Dr. Jeffrey S. Brooks and Dr. Melanie C. Brooks

Department of Leadership & Counseling University of Idaho

College of EducationPresented at Education and Globalization Conference

Phuket, Thailand May 20, 2014

Email: jsbrooks@uidaho.edu; mcbrooks@uidaho.edu

The Dissertation:A User’s Guide

An Introduction

Brief IntroductionsWho are you and why are you here?

About the Presenters

Melanie C. Brooks• Assistant Professor at University of Idaho• International education, religion and education, education and

leadership in conflict zones• Research studies in Egypt, Thailand and Philippines• 2 edited books, 11 peer-reviewed articles, 7 book chapters

Jeffrey S. Brooks• Professor and Department Chair at University of Idaho• Social justice, globalization, racism, school reform, leadership

preparation, distributed leadership, school culture, poverty • Fulbright Scholar• Research studies in the United States, Philippines, Thailand• Authored 2 books, edited 7 books, authored 25 peer-reviewed articles,

24 book chapters • Series Editor, Educational Leadership for Social Justice book series• North American Editor, International Journal of Educational Management • Chaired many award-winning dissertations and served on several

dissertation award committees

The purpose of this presentation

To provide encouragement, support, discourse, and hopefully networking possibilities for students and faculty engaged in research

To present some basic aspects of inquiry applicable to both qualitative and quantitative researchers should consider when conducting their work

It is also potentially a first step in developing or joining a community of scholars.

Please be proactive and involved!

A caveat!

I am going to cover many topics quickly in this presentation

The idea is to provide a selective rather than exhaustive overview

I suggest that the best use of this presentation is to use it as an aid to talk and think through aspects of the work, don’t use it as a definitive guide

Finally, this is pretty much straight lecture. Not how I like to teach, but what we need to do to cover the topic. Please hold questions until the end!

Before you begin: Do your homework!

Take stock of yourself and your support network

Reflect on your knowledge, behaviors, habits, strengths and weaknesses as a writer and researcher Be honest and examine both processes and products

After you reflect, look around you… Your advisor/dissertation chair

They are NOT a one-stop shop for all of your questions and concerns! They also have strengths and weaknesses

Other program/departmental faculty Your fellow students

Ideally, students at ALL phases of the program Students and faculty you meet throughout the university and

throughout your field Other people in your life

Life will not stop because you choose to do a qualitative dissertation

Start now: Establish and nurture your support network

Conversations to have with people in your network

Ask about their professional goals and share yoursDiscuss how the project can be valuable for both of

youDiscuss each of your strengths and weaknesses,

related to the projectAsk if they can suggest anyone else with whom you

should speak with about the projectDiscuss mutual expectations

The difference between an advisor and a mentor

If this is someone who will read your work: How long do you need to read and give feedback? What kind of feedback do you feel most prepared to give? Editing for content, style, and grammar

Make expectations clear for everyone involved

Deadlines, Timelines, Processes, and Products

Deadlines Set them together and discus what will happen if you don’t meet them What is your responsibility and what are other peoples’

responsibilities? Be aware of departmental, college, graduate school, IRB deadlines, etc.

Timelines Set them together, keeping in mind your research design and your life Academic and personal issues: Job search timeline?

Processes How often will you communicate, write, meet, and produce

Products There is a big difference between a scholar and a productive scholar

Discussion

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a researcher?

How does your support network help you enhance your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses?

The Qualitative DissertationThe Dissertation

An Introduction to the Dissertation

The “traditional” dissertation often looks like this Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Literature Review Chapter Three: Methods/methodology Chapter Four: Findings/results Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusions

Your dissertation Five-chapter model may work and it may not work Often longer than other dissertations Look at norms in your department, college, and beyond Often challenges some of the norms, with respect to topic,

content, and style

How to get from A to B

The way it appears:Chapter 1

↓Chapter 2

↓Chapter 3

↓Chapter 4

↓Chapter 5

My suggestion:Chapter 2

↓Chapter 3

↓Chapter 1

↓Chapter 4

↓Chapter 5

Choosing a topic: What interests you?

Social Phenomena Understanding of social phenomenon can be informed

by a wide and uncritical variety of sources (experience, talk radio, novels, movies, opinions, newspaper articles, etc.)

Research Phenomena Implies various methodological traditions and

theoretical/conceptual orientations Implies an appropriate research design Implies systematic collection and analysis of data Implies that the research is in an established line of

inquiry The word “research” means “to look again” The word “review” means “to see again”

The critical question…

What is the most important question or issue facing your field that needs to be addressed?

Discussion

What are the most important issues facing your field today?

What are your research interests and projects?

Writing as you read the literature: What comes first?

Title 3-5 possible titles

Research questionsPurpose statement

You must be able to complete this sentence: The purpose of this research is ______________.

Abstract This will help you think about the big picture

Table of Contents This will help you think about what belongs in the study…

and what doesn’tThis is a good time to get feedback

Chapter Two: Literature Review

Read widely, but critically and with purpose Be systematic, follow lines of inquiry and extend them Keep careful notes of methods and findings

This will help you make decisions later about research design Identify and study methodological and topical exemplars Be a productive reader

Choose and explore conceptual organizersDetermine the role of theory in the study

Conceptual frameworks Theoretical frameworks

Consider how your study will constitute a novel and meaningful contribution to the literature

The dual purpose of the literature review is to (a) learn lessons from what others have found studying the topic and to (b) articulate a coherent perspective on the topic

Using a Literature Review to Develop Research Questions:

How to Identify a “Gap”

THEORY: Sociological Alienation

LITERATURE: School ReformLITERATURE: Teacher Professional Community

Research Questions should come from here

Purpose of Literature Review? Conceptual or Theoretical Framework

Chapter Three: Methodology and Methods

DesignData CollectionData AnalysisOther Issues to Consider

How to establish rigor? Reliability, Validity, Trustworthiness, etc.

Limitations Bias Positionality, with regard to subjects

Subjects: Emic versus etic, Participant, non-participant, advocacy, emancipatory, constructivist

Stance: critical, confirmatory, exploratory

Research Design: The Blueprint

“Qualitative” and “Quantitative” are not research designsWhat is the research design? (Examples from qualitative

research) Case Study (for studying a specific person, group, time, place) Phenomenology (for studying a phenomenon) Ethnography (for studying culture) Narrative (for narrating the story of people’s lived experience) Action Research (for working from within to improve practice) Grounded Theory (for developing theory where none exists) There are many others, and many combinations of the above

Site selection Typical or exceptional?

Participant/Sample selection Typical or exceptional?

Appropriate unit/length of time?Be specific to your study: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Answer the Key Research Design Questions and Choose the Most Appropriate Design

Who are the key people and groups related to your research questions?

What are you studying and what type of data do you need to collect to explore your research questions?

Where can you observe to learn more about your research questions?

When should the research begin, end and be shared with participants and other stakeholders?

Why is this work important? For whom is it important?

How should the work be conducted and how should the research be presented?

Source: Gay, L.R. & Airasian, P. (2003). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Data Collection

Gaining Access to Sites or Data Gatekeepers matter—as do many other characteristics

and issuesParticipant Selection and Sampling

Purposive, random, network (“snowball”), opportunistic Interviews

Open-ended, semi-structured, structuredObservations

Protocols, Field Notes, MemosDocumentsQuestionnaires/SurveysData Management

Transcription, Anonymity Informed Consent, Confidentiality, Security of DataShould you include sample interview questions?

A note on Appendices A note about “magic numbers…” Be specific to your study

Data Analysis

Role of Theory and/or Literature in Analysis Most common mistake I see in early dissertation drafts!

What is the unit of analysis? Microanalysis

Inductive and Iterative Process Constant Comparative Method Triangulation

Coding Open, axial, etc. Purpose is to Identify Patterns and Themes, right? Nope! It’s to dig more

deeply into the data and help us understand it in a more nuanced or novel way

To CAQDAS or not to CAQDAS? NVivo, ATLASti, Qualrus, Ethnograph, etc.

When can I stop? Answering your research questions, theoretical saturation, etc.

Limitations

How do your design, your data collection techniques, your conceptual orientation, and your data analysis procedures limit your potential findings?

Reliability, Validity, Trustworthiness, etc.

Reliability Inter-coder reliability

Validity External Internal

TrustworthinessTriangulationMember checkBottom line: Design

dictates the way you establish the quality of your study

Discussion

What are the major ideas in your study?

Can you easily explain it someone outside of your field?

Do you know the appropriate methods/methodologies for studying the issue?

What are some alternative ways you might conduct a study on the topic?

Chapter One: Introduction

Grab the reader’s attentionBe direct and succinctState the purpose, significance, and

potential contribution of the researchGive an overview of your study

Touch briefly on all key components

Establish Operational Definitions of Key Terms

Chapter Four: Findings

Use first person perspective and pseudonyms But carefully consider your place in the study Be honest, creative, and data-rich Vary the presentation structure

Organization of Chapter Four should flow directly from your conceptual framework, but is driven more by what you found Do not simply present data, go deeper Is your presentation reorganizing things in a logical,

interesting, appropriate, and insightful manner?Be detailed, but pursue depth, not breadthStay Focused!

Be faithful to Chapters Two and Three Do NOT introduce “new” literature here! Strive for balance of presentation Avoid the temptation to pursue tangential interests… …but don’t limit possibilities

Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusions, Implications

Answer your research questions!Connect what you presented in Chapter Four

to what you presented in Chapter Two to produce “new” insights in Chapter Five This is the place for brilliant diagrams and the like Help make the complexity accessible

This is not a place to air your dirty laundry Recommendations? To whom? Why?

Be realistic, actionable, useful and stay grounded in your analyses

Two writing guides I find helpful

Some Friendly Advice

Ask questions…ask a LOT of questions Seek advice from as many sources as possible… BUT…ask questions with a purpose (clarification; direction; how to reach

specific career and research goals) Identify potential committee members early

Get to know your instructors as researchers Doctoral Directive Status? Advisor ≠ Instructor ≠ Mentor ≠ Dissertation Committee Chair ≠ Dissertation

Committee Member ≠ Best Friend ≠ Person-here-to-solve-all-my-personal-and-professional-problems

Take the initiative to get involved at many levels Dyadic, Classroom, Departmental, College, University, Community, National,

International Accept the responsibility for your own learning

A bad metaphor, but a useful idea: You are no longer a passenger on the Train of Research, you are the conductor

Recognize what you can change and what you can’t Treat yourself and others with respect Accept the responsibility to become an expert Work to improve…work HARD Writing is HARD work, but it isn’t AWFUL. Don’t be som dramatic and get some

perspctive—we are privileged to do this work and we can all get better and learn new things!

Planning: A Recipe for Failure

Planning: A Recipe for Success

Some thoughts on the final product(s)

It is not “final,” but rather a first or second step …and it will be messy

Size doesn’t matter Inductive and iterative means you must revisit Chapter

Three (and probably all the others) Don’t go too far astray

You can wander off the path, but don’t go so far into the forest that you can’t find your way back

Everything you do should contribute to answering and/or exploring your research questions

Your dissertation may or may not save the world …BUT it should help us understand an important phenomenon better

What are other possible final products? Writing for publication Seek out Win-Win opportunities for all involved

Unless you are extremely confident in your abilities and have proper guidance, choose a straightforward methodology

Consult the experts—peers, model studies, guides READ!!!

Some of my expectations and assumptions as a member of your

committee

The dissertation is YOUR study My role is to facilitate your success

Help me understand what that means for YOU in terms of your professional and personal goals

Do you need an advisor? A resource? A mentor? A taskmaster? A methodologist? A support group? A best friend?

A general note on taking responsibility A more specific note on being aware of and setting deadlines Another specific note about meetings and agendas

The writing process, OR “gimmicks” that make life easier Annotated bibliographies, freewriting, outlines, editing, etc. If you are stuck, get unstuck! We all experience writer’s block… …but we don’t all do something about it—be that person who acts!

Can we both/all benefit? Publications Networking for the next step

Some lessons…

Lesson #1: Don’t feel insecure about your skills or experience—Your

perspectives are both valuable

and important.

Lesson #2: You can, and should, be

working toward publication right now. Be proactive, not reactive.

Lesson #3: You should seek out an

effective mentor who is committed to a relationship of mutual

benefit.

Lesson #4: Create and then develop a powerful multi-purpose and multi-

tiered support network.

Lesson #5: Scholarly writing is a

conversation; engage that conversation. This means both

speaking and listening.

Lesson #6: Study the content,

forms, and processes of excellence in your field. Develop your

skills.

Lesson #7: All the tips and tricks you

learned in school actually work.

Lesson #8: Suppress the urge to

change the world with a single piece of academic writing…but give us everything you have, every time. Let people thing “quality” when they

see your name.

Lesson #9: Be creative and innovative…but in an

informed and

intelligent manner.

Lesson #10: Learn processes that work for you, but be

honest--a process is not working if there is no product.

Lesson #11: Know where you are going. This means identifying exemplars, your strengths and weaknesses, and resources that can help you get there.

Thank you very much! Questions?