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Tag: research problem

Dissecting The Literature Review

Dissecting The Literature Review

The foundation of a dissertation is a thorough review of the current literature related to the problem so you can develop a plan for further investigation. Reviewing the literature should start early in doctoral studies, expand during coursework, and continue until you defend the dissertation. All the chapters in the dissertation depend on a solid grasp of the literature. Even writing a problem statement is difficult to do without understanding what is already known about the topic. The literature review…

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Looking for a way to quickly develop outlines for your writing?

Looking for a way to quickly develop outlines for your writing?

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We all have great ideas but sometimes can’t get them on paper. Start With Brainstorming to Get Those Ideas Out! Brainstorming has different meanings for different people. For me, I take the term literally. It is a storm in my brain and storms aren’t really controllable. That meshes with the purpose of brainstorming, to record as many thoughts as possible without any analysis or screening. That comes later. What will I miss if I stop and try to categorize everything…

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The Dissertation Process- Seeing the Big Picture

The Dissertation Process- Seeing the Big Picture

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Do you want to maximize your time and hard work completing your dissertation? That will take some planning but it is difficult to plan without understanding some things about dissertation activities and how they overlap. The dissertation process can be overwhelming to many students – actually to most students – because it is such a different process than anything else that has been done in coursework. It is a longer-term process and requires careful long-term planning and short-term planning besides…

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Developing Your Study Purpose

Developing Your Study Purpose

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Outlining the Purpose of the Study Developing a purpose for your research can be a bit confusing. There are so many pieces that need to be arranged in a logical flow. Finding the specific problem that will be the research question is a critical part of developing the dissertation proposal because it tells you where you want to go with your research. Equally important is clearly and concisely presenting your plan to address the problem; this is the purpose of…

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Finding the specific problem

Finding the specific problem

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What is a focused problem? In my experience, the most difficult things for graduate students to understand are the importance of focusing their research on a single specific problem, how to find that problem, and how specific it should be.   Here is a story that might help. As a birder, I spent many years roaming around in Southeast Arizona with my birding buddy, a retired teacher. Our routine was to spend two weeks camping in various parts of the southeast corner…

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