These slides help doctoral students understand how to approach the three chapter dissertation proposal.

1. The Logic and
Most Efficient
Approach to a
Three Chapter
As taught and recommended by Dissertation
www.doctoralnet.com Proposal….
Written by E. Alana James, Ed.D.

2. Puzzled about what
exactly goes in your
proposal
Generally the first three
chapters of your five chapter
dissertation – all written in the
future tense

3. Prerequisites to Writing
1. A topic agreed upon with your advisor
2. 75+ recent research articles or books on your
topic read and collected in some form of
organizational pattern or reference software.
3. 3+ model dissertations at hand
4. An understanding of the guidelines of your
university AND a solid set of topic headings or
rubric to follow to guide what content goes
where
5. A methodological pattern agreed upon
between you and your advisor
Missing any of those? See www.doctoralnet.com and the
self guided content in the DoctoralNet Academy to fill in the gaps

4. 1st – Tackle the Heart of Your
Proposal – Chapter 3
Why?
 Because it is the part the will scare you
the most to write, best get it out of the
way
 Because the proposal is all about what
you will do in your research, having it all
worked out is a pre-requisite for knowing
what needs to go in chapters 2 and 1

5.  Introduction
 Purpose/Problem
Statement
 Research Design
overview
 Population & sample
 Data Collection
 Data Analysis
 Instruments
 Credibility, validity Typical Headings
and reliability for Chapter 3
 Limitations,
assumptions & Note: they may have different
delimiters headings and may be grouped
 Human Subjects slightly differently from some
Protection universities
 Summary

6. Things to Watch
Out For….
Don’t:
• Write ABOUT research… instead
discuss YOUR research
• Quote Creswell or others…
instead discuss your research
decisions from a position of
mastery and cite the authors
that helped you make those
decisions
• Write about your topic… instead
leave space and fill in later
places where you reference
discussions of the lit in Chapter 2
or of background to the study
that you will write in Chapter 1

7. Next: Write Chapter 2
How?
 First organize your literature into themes:
 Theoretical literature on which you base your
study
 History of your topic (small amount here)
 Topics that lead to your research questions &/or
back up your instruments, etc.
 Reading on methodological issues that lead to
your decisions about your research or helped
define your protocols
 Double check against guidelines or rubric from
your university

8.  Introduction (note:
to the study as
much or more than
to the topic)
 Theoretical
discussion
 Historical
background to the
topic
 Topic areas of Typical Headings
interest that lead to
the questions you for Chapter 2
ask in your
methodology Note: they may have different
headings and may be grouped
 Gaps in the
slightly differently from some
literature that lead
universities
to your study
 Methodological
literature
 Summary

9. Things to Watch
Out For…
Don’t:
• Forget that your only focus is
to back up your methodology
– your reader does not need
to understand everything that
you do
• Discuss research one by one –
rather discuss topics and
outcomes of others research
in groups
• Fail to draw conclusions about
what counts as important to
the field
• Fail to uncover what has not
been done and to make a
case for your study based on
that
• Fail to move all the things you
want to say about your
methodological
understanding to a section of
this chapter

10. Last: Write Chapter 1
Things to include:
1. All the background to your local context
that makes this study important
2. Small amounts of the background to your
topic –enough to help your reader
understand its importance but not so much
as to take away from Chapter 2
3. Well developed problem statement
4. A clear focus and solid overview of YOUR
study

11.  Introduction
 Background
 Conceptual Framework
 Theoretical,
Epistemological and
Ontological Framework
 Problem Statement
 Purpose
 Research Questions
&/or Hypotheses/null
hypotheses
Typical Headings
 Research Design for Chapter 1
Overview
Note: they may have different
 Population/Sample headings and may be grouped
 Assumptions, Limitations slightly differently from some
 Significance of Your universities
Study
 Definition of Terms
 Summary

12. Things to Watch
Out For:
Make Sure:
• You Keep the Pace – Lead
the reader through to one
objective – your study is well
thought out and important
• No one section runs on
much more than a page or
two
• You don’t discuss the topic
to the point you
overshadow your discussion
of your research design
• This chapter gives the
reader a solid
understanding of what they
will see in Chapter 3

13. Remember
Even if you do everything right
your committee with still have
things to add to make it even
better.

14. To the extent
however that your
methodology is
tight and your
writing has
everything in the
correct spot….
Victory will be easily yours and
your committee will pass you
on to do your research

15. More Detailed
Information with
Options for Live
Help and
Discussions
Http://www.doctoralnet.com