thought it would be." I often heart this comment. Students expect that a "defense" will be confrontational, but it rarely is. It tends to be colleagues working together to come up with the best possible project.

"I was surprised that I ended up really sick of my topic." Unfortunately, this is common. Many people become quite burnt out on the dissertation topic and do not want to do anything further on it.

"Writing a dissertation changed me." Often, I hear this at graduation. Going through the dissertation process makes you a better writer, able to cope with constructive feedback, become more compulsive in your research, and provides a deeper appreciation of your topic and participants. At Walden, we often talk about social change, but also realize that you will also be changed by going through the process.

Next time we will consider alternative sources for articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Alternative Sources for Articles, part 1

Students frequently ask me how to find articles that are not available in the library. Here are a few alternative sources. Make sure you have checked Google Scholar, also check electronic professional media such as LinkedIn or Research Gate. These are sites where authors frequently post preprints (work not yet published) as well as published articles. Be sure you have checked all of the available databases in your library. In psychology, one that is frequently missed is "Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection." This database has many psychology articles, which for some reason, are typically not picked up by PsycINFO. If you are interested in a health related topic, make sure you check CINAHL (a nursing database) and Medline.

See if your library has "Thoreau: Search Multiple Databases." This often pulls up articles not found in individual databases. Similarly, the database, "Academic Search Complete" brings up some information outside the regular databases.

If you still cannot find a particular paper you are looking for and if you know the authors and title, you can request an interlibrary loan, in which the librarian will track it down for you. As a dissertation student, you may be allowed only a certain number of free loans, so check the rules out first.

Next time we will take a field trip to graduation. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Finding Articles

I suggest starting to write your dissertation with Chapter 2, the literature review. How do you start? How do you do library searches and not be overwhelmed with distantly related articles? The first step is doing the outline of your Chapter 2, including your variables. Then you are ready to begin the library search. Pick a variable and get started!

If you are in psychology, you may want to start your search in the psychology databases; however, be sure you check related ones too (e.g., Thoreau, Sage, CINAHL, Medline, ERIC). Start with getting some general background on your topic. Say you are interested in "resilience" in older adults; begin with a search of resilience, review, and older adults (you will also need to try elderly and aging). This search will bring up literature reviews on the topic. Let us say there are three reviews, which look to fit your interests. Read those. These articles will have references, which relate to your specific interests, look those up. In addition, take note of the keywords lists with each of your articles; they may offer suggestions you had not considered.

When you find mention of theories, make a note of authors related to the theories. Look up those authors, you may find additional information on your topic. Keep in mind you are expected to understand the history of the theories. It is very important you are keeping a research journal as you search. You need to keep track of your search terms and databases used, as these will be included in Chapter 2. You should also keep notes as you go, perhaps marking articles, which you want to be sure to read carefully.

Next time we will consider alternative sources for articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Journal publishing

I am the editor of Walden University's Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. Here is some info on submitting a manuscript to the journal:

The Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Science (JSBHS) seeks manuscripts in the content areas of social, behavioral, and health sciences. 

JSBHS is a Walden University sponsored, peer-reviewed, online, open-access, interdisciplinary journal focusing on research that addresses contemporary national and international issues in the content areas. The objectives of JSBHS are to:

• Encourage dialogue between scholars and practitioners in the social, behavioral, and health sciences that fosters the integration of theoretically-based empirical research with practice.
• Inform the relationship between practice and research in the social, behavioral, and health sciences.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript, please visit the JSBHS website at http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/jsbhs/ for more information.

Next time we will consider how to find articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

The Prospectus – from a Faculty View

A prospectus shows up in my inbox, what do I look for? First, I read through the paper making general notes in track changes. Is the APA correct? Are there misspellings? Does the general topic make sense? Is the topic area original or has it been done before?

Then I go through the paper again reading more carefully. Does the literature make sense? Is there a logical flow to how the rationale is described? The student should be making a case that his or her study is needed through citations of literature and previous research. By the time, I finish the Background section I should be nodding and thinking, yes, this study is needed.

Another consideration is if the topic is one that student has either been trained in at Walden or demonstrated he or she has a previous background in the topic. Therefore, if you want to examine the deaf, you must show that you have outside experience in this area. Save yourself revisions by including a sentence or two documenting your experience.

Do the theories discussed in the Framework section make sense with the topic? Has the student provided enough detail that I am convinced he or she understands the theories? Will the theories provide interesting areas to discuss when the student has results?

Do the research questions fit with the research methods? These two sections must fit together well. A common error here is to have a quantitative wording for a qualitative study; an example, Is there a correlation between X and Y? This is not a qualitative question. Will the student be able to answer the research questions given their methods? Sometimes I see students wanting to know about a variable, but do not indicate that they will be measuring/ asking about it. Alternatively, it a variable that it isn’t possible to realistically examine- for example, how people learn a language. I suppose you could watch a child for 24 hrs. a day for several years, and know what words he or she learns, but you still will not really know how he or she learned them.

Save yourself revisions and go into detail with your research methods. How many participants are you thinking of having? How did you arrive at that number? How will you recruit them? What measures/ surveys will you use? It is ok to say that the specific instrument is to be determined- but at least have an idea of the variable. If you are doing a qualitative study, give a couple of example interview questions. Talk about where and how you will do the interviews. I will consider whether ethically, you will be allowed to do the study- for example, interviewing your own students or subordinates is not ethical.

Briefly, discuss the analysis, what statistics or qualitative techniques will you use. The idea is to give the reader an awareness that you have thought about these topics.

Finally, I look at the references. Are they in APA format? Are they primary sources? The best prospectus has all of the elements I have discussed. Everything is consistent and pieces build upon each other.

Next time, we will take a look at the proposal from a faculty viewpoint. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Updating articles

Students often feel that once they have completed Chapter 2’s literature review they do not have to look at the literature again. Sorry, not true! I suggest every month or two you go to the library and update your literature. New articles are constantly being published, and you want your literature review to be up to date. Do you need to do an exhaustive search each time? No, but you may want to set up a schedule, so that over several months you have checked on all of your variables and theories.

Then add in the new articles into your literature review. I suggest using track changes, so it is obvious to your faculty reviewers what is new info and what they have previously read. Keep track in your research journal of your searches and if you find new info. It will make it much easier to remember what you have done along the way if you keep a map through your journal. Remember that you should be an expert on the literature related to your study, so keep reading!

Next time we will consider publishing in a journal. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading results and discussion sections

The results section of articles, are often the ones that students want to skip. However, it is important to read this section and keep in mind a few things. Highlight significant results (p < .05); for each one, write in your own words what it means (e.g., females had higher self-efficacy than males). Does it make sense that they used the type of statistic or qualitative method that they did? It is a good idea to compare the author(s) original research questions to the results they provide- do they address each question?

When you are done with the results section, compare your notes to the authors' discussion points. Do they interpret the results differently than you? How do they relate the results to the literature and the gap they were addressing? Do you agree that they have resolved the questions? Make notes to yourself as to what you agree and disagree with.

Finally, take a look at the references for the article, are they reputable journals? Do they seem to only cite themselves? Pay attention to how old the references are- are they recent? You may want to indicate which ones that you would like to read.

You have now learned to review articles! As a Ph.D., you may be asked to be a peer reviewer for journals, and this is the method you will use to do so. Take notes, so you do not have to reread the article several times.

Next time I will discuss updating articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading literature reviews

What should you look for in articles' literature reviews? I will give you a few general guidelines, I suggest highlighting or marking each of these areas in your article. The areas may not be specifically labeled- so it often takes some detective work. For each area, consider how it relates to your study. Are you examining a similar social problem or gap in the literature? Is this a theory that would be applicable for your study?

First, find the social problem being addressed in the study. In other words, what is the big picture reason that they are doing the study?

Determine what gap in the literature the study is filling. This is looking at the specifics of what has been previously done and how the study fits into the history of the topic area. What theory/theories are the authors utilizing to address this issue? How do they integrate the theory into the study?

What are the study's Research Questions? What are they planning to examine and how does that relate to the literature gap?

What are the study's hypotheses? They may use language such as predictions or expectations. Also, examine the variables of interest within the hypotheses. Are they using survey measures? What type of scores or sub scores will result from the measures? Have you ever heard of the measures they are using?

Next time I will talk about reading articles' methods sections. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

New Beginnings

A new year means new beginnings. This is a great time to reflect on your dissertation. How can you be more productive with your dissertation and get it done? I strongly suggest you pick up my book: Finding Your Way to a PhD, 2nd edition that takes you step-by-step through the dissertation process. It discusses dealing with committee members, tips on writing each chapter, getting through the IRB process, and a new chapter on finding a job and considering post doctoral fellowships. Some reviews of the 1st edition on Amazon:

"This book is a great resource for both learning about the mechanics of writing a dissertation and normalizing the emotions that one feels when going through such a challenging process. The motivational chapter is full of helpful hints on how to move forward when you feel stuck. The other chapters are clearly laid out and align with the steps to completing the dissertation. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is getting ready to work on their dissertation or anyone who is experiencing problems completing their dissertation."

"An excellent book for doctoral students who are working on their dissertation. The book provides a step by step guide in how to develop a prospectus to writing your final dissertation chapter. Tips on motivating self is worth reading multiple times. There are many books that try to explain the dissertation process, but fail to answer clearly the students questions. This book is easy to read and a book that should be kept on your desk in eye view, at all times. I encourage all dissertation students to add this book to your library. You will find the book is an excellent reference guide just like the APA Manual book."

"For any student pursuing a doctorate, this book will be your guide. It is an easy read yet packed with practical and important information to help you achieve your goal of a "done" dissertation! Dr. Stadtlander utilized her wealth of knowledge and experience to create a text for the benefit of all who choose to pursue a doctorate. Thank you for such a reference! I strongly recommend this book. "

Make yourself a commitment to do all you can to get your dissertation done in 2019!

Next time I will talk about reading articles' literature reviews. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu