The dissertation stage of doctoral student life can be frought with difficulties, many of which are unnecessary. I have written this to let you know that the faculty, having weathered the storm of numerous dissertations (including their own) are fully aware of the trials and tribulations (and gameplaying) connected with dissertation. Some of these comments apply to the dissertation proposal and others to both proposal and the dissertation itself.  This is meant to be an informative backdrop against which to reflect when some of what is described here happens to you.

1. Dissertation proposals in the social sciences (and the dissertation itself) follow a fairly standard organizational pattern; that is, a proposal written by a student in sociology or industrial psychology will look very similar to one in educational leadership. That is because our little bureaucratic minds, having the intractable habit of categorizing, pigeonholing and standardizing everything, fell in line with what is now the decades long strangle hold on method held by experimental psychology. But there are differences, some across disciplines or departments, but primarily from advisor-to-advisor due to (mostly small) idiosyncratic preferences. Students who produce a proposal in this class should expect, with rare exceptions, that advisors will want format or organizational changes, and of course, revisions in content and design. Keep in mind that your advisor is the dissertation director (which is the other term for advisor).  But this frequently leads to a false BELIEF among some students that what I expect should be included in a proposal and how it should be organized is radically different from what an advisor was expecting once the advisor has reacted to your output from this class.  And then the whining starts.  Not so!!  IF you have not been negligent, most all of what you need from your advisor's point of view will have been completed, ideally with some minor shuffling and re-writing here and there.

2. A corollary is that a proposal completed in this class is most likely not a completed proposal, partially because of the idiosyncrasies mentioned above, and for other reasons, some of which are catalogued here. This is a sample of some I have collected from experience, and the observations of students and other faculty, that may or may not apply to particular individuals:

(A) there isn't time, in 3.5 months, to polish the rhetoric and nail down the conceptual and operational details, unless the student is attempting a field study instead of a dissertation, or unless the student has laid considerable ground work in advance.  Also, one of the necessary steps in tackling the problems of validity in research design is to expand and complicate a simple theoretical proposition prior to shrinking it back down to manageable proportions, but one semester may not be long enough to work that process through entirely.  Consequently, the student presents his/her advisor with what appears to be a needlessly unwieldy project and is dismayed when cherished ideas get axed by the advisor;

(B) you, and I as your instructor, are closer than anyone to what your study is all about as a result of having worked together rather intensely. In spite of your best efforts to interact with them, your advisor and members of your committee are not on the same level of understanding until you put them there, and that won't happen most likely until this class is over and you make it happen.  In the ideal world, your advisor would be with you step-by-step while you work through this process wth me, but that rarely happens;

(C) in spite of advance warning, some students do not remain conscious of the need to think dissertation topic early on in the program of study, decide on an area of interest, gain the informed affirmation of the advisor,  and master the literature in their chosen area.  Consequently, they are not ready for this juncture in the program, and have to play catch-up;

(D) unexpected, sometimes unfortunate, major events in life occur (such as death) to derail the student, temporarily or permanently;

(E) some people think in circles and consequently they write in circles. They know what they mean but can't understand why no one else does.  While circular thinking is temporarily invaluable at conceptual stages of the problem formulation process,  circularity is fatal to problem articulation and problem solution.  While the path in the system of logic in social research may be interactive, it is certainly not circular, and I know of no cure for the mind that cannot adapt to the linear logic of the scientific method. The qualitative research process IS circular and iterative at various stages, but even there a certain degree of linearity is essential to reaching closure;

(F) unfortunately, some students have acquired the habit over a lifetime of being the passive recipients of curriculum spoon fed by teachers and a few end up in doctoral programs, seemingly with the expectation that they will be handed a dissertation they can waltz through in their spare time, and when it doesn't happen, everyone and everything is to blame except themselves. Also, unfortunately, some of these same people are just plain lazy. Most of these people do not finish;

(G) some students are unwilling to make the commitment, having decided that other things in life come first, which places the dissertation (and course work) in 3rd or 4th place in order of importance. When they cannot strike a balance and will not carve out significant chunks of focused time for concerted effort, they have little hope of finishing;

(H) some students think they are wiser, more intelligent and more knowledgeable than the faculty, they disregard advice and guidance, they run from one faculty member to another asking the same questions in an effort to find one who will tell them what they want to hear, they continually complain or instill an undercurrent of negativism among colleagues in the cohort, and in general make matters more difficult for themselves and others than is necessary;

(I) most sadly, a few just simply do not have the ability, and the best efforts of faculty and peers cannot change that.

3. The nature of dissertation can best be described as a major independent, creative activity often accompanied by isolation, despair, frustration, helplessness, hopelessness, loneliness, anger, depression, dysfunctional behavior -- even intermittent psychosis -- and when completed, tremendous relief and great pride in accomplishment, which  replace all the other stages of grief that came before. At the dissertation stage, students need a great deal of emotional and moral support, which may or may not come in the form of "warm fuzzies." For these, some rely on God, a minister, significant others, close friends, their shrink, reserves of inner strength, the bartender, and members of the cohort, which is partially what the cohort is for. In the end, it is talent, maturity, self reliance and perseverance that win the day. It is unreasonable and entirely inappropriate to rely on the faculty for "emotional" support or, as some would have it, to expect them to be "supportive" in the sense that feminists of the 70's and 80's ridiculed males like myself of never understanding (still don't and don't care), although many students establish strong bonds with advisors.

In this course, here is what you can rely on from me, to the best of my ability: Moral support in the form of encouragement and faith that you can succeed; personal and individualized consultation outside of class hours and whenever needed to the extent it is reasonable and doable; timely and thorough corrective feedback; advice -for whatever it's worth- on virtually any dissertation related issue on which I am competent to provide advice; structured, step-by-step guidance with proposal development; all the literary and scholarly resources I have at my disposal... and all the patience I can muster. After this course is completed, you are turned over to your advisor and that is the primary person to whom you relate around the dissertation. That is the protocol, and any further formal contact with me is through your advisor. Informal visits and requests for technical clarification are more than welcome. However, most of you, except those with advanced technical skills or needs for simple technical assistance, will need consultation with matters pertaining to data analysis. I'm available to help you with that.