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Theses and Dissertations A Guide to Planning, Research, and Writing

• R. Murray Thomas - University of California, Santa Barbara (Emeritus)
• Dale L. Brubaker - University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Description

"Coming generations of graduate students will be in debt to Professors Thomas and Brubaker for providing a long-overdue guide to the rite of passage known as theses and dissertations. This book is realistic, clear, and refreshingly sensitive to what the student needs to know. Why such a comprehensive and helpful book has not been written before is mystifying."

"Too many students complete their thesis or dissertation and say, 'If I had only known X .' Thomas and Brubaker have provided the book that will help all such students. The clear exposition, the recognition of problems, the multiple perspectives, and the advice coming from years of experience make this an essential book for those considering or completing theses and dissertations. The checklists, breadth of coverage, and attention to details provide readers (both students and advisors) with an excellent resource."

"Moves beyond simplistic discussions of 'procedures to follow' that are commonly found in dissertation or thesis guides to in-depth discussions of stages in the research process that provide strong reference points and examples for students as they embark on the disciplined inquiry of thesis and dissertation research. This book is a valuable text for proposal writing classes, faculty members who direct dissertations and theses, and students throughout the research process."

"A top pick for any basic college-level collection catering to graduate students, this book is sure to be a popular, often-consulted, and practical reference."

A very helpful guide to planning, researching and writing. This book will be a most helpful aid in structuring and planning research at thesis and dissertation level.

Accessible and well organised, with guidance on avoiding pitfalls.

A clear and considered guide to thesis and dissertation writing. I introduced this recently within a reading session, students found it to be informative and useful.

I really liked the layout of this book. The structure takes the reader through the complete process of completing a dissertation. The checklists are very helpful for the reader. The section on research methods was very good.

This book would be an useful addition to any student writing a dissertation as part of the PGCE primary course. Very informative and gives a good guide to those who are not confident when structuring research based dissertation.

Great guide for educational research. Covers all the stages and gives advice on how to avoid pitfalls.

Very accessible book for a broad range of research areas. Excellent examples and case studies.

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Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation

A road map from beginning to end.

Research Methods in Communication | Thesis & Dissertation Guides | Qualitative Health & Nursing Research | Qualitative Research in Education | Intermediate/Advanced Qualitative Research | Research Methods in Sociology

Out of Print - No longer available.

• DESCRIPTION

Available formats

1. a complete dissertation: the big picture, 2. gearing up: there is method in the madness, 3. choosing a qualitative research approach, 4. developing your research proposal, 5. achieving alignment throughout your dissertation, 6. introduction to your study, 7. developing and presenting your literature review, 8. presenting methodology and research approach, 9. analyzing data and reporting findings, 10. analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing findings, 11. drawing trustworthy conclusions and presenting actionable recommendations, 12. some final technical considerations, 13. defense preparation and beyond.

·          Downloadable  templates and appendices from the book  include charts, tables, and other dissertation tools.

·          EXCLUSIVE! Access to certain full-text  SAGE journal articles  that have been carefully selected for each chapter.

·          101 Questions and Answers provide further insight from Dr. Linda Bloomberg.

·          Additional online dissertation resources assist in organizing and developing your manuscript.

NEW TO THIS EDITION: 

• A greater focus on reflexivity highlights the vital importance of researchers considering the potential impact of choices made in conducting the research and writing a study.
• The inclusion of a strong activist agenda, and how qualitative researchers can approach their research critically , is demonstrated among all of the different research traditions and addresses the current landscape of qualitative research.
• A new chapter titled “Achieving Alignment Throughout Your Dissertation” reinforces the importance of establishing and maintaining methodological congruence throughout the research and writing process.
• Enhanced discussion surrounding developing a well-synthesized literature review assists readers in improving this key skill to successfully produce this key chapter of the dissertation.
• A set of reflexive questions has been added in each chapter of Part II (Chapters 6–11) to stimulate critical thinking, serve as prompts for reflective journaling throughout the dissertation process, and confront researchers’ inherent biases and assumptions.
• Updated rubrics, tables, charts, figures, and checklists help readers understand, organize, manage, and present timely data.

KEY FEATURES:

•   Clear, manageable steps to the entire dissertation process provide an easy-to-follow road map.
• Logical organization of topics allows students to immediately jump to the section that pertains to their current stage in the process.
• A unique chapter on dissertation defense demystifies this often intimidating experience.  

“This book is a ‘must have’ for all doctoral students from their acceptance into a program until they upload their finished dissertation to their institutional library. Forget Agatha Christie; they should keep this on their bed side table until it is dog-eared and they have graduated.” Shelley K. Taylor Western University

“I will continue to use Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation until I find a better text, and that just does not seem likely. The authors’ writing is straightforward; they write as academics, from an academic bent, yet write practically for doctoral candidates who need guidance, a "road map" of how to complete their dissertation. JoAnn Danelo Barbour Gonzaga University

“An excellent resource for doctoral students! The authors take the fear of writing a dissertation, and break down each component into manageable tasks that once completed will help students deliver a scholarly research project: a project that they will be proud to defend!” Joe R. Putulowski California Baptist University

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Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Road Map from Beginning to End

Student resources, welcome to the companion website.

This site is intended to enhance your use of  Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation , Third Edition . Please note that all the materials on this site are especially geared toward maximizing your understanding of the material. 

Addressing one of the key challenges facing doctoral students,  Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation  fills a gap in qualitative literature by offering comprehensive guidance and practical tools for navigating each step in the qualitative dissertation journey, including the planning, research, and writing phases. Blending the conceptual, theoretical, and practical, the book becomes a dissertation in action—a logical and cohesive explanation and illustration of content and process. The  Third Edition  maintains key features that distinguish its unique approach and has been thoroughly updated and expanded throughout to reflect and address recent developments in the field. 

Acknowledgments

Special thanks are due to Linda Dale Bloomberg for creating the ancillary materials on this site.

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Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Road Map From Beginning to End Fourth Edition

• ISBN-10 1544336527
• ISBN-13 978-1544336527
• Edition Fourth
• Publisher SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date November 30, 2018
• Language English
• Dimensions 7.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
• Print length 456 pages
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

Dr. Linda Dale Bloomberg  (EdD Adult Education and Organizational Learning, Columbia University; M.A. Counseling Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Adult Education) has over two decades of experience in non-profit, Higher Education, and Online Learning. Her teaching and research experience includes instruction in graduate programs at Teachers College, Columbia University, and graduate online programs at Rider University, Northcentral University, and National University. She served for four years as senior researcher for the South African Human Sciences Research Council and National Institute for Personnel Research focusing on change management, diversity initiatives, and workplace learning. Dr. Bloomberg is founder of Bloomberg Associates and ILIAD (Institute for Learning Innovations and Adult Development), and a cofounder of Columbia University’s Global Learning and Leadership Institute. She consults to numerous research and nonprofit advisory boards, and in 202O was invited to serve on the  Future Talent Council, Global Advisory Board for Faculty and Staff Development.  She is author and editor of numerous journal publications in the fields of qualitative research, leadership development, adult learning, and distance education. Her most recent book publications include Designing and  Delivering Effective Online Instruction: How to Engage Adult Learners (Teachers College Press, 2021), and the fifth edition of  Completing your Qualitative Dissertation: A Road Map from Beginning to End  (SAGE, 2023) . Dr. Bloomberg serves as dissertation chair and subject matter expert for multiple doctoral dissertation candidates, coaches higher education faculty to teach online, develops research curriculum for graduate programs, and presents regularly at national and international professional conferences on topics related to qualitative research, qualitative dissertation instruction, online learning, and professional development for online pedagogy. Linda can be reached at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindadalebloomberg/

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ SAGE Publications, Inc; Fourth edition (November 30, 2018)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 456 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1544336527
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1544336527
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
• #40 in Social Sciences Methodology
• #85 in Social Sciences Research
• #361 in Social Sciences (Books)

About the author

Linda dale bloomberg.

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• DOI: 10.4135/9781452226613
• Corpus ID: 60862128

Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Road Map From Beginning to End

• L. Bloomberg , M. Volpe
• Published 24 January 2008

1,654 Citations

Starting doctoral dissertation journey with a solid research problem statement – a four stage framework [pre-publication draft]], a four stage framework for the development of a research problem statement in doctoral dissertations, the qualitative report the, into the challenges of aligning key sections of doctoral dissertations: cognitive analysis, pedagogical tools, and instrument development, exploring theoretical trends in placemaking: towards new perspectives in spatial planning.

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What Makes A Case Study Really Qualitative?: Show Me Your Evidence, Please! *

Reviewing the review: an assessment of dissertation reviewer feedback quality, the types of case studies in research and career-based endeavors, adopting design-based research to conduct a doctoral study as a micro-cycle of design – a practice illustration, teaching and learning about writing abstracts: viable tools to kick-start a research activity, related papers.

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