Survival Skills for Graduate Students

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Survival Skills for Graduate Students

• Research and Dissertation Basics

Dr. Deborah Lee Professor/Coordinator Library
Instructional Services Mississippi State
University Libraries
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Survival Skills for Graduate Students Workshops
Survival Skills

• Research Dissertation Basics
• Developing a Literature Review
• Research Ethics and the Graduate Researcher
• Crafting the Winning Curriculum Vitae
• Landing on the Tenure Track Job Hunting in
  Academia
• Publishing 101 for Graduate Students

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Session Overview
Survival Skills

• What this session will NOT cover!
• Library Resources and Services
• Research Strategies
• Planning and Completing the Dissertation

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The Best Dissertation
Survival Skills

• ..is a Finished Dissertation!

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Library Services
Survival Skills

• Reference (2nd Floor)
• Research Consultations
• Specialized Research/Reference Resources
• Ready Reference
• Ask-A-Librarian service http//library.msstate.ed
  u/askalibrarian/

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Library Services
Survival Skills

• Instructional Media Center (2nd Floor)
• Free Workshops
• Multimedia Workstations and Instructional
  Material
• Equipment Checkout
• Videos, CDs, DVDs
• Formatting Assistance!

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Library Services
Survival Skills

• Access Services (2nd Floor)
• Inter-Library Loan (Illiad)
• Check out books
• Theses-Dissertations (1st Floor)
• Dissertations and Theses
• James Nail

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Survival Skills for Graduate Students Web Page
Survival Skills

• Related Library Links
• Workshop Materials
• Related Campus Materials
• Podcasts of Workshops!
• http//library.msstate.edu/li/ssfgs/

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Challenges of the Dissertation Process
Survival Skills

• Why do a dissertation?
• Marks the transition from student to scholar.
• Challenges
• New experience
• Very large project!
• Substantively different in scope
• Thesis vs Dissertation

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Managing the Dissertation Process
Survival Skills

• Managing your topic.
• Managing your advisor.
• Managing your committee.

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Managing your topic.
Survival Skills

• Too narrow vs too broad.
• Significance to the profession.
• Flexibility.

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Managing your advisor!
Survival Skills

• Selecting an advisor.
• Establish expectations.
• Pick a dissertation committee.

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Manage your committee.
Survival Skills

• Selecting Committee Members.
• Establish expectations.
• Communicate!

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Plan the Dissertation Process
Survival Skills

• Develop a timeline.
• Data/Research constraints?
• Graduate date?
• Funding considerations?
• Other considerations
• Approvals human subjects, animals, dangerous
  chemicals.

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Dissertation Process
Survival Skills

• Preliminary Steps
• Library Resources
• Dissertation Proposal
• Statement of the Research Question
• Literature Review
• Methodology

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Mastering the Academic Style
Survival Skills

• From Writing the Winning Dissertation, by Allan
  Glatthorn.
• Too Confident The study proves that schools are
  loosely coupled systems.

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Too tentative
Survival Skills

• One conclusion that might be drawn from this
  study is that this particular school, on the
  basis of this investigation, seemed to have
  elements of organizational structure that might
  enable it to be characterized in general as a
  loosely-coupled system, although there were
  clearly aspects of tight coupling manifest in
  certain parts of the system.

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Better
Survival Skills

• The findings suggest that most of the
  organizational elements of this school were only
  loosely linked, so that it might be generally
  characterized as loosely coupled.

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Dissertation Advice
Survival Skills

• Work where you are most productive (place and
  time).
• Keep your committee informed of your progress.
• Dont become discouraged---seek help when needed.

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Dissertation Planning
Survival Skills

• Format (Traditional)
• Chapter One Research Question
• Chapter Two Literature Review
• Chapter Three Methodology
• Chapter Four Data Analysis
• Chapter Five Conclusions

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Other Considerations
Survival Skills

• Departmental Norms
• Formatting the Dissertation (and Thesis)
• Prepare for Completion!

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Completing The Process
Survival Skills

• Timing Completion
• Physical Formatting
• Submitting Your Dissertation

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After the Dissertation
Survival Skills

• Publishing Your Results!!!!

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Available Handouts
Survival Skills

• PowerPoint Slides (Available Upon Email Request)
• Library Services Summary
• Dissertation Guides Bibliography
• Research Consultation Request Form
• EndNote Flyer

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Survival Skills

• Questions?
• Dr. Deborah Lee, Professor
• [phone]
• dlee_at_library.msstate.edu
• Please give us feedback on this workshop!
• http//library.msstate.edu/survey/LIworkshop