Health Professions Division Dissertation Guide

15 strategy to achieve the goal is given. The proposal is written in the present and future tenses and indicates the outcome the candidate will accomplish in executing the investigation. An effectively formulated dissertation proposal becomes a blueprint for developing the final dissertation report. Generally, the formal dissertation proposal is evaluated on the basis of the content and clarity of the introduction, literature review, procedures, and the effectiveness with which the document is organized and planned. Factors affecting the evaluation process include the purpose, significance of the investigation, and the appropriateness of procedures chosen to meet the goal. The candidate’s committee chair will perform an in-depth analysis of the proposal, and at the appropriate time, the committee chair will instruct the candidate to distribute copies to the committee members for their review and comments. The candidate’s committee members will make all instructions and requests for modifications directly to the candidate with a copy to the committee chair. If those modifications conflict with suggestions made by the chair, the candidate will contact her/his chair, who has the final say. As per program guidelines, candidates will use the most current edition of AMA/APA format for all proposals and reports for dissertation research, including typeface, spacing, headings, reference and citation style, and so forth. Specific program guidelines may take precedence if there is a conflict with AMA/APA format. Suggested minimum length of the proposal is 20 pages, which does not include references and appendices. However, the committee chair can decide on other limits. Note: Candidates must complete and sign a Certification of Authorship form with the initial complete draft dissertation proposal for review and with the final dissertation proposal (see Appendix B). Signed Certification of Authorship will be maintained in the candidate’s file. Dissertation Proposal Defense (Per program guidelines) As per program guidelines, candidates must orally defend the proposal to the entire dissertation committee. After the committee is satisfied that the candidate has met the identified requirements, the candidate and each committee member will sign the proposal, which becomes the “contract” for dissertation study. Any variance from the proposal must be amended, and all amendments must be approved by the dissertation committee and the IRB. The committee must ensure that all procedures from recruiting subjects to data analyses are adequately detailed and defined to meet requirements and assumptions of those procedures. The dissertation proposal defense presentation must enable replication of the candidate’s research by other researchers. If other researchers were to obtain results that do not agree with a candidate’s findings, doubt would be cast on the integrity of his/her research. Develop a Timeline for the Dissertation Research After the dissertation topic has been approved, the candidate will provide an estimated timeline to her/his committee for the following milestones: complete draft proposal submission, proposal defense, institutional review board (IRB) protocol approval, study implementation date