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"The dissertation is the beginning of one's scholarly work, not its culmination. Dissertation research should provide students with hands-on, directed experience in the primary research methods of the discipline, and should prepare students for the type of research/scholarship that will be expected of them after they receive the Ph.D. degree." (Council of Graduate Schools:3) Guidelines for the dissertation Here's a general description of the way the dissertation is conceived: "The doctoral dissertation should (1) reveal the student's ability to analyze, interpret, and synthesize information; (2) demonstrate the student's knowledge of the literature relating to the project or at least acknowledge prior scholarship on which the dissertation is built; (3) describe the methods and procedures used; (4) present results in a sequential and logical manner; and (5) display the student's ability to discuss fully and coherently the meaning of the results." (Council of Graduate Schools:3) Within the context of our program, the dissertation should represent an original and independent piece of work contributing to theory and to the knowledge base for social work practice. "The question of originality--In its most general sense, "original" describes research that has not been done previously or that creates new knowledge. Although a dissertation should not duplicate another researcher's or scholar's work, the topic, project, or approach taken need not be solely that of the graduate student. An adviser or other faculty member should encourage a student to explore a particular topic or project with the idea that the student himself or herself will independently develop the "thesis" of the dissertation. The student should be able to demonstrate what portion of the scholarship represents his or her own thinking. The question of collaboration--In those disciplines where doctoral research efforts are typically part of a larger collaborative project, it is crucial that an individual student's contribution be precisely delineated. Whether the collaboration is between faculty and student or among students, Ph.D. candidates are expected to be able to demonstrate the uniqueness of their own contributions and to define what part of the larger work represents their own ideas and individual efforts." (Council of Graduate Schools:4) In the context of the doctoral program of the School of Social Work, this means that the dissertation research may be part of a larger project, but the student should demonstrate in the dissertation proposal how the specific thesis or research question, and the development of the means of testing or answering it, are uniquely the student's own.
Intended features of a dissertation in social work at UNC-CH 1. Related to the design and evaluation of social interventions; Examples: test of an intervention; or analysis of needs with a view to planning social interventions to address them; or analysis of characteristics of a target population with a view to planning social interventions in a way that will be useful and accessible to the population; or testing the effectiveness of organizational structures for service delivery; or historical analysis of a policy or intervention. 2. Contributing to the knowledge base for social work practice; 3. Incorporating attention to all three levels of intervention, though not necessarily in the research question; 4. Grounded in and adding to theory or theories relevant to the subject of study; 5. Flexible in terms of methods, which can include qualitative, quantitative, and/or historical methods, and can include secondary analysis of existing data. Advice regarding the dissertation The first criterion for the scope of the dissertation is manageability; this will be difficult for the novice to judge, and the student will need to rely on the guidance of the adviser, with consultation from other committee members, for delineating a manageable scope to the dissertation project. The second criterion is that the dissertation project lead to a significant contribution to knowledge, in the opinion of the adviser and the student's committee. A dissertation question should lead to answers that will make a difference, that will contribute something new that is also of use.
Policies regarding the dissertation The dissertation should be publishable or the source of publishable materials (Council of Graduate Schools: 15). Although the 'traditional' dissertation as a unified work with an introduction that states an objective, a literature review, a presentation of the methodology or procedures to be used, and a concluding discussion of results should be respected, flexibility with respect to form should be permitted. (Council of Graduate Schools:4) Whether the form of the dissertation is a monograph, a series of articles, or a set of essays is determined by the research expectations and accepted forms of publication in the discipline, as well as by custom in the discipline and the student's program. (Council of Graduate Schools: 13). Two formats will be acceptable for the dissertation in the School of Social Work: 1) the traditional "book-style" document which covers: (1) statement of problem, including the theoretical and conceptual framework for the study; (2) background of problem, review of literature, and significance of this study; (3) research questions or hypotheses to be tested; (4) methods, including sampling, data collection, and method of analysis; (5) results; (6) discussion; and (7) conclusions and implications for practice and future research; 2) an alternative style that includes the same content, but one or more of the topics can be presented in the form of manuscripts suitable for and ready for submission for publication. Manuscripts could address the conceptual framework for the study, the methodology, and/or the research findings. The dissertation should be unified by chapters or appendices that present the rest of the required content, including an appropriate review of the literature, an expanded methods section, an overall synthesis of the research findings and discussion of implications for practice and directions for future research. While this format may be more challenging, it should have the advantage of speeding up the process of publication of results. Guidelines for preparation of a dissertation in this format are as follows. Each manuscript should be of the quality, length and format usually expected for publication in a peer reviewed journal. One or more research papers may be included. Additional detailed results may be presented in appendices. There should be sufficient documentation of the research process to demonstrate the student's research competence. The synthesis chapter should provide (not necessarily in the following order): 1) an overview of the major research findings; 2) a discussion of the significance: the ways in which the research contributes to the field, that is, where it confirms previous work or breaks new ground, or the context in which the research should be placed, and the applications to practice the work suggests; 3) a discussion of the major strengths and weaknesses of the work; 4) directions for future research. The synthesis should reflect the entire research agenda reflected in the dissertation, that is, it should synthesize across the individual papers. At the time of the completion of the final dissertation proposal, student, adviser and committee will negotiate the final scope of the dissertation research and the format of the dissertation, based on the appropriateness of the selected format to the research question, the project, and the student's publication plans.
In presenting oneself as a doctoral applicant and in defining an individual area of study, students are encouraged to begin defining the research questions they have some interest in answering. Each course assignment in core, supporting, and elective courses has the potential for completing some piece of the literature review, conceptual development, and writing for the dissertation. The student should use the research assistantship, if practical, but definitely the research practicum, to complete building blocks for the dissertation. "The dissertation ought to be viewed as contiguous with course work, not remote from it." (Council of Graduate Schools:19) By following these steps, the coursework and research experiences should come together in the qualifying paper, which consists of a full examination of the state of the art in theory, intervention, and research methods relevant to the research problem the student has chosen for the dissertation research. Guidelines for Content of the dissertation
In the background and significance, interpretation and discussion, and/or implications for theory and practice, the student should consider the interrelationship among the policy, program, and practice technology relevant to the dissertation topic. The student should also include relevant content relating dissertation topic and findings to oppressed groups.
As described above, students will prepare the dissertation proposal during the same semester in which they write the qualifying paper. The dissertation proposal shall contain: statement of the problem brief review of background and significance of the proposed research research questions or hypotheses to be tested research methods and design sample data collection plan data analysis plan format in which dissertation will be written human subjects clearance letter of support or agreement from research site, including an agreement about authorship, ownership of the data, etc. if applicable. Because the dissertation proposal will constitute a contract about what the student will and won't do, it should be explicit on all points.
If the dissertation research is based on a faculty member's project, issues about co-authorship of material to be published from the dissertation are to be discussed and an agreement specified in writing as part of the preliminary dissertation proposal and the final dissertation proposal. If circumstances change during the course of the dissertation research, the written agreement will be revised. When the adviser and the students agree that the proposal is complete, it will be circulated to committee members, who will provide feedback and suggestions to the student. The proposal must be discussed as part of the oral qualifying examination and may be approved at that time. Because the proposal constitutes the "contract" about the work between the student and the committee, committee members should sign it. When the proposal has been signed, a copy of it will be forwarded to the Doctoral Chair for review and inclusion in the student's file. Using the graduate school form, the adviser will notify the graduate school that the committee has approved the student's final proposal It will be the understanding of the student and the committee that the dissertation proposal will continue to evolve, and that later changes in the research plan will be reviewed by, and must be approved by, the adviser and the committee. If students are conducting or participating in conducting research on which they intend to base the dissertation, either in conjunction with a research assistantship or independently, it is important that they provide a written "provisional" proposal and discuss the research plan with their committee before proceeding, even though this does not constitute their formal dissertation proposal. Students proceed on dissertation research without committee approval at their own risk, but must recognize that the committee could find the research plan not acceptable. Responsibility for timeliness of reading/returning drafts is shared by the student, the committee members, the committee chair, and as a last resort, the doctoral chair. The student should take responsibility for choosing committee members who can be expected to return drafts promptly; at the same time, the student is also responsible for informing committee members when s/he will be delivering drafts, and negotiating with each committee member when s/he can return them in light of other obligations. When a committee member is failing to return drafts as agreed, the student should first go to that committee member; if that doesn't yield results, the committee chair should intervene; and if that fails, the doctoral chair should take action. One practical issue may require early completion of a dissertation proposal. Because a) financial support that the School of Social Work commands is finite and will be concentrated in the first two years of study; b) financial support is the most critical determinant of time to completion and c) deadlines for dissertation grants and fellowships fall long before funding could begin, students may need to prepare the dissertation proposal and have it approved before the qualifying examinations are passed. When students are preparing proposals for dissertation support before completing their qualifying examinations, they should negotiate committee approval of the proposal.
Policies governing Dissertation Preparation and Requirements are in the Graduate Handbook and should be read and followed.
Completion of Dissertation and Oral Defense of the Dissertation The Graduate Handbook specifies the following (pp. 25-26) "The final oral examination committee requires no fewer than five people. A majority of the members of a doctoral committee and a majority of the people approving a doctoral dissertation must be regular members of the graduate faculty. Other members may be special appointees to the graduate faculty. The final oral shall be held only after all members of the committee have had adequate opportunity to review a draft of the doctoral dissertation which the candidate is prepared to submit for final typing. The dissertation adviser is responsible to the members of the student's committee for determining that the draft is in an appropriate form for their evaluation. If substantial revisions are necessary, they should be completed before the final oral defense is scheduled. The committee may, at the time of the final oral but no later, require alterations and corrections, but they should constitute relatively minor changes agreed to be a majority of the committee members. The dissertation adviser is responsible for verifying that the changes required by the committee have been made and may delegate this responsibility to the committee member(s) who imposed the requirements. When these requirements have been met, the examinations form reporting that the student has passed the final examination is submitted, and the dissertation, in final form designed to meet the standards as defined in A Guide to Theses and Dissertations, is submitted to the Graduate School. A student passes an examination and a dissertation is accepted only upon approval by at least two-thirds of the members of the examining committee; a majority of those approving must be regular members of the graduate faculty. The vote of the examining committee is considered by the Graduate School to be final. "A student must be registered during the semester(s) in which the doctoral written examination and the second doctoral examination (first oral) are taken, and the semester in which the dissertation prospectus is approved, if the dissertation prospectus was not approved at the time of the second doctoral examination. Registration is also required during the semester in which the dissertation is submitted, defended, and/or accepted by the Graduate School." (Graduate handbook).
When the student has scheduled the oral examination on the qualifying paper, he or she should pick up from the Doctoral Program Office the two Graduate School forms, one of which records all three exams (written, oral, and oral defense of the dissertation) and the other of which records the committee composition. After the examination, at which the committee members will have signed the forms, the student should return them to the Doctoral Program Office for proper filing and forwarding to the Graduate School. |
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