Writing the Doctoral Dissertation

by Gordon B. Davis

Here is the first book a prospective doctoral candidate should read. Updated to reflect both modern technological advances and the realities of contemporary academia, it serves as an excellent overview of the dissertation process in most academic fields. Advice starts with selecting an advisor and a dissertation committee, then covers problems connected with selecting a dissertation topic, submitting the proposal, working with an advisor, and writing and defending the dissertation.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, School, Academia

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[MJ]

One of my professors in the PhD program recommended this book. I read this book a week before the official start of the PhD program in August 2011. This is the best and the only book anyone pursuing a PhD in social (not hard) sciences needs to understand the dissertation process and how to finish it in time. The main take away that I still remember clearly was “during your PhD you will be writing a lot.. just make sure that anything that you write does not get wasted... don’t write just for the sake of some professor or class.. write to publish.. that’s it.” I still have that copy of the book with me though I graduated in 2015. The book provides sufficient details and step by step guide about how to organize one’s dissertation.

[Will Turner]

More focused on the overall management of the dissertation as opposed to Bolker who focuses more on the actual writing of the dissertation. The most helpful take-a-way was the stress on placing your dissertation into a "research stream." The idea is that your dissertation work may be the beginning, but it should not be the end of your research into a specific area of study. You build your entire doctoral work and post-doctoral work around the subject you are focused on. This is remarkably helpful and while I tried to do some of this with the coursework phase if I knew about this before I would have tried to be even more intentional. Every step along the way is a step toward answering the proposed problem that your thesis seeks to address.

[Ricardo Vergara]

Honestly… kinda boring. This book gives some useful advice, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessary for a completion of a thesis. The information part is a little outdated because it dates back to the 2000’s basically.

[Viral]

Solid book that covers the central principles of how one goes about writing a dissertation. Will definitely return to this in the coming months and years.

[dtmcmillangmail.com]

did a good job working me through the process

[Dave Harris]

This review is of the older second edition. I have not read the newer third edition, but I assume it will be of roughly equivalent (or superior) quality. This book's approach is very systematic, and I see a certain beauty in the lucid and logical presentation of the many issues that are part of the dissertation project. I think that the book may be intimidating to some because it covers so many issues and, in a way, it may seem to complicate the process. But the complications are real, and this book makes explicit the many complex issues that a dissertation writer will face. In my opinion, this is a good book for a confident writer; it's not as good for someone struggling with doubt.

[Billy Pope]

A concise planning tool for anyone embarking on the journey toward a doctoral dissertation. The planning tools are built with full-time (or at least most-time) doctoral students in mind, but even people working full time while writing dissertations should find this guide useful.

[Dr. Kat]

good info, lots of helpful charts for managing schedule

[Lorena Martínez]

I specially loved the tables and formas and steps. It really clarified the process and aided with those materials I could be using as a check list.

[PP]

Short, concise, to the point. Recommended for doctoral students in their planning stage.

[Sthea]

Relevant to writing a MA thesis also

[Mzayyat]

Brief and shortcut how to write thesis very nice

[Nebiyu Wolde]

It can be useful to read this too