"This book is a toolbox for PhD students to plan and prepare for the PhD defence regardless of their scientific discipline or location. The authors discuss various defence formats that are used internationally and identify the main differences and similarities. With international examples, practical strategies, and tips from former PhD students and supervisors, this book unpacks the principles and unwritten rules underpinning the defence. Addressing planning and preparing for the doctoral defence, and what to do afterwards, this book covers topics such as: understanding your defence format preparing for committee questions preparing mentally and dealing with anxiety dealing with corrections, finalizing your graduation requirements and marking the end of your PhD trajectory. This book is crucial reading for students across the world looking to defend their PhD thesis, and also for their supervisors and examiners"--

An all-inclusive, practical guide to help you design, conduct, and finish your academic dissertation—with minimal drama Sharing the secrets for successfully navigating through the dissertation and thesis process while maintaining your sanity, Finish Your Dissertation, Don't Let It Finish You! presents comprehensive coverage of the entire dissertation process, from selecting a committee and choosing a research topic to conducting the research and writing and defending your dissertation. Joanne Broder Sumerson follows the sequential flow of a dissertation, to help you move through the process in a logical, step-by-step manner, with an abundance of practical examples and useful tips on: Proper dissertation etiquette—smarts and strategies for managing the committee Breaking ground on your study The anatomy of the five chapters of your dissertation Making a compelling argument for why your study should be done Creating an exemplary literature review The best practices in research design Getting official approval from the Institutional Review Board Organizing your freshly collected data Concluding your dissertation Presenting a smooth oral defense

This CHOICE award winning author has teamed up with a Chair of the Department of Research at Concordia University Chicago to write a comprehensive book on finishing and defending a dissertation. A first of its kind, this book provides you everything you need to know about successfully passing the dissertation defense such as: preparing and finishing the manuscript, using cloud-based communities, preparing presentations, using effective communication strategies, managing stress, motivating yourself, revising and editing the manuscript, publishing and presenting the final dissertation and more.

This textbook is a guide to success during the PhD trajectory. The first part of this book takes the reader through all steps of the PhD trajectory, and the second part contains a unique glossary of terms and explanation relevant for PhD candidates. Written in the accessible language of the PhD Talk blogs, the book contains a great deal of practical advice for carrying out research, and presenting one’s work. It includes tips and advice from current and former PhD candidates, thus representing a broad range of opinions. The book includes exercises that help PhD candidates get their work kick-started. It covers all steps of a doctoral journey in STEM: getting started in a program, planning the work, the literature review, the research question, experimental work, writing, presenting, online tools, presenting at one’s first conference, writing the first journal paper, writing and defending the thesis, and the career after the PhD. Since a PhD trajectory is a deeply personal journey, this book suggests methods PhD candidates can try out, and teaches them how to figure out for themselves which proposed methods work for them, and how to find their own way of doing things.

Your dissertation is not a hurdle to jump or a battle to fight; as this handbook makes clear, your dissertation is the first of many destinations on the path of your professional career. Destination Dissertation guides you to the successful completion of your dissertation by framing the process as a stimulating and exciting trip—one that can be completed in fewer than nine months and by following twenty-nine specific steps. Sonja Foss and William Waters—your guides on this trip—explain concrete and efficient processes for completing the parts of the dissertation that tend to cause the most delays: conceptualizing a topic, developing a pre-proposal, writing a literature review, writing a proposal, collecting and analyzing data, and writing the last chapter. This guidebook is crafted for use by students in all disciplines and for both quantitative and qualitative dissertations, and incorporates a wealth of real-life examples from every step of the journey.

A long-term bestseller, this book is a pragmatic step-by-step guide to completing you dissertation or thesis during two semesters, in fifty workdays or less. It covers advisor and topic selection, proposal development, data collection and organization, available assistance, writing, and defense. The author demystifies the process and provides you with essential guidance through the rites of passage that are an integral part of completing your degree.

Expert writing advice from the editor of the Boston Globe best-seller, The Writer's Home Companion Dissertation writers need strong, practical advice, as well as someone to assure them that their struggles aren't unique. Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and co-founder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer. Using positive reinforcement, she begins by reminding thesis writers that being able to devote themselves to a project that truly interests them can be a pleasurable adventure. She encourages them to pay close attention to their writing method in order to discover their individual work strategies that promote productivity; to stop feeling fearful that they may disappoint their advisors or family members; and to tailor their theses to their own writing style and personality needs. Using field-tested strategies she assists the student through the entire thesis-writing process, offering advice on choosing a topic and an advisor, on disciplining one's self to work at least fifteen minutes each day; setting short-term deadlines, on revising and defing the thesis, and on life and publication after the dissertation. Bolker makes writing the dissertation an enjoyable challenge.