FAQs

Read all of the relevant literature. Identify unanswered research questions in the relevant literature. Determine which questions are interesting to you and which are not. Of those questions that interest you, pick the one for which data are easy to come by. Get approval from your dissertation chair before moving forward (repeating steps 1-4 until you do so). Write the literature review. Write the introduction. Write the theory and hypotheses. Write the research design and methods. Send all of this to your dissertation chair. Make the revisions your chair requests. Send the new version to your dissertation chair. Repeat steps 10-12 until she or he or they approve/s you to defend your proposal to the rest of your dissertstion committee. Defend. Revise. Apply to IRB. Get approved by IRB. Sample selection. Data collection. Data cleaning and coding. Data analysis. Send to your chair for review. Repeat step 21-22 until approved by your chair. Write the conclusion. Defend. Sleep.

The best format is General Research Question? Research Design or Focal Phenomenon: Research Design. For example: How Much Do Transaction Costs Matter to Large Non-Profits? A Quasi-Experimental Examination or Knowing When You Are Going to Die: A Phenomenological Investigation of Patients Opting for Euthanasia. Something catchy can work, but not usually for a dissertation. For example, the first part of the second title could be The Living Dead?... However typically only well-known professors can pull this off when entitling an article or book. It is best to err on the side of caution when still a doctoral candidate. Do not attempt humor or be cute with your title.

A dissertation should be about the tip of an iceberg (metaphorically speaking). You want to make certain you have years of research ahead of you after you graduate and become a professor who must "publish or perish."

One research question is sufficient so long as it is original, problem-driven, and useful not only for testing but for furthering theory. "Originality" typically means new or enhanced data for addressing original research questions. "Problem-driven" means there is a compelling answer to the "So what?" question about your research question. "Furthering theory" means addressing the question with data collection and analysis will add to or revise the underlying assumptions and/or key premises of the theory used to drive the data collection and analysis.

A research question may ask about: (a) a potential causal relationship, (b) the differences between 2 or more groups, or (c) the specific nature of a focal phenomenon. These (a-c) are not always mutually exclusive. For example: (just a) To what extent does X affect Y?, (both a and b) To what extent has non-profit status affected organizational survival amid the COVID-19 pandemic?, (both b and c) What are the lived experiences of First- and Second-Generation Iranian-Americans?, and (just c) What are the lived experiences of Second-Generation Iranian-Americans?

What are the weaknesses of your research design? How confident are you in the results of your analysis? What's new here?... How is your research different than so-and-so's? How does this study fit into your broader research agenda? What would you do differently if you could go back in time? What are the implications for theory and practice?

A good dissertation question is one that: (a) has not been addressed before by scholars, (b) can be feasibly addressed with existing or newly-collected data, (c) is problem-driven, and (d) allows for the potential revision or expansion of theory.

Yes. The research must be original, problem-driven, and not only test but further theory. "Originality" typically means new or enhanced data for addressing original research questions. "Problem-driven" means there is a compelling answer to the "So what?" question. "Furthering theory" means adding to or revising the underlying assumptions of the theory used to drive the data collection and analysis.

The word count depends on the field of study and methods of data collection and analysis. Some economics dissertations are under 12,000 words, as are quantitative dissertations in related fields like business. The life and natural sciences are of similar length and methods. The non-economics social science dissertations average 24,000-30,000 words. However qualitative analysis dissertations can exceed 48,000 words.

The page length depends on the field of study and methods of data collection and analysis. Some economics dissertations are under 50 pages, as are quantitative dissertations in related fields like business. The life and natural sciences are of similar length and methods. The non-economics social science dissertations average 100-150 pages. However qualitative analysis dissertations can exceed 200 pages.

There is no formal grading of a dissertation. You cannot even expect each committee member to read the entire dissertation. It is a good idea to contact the committee members to learn if any have major reservations about the quality of the dissertation research and writing. In most cases the committee members will discuss their criticisms with the candidate before the formal defense.

No. Typically, the dissertation committee chair will not allow a dissertation candidate to defend until she or he or they view the candidate's dissertation research and writing as, well, defensible. Post-defense revisions are commonplace, though.