Page 51 - DISSERTATION AND THESIS HANDBOOK 2017 -2020

VII. WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE DISSERTATION?

This section of the handbook has been deliberately left until the end, because it is by far the
most difficult topic to handle in an adequate manner. In a sense, the question of what makes a
dissertation acceptable is a little like the question that candidates often ask instructors, “How
long does the paper have to be?” Any instructor knows that the only meaningful answer to
this question is, “As long as necessary.” And yet, most instructors also know that giving
candidates some idea about expectations not only decreases anxiety but may also produce
higher levels of achievement.

How can a doctoral candidate be assured that his or her dissertation will be acceptable? The
answer to this is, of course, that there is no series of steps or guidelines for action that, when
followed, can insure that a dissertation is acceptable to everyone or that guarantees that the
process of completing a dissertation will be easy. However, following are some guidelines that
might help:

A. Apprentice or Expert?
Most descriptions of a dissertation mention that the project should attain a
professional level of quality. Dissertations are often seen as evidence that
candidates know their disciplines, can conduct
research independently, and can present their
findings clearly. Some view the dissertation as the
culmination of scholarly endeavors conducted by
the candidate.

Despite this, the fact remains that most
candidates are not professionals in the designing,
conducting, or reporting of research. For many
doctoral candidates, the dissertation may be the
first, or at least one of the first, pieces of research
and scholarship in which they have participated.

An additional reality is that the dissertation was
originally designed, and is still usually
conceptualized, as a critical step toward a professional life where conducting
research is essential and ongoing.

The dissertation is often seen as the first step (albeit a big one) in one‘s journey
toward becoming a university professor or professional leader. It should be viewed
as the beginning of one‘s scholarly endeavors, rather than the culmination or end
of one‘s work. For many doctoral candidates, the scholarly work in which they
have engaged does not typically involve the generation of research and original
scholarship. They participate in any number of highly skilled activities that are
critical to the development of professional expertise. The dissertation may feel like
an entirely new process.

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