The Education Dissertation: A Guide for Practitioner Scholars / Edition 1

by Dan W. Butin

Overview

Use these focused guidelines to help you through every stage of the dissertation process!

Written for practicing educators pursuing a doctoral degree, this resource provides a step-by-step process for developing and completing an academically rigorous dissertation in a time-efficient manner. Grounded in adult learning theory, this volume:

• Offers a clear, easy-to-follow approach with concrete goals and workable methods
• Discusses how practitioner scholars can apply their work experience to the dissertation
• Includes organizational templates, detailed charts, checklists, a timeline, student examples, and rubrics
• Provides tips throughout to help students think through situations
• Covers both quantitative and qualitative research

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412960441
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/18/2009
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	686,699
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dan W. Butin is the founding dean of the school of education at Merrimack College. He is the editor and author of over fifty books, articles, and book chapters, including the books Teaching Social Foundations of Education and Service-Learning and Social Justice Education. Dr. Butin’s research focuses on issues of educator preparation and policy and community engagement. Dr. Butin has been the assistant dean of the school of education at Cambridge College and a faculty member at Gettysburg College. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Butin taught middle school, in an adult GED program, and was the chief financial officer of Teacher For America. More about Dr. Butin’s teaching and scholarship can be found at http://danbutin.org/.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Preface
Who Should Read This Book and Why
Key Features and How to Use Them
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Dedication
1. A Guide for Practitioner Scholars
Questioning the Doctorate
Seeing the Doctoral Process Through Doctoral Students’ Eyes
This Book as Guidelines and Guardrails
Strategies for Success
2. A Road Map From Start to Finish
The Big Picture: An Outline of the Process
The Dissertation Timeline
Your Own Timeline and Benchmarks
Embracing Technology: The Table of Contents and Reference List
Structuring Your Life as a Doctoral Student
3. Focusing Your Research
Articulating a Topic in “Academic Speak”
Narrowing the Topic
Your First Success at Focusing: Creating a Title and Research Question
A Final Thought: Focusing Your Research at a Cocktail Party
4. Structuring Your Research
Choosing a Theoretical Framework
Doing a Literature Review
Understanding Research Methodology
Choosing a Research Method
Empirical Methodologies
Linking Research Purpose to Research Method
5. Conducting Your Research
Linking Research Methods to Research Tools
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Some Final Thoughts Before "ABD-Land "
6. Putting It All Together: Completing Your Dissertation
The Dissertation as a “Machine”
Reverse Engineering Your Dissertation
What Are the Remaining Key Issues?
7. Defending and Moving On
The Dissertation Defense
Publish Your Findings
Apply Your Research: Impacting K-12 Education
Teach the Next Generation: Teaching in Higher Education
The Beginning of Your Journey as a Practitioner Scholar
Key Resources by Topic
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The author does an excellent job of taking a serious, technical, overwhelming topic and making it fun and interesting to read. "

Tammy J. Graham

"The author does an excellent job of taking a serious, technical, overwhelming topic and making it fun and interesting to read."--Tammy J. Graham, Assistant Professor of Education (3/23/2009 12:00:00 AM)

"The book is rich with ideas and strategies for thinking about every phase of the dissertation and for undertaking each phase once it has been carefully thought out."--Daniel L. Duke, Professor of Educational Leadership (3/23/2009 12:00:00 AM)

"With each turn of the page I found myself nodding ′exactly!′ Whether as a class text assigned by faculty or as a self-study resource used by students, this book will resonate with readers."--Doug Leigh, Associate Professor of Education (3/23/2009 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

"The book is rich with ideas and strategies for thinking about every phase of the dissertation and for undertaking each phase once it has been carefully thought out. "

Daniel L. Duke

"With each turn of the page I found myself nodding 'exactly!' Whether as a class text assigned by faculty or as a self-study resource used by students, this book will resonate with readers. "

Doug Leigh