...
| Table of Contents | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overview / Quick Links
...
...
Deadlines
...
Office of Research Support & Compliance (IRB Info)
Deadlines & Time to Completion
Dissertation Proposal Timing: the Proposal typically consists of the first several chapters of the Dissertation, and serves as a collaborative work session and chance to receive feedback before the dissertation defense. You should discuss timing of the Proposal with your dissertation committee/supervisor early in the dissertation process, and check in regularly.
Dissertation Completion/Defense:
Ph.D. students are expected to complete the dissertation requirement within within two years after of admission to candidacy.
If the student has not completed their dissertation within two years of admission to candidacy, the Graduate School will ask the GSC whether to extend the student’s candidacy. The GSC may recommend that the student's candidacy be extended for one year or that the candidacy be terminated for lack of satisfactory academic progress. Recommendations are forwarded to the Graduate Dean for approval.
Dissertation Format Options
EDP students may submit their dissertation in one of 2 formsrequest a recommendation from the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC), which may:
Extend candidacy for one additional year, or
Recommend termination for lack of academic progress
Note: final decisions are made by the UT Graduate Dean.
Dissertation Enrollment Requirement
Once you are admitted to candidacy, the Graduate School requires you continuously register for dissertation hours (EDP 399W, 699W, or 999W) every Fall and Spring semester until graduation. Summer registration in dissertation is required if your faculty adviser believes it necessary, if you will hold your proposal meeting in the Summer, or if you will graduate during the summer.
Dissertation Format Options
💡 The Graduate School’s Dissertation Formatting / Writing Resources > are an excellent resource during your dissertation writing! Be sure to review the Grad School’s requirements for dissertation formatting and submission.
You and your dissertation supervisor will choose one of two formats for your dissertation:
Traditional format: follows the
...
standard structure with full chapters, and a single study or set of studies
...
.
...
Students are
...
encouraged to submit the completed dissertation
...
as a journal article or
...
book manuscript
...
after the defense.
...
Article format:
...
- The proposal document should be comparable to the proposal document required for the traditional format with respect to the literature review and proposed methods.
- For the final dissertation document, the student should work with their dissertation supervisor (and possibly the rest of the committee) to decide which elements of the students’ work to include in the manuscript, and which elements to include as appendices. For example, elements of the literature review, methods section, results and discussion may not be appropriate for a manuscript submission, and could need to be included for the committee’s review as an appendix.
Students and dissertation supervisors are required to communicate with their committee about which format will be used, and clarify expectations regarding the format chosen. After the dissertation proposal, changing from one format to the other requires the consent of the full dissertation committee.
Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Meeting
Students complete their dissertation proposal under the supervision of their dissertation supervisor. The dissertation proposal meeting is an examination of the proposal and proposed study by the committee as a whole. It is also a collaborative work session in which potential problems in the proposal can be faced and addressed. Occasionally, the dissertation committee will view the revisions necessary to the proposal to be substantial, and the members will request a second dissertation proposal meeting. More commonly, the outcome of this meeting will be approval of the dissertation proposal with revisions that should be documented by the student and the supervisor.
Please note that decisions made at the dissertation proposal meeting are obligatory. To change decisions determined at this meeting (e.g., sample size, measurement devices), it is appropriate to communicate with all committee members and obtain their consent.
Dissertation Proposal Contents
Generally, the dissertation proposal consists of the first three chapters of the dissertation: Introduction, Literature Review, and Method. Dissertations in the Department of Educational Psychology are written in accordance with APA style. A source for the dissertation process is Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish, by Cone and Foster (1996), available at www.apa.org. This book guide students through selecting a topic, choosing committee members, writing a proposal, and making it though the dissertation defense.
Introduction – The first chapter should explain why your study is necessary, and should be about 10 pages.
Literature Review – When working on this chapter (20-40 pages).
Method – This section is 10-20 pages and presents your methodology.
Scheduling the Proposal Meeting
When the dissertation supervisor and committee agree that the proposal is close to completion, the student should schedule the dissertation proposal meeting and send a copy of the proposal to the members at least two weeks prior to the meeting date.
It is extremely important for all committee members to be present at the proposal meeting as that is where agreements are made for finalizing your dissertation. If a member cannot participate, then it's the responsibility of the student and supervisor to ensure that the missing member has all the information from the meeting, and that the missing member's feedback is incorporated as you move forward.
TIP: Be sure to start early in scheduling the dissertation proposal meeting. Once your committee members agree on a time, you may schedule a room for your dissertation proposal meeting through EDP (but never on Friday afternoons without prior approval of the EDP Department Chair).
Proposal Meeting Results
The day of your Proposal Meeting, submit the Dissertation Proposal Meeting Report via Docusign. Your dissertation supervisor and co-supervisor will use this form to report the results of your Proposal Meeting to the department. Once the form is complete, you will receive a copy - students should save a copy for their records as well. The report will include feedback and next-steps for your dissertation.
Dissertation Enrollment
Once you are admitted to candidacy, the Graduate School requires you continuously register for the dissertation course (EDP 399W, 699W, or 999W) in each long semester (Spring/Fall) until you graduate. Summer registration in dissertation is required if your faculty adviser believes it necessary, if you will hold your proposal meeting in the Summer, or if you will graduate during the summer.
Use of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board
After approval from your committee at the Dissertation Proposal meeting, you are ready to carry through with original data collection and analyses for your dissertation. It is expected that you will continue to do so under the close supervision of your dissertation supervisor. Under most circumstances, students are not allowed to begin original data collection in connection with their dissertation until they have conducted a successful dissertation proposal meeting.
...
Designed to resemble a journal-length article or series of articles
Still focuses on a single cohesive project or set of studies
Follows formatting and length guidelines of a target journal
Not intended for brief reports
Important Notes for Article Format: The proposal document should include a full literature review and methods section, just as in the traditional format. For the final dissertation, you’ll work with your supervisor (and possibly committee) to determine what goes into the article, and what supplementary materials should be placed in appendices for committee review (e.g. extended literature review, detailed methods, or results).
Once your dissertation proposal is approved, switching formats requires full committee approval.
IRB & Human Subjects Research
If your dissertation involves human subjects, you must obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) before collecting data.
Before Your Dissertation Proposal Meeting:
You may conduct preliminary analyses using existing data if IRB approval is already in place. Acceptable pre-proposal analyses include: descriptive statistics (means, SDs, ranges, graphical displays, correlations), outlier diagnostics, missing data diagnostics, and assumption checking. Students You should not test proposed hypotheses prior to before the proposal meeting. Additionally, students should be prepared to modify their data analysis work should weaknesses be found during the proposal meeting.
Researchers should become familiar with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Policies and Procedures Manual and complete the online training.
All dissertations that involve data from human participants require filing an application with The University’s IRB, so you should discuss this with your dissertation supervisor early. If you are using existing data, you may contact the IRB directly to find out how to proceed. Approval to be excluded from the application process is done on a case-by-case basis only by the IRB. Note that a faculty member must be designated as the PI of the IRB proposal. This is likely your dissertation supervisor. This faculty member may designate you as a PI proxy by following the instructions provided by UT Research Management Suite.
All research projects will fall into one of three categories:
...
After Dissertation Proposal Approval:
You may begin data collection and full analyses only after IRB approval. Work closely with your supervisor to ensure compliance.
All human subjects research requires IRB application - even when using existing data. To get started:
Review the IRB Policies & Procedures Manual
Complete required online training
Designate your faculty supervisor as Principal Investigator (PI) on your IRB application (they may list you as PI proxy using the Research Management Suite)
Projects Fall under one of three IRB categories: Exempt (Minimal Risk), Expedited (Minimal Risk), Full Board (More than Minimal Risk
...
)
...
Tips for completing the application are available to help you complete the application. If your project must receive study needs Full Board review, other deadlines apply. The University’s IRB meets monthly for Full Board reviews, and the deadline for submission of materials is very strict and well in advance of the meetingplan ahead - deadlines are strict and the board meets monthly. If revisions are necessary, a second IRB review will take place, according to a set meeting schedule. For questions about deadlines, email the Office of Research Support and Compliance.
Departmental Subject Pool
In conducting original research and/or completing the dissertation, student researchers may request the use of the department’s Subject Pool.
TIP: See the IRB’s tips for completing the application
Using the Department Subject Pool
If you plan to recruit participants from the Department’s Subject Pool, you may request access as part of your dissertation or other research. Discuss this option with your supervisor during the planning stage.