Chapter 13: The Technical Aspects of Your Written Dissertation

Completing a dissertation calls for an extensive combination of intellectual and social skills plus some critical personality attributes that include the ability to maintain sustained levels of focused, intensive work over long periods. You do all this in a culture that makes you the person primarily responsible for setting your timetable, deciding what needs to be done next, and who you need to talk to or meet with. You may be completing your dissertation in a program that has many forms of support and encouragement—a major advisor who is invested in your success, an ongoing group of dissertation students who meet regularly, seminars where students present their ideas for discussion, and so on. Or, you may be in a program where your are expected to do much of your dissertation work “on your own” without much support, encouragement, or guidance. Unfortunately, the research on doctoral student’s perceptions of their programs suggests that programs are, on average, closer to the “on your own” extreme than the “richly supportive” alternative.