This document includes the following topics:

• Nature of the research process
• Selecting a disseration topic and chair
• Compliance with IRB 
• The disseration committee / Writing the proposal
• Preparing the dissertation proposal defense
• The dissertation proposal defense
• Writing the dissertation
• The final oral exam
• The dissertation's final form
• The main body of the dissertation
• Reference materials
• Mechanics

Selecting a Dissertation Topic and Chair
The Chair - The first substantive step in the dissertation process is to discuss topics with prospective chairs. Determine which faculty members would be willing and able to serve as chair. The student should consult with the Doctoral Coordinator to determine who among the faculty would be the most appropriate person to serve as chair. Only upon agreement with the Doctoral Coordinator should the student invite a particular faculty member to chair the committee. Direct verbal commitment should be obtained.

The Topic - Although it is the responsibility of the student to identify and develop a dissertation topic, faculty input is encouraged. Quite likely, the student will receive more enthusiastic support and direction if s/he is working on research that is in the realm of interest and expertise of the chair. However, it is essential that the student also be interested in the topic. During the topic selection process, the student must consider the following:

• What is the classification of the area of research being suggested?
• What is the general objective of the research (develop and test an algorithm, exploratory fact finding, survey research, theory or model building)?
• What research techniques might be involved (computer simulation, questionnaire, structured interviews, mathematical programming, statistical analysis)?

The Dissertation Committee
Composition of the Committee - The dissertation committee consists of a chair plus at least three members. The student will work with the chair to select the committee members. The student should consider the group dynamic, as well as the areas of expertise and interest of each person. One of the committee members should ordinarily be from outside the academic unit. Members may be from outside the university. The committee should be appointed prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense.

Overview - The dissertation proposal should include a summary of the following: the purpose of the study; the nature of the subject to be investigated and its importance; a brief review of the literature; the theory, if any, to be developed; the empirical methodology, techniques and data sources, if any, to be used; the nature of the hypothesis to be developed or tested; and a time frame for completion of the dissertation. Normally the proposal should not exceed 40 pages.

The proposal is not intended to be the first three chapters of the dissertation. The objective of the proposal defense is to make sure the committee members believe that the student has a workable topic, which when complete, will add to the knowledge in the field.

Substantive Considerations - In writing the proposal, the student should use an outline. S/he should discuss this outline with the chair before starting to write the individual sections. Discussions would primarily relate to the validity of the outline, the meaning of the terminology, the degree of detail to be included in the different sections and the use of examples, figures, tables, etc. This exercise can eliminate confusion and unnecessary rewriting. The student and the chair should be in agreement as to the scope of the literature review and the degree of detail to be included. The statement of the objectives and description of the research should be succinct. Excess verbiage can lead to confusion. Finally, the student should regularly confer with the chair for input and direction. The student will likely go through several drafts while refining the proposal.

Procedural Considerations - Generally speaking, it is not a good idea to use other dissertations as a model. Guidelines for style are given in the section Writing the Dissertation. If the research involves human subjects, the student must follow university guidelines as required by federal regulations.

There are different views regarding the proper role of the dissertation committee in guiding the development of the dissertation proposal. The most common practice is that the committee members read and comment on a completed draft at least six weeks before the expected defense of the proposal. This interpretation allows that the student work closely with the chair to develop a proposal draft, then interact with the committee to refine and sometimes redefine it. Unless the committee has specifically agreed otherwise, the student does not furnish the committee with sections of the proposal that have not been reviewed by the chair. This is a common courtesy to the chair and the committee. From this perspective, it is the responsibility of the chair to review and approve your initial proposal before it reaches the committee.

The alternate approach is for the student to interact with the entire committee to develop a proposal. Each committee member is contacted early in the proposal development stage and preliminary drafts of ideas are disseminated among the members of the committee. This approach is less common and the student must reach an understanding with the chair and committee regarding the approach to be taken.

The nature of the topic and the chosen approach will be important factors in the degree of interaction with the committee prior to the proposal defense. Regardless of the approach taken, the chair is responsible for assuring that the final proposal is substantively and procedurally correct before it reaches the committee. However, the student should not rely on the chair as a proofreader for detecting spelling and grammatical errors. It is the responsibility of the student to proof the spelling and grammar of the drafts.

Preparing for the Dissertation Proposal Defense
General Overview and Purpose - The Dissertation Proposal Defense is simply a meeting in which the student explains and defends the proposal. It should be passed within one year after completion of the preliminary exam (BA). If the committee members are in agreement that the topic is appropriate and that the student has satisfactorily outlined acceptable methods of research, then the defense is passed and the members will sign and submit the Record of Dissertation Proposal Defense to the Doctoral Program Office.

Approval of the proposal signifies that the committee believes that the proposal delineates a plan of research that will likely lead to the successful completion of a dissertation that will satisfy the doctoral level research requirements of the College of Business Administration at Georgia State University. If the proposal is not approved, the student may be asked to make revisions deemed necessary by the committee. Depending upon the nature of these changes, the committee may or may not require another meeting. It is a good idea for students to attend the defenses of other students prior to scheduling their own. Attendance at such an exam may help to give the student a reasonable idea of what to expect during a defense.

Scheduling the Proposal Defense - Once each committee member has reviewed and commented on at least one proposal draft, the Dissertation Proposal Defense may be scheduled. Announcements of defenses are usually posted two weeks in advance. The student should have the unit's doctoral coordinator email the associate director with the following information:  committee members, dissertation title, time and place.   If necessary, the associate director will reserve the location. The student should attempt to resolve any serious issues concerning the first draft before scheduling the defense.

Working with the Committee - Each committee member should receive a copy of the final proposal at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense (including two weekends). Any shorter lead time would be inconsiderate and deleterious to the success of the proposal effort. This "final draft" of the proposal should be as polished and complete as possible, and should contain all references, figures and charts. The student should remind committee members of the meeting time.

Planning the Presentation - The student should plan to make a twenty minute presentation of the proposal during the defense. The proposal is not a recapitulation of the literature, but a focused discussion covering the following points:

• the general area of research and why it is important
• the objective of the research
• the independent variables
• the dependent variables - measures of performance (or perhaps the relationships being researched)
• the sample size/data base
• the research design.

Transparencies should be used to succinctly underscore cogent points - no more than twenty words should be used per transparency. If more extensive wording must be used, the student should provide everyone in attendance with printed copies. The student should have an outline for reference. It is recommended that the student practice the presentation in front of fellow students or friends. The chair will likely want to see the outline prior to the presentation and may recommend going through a "dress rehearsal" prior to the defense. The Dissertation Proposal Defense is open to any faculty member at GSU, regardless of whether they are on the committee.

The Dissertation Proposal Defense
Overview and Conduct of the Exam - The Dissertation Proposal Defense is held for the purpose of determining the suitability of the proposal and to provide constructive criticism of the research effort. Some chairs prefer a rather formal setting, while others prefer an informal setting for the meeting. Often the committee will want to meet for five minutes or so before the defense to discuss the protocol of the exam. During this time, the student might be asked to leave the room.

If the student has been diligent in coordinating with the committee, the proposal defense should be quite uneventful and a rewarding experience. The student should have spoken with every committee member at least once regarding the research, and thus should know their position regarding the proposal. Regular contact with the members and conscientious preparation should help the student to avoid any surprises on the day of the proposal.

The Proposal Presentation - The student should have previously rehearsed the presentation. The presentation should be clear and concise. The student should convey his/her interest in the subject matter and be able to satisfy any questions about the feasibility of the research and the ability to develop it into a successful dissertation. The student must not view this meeting as an adversarial process. Likewise, the student should avoid the temptation to automatically agree to change his/her approach or methodology based on extemporaneous questions from the committee. Any possible changes should be discussed with the chair. It is the responsibility of the chair to moderate the meeting and keep the discussion focused.

Documentation - Assuming that all goes well and the proposal is approved, the chair will ask the committee members to sign the Record of Proposal Defense to acknowledge that the examination has been successfully completed. It is the responsibility of the chair to secure committee signatures and transmit the forms to the Doctoral Program Office. If the committee has serious reservations about the validity of the proposal, the student may be asked to restructure the proposal and sit for another examination. A majority decision by the committee is required to pass the proposal.

It is important that a student file an official application for graduation at least two semesters prior to the expected completion of the dissertation. It is relatively simple to postpone a graduation date, but it may prove impossible to apply late.

Writing the Dissertation
Following the Plan - Whereas the plan of research is structured in the proposal stage, the subsequent stage requires its implementation. Although the student will be following an approved proposal, s/he should anticipate recommendations for changes from the committee based upon findings from the research. The student should plan on regularly meeting with the chair to discuss the progress of the research and writing of the dissertation. With proper planning and coordination with the committee, the student should have minimal difficulty in meeting dissertation objectives. However, unforeseen circumstances can arise (e.g. inability to secure the necessary data) that prove fatal to the research. The student must be prepared to restructure the proposal. It is a good idea to have discussed any contingency plans with the chair before starting the research.

Most committee members will not need to see each chapter of the dissertation as it is completed. However, the student should assume nothing and speak to each member regarding this matter. It may be necessary to meet weekly with one member to discuss design or statistical testing, while other members will require far less interaction.

Procedural Considerations - It is the responsibility of the student to be familiar with and follow the college guidelines on the procedural aspects of the dissertation. One of the two following guides should be used in writing a doctoral dissertation in J. Mack Robinson College of Business:

• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Kate L. Turabian, University of Chicago Press, (most recent edition).
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C. (most recent edition).

Students should select an acceptable style early in the dissertation process and follow it exclusively. It is a good idea to ask if the chair prefers a specific style.  The associate director maintains a list of professional editors, should the student decide to use such a service.

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The Final Oral Exam
Preparation - Once the chair believes the dissertation is in final form, it should be circulated for approval to the committee. The committee members will then provide the student with oral and written comments. Once all comments have been addressed to the satisfaction of the committee, the Final Oral Exam should be scheduled through the Doctoral Program Office. The committee members should be given two weeks to review the final draft of the dissertation and the student should discuss any problems and secure a verbal approval of the dissertation draft from each member. The Final Oral is not an examination of the merits of the dissertation. It should merely serve as a formal confirmation of the student's ability to convey the results of the dissertation. This exam should be held no later than four weeks prior to the commencement date of the semester the student expects to graduate. Contact the Doctoral Programs Office two weeks prior to the expected date in order to make the necessary arrangements. The associate director will be able to help make any special arrangements regarding the room and any necessary equipment. It is the student's responsibility to check for chalk or a whiteboard marker and to bring extra blank transparencies and a pen. The Doctoral Programs Office will post notices concerning the exam.

Style of the Examination - The manner in which the examination is conducted will be decided by the student and the chair. Typically a 20 to 30 minute presentation is made. Instead of explaining all details, a student should concentrate on the following points:

• What was the objective of the research?
• What research methods were used?
• What were the major findings and were the objectives realized?
• What conclusions were reached?
• How does this study expand or differ from earlier research?
• What are the implications for further research?

Paperwork - Typically the candidate and audience will be asked to leave the room so that the committee may deliberate at the conclusion of the presentation and questions session. Assuming that everything goes well, the committee will give their collective vote of approval to the dissertation and will sign the Final Oral Pass Sheet that has been provided to the chair by the Doctoral Programs Office. This sheet, along with the Acceptance Sheet, must be submitted to the associate director.  

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The Dissertation's Final Form
The final copy of the dissertation will be submitted electronically to the university library. The student will meet with the associate director to upload the dissertation and be cleared for graduation. For this meeting, the student should bring a copy of the dissertation in .pdf format on cd, a signed copy of the Permission to Borrow form and a copy of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (available at http://www.norc.org/issues/docdata.htm under questionaires). The student should have already emailed a copy of the abstract in WORD or .rtf format to the Associate Director. Once the dissertation has been uploaded, the student will go to Graduate Arts and Sciences in order to upload the dissertation to the UMI (Proquest) database. The student will not be cleared until all these steps are accomplished. 

The dissertation will be comprised of preliminaries, main body, and reference materials. The page order should be followed exactly as it appears below. The permission to borrow, notice to borrowers, title page, copyright notice and acceptance sheet have a standard format, a sample of which can be seen at this site.

Permission to Borrow.  As is our policy on all electronic documents, no signature will be displayed.

Notice to Borrowers

Title Page. The title page must include the full title of the dissertation and the candidate's full legal name.

Copyright Notice. Copyright protection is not required, although it is recommended. The copyright notice is placed in the center of a blank page. If the dissertation is not to be copyrighted, a blank page is inserted immediately following the title page.

Acceptance Sheet. This sheet will not contain signatures, only the names of the dean and the members of the committee.

Dedications. The candidate is requested not to include dedications in the dissertation.

Preface or Acknowledgments. Neither is required. They may be combined as a single composition of not more than two pages or be written as two separate compositions. The preface should include brief comments concerning the general nature, problems, scope and objectives of the research. The acknowledgments single out help rendered by members of the dissertation committee, and acknowledge others who have assisted the candidate. The date and the author's signature should appear at the conclusion of the preface, if included. The Preface or Acknowledgments is the first page to be numbered (page iv). Beginning with the title page, the pages are paginated in the process, although they are not numbered on the page.

Table of contents. The format of this table must conform with the requirements of the style manual selected.

List of Tables, Figures, Illustrations, Maps, Drawings. Separate pages are used for each type of list. The list of tables is presented first, followed by the other lists, if they apply.

Abstract. The abstract will be published in Dissertation Abstracts and cannot exceed 350 words. It should include a statement of the problem, procedure or methods, results, and conclusions. Most current word processing programs will automatically count words. Alternately, to check the 350 word limit, use the following methods:

• Maximum 2450 typewritten characters per abstract. Count number of characters (including spaces and punctuation) in a line of average length and multiply by the number of lines.
• In an average abstract, there will be about 70 characters per line with a maximum of 35 lines.

• The purpose of the study, including a concise statement of the problem(s).
• The importance or significance of the project and perhaps the candidate's reasons for interest in it.
• The scope and limitations of the study.
• References to the most important previous studies and contributions concerning the subject. The student may wish to contrast his/her research with that already accomplished by others.
• A general plan of presentation for the rest of the dissertation.
• General information, including the main data sources used, the procedures and techniques involved, and other technical aspects of handling the material.

Conclusion. The conclusion gives a clear and comprehensive summary of the previous chapters. The significant findings and the author's conclusions based on those findings are presented. Suggestions and recommendations for additional research should be made.

Reference Materials
The references are the last section of the dissertation's general format and consist of the appendices, the bibliography, and the vita.

Appendices. Each appendix is identified with a capital letter, and must bear a title. Reference to the appendices is indicated by the letter rather than the page of the dissertation on which the appendix is located.

Bibliography. Following the appendices is the list of references.

Vita. The last page(s) of the dissertation is a biographical sketch of the author of two pages or less. Written in the third person in prose, the vita includes the writer's full name, date and place of birth, schools and colleges attended, degrees held, major research and publications, various types of work and military experience, and a permanent address.