Health Professions Division Dissertation Guide

24 Note: No data collection can occur prior to the approval from IRB. Committee Document Review Once the candidate’s committee and IRB have approved the proposed research, the researcher will be allowed to implement the study and recruit participants. The dissertation committee should be allowed a minimum of 10 working days for review of all study-related document drafts. Fifteen working days should be allowed for a full dissertation. Candidates should consider and respect the schedules of all committee members involved. Candidates should build considerable flextime into the completion schedule to allow sufficient cushion of time before an absolute deadline Note : The candidate should be aware that there may be multiple revisions of the dissertation documents as the candidate moves through the process. FINAL DISSERTATION REPORT First tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them . Then, tell them what you told them. The final dissertation report is a coherent, detailed, accurate, and comprehensive scholarly account of the candidate’s investigation to answer a specific research question and to report new knowledge from the dissertation study findings. The report is written mostly in the past tense as it describes the research the candidateproposed to do, did, and the results the candidate found. The candidate should refer to him/herself as “the investigator” and refer to his/her study as the “dissertation study” to be clear in distinguishing the dissertation study from studies in the literature used to support points made. Candidates are responsible for a scholarly level of writing and careful editing. A professional editor may be recommended prior to and in addition to the required final copy editing as per specific program recommendations. Note: The candidatesmust complete and sign a Certification of Authorship form with her/his initial complete draft dissertation report for review and with the final dissertation report (see Appendix B). Dissertation Final Report Outline and Format (Chapter Format) Generally, the first three chapters of the formal dissertation proposal will become the first three chapters of the dissertation; however, some modification of verb tense and other details are usually necessary. The sections that make up the final dissertation report include the following: Front Matter Title Page Signature page Dissertation Report Certification signature page (per program policy) Abstract Acknowledgments (optional)