There are many milestones throughout the process of earning a Ph.D. One of the most significant is becoming “ABD” which is academic shorthand for “all but dissertation.” This stage is also sometimes referred to as PhD.abd.
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There are many elements to consider when weighing the benefits of pursuing graduate education. One of the most pressing is cost. In addition to being academically rigorous and time-consuming, earning a Ph.D. can also be a pricey proposition. In addition to expenses like tuition, textbooks, and lab or activity fees, there are also less apparent and sometimes hidden costs that many prospective graduate students don’t know to factor into their calculations.
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While writing your dissertation is a Herculean task, the work isn’t quite over once the dissertation is finished. In many disciplines, a dissertation presentation is required as part of the dissertation defense. This thorough, comprehensive presentation is your opportunity to demonstrate the depth and validity of your research in a clear and compelling way.
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What’s in a name? When it’s the title of your dissertation, everything. Your dissertation title will be a permanent fixture on your CV throughout your career, so it’s a good idea to invest time and thought into it. There are many considerations when it comes to crafting a dissertation title, as well as missteps you’ll want to avoid. A solid dissertation title is a testament to your vision (and, likely, revision), and every scholar wants to get it right.
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The path to a dissertation is filled with choices that determine the quality of your experience as a student as well as the future strength of your professional network.
Choosing your dissertation committee is one of the most important decisions–and one of the most fraught–that you’ll make as a graduate student. With the stakes being so high, many doctoral students worry about making a misstep and getting it wrong.
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One of the biggest decisions that you’ll make when researching and writing your dissertation is about the theoretical foundation of your research project (also sometimes referred to as the “theoretical framework”).
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“Threats to Validity” – sounds serious, right? It is, but have no fear. As with most parts of your dissertation, the threats to validity section is a small puzzle piece in the bigger picture of your dissertation project. Though it may seem mysterious–and a little dire–the threats to validity section is a normal part of any quantitative study, and one that is easily managed once it is broken down to its essential parts. To do that, we’ll start with the basics.
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A dissertation is a complex document with many moving parts. Several theories and concepts are likely to inform the argument you make in your dissertation, which will draw on many ideas to support the viability of your hypothesis. The conceptual framework is an essential part of your dissertation, one that will shape the focus of your research.
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For most graduate students, the dissertation proposal is a huge milestone on the journey to completing a doctorate. The proposal serves as an in-depth exploration of the question that is the driving force of your research. Writing the proposal offers an opportunity to expand upon the initial ideas explored in the dissertation prospectus at length, and also to set the stage for the research you’ll be completing in your dissertation project.
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For most doctoral candidates, the dissertation defense is the light at the end of the tunnel, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. After years of hard work and sacrifice, a matter of hours stands between you and the title you will hold for the rest of your life. By this point in your doctoral journey, the path ahead should be clear, right? Not so fast.
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