Writing a Proposal for Your Dissertation: Guidelines and Examples

Product Description This user-friendly guide helps students get started on--and complete--a successful doctoral dissertation proposal by accessibly explaining the process and breaking it down into manageable steps. Steven R. Terrell demonstrates how to write each chapter of the proposal, including the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions and hypotheses; literature review; and detailed plan for data collection and analysis. Of special utility, end-of-chapter exercises serve as building blocks for developing a full draft of an original proposal. Numerous case study examples are drawn from across the social, behavioral, and health science disciplines. Appendices present an exemplary proposal written three ways to encompass quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods designs. User-Friendly Features *"Let's Start Writing" exercises leading up to a complete proposal draft. *"Do You Understand?" checklists of key terms plus an end-of-book glossary. *End-of-chapter quizzes with answers. *Case study examples from education, psychology, health sciences, business, and information systems. *Sample proposal with three variants of the methods chapter: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Review "This book tackles one of the most daunting tasks that doctoral students face. By breaking down the proposal writing process in a manageable and thorough way, the book educates the student from beginning to end. It is a 'must read' for doctoral students--I would use it in all classes about the dissertation process and assign it to all doctoral students as soon as they start their program! It also will be valuable for general research methods classes at the graduate level and any classes leading up to the doctoral dissertation requirement. Students will benefit from the concrete examples that bring the process to life."--Jacqueline V. Lerner, PhD, Program in Applied Developmental Psychology, Boston College "My eyes were starting to glass over late one night as I was trying to complete the required reading for a class--until I started reading this book. The straightforward writing style and examples were a breath of fresh air. Heck, I even chuckled out loud a few times. In sum, I went from 'My goodness, what have I gotten myself in for,' to 'Thank goodness, I can actually relate to this stuff!'"--Peter Wiernicki, first-year doctoral student in Educational Leadership, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island  "Many students flounder in the process of writing a dissertation proposal. Terrell's book treats in depth what other works on writing a dissertation dispatch in a few paragraphs. He recognizes not only the importance but also the complexity of writing the problem statement and other elements of the proposal, and provides students with expert guidance in how to capture precisely a study's importance within a defined scope. Terrell's insights are wise and on target; students will find them to be of great value."--Steven D. Zink, PhD, Vice Chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education “This book demystifies the entire dissertation proposal process, and is particularly helpful in the area of considering and refining a research problem. A major strength is the way Terrell clarifies the process by analyzing numerous topics in terms of their problem statement, purpose statement, and research question."--Frederick J. Brigham, PhD, Special Education Program, George Mason University "A valuable resource for my introductory research methods course. This text strikes the perfect balance between substance and practicality. It serves as an excellent supplement to the other required methods texts, and I intend to include it on the textbook list for all my future research courses."--Felice D. Billups, EdD, Professor, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island  “The style is accessible and conversational; perfect for apprehensive doctoral stude