Overview

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree is expected to complete the dissertation requirement within two years after admission to candidacy.

Dissertation Types

EDP students may submit their dissertation in one of 2 forms:

1. Traditional format: follows the traditional dissertation style, with a single study or set of studies presented. EDP students are strongly encouraged to submit the dissertation to a journal or to a publisher as a book manuscript following the defense.  
    
2. Article format: Students may write the final version of the dissertation (i.e., the document written for the final orals), with a single study or set of studies presented, in a format suitable for submission to a journal as a regular length article or a set of regular length articles, not brief report(s). The student should identify a likely target journal and write the final version according to that journal’s guidelines (i.e., page length, formatting, etc.). Students using the Article format should consider the following: 
   1. The proposal document should be comparable to the proposal document required for the traditional format with respect to the literature review and proposed methods.
   2. For the final dissertation document, the student should work with their dissertation Chair (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 Chairs are required to communicate with their committee about which format will be used, and clarify expectations regarding the format chosen. After the proposal defense, 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.  Generally, the dissertation proposal consists of the first three chapters of the dissertation: Introduction, Literature Review, and Method. 

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), be very careful to write everything in your own words.  Occasionally, a student who has worked very long and hard reviewing and making notes will include wording but forget the source of those words.  

Method – This section is 10-20 pages and presents your methodology.

Dissertations in the Department of Educational Psychology are written in accordance with APA style.  Therefore, it is essential that students obtain and follow closely the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 

When the dissertation supervisor and committee members agree that the proposal is close to completion, the student should schedule the dissertation proposal meeting and plan to send a copy of the proposal to the members at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

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.  It might help to think of the dissertation committee as the board of directors who are approving the proposed project.  You have named them to your board because of their expertise to advise you, which means they are likely to have some ideas for revision of your proposed dissertation summary.  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. 

It is extremely important for all committee members to be present at the proposal meeting because 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.  Hopefully this is an easy, painless process, but it can get complicated and problematic, so it is really worthwhile to have everyone present at the proposal meeting. 

Some students have said that the hardest part of their entire dissertation process was getting all committee members’ schedules coordinated for a single two-hour period.  (Have you heard the joke about faculty cooperation? – it is akin to herding stray cats.)

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). 

The completed Application for Candidacy Form and Dissertation Proposal Meeting Form are turned in to the EDP Graduate Coordinator after the proposal meeting.  It will include information regarding the success of your proposal, or any conditions you must satisfy.

While working on the dissertation, you must remember to complete all remaining departmental and area of specialization requirements, as well as to register continuously for the dissertation hours during all long semesters until you graduate (summer registration in dissertation is also required if your faculty adviser believes it necessary, if you will hold your proposal meeting, or if you will graduate during the summer). 

An excellent 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. 

Use of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board

With 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.

If you are using existing data for which you have IRB approval, you are welcome to conduct preliminary data analysis on your expected topic of research prior to holding your proposal meeting. Indeed, such familiarity with your data should allow you to discuss your dissertation plans more completely and confidently.  Please note that this policy encourages preliminary data analysis, not a fishing expedition for significant outcomes. Examples of acceptable preliminary data analyses include, but are not necessarily limited to, descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, ranges, graphical displays, correlations), outlier diagnostics, missing data diagnostics, and assumption checking. Students should not test proposed hypotheses prior to the proposal meeting, however. 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 in your dissertation process.  If you are using existing data, you may contact the IRB directly (512-471-8871) 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: 

• Exempt (Minimal Risk – subject to expedited IRB review procedures)
• Expedited (Minimal Risk – subject to expedited IRB review procedures)
• Full Board (More than Minimal Risk -- subject to Full Board review and limited meetings)

Tips for completing the application are available to help you complete the application.

If your project must receive Full Board review, other deadlines apply.  The University’s IRB meets once a month for Full Board reviews, and the deadline for submission of materials is very strict and well in advance of the meeting.  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 or call 471-8871.

Departmental Subject Pool

In conducting original research and/or completing the dissertation, student researchers may request the use of the department’s subject pool.  Students in selected EDP courses will constitute the pool:  371 (Introduction to Statistics), 363 (Human Sexuality), 363M (Adolescent Development), and 310 (Individual Learning Skills). 

How to Obtain Student Subjects:  In conducting original research and/or completing the dissertation, EDP faculty and EDP graduate students may request use of the Department’s subject pool if it provides an appropriate sample.