DISSERTATION MANUAL - Liberty University

1 1 CENTER FOR COUNSELING & FAMIL Y STUDIES DISSERTATION MANUAL The Center for Couns eling and Family Studies Liberty Uni versity 1971 Uni versi ty Blvd. Lynchburg, Virgini a 24 502 Academic Year 2013-2014 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE PHD PROGRAM .. 4 INTRODUCTION TO THE DISSERTATION MANUAL .. 5 Purpose of the DISSERTATION Manu al .. 5 The Authority of thi s DISSERTATION MANUAL .. 6 OVERVIEW O F THE DISSERTATION .. 7 Background of the DISSERTATION .. 7 Histor y of the DISSERTATION .. 9 DISSERTATION : GENERAL INFORMATION .. 11 Planning and Budgeting for the Dissert ation .. 11 The Use of Assistance i n the DISSERTATION Process.

2 12 DISSERTATION : WRITING STANDARDS .. 14 Dissert ation Writing Style .. 1 4 Dissert ation Writing For m .. 15 Academic Hon esty .. 20 DISSERTATION .. 22 Overview of the DISSERTATION Process .. 22 Step 1: Select a .. 23 Step 2: Obtain a Dissertatio n Committe e .. 23 Step 3: Pass the Candidacy .. 25 Step 4: Form a DISSERTATION .. 25 Step 5: Compl ete the Proposal .. 26 Step 6: Defend the Propo sal .. 27 Step 7: Obt ain Approv al by the Int ernal Review .. 28 Step 8: Conduct t he .. 30 Step 9: Compl ete F inal Cha pt ers .. 30 Step 10: Submit t he Entire Dissertatio n for Final .. 30 Step 11: Defend the Dissert ation ..31 Step 12: Obt ain a Prof essional Editor to Review t he DISSERTATION for Form and ..35 Step 13: S ubmit t he Final D.

3 35 3 COMPONENTS OF THE COMPLETED .. 38 Preliminary Pages .. 38 Text .. 40 .. 40 Appendixes .. 40 APPENDIXES .. 41 A Overview of the DISSERTATION For .. 42 B R ecommended Books f or Dissert ation Preparation .. 6 1 C Petition for Establishi ng a DISSERTATION Committee .. 6 3 D Petition for an Outside/Peer Committee .. 6 4 E Dissert ation Defense Meeting Announcement For mat .. 65 F. Liberty Uni versity Thesis/ DISSERTATION .. 66 Liberty University From the PhD Program Directors Dear Doctor al Candidate: Congratul ations on reaching thi s final stage of your doctoral journey. You began thi s j our ney several years ago and step after step have compl eted all of your coursewor k, Qualifying Examination, Practicum and Int ernship.

4 Now you face the capston e of the Doctor of Phi losophy Program, t he DISSERTATION . Even befor e student s arrive at t he landmark DISSERTATION stage, they have many questions about the DISSERTATION and the pr ocess by whi ch the y compl ete one. To address t he ov erarching issues, t he Cent er f or Couns eli ng and Family S tudies (CCFS) has developed thi s DISSERTATION gui de. We hope that thi s document will assist you on the last l eg of your academic j ourney. As f aculty, we l ook for ward to wor king with students on their r esearch and di ssertation. Often student s are pu rsui ng faculty research int erests or addressing topics of i mportance to them. Our prayer is that you will s ee thi s proj ect thr ough to compl etion so that your final document will be one t hat y ou, your DISSERTATION committee, and Liberty Uni versity can be pr oud to say that i t r epr esents t he best w e have t o offer.

5 May God bless you with all y ou need to flourish abu ndantly as you conduct y our research and write your dissert ation. Our prayers are with you! Dr. Gary Sibc y Dr. Lisa Sosin 4 5 Liberty University Introduction to the Dissertati on MANUAL Purpose of this Dissertati on MANUAL The purpose of thi s document i s t o assist doctoral s tudents in compl eting their DISSERTATION at L iberty Uni versi ty. The best a cademic traditi on and professional practic e require the Uni versity to preserve and s ha re doctoral dissert ation wor k with other s cholars. Because the compl eted DISSERTATION is a publication of Liberty Uni versity, t he U ni versity and Center for Counseling and F amily Studies (CCFS) must maint ain high standards con cerni ng the for m and appearance of dissert ations, and requi re t hat any student s wor k meet t hose standards.

6 This guide sets f orth those standards and prov ides a set of directives for doctoral students as they walk thr oug h the DISSERTATION process. This gui de is also int ended t o serve as an aid t o faculty involved in chairing student dissertations. I t prov ides an overview of the DISSERTATION process and descri bes in broa d terms t he rol es and respons ibilities of t he student, committee chairperson, and ot her committee members. Mor eover, t hi s gui de pr ov ide s pertine nt infor mation about the content and style of t he DISSERTATION document s and describes the processes for do cument approv al and f inal publication of the dissert ation. doctoral s tudent s should refer to the gui de and follow its direction as they pl an f or and pr epare their DISSERTATION and whenever submitting materials t o their committee.

7 The committee chairperson is r espo ns ibl e t o the Uni versi ty for the structur e, content, and final s ubmission of the document f or publication and has the ultimate authority in the committee on these matte rs. This gui de is int ended t o support s tudent s and 5 6 faculty at Liberty University thr ough the essential p rocesses of writing and defendi ng t he student s dissert ation. The Authority of this Disser tation MANUAL Thi s versi on of the DISSERTATION guide sup ersedes all pr evious editions of the DISSERTATION MANUAL . Students who are i n the process of writing their final chapters, however, may continue under the former guidelines. 6 7 Liberty University Overview of the Dissertati on Background to the DISSERTATION The DISSERTATION is t he culminating activity of a doctor al s tudent s degree and represents t he stud ent s origi nal contri bution to the prof essional literatur e.

8 It prov ides an opportunity to focus on a s ingl e, carefully defined area of int erest w ithin t he s tudent s field of study. The DISSERTATION is a scholarly document i nt ended t o demonstrate t he research competence of the aut hor and to produce greater underst anding of cultural, s ocial, psychological, physical or spiritual p henomena. The DISSERTATION is t o be written in the for mal l anguage and style of the author s di scipl ine or field of study, and present s t he results of a compr ehensive, logical, and ethi cal i nv estigation. The dissert ation is an extension of published research that invol ves the acquisition, analysis, and int erpretation of new data. It i s based upon the assumption that t he re exists one or mor e of these elements: A n int ernal reality that can be sampl ed, observed, measured, and analyzed.

9 A n int ernal phenomenolog ical r eality that can be described in suffi cient detail by the person experiencing it. A s ocial or or gani zational reality that can be derived by examination of its structur e or communicated through its partic ipants reports. Regardl ess of the underlying assumption, the DISSERTATION shoul d address an important problem that is f easibl y studied withi n the student s f ield. The DISSERTATION study 7 8 must be carried out t hrough t he application of acc epted methods and pr ocedures appropriate t o the stated problem. The dissert ation is not just d escriptive; i t m us t be of a sound ext ant basis or a well- de veloped concept ual basis that l eads to t he question(s) under i nv estigation. This basis serves as t he origi n for conclus ions and inferences that l ead to further research, for enhanced theoretical underst anding, and for recommendations for or ganizational i mpr ovement.

10 All doctor al candidates must submit an appr ov ed DISSERTATION to satisfy part of the requirements for their degree. The DISSERTATION must be based on origi nal r esearch t hat has been appr ov ed by the st udent s DISSERTATION committee. The main aim of the DISSERTATION is t o encourage independent study and to prov ide a fou ndation for fut ure original research. In terms of l earning , t he DISSERTATION shoul d offer the opportunity to develop research ski ll s, demonstrate mastery of a specified topic, and contribute t o the body of knowledge. Dissertations can be di vided int o two general c lassifications based upon the ir purpose: ( a) inq uiry-oriented studies that have as their purpose to find out s omethi ng about the problem and (b) action- oriented studies that have as their purpose to bring about c hange or impr ovement i n the area of t he problem.