Doctoral Program - The Dissertation Process
Dissertation committee
The student, in conjunction with the dissertation committee chair, will choose members of their dissertation committees. The committee must include at least a chair, one other SLIM faculty member, and a reader from outside SLIM whose interests and competencies strengthen the dissertation writing and defense process.
The dean approves the membership of all dissertation committees. The dissertation chair should notify the doctoral program coordinator of the composition of the committee so it can be officially recorded and sent to the dean for approval. A student has the right to change the composition of his/her committee at any point in time after discussion with the chair, DPC, and approval of the dean.
The chair will notify the doctoral program coordinator that the dissertation committee has accepted the student's dissertation and, in conjunction with the DPC, will set a date for the presentation of the dissertation proposal and dissertation defense.
Dissertation proposal
Students are expected to conduct significant research that contributes to the theory base of library and information science through quality research for their dissertation work. Once students have successfully completed the qualifying exam, they are expected to produce their proposal. The proposal should be written during the time the student is taking LI947 Dissertation Proposal.
The student will work on the proposal under the guidance of the chair, with regular input from other committee members. The dissertation committee chair, acting on written reactions to the proposal by other committee members, will determine when the proposal is sufficiently developed to schedule the meeting for its defense. The student must defend the dissertation proposal in a public presentation. However, in an electronic environment and because of the number of part-time students in the program, there are alternatives to publicly presenting proposals. This will allow all interested parties to have an opportunity to hear, read, and see the presentation. The public presentation should be announced at least a month in advance to SLIM faculty and students as appropriate.
The proposal should contain the following chapters:
• Introduction: describes the problem being addressed and the purpose of the study in order to frame research questions
• Literature Review: provides the background and the context for the research problem by describing the relevant literature on the topic
• Research Methods: discusses the expected methodologies – sampling, instrumentation, data collection, and data analysis
When the proposal has been approved by the dissertation committee, the proposal acceptance form should be signed and dated by all members of the dissertation committee. The original proposal acceptance form must be on a white 20 pound bond paper and signed with black ink. Then the student should submit the original signed proposal acceptance form along with the approved proposal to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. The student should send the copy of signed proposal acceptance form to the Doctoral Program Coordinator.
Dissertation presentation
The dissertation must be prepared in compliance with the ESU Guide to Dissertation Presentation, which is available at http://www.emporia.edu/grad/docs/dissert.pdf.
Once the dissertation committee has accepted the student’s dissertation work, the student is required to publicly present the findings. At least one week prior to the event, the date and time of the presentation should be announced on the SLIM website and in other venues. The announcement should also include information on accessing an electronic file of the dissertation for review by the SLIM community. The dissertation will be posted on the SLIM website for one year after acceptance.
Updated 5/10/2007
