The Scenario A student recently brought me their dissertation proposal for feedback. They had observed a phenomenon, discussed it with their professor, who pointed them to two or three references and worked on this limited basis. In fairness, the student acknowledged they still had work to do on the literature, but their proposal …
Lessons from My Students: The Proposal Without a Literature Review Read More »
The Scenario A student recently approached me to review their dissertation proposal, which had been rejected by their school’s proposal committee. I had not been involved in the proposal. One of the key issues was that the student had confused the concepts of mediation and moderation, which led to flaws in the argument, hypotheses, statistical …
Lessons from My Students: Mediation versus Moderation Read More »
The Scenario A student recently told me they felt “stuck” on their dissertation proposal, even skipping their end-of-year holiday to make progress. A stuck proposal or dissertation often happens because the problem isn’t clear or the research process feels overwhelming. The Issue A stuck or unsuccessful proposal or dissertation typically signals a lack of clarity …
Lessons from My Students: Getting Unstuck – Four Essential Questions to Move Forward Read More »
The Scenario A master’s student recently sent me their survey questionnaire for review. As I’ve seen in many such cases, there were several substantial issues that, if uncorrected, would compromise the quality of the data collected—and, in turn, the analysis, results, and conclusions. Fortunately, the survey had just begun, so there was still time …
Lessons from My Students: Crafting a Flawless Questionnaire Read More »