A guidebook for doctoral students and their advisors, this book maps the many parts of a doctoral thesis – from the statement of the problem, preparation of the proposal, theory, methods, description and interpretations of findings to the conclusions and implications for future research and practice.
Divided into six chapters that cover each step of the dissertation process, Dissertation Advice for Social Research outlines a program for research and writing with examples drawn from doctoral dissertations in sociology, social policy, history and the humanities. Intended to spark students’ imaginations, each chapter contains examples of dissertations with tips on getting started, drafting and revising the manuscript, and checklists for both students and advisors that spell out actions needed to progress, and demonstrating a variety of analytic methods from qualitative interpretations and multivariate analysis of large data sets to historical accounts with examples of various modes of analysis, from grounded theory to qualitative comparisons and statistical tests of significance such as multiple regression.
This book is ideal for doctoral students and their advisors, and will help students get started on their dissertations and be a constant reference throughout the writing process.
A guidebook for doctoral students and their advisors, this book provides a map to the many parts of a doctoral thesis – from the statement of the problem, preparation of the proposal, theory, methods, description and interpretations of findings to the conclusions and implications for future research and practice.
Arvustused
Janet Zollinger Giele succeeds magnificently in her goal to uncover the hidden rules of writing a dissertation. It is the sort of book I wish had been available when I was working on my own dissertation."
Glenn Firebaugh, author of Seven Rules for Social Research (2008)
In my experience, graduate students often treat theory as something abstract and an obligatory and often confusing requirement. Here, Dr. Giele shows how theory can be a practical guide that is unique to the student's own research question and which then becomes a compass that guides the student through the entire dissertation process.
Martha Pott, Distinguished Senior Lecturer at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development at Tufts University
I wish I could have given this book to my doctoral students. It would have helped them, and me, considerably. And I wish this book were available when I wrote my dissertation. All mentors of social science doctoral students should give Gieles Dissertation Advice for Social Research to their ABD students.
John E. Eck, Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati and author of Writing with Sweet Clarity (Routledge, 2022)
This is an experientially grounded and immensely helpful step-by-step guidebook for doctoral students and their mentors navigating the challenging seas of the academic dissertation. It is a long overdue book I would have welcomed enthusiastically when I initiated my dissertation and would recommend unreservedly to doctoral students today.
David A. Snow, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine
Introduction,
1. Problem, Proposal, Thesis,
2. Theory in the
Dissertation,
3. Research Plan and Methods,
4. Description: Drawing a
Picture,
5. Explanation: Telling a Story,
6. Implications For Research,
Policy, and Practice, Appendix A: A Guide to Expository Writing, Appendix B:
Protection of Human Subjects, Appendix C: A Tribute to My Own Doctoral
Students
Janet Zollinger Giele is Professor Emerita of Sociology, Social Policy, and Women's Studies at Brandeis University. She is the author of Family Policy and the American Safety Net (2013) and Two Paths to Women's Equality (1995), as well as co-editor of The Craft of Life Course Research (2009) and Methods of Life Course Research (1998).
