Reflections of the First Half Marathon in Preparation to Complete a Dissertation Using Q Methodology

This chapter provides the perspective of a current Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) student in the dissertation phase of an Educational Leadership program at a historically Black university in the southeastern United States. The author reflects upon key stepping-stones along the journey that were impactful to her in hopes of inspiring other students. The chapter begins with the author's reflections on making the decision to apply and beginning the program. The author's reflections on navigating the journey includes developing support systems, overcoming internal blocks, and finding balance. The author also reflects upon the benefits and pitfalls of choosing to implement Q methodology, a non-traditional research methodology, in her dissertation. As the author continues the journey to completion of her program, she looks forward to the opportunities that the future may hold.

Be All In

Doctoral programs can be intimidating, and despite the rumors and expectations, potential candidates will never know what the process is until he/she begins his/her journey because the journey is different for each individual. This chapter addresses the lived experiences of how one can finish a doctoral program by combining the correct amount of focus, attitude, and grit. Existing research about completing doctoral programs tend to focus on finding out how completing a program is based on theoretical frameworks, conceptual frameworks, literature reviews, discipline-specific methodological designs, and data analyses. However, there may be limited evidence that researchers who have been recent graduates are currently persisting candidates have approached the issue of starting and completing a program. Consequently, this chapter purports through the lived experiences of a recent completer to problematize the intent of building a cohesive understanding of the four quarters of the relationships that can exist between players make up the team needed to “be all in” the doctoral process.

Training Partners for the Long Haul

This chapter seeks to provide the background, benefits, and design of writing groups created to aid doctoral candidates in the completion of the dissertation process. Literature will be used to support the rationale for such groups and will outline the structure that can be used to create and support doctoral students in peer groups by their dissertation chair or facilitator. In this chapter, specific guidelines for the creation of the groups and the role of the chair are outlined, and suggestions for remedying dysfunctional groups or group members. While ultimately the doctoral candidate is responsible for the successful completion and defense of his or her own research, peer groups can be instrumental in promoting task completion and task satisfaction.

Now That You Have a Doctoral Degree, What's Next?

Your doctoral degree started as a thought and now you are finished. Just like running a marathon race, you are now ready to finish strong and move to the next level. How do you move on? What are the next steps? You certainly have the necessary knowledge based on the literature review included in your dissertation. Additionally, you honed your research skills during the dissertation writing process, and it is now time to branch out and broaden your scope and to make connections with others in academia. Making connections and developing new research ventures with others is one of the “next steps” that new doctoral completers find rewarding. This chapter provides some recommendations for professional development and your need for mentoring as you move forward.

SWOT Analysis of Literature

This chapter deals with the implementation of the SWOT analysis during the literature survey. Implementation of SWOT analysis can help in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities related to the topic/literature and can determine the subject applications, its scopes, and can also help in deciding the aims and objectives of the further study. After the identification of the weakness and opportunities, one can easily determine the research gaps. SWOT analysis can also help in deciding the methodologies, tools, and techniques to use for the solution of the problem. Different examples are considered to illustrate the application of SWOT in the literature analysis.

Transformation of the Dissertation

To increase success and graduation rates, research shows that doctoral programs must adapt to changes in how instruction is managed and delivered, and must include options that recognize and facilitate discipline mastery without compromising their integrity or the quality of their degrees. This chapter explains a new path to doctoral degree completion, one that minimizes arbitrary time-frames and emphasizes discipline mastery through rigorous coursework and graduate-level research. The authors recommend a new model for successful completion of the dissertation within the Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) through evidence-based practice. This model implements structured mentoring and the transformation of dissertation research from an end-of-program destination to a program-embedded process. This chapter will provide a discussion of four evidence-based strategies for improved success for doctoral students following this type of pathway to dissertation completion.

Showcasing Dreams, Desires, Vision, Whimsy, Illusion, and Anxious Uncertainty

Personalized journeys that reflect the development of deep-seated perseverance and determination characteristics evolve from stresses and traumatic events that may be short-term or longer-term from past experiences, yet still can impact the doctoral candidate's progression through the dissertation journey. A sensitivity towards one's own psychological balance during highly stressful and destabilized beliefs around one's self-efficacy are impactful during the dissertation, potentially subverting and undermining a doctoral candidate's ability to maintain a balanced psychological approach towards anxiety-riddled and stress-inducing cognitive dissonance and engagement. Discussions around the ability to support doctoral candidates during the dissertation journey are highlighted, including perseverance and determination characteristic strengths, weaknesses, and areas of potential growth areas of engaged development, upon the doctoral candidate's personality.

The 10 “C”s Towards Authentically Supporting Doctoral Students

Doctoral candidates progressing through their dissertation capstone requires not only research and scholarly support, but also engagement towards supporting the doctoral candidate's metamorphosis from a student to a member of the academy, from an agentic social cognitive transformation, from a product developed through the coursework experiences towards a triumphant specialist displaying command over the knowledge base through the display of the dissertation attainment success. The support structure delineated within this discussion reflects the following 10 “C”s: corroborating clarity, championing communication,; championing self-regulation, completing calendar timetables, categorizing priorities, continuous motivation, carrying cognitive load concerns, conquering frustration, cognitive vulnerability, and correcting plagiaristic tendencies.

Practicing Holistic Health and Self-Care Throughout the Dissertation Journey

This chapter discusses the significance of holistic health and self-care practices throughout the dissertation journey and explores how health outcomes may impact academic success, longevity, and persistence of students in a doctoral program. The author examines graduate students' health behaviors and uses a six-dimensional model of wellness to explain how dimensions interconnect and influence health outcomes. The chapter provides the readers with reflection prompts and resources to evaluate wellness dimensions and develop a self-care action plan to adopt strategies that support holistic health. The chapter also presents a case study to illustrate the personal journey of a doctoral student navigating the first half-marathon of the dissertation journey while reflecting on ways to improve or maintain holistic health and practice good self-care. The personal experiences this work shares provide valuable insight into successes and potential obstacles students may encounter and highlight strategies that may be implemented to overcome challenges.

Responding to Critical Feedback by Challenging Pessimistic Attributions

During the dissertation journey, graduate students must expect to receive critical feedback. And, yet, in order for this critical feedback to be productive, graduate students must be able to perceive this feedback as helpful rather than as discouraging. This chapter explores the interpretation of critical feedback through the cognitive framework of attributional style. This chapter presents six anecdotes and six reflections as recounted by six graduate students. By presenting these authentic examples, this chapter demonstrates how reflecting on attributional style can assist graduate students in reappraising the critical feedback they receive throughout their dissertation journey.