Dissertation Tookit Online

CGU Writing Center tutor Eric Hall wants to know: what tools are in your dissertation toolkit?

The Academic Ladder has a website called The Dissertation Writer's Toolkit which offers all kinds of goodies for free online, including:

• How Academia Messes With Your Mind (and what to do about it) MP3
• Steps to Avoiding Writer's Block (PDF)
• Get Organized and Stay Motivated Tools
• Frequently Asked Job Interview Questions

and much more!

It's worth a gander.

Lori Anne Ferrell: Proposal Guidelines

A proposal? A proclamation? Here's some pilgrim for your progress

Dr. Lori Anne Ferrell, Professor of Early Modern History and Literature

Proposal Guidelines - Components of the Final Version of a Proposal

1) Statement of the problem
2) Methology and sources
3) Scope and limitations
4) Statement of thesis
5) Statement of significance of the problem

Appendices
a) Chapter outline
b) Bibliography
c) Review of relevant secondary literature *--in other words, a section that refers to work previously done in a summary fashion and a literature review that discusses the various literatures that impinge on the topic in a fuller way.

So this is what I look for most particularly at this stage:

--Coherence and clarity of proposal altogether (of course, this does not preclude your changing aspects of your approach as you write, but I need to see how well you are prepared to defend, explain, and go on to write this work)

--Clear mastery of secondary literature and draft of a literature review. I always ask my advisees to send around the proposal at this stage. The other committee members can chime in later, and choose to read randomly (unlike me, acting as chair), but they must approve of this bit of writing before I am comfortable with the project overall. We need their extended input to make sure that your lit review reflects sufficient research in the sources / archives to know if the proposed project is feasible. And if they like I can require revisions as necessary to make the project feasible.

********************************************************************
Lori Anne Ferrell
Professor of Early Modern History and Literature
School of Arts and Humanities, Claremont Graduate University

Your goal is getting your committee to sign off on the proposal

With apologies to Lori Anne for the completely historically inaccurate photos!

Early Questions to Ask Your Committee Members

Now what do I do?

Today's discussion with Professor Lori Anne Ferrell was fantastic! Check the blog later for details of her talk. In the meantime, Tanya has sent in her list of questions that she used when putting together her committee:

Questions About Process

1. How does the committee usually operate during this process?
   
   
2. What do you think about having Joe Smith and Jane Doe as other members? Should I approach them now, or wait until I have a prospectus or draft of my proposal? (At what stage do I have the committee sign the form?)
   
   
3. Do you prefer emails or telephone calls for communication?
   
   
4. For written work, do you accept emailed drafts, or only US mail?
   
   
5. About how much time should I allow for your review?
   
   
6. Is it better to wait until I have relatively polished drafts, or do you prefer to see smaller chunks of writing more frequently?
   
   
7. Do you prefer to see each chapter when completed, or parts of the chapter? Should I submit each chapter as completed or multiple chapters at once? Do you prefer to see them in the order I write them as they are finished, or in the order they will end up in the dissertation?
   
   
8. When should I submit chapters to other members? Should I wait until after you have reviewed them, or submit them to all of you at the same time? Do I submit copies at each stage to all members, or do other members decide how they would like to see them?
   
   
9. How do I manage feedback from committee members- should I discuss their recommendations with you before incorporating suggestions? What if there are contradictory recommendations?
   
   
10. In setting up a timeline, what are reasonable goals for time to complete:
    
    • Prospectus
    • Proposal
    • Chapters
    • Complete first draft of dissertation
    • Final dissertation with revisions
      
    
    
11. About how much time should I plan to complete the dissertation from start to finish? When should I plan to go on the job market relative to my dissertation progress?
    
    
12. What are the average page lengths for a typical dissertation?
    
    
13. Any other helpful advice or suggestions?

Final questions:

1. Is the next step a prospectus outline of the topic, or wait to submit a proposal draft?
   
   
2. Can we schedule our next meeting now? How much time before our next meeting should I send you the prospectus/proposal for review?

Thanks to Tanya for sharing these helpful questions!

Location, Location, Location

You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but behold, the Fortress of Solitude

There have been some great responses to the earlier post about finding places to dissertate.

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"Unfortunately mine's not public, but I've recently started squatting a vacant office at work as my 'Fortress of Solitude' - shameless Superman reference. So far the company owner is OK with it, but things can change around here without warning. I'll enjoy it while I can. It beats the heck out of my office in the cold, dim server room. I used to go out and sit at the vacant reception desk when I couldn't stand the noisy server room anymore, but people kept coming in the front door and asking me things. I have plenty of desk real estate, industrial strength color laser printer, view of the mountains and even a fake plant & picture of Hawaii."

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"I hang out in Honnold...there is lounge downstairs with food and a TV...the library is where I usually actually get work done....I do my refworks and check email....all of the stuff...and sometimes I need a book or citation...etc. I feel like I am a real PhD student in the library where PhD's and scholars hang out....I am open to some other places as well...now that I have a new laptop"

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