Dissertation Links
From UCSB English Department Knowledge Base
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Links for Advice And Resources
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[edit] Association for Support of Graduate Students
This is an intelligent site, full of experience-based, solid advice. It is also bluntly honest about the perils and dissatisatisfactions of getting a Ph.D. in today's academy, suggesting that writing a dissertation is not for everybody, and urging stalled ABD students to assess whether or not to “get out.” Those who who are staying “in” will appreciate the site for it’s diverse points of view and get-to-work attitude. Navigation is a little frustrating, but if you persevere you will be well rewarded for your efforts. Topic headings include “Orals Strategies”; “Writer’s Block”; “Forming Dissertation Support Groups." A moderated discussion list, DocTalk, allows access to archives of past threads.
[edit] How to Be a Good Graduate Student
Marie desJardines’ thoughtful and practical guide--though written by a scientist--is full of canny advice to grads in all disciplines. Topics include: finding a good advisor; negotiating department politics; publishing; staying motivated; becoming part of the research community; creating a balanced life.
[edit] Dissertation Proposal Writing
(Chris M. Golde, University of Wisconsin, Madison) Advice on drafting the prospectus from concept to finished project. Very clear, process-based advice on producing an original but no-nonsense 20 page proposal.
[edit] Writing Your Dissertation
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Graduate school pundits often cite 50% or more as the attrition rate for ABD students. Why? This page not only essays an answer, but offers practical strategies for starting, drafting, and completing your dissertation.
[edit] Writing a Dissertation: Advice from Five Award Winners
Don’t pass over this link just because the host site is the American Political Science Association. These skillfully written and insightful essays speak to scholars in the humanities as well as the social sciences. Literature majors in particular will enjoy Kim Lane Scheppele’s analogies drawn from events in George Orwell’s novel 1984 to illuminate the often torturous process of dissertation writing.
[edit] Graduate Student Resources
A well developed bank of links and other resources for graduate students. Divided into three categories: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting Out.
[edit] Avoiding the ABD Syndrome
( Kansas State University College of Education) "Some people find themselves unable to find a rhythm in their work ethic which leads to the completion of the dissertation. There are a host of reasons that people find themselves becoming ABDs (All But Dissertation). The term "ABD" is one of the most distasteful terms among professionals because it represents academic failure. Those people who find themselves "stuck in quicksand" often perish on one of the many jungle trails found in a doctoral program.Why do people get stuck in quicksand? For a variety of reasons….."
[edit] Books on Dissertation Writing
An annotated bibliography by S. Joseph Levine, Ph.D. (Michigan State University, East Lansing)
This page written by Zia Isola, July 2004.
