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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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Population and Sampling

Population and Sampling

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Population and Sampling What Do I Need To Know About Getting The Data For My Research? As a graduate student, what do you need to know about collecting your data? How will you determine where to look, who or what to use for the data sources, and what you can expect to do with the collected data. Doing all of these things correctly can determine whether you will have quality scholarly work or just another worthless paper; the latter also…

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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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Evernote As an Indispensable Research and Writing Tool

Evernote As an Indispensable Research and Writing Tool

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Evernote is one of those applications that just keeps evolving as the need arises. It would be impossible to describe all of its features in a single review and some of the material would be outdated by the time I finished. In my previous post about Evernote, I mentioned several features but in this post, will focus on the app’s value in research and writing. What Evernote Can Do? Where do I begin? For saving data, Evernote does almost anything…

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You Have Arrived!

You Have Arrived!

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You have finished your coursework and are ready to begin your dissertation! You have waited a long time for this moment, the point at which you can now use the skills that you have learned and pursue your own contributing work. It is an exciting time in your doctoral education and one that will have many surprises. How the Dissertation Process Is Different What makes the dissertation process different from your doctoral coursework? What can you expect when successfully completing…

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The Weak Link in the Research Process…and how to fix it.

The Weak Link in the Research Process…and how to fix it.

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To be successful in a graduate program, students must be able to write a clear, concise literature review with a logical flow that provides a convincing rationale for conducting the proposed research. The literature review is the foundation for identifying a research problem/question and creating the plan to address it. There are good online tutorials that explain how a thorough knowledge of the literature allows students to go from a broad perspective of a topic to that minuscule slice that…

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Making the Most of Your Doctoral Experience

Making the Most of Your Doctoral Experience

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How would you like to get an edge on others in your field? Do you want to move to the top of your profession? There are many ways that you can enrich your doctoral experience. Making contacts- online networking Your doctoral experience is different in many ways. One important activity should be to make connections with others in your field of study. While reading the current literature is critical to your success, it is also important to know what is…

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Trying to Solve All the World’s Problems?

Trying to Solve All the World’s Problems?

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Students entering the writing phase of their master’s or doctoral programs are faced with a difficult challenge: to find that one particular aspect of a much larger topic that is recommended for further research by those in the field of study. The “Gap” in the Research Students often think of a “gap” in the research as something about which nothing has been written. That is only partially true as there may be some aspects of a topic considered insignificant to…

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