March 26, 2015 - Posted to Dissertation/Thesis

The Ph.D. Dissertation – Almost the Home Stretch

There is a reason why there is a degree that is not conferred by any university but which is commonly recognized in the academic community. It is called the A.B.D. degree, and it stands for, “All But Dissertation.” This is the degree status of thousands and thousands of people who have finished all of their coursework for that Ph.D. but just have never gotten around to producing that dissertation. Most universities give a 5-7 year time period for completion, but, once individuals are out of the academic community, they seem to lose the motivation to actually complete that project. If you are one of those people who has not finished his/her Ph.D. dissertation but who is within that 5-7 year range, why not re-consider before time is up?

Evaluate Your Current Situation

How much of your dissertation work did you complete before you stopped working on it. You may indeed have to begin all over again, but all is not lost. Consider where you are in the process.

• Topic Selection and Research Question: You need a big idea that really interests you. Perhaps you selected one once, but have lost interest. Go online and do a search for dissertation research topics in your field – you may find something more current that really piques your interest.
• Do the Preliminary Research: If you are only a year or two out, and your topic and research question are still good, you will still need to update any research you previously conducted. This can be the most tedious part, along with preparing your proposal, but you can also find a dissertation writing service that can provide a Ph.D. in your field to do that research and prepare your proposal.
• Complete the Full Literature Review: You will really not be able to finalize your methodology and instruments completely until the review is completed. Again, if you found a good writing service and have been assigned a consultant you trust, you can get help with these things as well.
• Implementing the Research: Once your methodology and instruments are fully refined, the fun part of this project begins. Most Ph.D. candidates enjoy conducting the research portions of their dissertation work, and chances are you will too!
• Gathering and organizing the data: This can be a bit laborious, but, again a good consultant can take your data and prepare a great presentation, complete with visuals. Get that help if you need it.
• Statistical Analysis: This is the point at which many doctoral candidates stall. Determining how to manipulate and massage the data to show statistical significance involves selecting the correct formulae and plugging in the data correctly. Getting a statistician to work with you on this will take all of the agony and stress away.
• Discussion and Conclusions: Asking yourself some key questions will almost allow these two sections to write themselves:

1. What have you “proved?”
2. What is the importance of what you have shown?
3. What has your project contributed to the larger field of knowledge?
4. What limitations of your research might be the focal point of future research?
5. Have you verified earlier research of others?
6. Does your research question the findings of others? If so, what might be a future research study to resolve the issues?

While it may not seem to matter right now, finishing that dissertation will give you a great sense of accomplishment, not to mention the pride of hanging that “sheepskin” on the wall. Don’t wait too long to get started – the longer you wait the harder it becomes!