1. Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation Committees

2. Timeframe When should students form their committee?
Graduate School Deadlines
Allow one additional semester.
Discuss
Dissertation
Proposal
Prepare
Dissertation
Proposal
Final year
of classes meet
with advisor
Identify committee
chair and meet
Identify committee
members and contact
Comprehensive
Examination
Submit proposal
to committee
Graduation
Submit final
document to
Grad School
Submit draft
for formatting
to Grad School
IRB
Data collection
and writing
Submit draft
to committee
Defense
Proposal Defense

3. Committee Chair-Tenured and tenure-track faculty
Graduate Faculty Status
Third or fourth member can be from a school district or other institution.
Student forms the committee, student can reform it.
DON’T FORGET THE
PAPERWORK!

4. Comprehensive Exam 3-5 questions One/two from each member
Sent to the student 2 weeks ahead of the oral exam
Answer 3 questions
One sheet of notes, front/back
Results-pass or no pass
DON’T FORGET THE
PAPERWORK!

5. Dissertation Proposal
The committee could change!
APA format, narrative document
Draft of Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1 (Introduction, Statement of the Research Problem, Research Questions, Importance/Significance of the Problem)
Research design-chart of questions/instruments
Include any instruments
Presentation with slides, minutes, brief overview of proposal
Committee gives significant
feedback
DON’T FORGET THE
PAPERWORK!

6. Dissertation and Defense
APA format, traditional style-5 chapters
Length of dissertation varies (typically pages)
Defense-slides of key findings, minutes
Still making corrections
DON’T FORGET THE
PAPERWORK!

7. Common Issues and Challenges
Too many research questions
Research questions too broad
Literature review is not an analysis of literature
No use of literature throughout
Does not tie findings to questions
Limited discussion and conclusion
Trying to finish too quickly or disappearing
Not giving committee members
enough time

8. Other Issues and Challenges
Bad fit with committee chair
Poor writing-hire an editor
Timing is off-data collection/writing
Committee members change
Committee members with different experiences