Writing the Winning Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Allan A. Glatthorn

This is an experience-based, step-by-step, practical guide to take you through planning, writing, and presenting your dissertation or thesis.

Genres: Nonfiction, Academic, Education, Textbooks, Writing, Research, Grad School

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 1998

Reviews

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is required for the TESC Capstone course. Intended for graduate theses or dissertations, it contains some information not specific to the undergrad work I'm doing. But there is lots of relevant info about writing papers like this, in the right format and style.

[ashley elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing. Didn't really work for my undergrad-level course, either.

This is the last book I'll ever read for school, though, so two stars. : )

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was designed to guide a student through the process of writing a dissertation for graduate school or beyond, which was not what I was doing. Although there were some helpful tidbits in here, in general, it was not very helpful as I wrote my senior thesis paper for college. It might have been helpful if I was writing a 200-page paper, but it wasn't of much assistance while I was writing a 25-page one! Furthermore, the language used in the book was a bit confusing sometimes - it was hard to know if what they were saying applied to all topics or merely the sample topic they were using. 2 stars.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for people who are writing or preparing to write, a dissertation. Joyner et al. discusses many useful strategies for developing your topic, selecting a methodology, organizing your research, conducting the different stages of your literature review, and preparing for your defense. They offer real-life vignettes of the interactions between doctoral candidates and their doctoral committees. Needless to say, the stories are a bit harrowing. I am praying to the dissertation gods that my committee gets along and that I have a good relationship with my chair.

Most of the examples Joyner et al. provide are related to education; however, this would be a good resource regardless of the field of study. Some aspects of formatting and style are going to be university-dependent, but if you are in the social sciences, you will glean valuable information from this book. I would not recommend this book for undergraduate students, unless they are conducting research and planning on publishing it. My undergraduate self would have been incredibly confused reading this. I had no idea what a dissertation prospectus was or how to select a research design. There has to be a more appropriate book for those poor undergrads assigned to this book.

[Craig Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like other reviewers here, I was assigned this book in the TESU Liberal Studies Capstone Course. I chose to do a research paper for that course, so I found this book to be an invaluable resource. The other reviewers clearly were not looking to learn anything from this book. Learning a step-by-step procedure to write an extensive research paper is invaluable. This was particularly true for me as I went on to finish a master's degree (where I had to write another culminating research paper) and, now, a Ph.D. My preparation as an undergraduate using this text has given me a leg up on the research process that fellow students in my doctoral cohort are struggling with. I recommend that you buy this book and use it to learn some excellent tips. There is a newer edition available, so you may want to pick up that one instead.

[Marietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful for dissertation.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primarily focused on social sciences and humanities, but with many practical tips and suggestions.

[Wilma Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect guide!

[Terri Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide is really useful whether you are writing a master's thesis or a doctoral dissertation but seemed geared mostly towards those in the education field and perhaps the social sciences of psychology and sociology. Those like myself in history find it a bit frustrating as our own research involves some radically different needs (we deal with the past, don't need to do experiments with people but deal with historical documents, etc). Still, there is some good advice here and helpful tips.

[Steven Hankins · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a complete waste of money because everything was common sense. It was completely redundant with 4 chapters that state almost the the same content. The author wrote this book in a delirious drunken state just to get it over with, probably just like his dissertation. Actually, it took more than one author to write this trash?

[Rafat Dasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

very useful book

Truly, I am recommending this book for every doctoral student.
It is a useful book you have to read it before you start your journey in writing your thesis.
It provides you with a road map for this journey.

[McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This can be helpful for organizational approaches to an overwhelmingly large research project, but only if your institution and thesis director follow the same format.

[Dr. Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource in preparation of writing your thesis or,dissertation.

[Mills College Library]

808.06637 J897 2013

[Lisa Rapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful. It certainly isn't the be-all, end-all. But it has a lot of good steps to follow. It helped get me to the finish line.

[Nebiyu Wolde · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a must to read this if you do your disseration