The Doctoral Student Experience (DSE) refers to the five-chapter dissertation experience for doctoral students in the following programs:

All PhD programs at National University and the DBA, DCJ, and DPA degrees.

If you are enrolled in one of these programs, please read on to learn more about the working ahead in the dissertation process.

The goal of the dissertation sequence of courses is to keep progressing weekly on chapter components and to continue to make progress on the completion of your Dissertation Proposal, IRB Application, Data Collection, and Dissertation Manuscript. Whenever possible, we encourage students to work ahead in each DIS course because there is a lot to accomplish in each course sequence.

Depending on how much time you have to commit to this process, it will likely take you longer than the initial 12 weeks to complete one or more of the dissertation courses. Many students need to enroll in one or two continuing courses to successfully meet the associated course milestones. At this point in the program, you can connect with other students in The Commons for motivation and guidance. However, be careful not to compare your progress to someone else’s. All students have different demands on their time and can dedicate a unique portion of the day to this endeavor. Each student has different skill sets coming into the dissertation, and each dissertation is a unique learning experience based on different elements of the research.

Ideas for Working Ahead

Once you work through the dissertation process, you should always be looking ahead to consider what you might work on next. You will often be waiting for feedback from your committee, and you should not be sitting still just waiting. Find something else to do so that you are always moving forward. Many of the suggestions listed below are NOT intended to be done in order, but serve as a guide of things you might think about or work on.

Chapter 2

• Annotated Bibliographies – A good starting point is to review annotated bibliographies that you have completed in your content courses, with a critical eye toward studies that might be relevant to explaining the need to investigate your dissertation topic.
• References from key articles you have read – Use the reference sections from articles you have gathered to find more relevant articles.
• Synthesis - A challenge that students face when writing Chapter 2 is synthesizing the information in a scholarly manner. Rather than summarizing one study after the next (like an annotated bibliography or a list of research), be sure to summarize the literature around themes and allow several authors to “speak” at once, creating a dialogue about a topic between multiple researchers and their findings. Your review should not read like a book report (one author or study after another), instead, you should strive to construct sentences and paragraphs that reflect multiple sources in one reference. This means that the majority of your citations should look like this (Smolka & Walters, 2013; Walters, Smolka, & Young, 2014). Go through your draft to ensure that you have synthesized and not just summarized the literature.

Chapter 3

Preparing for Data Collection

• Application – Be sure to familiarize yourself with the IRB Resource Center, application, and the required supplemental materials you will need to submit.
• Site Permission - Do not wait until you have IRB approval to start making connections for the research. You do not want to commit to all of the aspects of the research until your Committee has approved Chapter 3. However, you can introduce the problem and purpose to potential research partners to find out if an interest in participating even exists. In addition to securing your site, you may want to have a few options for Plan B, Plan C, and Plan Z. You need to expect the unexpected. Even if you have not contacted all of the possibilities, create a list of possibilities so that you are ready to roll to the next one if the need arises. Determining your research site will get you a big step ahead for the course DIS-9300A, when you will have to complete the IRB application and data collection. You can access resources from the IRB resource center to help you understand the process, restrictions, and templates for communicating with potential research participants. If you have not created your Cayuse account, you should do that now. You will find instructions in the IRB Resource Center.
• CITI Certification – You are required to have a CITI certificate to conduct research. Find information on CITI certification in the IRB Resource Center.
• Instrumentation – Start looking for instrumentation that might be useful to your study. You will need to have some type of tool to help you collect data from your research participants. If you are doing a quantitative study, this could be a survey, questionnaire, or other assessment or evaluation tool. For a qualitative study, you could have an interview protocol, observation tool, or research journal. One way to find good instruments is through your literature review by identifying possibilities described in Chapter 3.

Data Collection

• There is much to think about and work on ahead of time, before data is even collected.
• Begin outlining the steps you will take to collect data. Your process should be explained with such clarity that other researchers could replicate your study with different samples. Outlining this process will help you with the IRB process.

Data Analysis

• Begin to familiarize yourself with the software you might use for analysis. It is important that you become very familiar with its use and take time to practice before using your own data.

Chapter 4

The purpose of Chapter 4 is to present the data that you have collected in a way that will scaffold the reader’s understanding of the evidence that supports your interpretations and recommendations. The findings should be reported in line with the individual research questions. One of the best ways to envision what your Chapter 4 will look like is to read many dissertations that have used the same specific methodology and research design. While you are reading, note the things that others have done that help you see the patterns in the data. Map out how you might present your data in a way that will make sense to others.

Remember that tables, figures, and graphs should be prepared in a manner that the reader can easily interpret with a clear associated explanation of the pertinent information you wish to convey.

Chapter 5

• Alignment - The alignment to the research questions should be an organizational and structural component of the presentation of the interpretations you present in Chapter 5. Throughout your interpretation, you will also want to make connections back to the literature review to demonstrate how the existing body of knowledge supports your interpretations. Begin thinking about how your interpretation aligns with the problem statement, purpose, research questions, and literature review.
• Recommendations - Be sure to write Chapter 5 in the context of how your study fits into the existing body of research, ensuring that you are citing literature from Chapter 2. Give some thought to what literature you may wish to connect to.

Other Ideas

• Title – Continue to play with your dissertation title. It can take some doing to get the right title.
• Alignment - Alignment is one of the most critical components of the research proposal. In the Doctoral Center, NU has tools and resources that can help you identify alignment issues and track the overarching alignment of your research proposal. As you work on all of the components of the research proposal, use these tools and resources to keep you on track for alignment.
• Examples – Take the time to read examples of other dissertations. As you are reading them for content, you should also be reading Chapter 3 so that you can see examples of how others have structured similar sections. You can learn about new methodologies, possible instruments, and identify appropriate analyses.
• APA Tutorials – If you struggle with APA formatting, take some time to find some APA tutorials and get the practice you might need. Not knowing APA and having to always make edits as a result can slow down your process.
• Reference Check – Periodically, you will want to check that all your references in your paper are in your reference area. You should be using annotation software to help you track and organize your references. You can use free tools like Zotero, discussed on the Technology Resources page.
• Table of Contents - One area with which people often struggle is preparing the table of contents. You may want to review information on how to do so in Microsoft Word. You also will want to review the tips in the NU DSE Dissertation Template regarding setting up your complete proposal, and then plug in your own information in the appropriate sections of the template. The Academic Success Center (ASC) can also assist you with formatting your Table of Contents.
• Dissertation Proposal Presentation & Oral Defense - You will be creating presentations that visually supports the information that you share orally. Be sure to look ahead and check out materials in the Doctoral Center so that you know what to expect.

The Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE) refers to the three-section applied doctoral project for doctoral students in the following programs:

From the Sanford College of Education: The EdD, EdD-EDL, and EdD-ID programs

From the School of Health Professions: The DHA and the DNP programs

From the JFK School of Psychology & Social Sciences: The DMFT program

If you are enrolled in one of these programs, please read on to learn more about working ahead in the applied doctoral project.

A successful, timely completion of the applied doctoral project requires you to multitask. Never sit back and wait for your committee’s feedback on a submission. You should always be looking ahead to consider what you might work on next. Be proactive and you will be successful! Whenever possible, we encourage students to work ahead because there is a lot to accomplish in each course sequence. The suggestions listed below are NOT intended to be done in order, but serve as a guide of things you might think about or work on.

DIS 9911	DIS 9912	DIS 9913	DIS 9914
Section 1 is the course goal so should be your main focus.	Section 2 and approved doctoral proposal (DP) is the course goal so should be your main focus.	A completed IRB application, completed data collection and Data Collection Verification Form are the course goals.	Section 3, Study Closure Form, approved doctoral manuscript (DM), and Professional Presentation (per school-specific requirements).
Gather more current sources for your literature review and start writing it. Tip: Review annotated bibliographies that you have completed in your content courses, with a critical eye toward studies that might be relevant to explaining the need to investigate your applied doctoral project.	Check for new sources to strengthen your literature review. Looking Ahead: Review your draft to ensure that you have synthesized the literature. Tip: Rather than summarizing one study after the next (like an annotated bibliography), discuss the literature around themes, creating a dialogue about a topic between multiple researchers and their findings. Strive to construct sentences and paragraphs thatschool-specificle sources in one reference.	Check for new sources to strengthen your literature review. Tip: Use the reference sections from articles you have gathered to find more relevant articles.	To develop Section 3, review peer-reviewed research articles to locate examples of how to report results generated using the research design used in your project. Tip: Note the things that others have done that help you see the patterns in the data. Map out how you might present your data. Remember that tables, figures, and graphs explain the pertinent information you wish to convey.
Check to make sure you can get permissions for your research sites. See if they require their own IRB application. Tip: Although you cannot collect data until you receive IRB approval, do not wait until you have IRB approval to start making connections.	Get site permissions/IRB approval for your research sites. Tip: Develop an alternative plan for data collection. You need to expect the unexpected. Create a list of possibilities so that you are ready to roll to the next one if the need arises.	If you have not yet submitted the IRB application, do so as soon as possible.	Read through Sections 1-2 and do any additional proofing/revisions. Plan your Professional Presentation or Oral Defense (per school-specific requirements).
Review the NU IRB process and how to use the IRB Manager. Tip: Access resources from the IRB Resource Center to help you understand the process, restrictions, and templates for communicating with potential sites.	Start working on your NU IRB application. Looking Ahead: If you have not created your Cayuse account, you should do that now and begin working on your NU IRB application. Identify the required supplemental materials you will need to submit to the IRB.	Review your data collection plan and collect all data once the IRB application is approved.	Explore peer-reviewed journals to which you might want to submit a manuscript based on your research.
Check that your CITI training will not expire 180 days from the date your IRB application is approved. Tip: CITI certificates are valid for three years. Not having a valid CITI certificate can hold up your IRB processing.	Develop your data collection materials. Tip: Start looking for instrumentation. You will need to have some type of tool to help you collect data. For quantitative studies, this could be a survey, questionnaire, or evaluation tool. For a qualitative study, you could have an interview protocol, observation tool, or research journal. Looking Ahead: Begin outlining the steps you will take to collect data. Tip: Your process should be explained with such clarity that other researchers could replicate your doctoral project or dissertation in practice. Looking Ahead: Familiarize yourself with software you might use for the data analysis.	Read through Sections 1-2 and do any additional proofing/revisions. Change all tenses to past tense where appropriate in Sections 1 and 2 for the DM.	Looking Ahead: Continue exploring the literature to stay current in your areas of interest.
Review the Applied Doctoral Record and how to use it.	---	---	---
Review similar dissertations or applied doctoral projects through ProQuest.	Review other dissertations or applied doctoral projects like your planned research.	Review other dissertations or applied doctoral projects like your planned research.	Continue exploring the literature to stay current in your areas of interest.

Other Considerations

• Title – Continue to play with your title. It can take some doing to get the right title.
• Alignment - Alignment is one of the most critical components. The Doctoral Center has tools and resources that can help you identify alignment issues and track the overarching alignment of your research proposal. As you work on all of the sections, use these tools and resources to keep you on track for alignment.
• APA Tutorials – If you struggle with APA formatting, take some time to find some APA tutorials and get the practice you might need. Not knowing APA and having to always make edits as a result can slow down your process.
• Reference Check – Periodically, you will want to check that all your references in your paper are in your reference area. You should be using annotation software to help you track and organize your references. You can use free tools like Zotero found in the NU Library. 
• Table of Contents - One area with which people often struggle is preparing the table of contents. Please review information on how to do so in Microsoft Word. You also will want to review the tips in your school specific template regarding setting up your applied doctoral project, and then plug in your own information in the appropriate sections of the template. The ASC can also help you with your table of contents.