The Doctoral Process From Idea to Award: Identify Dissertation Topics and Writing Proposal

The Doctoral Process From Idea to Award

Aspiring doctoral students may find comfort in, as the title of thistopic indicates, the description and explanation of ‘the’ doctoral process. Clearly marked pathways, which arguably suggest a degree of certainty, perhaps help students to feel more secure (Cutcliffe and Goward, 2000). However, the authors of this topic purport that there is no one, singular doctoral process.

The international ‘ flavor ‘ of the authors and their resulting particularized experiences are testimony to this. Consequently, it would be remiss from the authors if they were to describe ‘the’ singular process of undertaking a doctorate. Such parochial conceptualizations are perhaps analogous to positing a singular ‘research process’ or a singular process for nurse preparation and registration.

It would be particularly inappropriate of the authors to describe ‘the’ singular process for undertaking a doctorate also because the pattern of doctoral education differs somewhat in a number of countries.

Fundamental differences exist between those doctoral programs where students begin their studies with coursework, of varying lengths, one to two or more years,1 and those programs where students undertake a doctorate by thesis or dissertation. The steps within a taught doctorate are viewed as preparation for students in undertaking their dissertation research.

Yet, it is useful to remember that students who have experienced extensive coursework, have had research experiences with faculty, and have typically moved through their program with a cohort of students have a different level of support system and resources to draw from than those who have not.

Consequently, what follows in this topic might be best regarded as a collection of (hopefully) helpful suggestions, based on the authors’ experiences of undertaking, completing, supervising and examining doctorate-level education. It would be equally remiss of the authors if they were to assume that their experiences could be generalized to every doctoral candidate.

Therefore, the reader may be served best by this topic by ‘trying on’ some of the suggestions to see, to paraphrase Barney Glaser (2001), if they have ‘fit and grab’. At the very least, the authors believe that, given their international and absurd experiences, there should be something in this topic that resonates or has meaning for (aspiring) doctoral candidates from around the world.

It is also important to note that while ‘the’ doctoral process is necessarily described as a linear, sequential process, this is only a description and the experience of undertaking a doctorate may not follow such a linear pattern.

are, for example, many aspects of ‘the’ doctoral process that are more cyclic in nature (eg the writing of the dissertation is not necessarily an activity that occurs ex post facto, but should be an ongoing activity). This topic, accordingly, should be read with this in mind.

Identifying The Dissertation Topic

On first consideration, identifying the dissertation topic may appear simple but the authors would point out that this might not always be the case. Some of the difficulty surrounding this process may be grounded in the different methods of achieving a doctoral degree and the variation in international experiences.

For example, the traditional pathway to earning a doctoral degree in many countries was to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) that culminated in the production of a sizeable thesis, usually upwards of 100,000 words (McKenna et al, 2000).

In such instances, it was often necessary to identify a topic for research, prepare a proposal (upon which the decision to register or reject the student was made) even before one registered for a doctorate.

While contemporary models of doctoral preparation for nurses in many countries tend not to reflect this model and more often follow the taught doctorate model (culminating in a shorter study and smaller thesis), it might be advisable to have a good idea of an area of research before trying to register for a doctoral programme.

However, those aspiring doctoral candidates who undertake coursework within their doctorate (a taught doctorate) are unlikely to be required to identify a dissertation topic prior to admission to the programme. Some would even argue that it would be disadvantageous to do so. In these settings coursework and didactic study occupy an important role in doctoral study.

The courses that are taught have different functions. For example, core courses provide foundational knowledge and understanding, such as nursing theory, philosophy of science, development of models which are mental representations of research ideas students bring. Another group of courses consists of research methods, designs and analytical techniques, which students are likely to use in their dissertations.

Yet another set of courses consists of advanced nursing science focusing on research in a particular area of nursing knowledge, while another group has courses carefully selected from other disciplines, as they shed light on the student’s research problem. Consequently, identifying the topic for study in one’s dissertation may well be considerably influenced by participation in these courses.

Similarly, according to McKenna and Cutcliffe (2001) an emerging trend is for the supervisor or academic adviser to provide the topic and the research proposal and for the aspiring doctoral student to apply through a competitive process to undertake the work.

For example, in addition to the course work feature, many doctoral programs in the USA require that students engage in supervised research experience in an aspect of ongoing faculty research. In these instances, clearly the aspiring candidate would not independently select a dissertation topic.

The candidate may select a topic in collaboration with his/her supervisor or academic advisor. However, even in such cases the authors assert that, because his or her dissertation will ultimately ‘belong’ to the candidate and not the supervisor or academic adviser, the candidate needs to consider the choice of topic in great detail.

The choice is an important one, since not only has the candidate to live with it for the years of doctoral study, but also because it should be the foundation of a further research career. This means that the candidate should choose a topic that is rich enough to keep him or her busy for some time; one that has the potential of attracting funding; one that will open up additional research opportunities in the future after graduation and one that may open future employment opportunities.

In order to select the topic of dissertation, information outside the university as well as inside the university should be searched through colloquia, seminars, conferences, newsletters, journal reviews, and the supervisor’s ideas.

In many cases, there exist national funding organizations such as National Institutes of Health in the USA, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, (Medical Research Council of South Africa), and scientific funding agencies that outline specific research priorities every five or ten years.

In addition to country-specific organizations, there also exist international bodies (eg World Health Organization, European Commission) who set specific research agendas. The organizations and bodies inevitably have websites that should be accessed to obtain information regarding the selection of a topic for study.

Further, organized opportunities for reflection and feedback between graduate students and faculty mentors are necessary in each university. While candidates typically find many opportunities to interact and support each other, many department structure opportunities to facilitate and encourage discussions among graduate students and faculty about important issues related to the research topics and the methodology.

These longer-term implications of the resulting choice of dissertation topic should not be readily dismissed and perhaps such considerations are illustrative of one potential dilemma facing aspiring candidates.

In essence the dilemma facing the student might look something like this; ‘Should I select a topic that has contemporary currency or importance or should I select a topic that I believe is equally important to advancing the substantive knowledge base of nursing, that has less contemporary currency or importance right now but may well become politically salient in the future?’

It is important to note that many topics that have such contemporary currency (political, practical or theoretical) may have a limited ‘shelf-life’. The current ‘hot topic’ becomes lukewarm; is replaced by the latest ‘hot topic’ and the funding patterns shift accordingly.

Furthermore, there exist many topics that are equally worthy of scholarly attention and research yet, however, for many reasons, have remained relatively unexplored, eg some mental health related problems.

It is also worthy of note that, in some instances, the area of clinical practice of the candidate is so specialized that this suggests an area of research, if not a specific topic. For instance, a nurse working as a clinician in a substance misuse ‘outreach’ center or a nurse working as a clinical research assistant in the field of cancer study or chronic diseases would be foolish not to choose a topic closely related to these areas. In other instances it is not so easy.

To summarize this section, the choice should be influenced by the candidate’s own interests, clinical specialty and passions. In making this choice, the candidate should be cognizant of the longitudinal nature of research programs and not limit his or her thinking to the duration of the doctorate.

Furthermore, the candidate should be mindful of the contemporary ‘hot topics’ and the funding opportunities that sometimes accompany such issues while also considering that there remain many substantive issues in nursing which may become ‘hot topics’ for the future.

Doctoral candidates should be aware of the information regarding research topics that is posted on the websites of the various funding organizations and bodies. When the candidate wishes to work on a dissertation topic identified by an academic advisor or potential supervisor, in addition to these considerations, the candidate should consider whether or not his or her interests, passions and personality dovetail the supervisor’s.

Writing The Proposal

After identification of a dissertation topic, everyone has to continue review of the research articles to clarify the proposal. Although we always talk about ‘the proposal’ as if there is only one, a candidate might have to write a number of proposals. Again, we recognize that the specific number of proposals will differ depending on the individual practices of the admitting university.

Thus, by way of an example, the range of proposals may include, first, an elaborate proposal that one prepares for supervisors and academics to obtain institutional approval for the dissertation. This is in the first place an academic document, talking to scholars. It needs to convince in terms of scholarly criteria. Secondly, there can be a requirement to write a proposal specifically for a research ethics committee.

This is often a shorter proposal and one that enables the candidate to get access to research sites. This is a brief document outlining the research, using more ‘accessible’ language, often using mainly ‘layman’s’ terms, but focusing strongly on the ethical issues, implications for the service or site, and possible usefulness of the research.

It is the practicalities, the operationalization, of the research design that is most important here. Lastly, there is the proposal that is prepared in order to access funding. In this case the proposal needs to address the priorities and criteria of the funding agency in the first instance. Although the substantive content and ‘core’ of each of these proposals is largely the same, the detail might differ significantly.

Additionally, writing the proposal is perhaps prefaced by a number of processes. Certainly, the candidate will have to engage in a lot of thinking, exploration and reading. A tentative relationship with the doctoral supervisor(s) or academic adviser may need to be established prior to writing the proposal.

Depending on the area of study and the potential method it may be essential to first do a thorough literature review, then identify the research problem, its aim and objectives, and if not already done so, the method, and then begin with the proposal. The proposal should, in essence, make a case for conducting the research (Morse, 1994).

It should illustrate the gaps in the current substantive knowledge base and it needs to identify how the proposed research could ‘bridge’ such gaps (Cutcliffe and Stevenson, 2001).

It should provide a logical sequence of steps that illustrate how the candidate intends to carry out the study; where the study will take place; what the intended outcomes of the study are; and how the findings will be disseminated ( TrippReimer and Cohen, 1991). It is also important to note that many research studies have an evolutionary or developmental nature.

Consequently, the eventual design of the doctoral research study, and sometimes even the research question, may not match that described in the proposal. Such disparity should not be considered as a limitation, but is perhaps more indicative of the developing methodological and analytical ability of the candidate.

To summarize this section, the writing of the proposal is prefaced by a number of preliminary processes; to write a proposal too soon is a waste of time. The proposal should ‘make a case’ for undertaking the study and should provide the preliminary framework of the study design. Furthermore, the candidate should write the proposal with the understanding that the design of the study may change as the study progresses, particularly with studies that have an emerging design.

Read More:

https://nurseseducator.com/doctoral-process-from-idea-to-award-getting-funded-study-mode-motivation-and-research/

https://nurseseducator.com/doctoral-process-from-idea-to-award-being-scholarly-prepare-to-defend-the-thesis/