Universal Oral Defense PowerPoint Working Group Tammy Root Nancy Rea Magdeline Aagard Jan Garfield Karla Phlypo Joan Hahn Janice Long

PhD Dissertation Proposal Oral Defense Slide Template The information presented here is recommended guidance only. Work in conjunction with your committee on the slides; committee members may have suggestions other than those presented here.

Notes about the Oral Defense Recommendation for time: The oral defense PowerPoint presentation should be around 20 – 40 minutes in length followed by the committee Q & A portion. The entire defense should not exceed two hours. The oral defense will be with the Student, Chair, and 2nd Committee member (the URR is not expected to attend) In the event of an emergency and your member cannot attend, the oral can proceed with just the chair. The member will review the archived recording of the presentation later and provide a vote. Student to proof and edit slides Use same font and background on each slide

Notes about the Oral Defense Do not overuse color because color can be distracting Refer to the Dissertation Checklist for guidance when completing the various components of your presentation at: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/osra/phd Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse Stay within time limit Know your stuff

Notes about the Oral Defense Check for professional appearance, flow, and unity throughout the presentation Do not read your slides to the committee Discuss the main points using your slides as a guide Use graphics pertinent to the topic – see examples on next few slides. . . Academic Skills for Powerpoint

Graphic Suggestion Consider adding a related photo, graphic, or using SmartArt enhance your presentation Journal & Reflection

Graphic Suggestion Power Points should have minimal verbiage 5 short bullet points max, or two short sentences Discuss and briefly elaborate using your notes Key Points Max 5 Short Pts. Max 2 Sentences

What happens during the oral defense? You will be on the phone with your committee (send your slides to the committee before your oral defense) First, you will present your slides Next, your committee will ask you questions about your study The entire process takes between 1-2 hours

What happens during the oral defense? The committee will vote: Accepted as presented Accepted but requires minor revisions under supervision of chair Not accepted--requires major revisions, with committee review but no additional oral Not accepted--requires major revisions, with committee review and another oral

Now, let’s take a look at a proposal oral defense template Now, let’s take a look at a proposal oral defense template. Be sure to remove all slides up to this point and begin your slide show with the title slide.

Place Title of Study Here Your name Date of Presentation Degree Program and Specialization Proposal Oral Defense

Background Briefly summarize research literature related to the scope of the study topic Describe the gap in knowledge in the discipline that the study will address and why study is needed

Problem Statement State the research problem Provide evidence of consensus that the problem is current, relevant, and significant to the discipline Frame the problem in a way that builds upon or counters previous research findings focusing on the problem Address a meaningful gap in the current research literature

Purpose of the Study Indicate whether a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods paradigm is being used Discuss the study intent State the independent, dependent, and covariate variables and/or concept/phenomenon (as appropriate to the particular study)

Research Questions State the Research Questions

Hypotheses (if Quant or Mixed) For quantitative components, state the null and alternative hypotheses that identify the independent and dependent variables being studied, the association being tested, and how the variables are being measured

Conceptual or Theoretical Framework Name of theory Identify author of the theory State how the theory interfaces with your study Name of conceptual framework Identify author of the conceptual framework State how the concepts interface with your study

Method/Design Quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method “Using this method will allow me to. . .” Research Design “Using this design will allow me to. . .”

Participants/Sample Size Primary or secondary data Population from which sample is selected Inclusion/Exclusion criteria for participants Power calculations for quantitative studies Proposed sample size for qualitative

Data Collection Technique Primary or Secondary Data Collection Survey or Instrument Used Recruiting Techniques Software

Data Analysis Plan List each research question with its proposed analysis plan

Social Change Implications Describe potential implications for positive social change that are consistent with and bounded by the scope of the study

Stakeholder Communication (if applicable) If you are collecting primary data, especially at organizations/consultancies, provide next steps for reporting back to key stakeholders on any changes from the initial agreement Review your consent form and partner agreement and discuss what you are telling stakeholders regarding the masking of participant and/or organization identities (the default is to mask both unless you received permission from the program director to state the name of the organization in the final dissertation as per criteria outlined here).

Concluding Thoughts… Provide a strong “take home” message that captures the key essence of the proposal

Acknowledgements Thank your committee members

References