Doctoral Journey part 2 – preparing for the dissertation

Last time, I shared highlights of my classroom experiences during my doctoral journey that helped prepare me for my dissertation. Before my research could begin, I had to present my case to the members of my dissertation committee and get their approval. What does that mean?

First, let me explain the dissertation committee. This group was comprised of my program advisor and two faculty members that provided additional insights and support regarding my research. One was well-versed in APA requirements for writing and would be able to ensure I was citing prior research appropriately to prepare me for future publication.

Before I could go before the committee, I had to prepare my dissertation defense. This was a presentation of why I felt there was a need for my research focus, what my research would include, and the timeline for completing my dissertation. I searched for relevant journal articles that provided findings on organizational support and remote workers to support the background of my study and help formulate literature reviews that would correlate with my dissertation artifacts. I created research questions that I would explore through the survey I would later create and identified the research methods I would use for my dissertation.

Part of my proposal also tasked me with considering publications that I would submit each artifact to post-graduation. That allowed me to explore potential journals that would be most appropriate to share my research with.

Once all of this was completed, I presented my proposal to my dissertation committee. This gave the committee the chance to ask questions and clarify what my goals were and the path I wanted to go down for my research. After my presentation, I was excited to learn that my proposal was approved. I was now ready to begin the research path and gather the data I needed for my dissertation.

In my next post, I will share my dissertation adventures and what I learned during that time.

For anyone else that has gone down this path, what were your experiences preparing to start your research? Did  you have to make any adjustments to your dissertation plan? I’d love to hear about it!