2. Have you previously visited the Dissertation/Thesis Guide web site?

39 Yes
285 No

3. Do you plan to bookmark (Have you already bookmarked) this web site so you can visit it again?

288 Yes
31 No

4. What was the purpose for visiting the Dissertation/Thesis Guide web site?

12 No real purpose for my visit - just happened to stop by.
55 To get general INFORMATION about preparing a dissertation/thesis.
75 To better UNDERSTAND the process of preparing a dissertation/thesis.
162 To get ideas that I can PUT TO USE to actually complete my dissertation/thesis.
15 To help me to be able to ANALYZE/CRITIQUE the dissertations/theses of others.

5. How much time did you spend at this web site?

21 Just a minute or two (I briefly looked it over)
59 Approximately 5 minutes (I read some of the items)
109 5 - 10 minutes (I read a number of the items)
137 More than 10 minutes (I studied the information in detail)

6. How would you rate the Dissertation/Thesis Guide web site in terms of helpfulness?

177 Extremely helpful
127 Helpful
19 Unsure
02 Not helpful
00 Not at all helpful

7. Would you recommend the Dissertation/Thesis Guide web site to others?

201 Yes, would highly recommend it to others.
113 Yes, would recommend it to others.
08 Unsure.
03 No, would not recommend it to others.
00 No, would definitely not recommend it to others.

8. Are you a graduate student?

259 Yes
65 No

9. Are you a faculty member in higher education?

83 Yes
236 No

10. Do you advise others who are preparing dissertations/theses?

66 Yes
254 No

11. Have you previously completed a dissertation/thesis?

94 Yes
227 No

12. What is your area of study/academic discipline (education, chemistry, history, etc.)?

Education Adult Education Adult Education, Curriculum & Inst Adult Learning and Women's Health Education and Nursing Educational Studies Education - Curriculum and Instruction Elementary Education Reading International Environmental Education Agricultural Education Drama Education Urban Education Higher Education Higher Education Administration Educational Administration Education Management Sports Management Physical Education Educational Technology Technology and Education Instructional Technology Leadership and Training Educational Leadership Self Esteem and Education Education/Accounting Educational Psychology School Counseling Counseling Psychology Counselor Educ/Agency Counseling Clinical Psychology Organizational Psychology Psychology Feminist Theory Human Sexuality Social Work Human Services Criminolgy Gerontology Library and Info Studies Library Science Library and Information Science Management Science/Info Systems Information Systems Information Technology Communication Studies Mass Communication Technical Commuincations Applied Linguistics French Linguistics Social Sciences Computer Science Computing Computer Science - Graphics Science Mathematics Biomedical Science Earth Sciences GIS Atmospheric Dynamics Engineering Biomedical Engineering Neuroscience Aerospace Engineering Building Engineering Electrical Engineering Electronics Vehicle Engineering Environmental Engineering Internal Combustion Engines Biology Cellular Biology Biology/Botany Biology/Electromagnetics Zoology Physics Public Policy Social Policy

International Commerce and Policy International Relations Public Administration International Relations Criminal Justice Public Safety Family Studies Clothing, Textiles & Merch'g Health Services Management Health Services Research Health Services Health Care Policy Health Policy Public Health Health Physical Therapy Exercise Physiology Art Therapy Food Safety Nutrition Medicine Family Medicine Pharmaceutics Finance Economics Resource economics Economy Human Resource Management Applied Manage't & Decision Sci Management Business Administration Business Business Management Organizational Management Management Accounting Accounting Business Information Systems Marketing Agriculture Economics Agricultural Management Animal Science Wildlife & Fisheries Marine Ecology Geology Total Quality Management Latin American Studies/Political Sci English/Composition English/Prof & Techncial Writing English Education/Literacy Studies English/Literature Comparative Literature Foreign Languages/Literature Humanities Religious Studies Church History/Theology Islamic Thought American Studies Demographics Political Science Political Science/Community Dev Politics/Cultural Studies Law Sociology American Culture Studies Classics European Intellectual History History Historical Ecology Historic Preservation Art History Geography Human Geography Anthropology African Studies Music Nursing Surveying Librarian Technology Services Librarian Professional Researcher Graduate Studies Secretary Electronics Technician

13. What is your sex?

137 Male
185 Female

14. What is your age?

Average age = 37.95 years

15. Where are you located?

16. Comments?

• I printed this out to look at better, then I will return to the many links that you have within. I was specifically looking for a format of a dissertation, and got much more info that I hadn't formulated questions about yet! thanks (6/29)
• It is nice to know that there is someone out there giving real and practical advice. (6/29)
• Dear Joe, I fortunately found this site with the search engine. I think it is really useful for me. But if you put more advice specilizing on how to write a scientific paper for publishing, it will be highly appreciated, and I guess thousands of thousands graduate students will visit the page. Thanks alot for your excellent work. Yunguo (Note - Yunguo, Thanks for your positive comments and your optimism!! Please check out RPI's Writing Center for information on scientific writing. s.j.l.) (6/28)
• If you are able... post an example or two of a thesis you have high regard for. I've had some trouble discerning what information was directly applicable to writing a thesis as opposed to a dissertation... largely due to my bloody ignorance. Perhaps you might divide the info into two sections...that which encompasses a thesis and that of a dissertation?! Regardless of my above suggestions... I appreciate the information that you have shared through this site and I intend to check back to look into the other websites you have recommended. Thank you for your efforts!! (Note - My assumption is that a good dissertation (an extensive manuscript) is built upon a thesis (a proposition). You might want to read Craig Waddell's essay - Threads of Thought:Thesis Development in Analytical Writing. s.j.l.) (6/26)
• I was greatly relieved to find some information to get me started on my thesis. I plan to go back to the page as I work my way past the "Thinking About It" stage. Thank you (6/25)
• Thank you for your excellent site - it has proved very helpful in providing a framwork to time manage (one tends to get panic striken) and goal plan. Keep up the good work. (6/24)
• I liked your website and thought it contained much useful information. However, I did have to laugh at the "Don't be overly influenced by others - it's your research" section. It is very obvious that you are (a) not my advisor, and (b) not on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati. I had a good (but sarcastic) laugh over that one! (6/23)
• I loved the organization of the page, and the descriptions that are included next to the links! (6/21)
• I am interested in finding out how many pages there are in an average master's thesis. (6/20)
• No ideas what to write about....am NOT a writer...am struggling with the idea of dropping out over this darned paper!!! Silly huh? LOL Have got to get going and either jump on or off I guess...Too many years out of school...raising my family...to take on this absurd task of obtaining a masters degree...for no other reason but personal knowledge. Don't know if I can do this. Good Web page though - I can tell you know what you are talking about in great detail. Thank You for some ideas. (6/19)
• I am not sure, I like what I see. And I think it is good but I can belive that is free. (6/18)
• It would be helpfull to be able to read examples from actual dissertations. I am studiing through correspondence courses and do not have access to materials from other students. (Note - A number of other visitors have made a similar request/observation. Please check the information I've added to the bottom of the page about getting copies of theses/dissertations. s.j.l.) (6/17)
• I found very helpful the hints on the various steps to take, preparation of chapters/proposals, it helped order my ideas and planning. I also found the additional web sites included to be useful because those points which were 'repeated by everyone seem to be obviously the things that are most important. On the other hand each site seemed to have different or additional tips which I can consider as I progress with my research and writing. (6/17)
• extremely helpful site...please keep it updated!! (6/16)
• I found this site to be most helpful as I begin working on my proposal. Unfortunately, in my program graduate students are not required to write a lengthy proposal and I resisted the idea until I realized that it would be to my benefit and save me time in the end. (6/15)
• The topics introduced by you were most helpful but I was hoping for a "step-by-step" guide through all the Chapters in a Thesis - Chap. 1-5..I am at the final stage of My thesis, writing up Chapter 5...just don't know how to proceed,... (6/15)
• Nice website. I will use infor my self and for those I teach. Thanks! (6/14)
• Thanks for the help. Shawn (6/13)
• I wish I'd found this site earlier! (6/13)
• Enjoyed your site, very user friendly. Needed a example to propose a program to an existing program here on the installation (military post). Have no idea what a thesis is but needed to draft a proposal for submission to legal office before program can be implemented by an existing all volunteer org.. I have copied the writing hints and examples. I have only a 1 year college education and definitely no classes in core subjects as english or math. I will keep in touch to let you know how this site has or will help me in the proposal. Thanks W. A. (Note - I'll be interested to hear if the website was helpful for your task!! s.j.l.) (6/12)
• I appreciate the straight-forward approach to common mistakes. There aren't enough resources like this on the web. (6/8)
• Access to books and articles are limited in my country. This is because we have only a limited number of universities. Colleges with twining programmes with overseas universities are mushrooming, however their resources are extremely limited and so very profit driven. Such web sites, as yours, are an invaluable source of guidance and support for students and researchers in this part of the world. KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK! (6/8)
• In addition to your helpful comments about photocopying and organizing articles for the literature search, I would also recommend creating a master bibliography using a product such as Endnotes or Bibtex. This makes it easy to keep track of citations while preparing the proposal and thesis. (6/5)
• The extense and quality of the concepts makes this document extremely useful. Thanks for helping me to help others. Manuel Soltero (6/4)
• Extremely helpful, every step of it, specially the tips for the defense (which shouldn't be called that way :) (6/3)
• It's my first thesis/dissertation, but not my first publication. Found YOUR stuff because RPI had a lot of materials on TeX/LaTeX, which I taught to myself (with RPI's help, among others) in order to write my dissertation. YOUR resources provided me with some nice perspective. I already had the work essentially done, but was too close to see how to put it all together. I violated your principle of writing the first chapter last. I'm not sure how this could've been avoided, but I'm rather sanguine about having to re-write the first chapter, which, of course, I had to do. The key is to GET IT ALL DOWN, and then you can worry about whether your intro makes sense. Many writers would get nowhere at all if they waited until the whole thing was written and THEN wrote the first chapter. I think it's good advice, but it might be better (especially since everyone uses wordprocessors) just to tell folks that Chapter 1 will probably look a whole helluva lot different! in the final draft than it does in the initial draft, but that they shouldn't worry about it. They should just get busy! (6/3)
• I would actually like to see an example of a thesis and a example of a dissertation. I currently enrolled in the graduated school and I am trying to picture an idea of how to begin to prepare my self to write a thesis and a dissertation. It seems as though it is very difficult but I know that I can do all things because there are to many professors that once have been in my shoes. "If they can do it , so can I." (Note - You are right - it is very important to actually see a model of what you are trying to achieve. If you are not able to borrow a copy of a completed dissertation, consider purchasing one from University Microfilms. Information is available at: http://www.umi.com/hp/Products/Dissertations.html s.j.l.) (6/2)
• I have printed the guide, and hope it will be useful in writing my thesis. Just some advice on the website design, maybe you could have content menu always visible on the left side of the screen, to allow users to easily access the different sections, while still having an overview of the information in the guide. (Note - Thanks for the idea! I'm not very positive about using frames, but your suggestion makes a lot of sense. I'll give it a try. s.j.l.) (6/1)
• I'm looking forward to checking out the links you have at the bottom of your page. (6/1)
• I have printed out the document and will be studying same in more detail- thereafter investigating further links as given. I am a school principal (elementary), but have taught at high school and college for a number of years. (5/30)
• Thank you. My father who was a professor at another institution (now retired) pointed me towards this guide. I found your guide extremely useful for pointing out necessary thinking points regarding what I was about to undertake for my Master of Sciences thesis. I have now completed my thesis and Masters degree. After my defense, the committee stated that my thesis was "...one of the most comprehensive and well written theses they had seen in many years...." They further stated that the level of work shown could have been PhD dissertation level. I took the compliments (and their advice of altering my abstract to not be as detailed as presented), made my alterations and completed the degree. The university has offered me a faculty position to teach topics similar to what I presented within my thesis, starting this summer. I look forward to sharing this guide with future students of my own while I am working towards my PhD as well as using this guide again during my PhD. Once again, thank you. (5/29)
• Thank god for the web and such great information! (5/28)
• Some familiar, some I've worked out on my own. I read the writing part very carefully because I'm 1 1/4 chapters into it but pretty much stalled. You don't mention a diss support group: we (MSU) have one--actually there are 2--run by a counseling center psychologist that I think is very good for me. Amazing how glitches are similiar across disciplines in candidate-committee relations. With appreciation. (5/24)
• very helpful, aiding focus and thinking throughout the whole process. (5/24)
• I have printed a copy and intend to study it at length. Upon completion I will give it an indepth critique. At first blush, it is very very useful to me and is the right thing in the right place in the right form at the right time for me. I will highly recommend it to other colleagues embarking upon the same career development move. (5/24)
• Was looking for a site to recommend to my friend - found it through about.com Sent it. Other feedback is a good area. Could it be given in chunks. Great site. (5/24)
• Thanks for sharing this wealth of information. Continue to share this and other valuable information that many students/instructors need in brief form. (5/23)
• I think it would be most helpful to have a link to a well organized sample thesis. For many of us involved in distance education, it is difficult to access a sample product. However, I must say that the information you have on this site is well organized and useful. (Note - Purchasing a thesis or two from UMI in Ann Arbor might be very helpful. Find a title that you're interested in and then order at their web site: http://www.umi.com/hp/Products/Dissertations.html s.j.l.) (5/22)
• This information is very practical for me. I really expect this information very helpfully. Thanks for this oportunity to feedback. (5/21)
• is good.... good (5/20)
• I was struggling with writing today, and was looking for some inspiration. I read your seciont on writing the dissertation, and found it useful. Its nice to know that someone cares -- its such an alienating process -- this solitary act of writing. and very daunting. Thanks for your site (5/19)
• Thnks yet again Joe, I looked at your site when I was planning my dissertation, and now I am actually writing it I am finding your guide very helpful and reassuring. I have printed chunks of it, which I didn't do at first. A colleague was also delighted to be shown it ... so thanks very much. Imogen (5/19)
• I downloaded the paper to read at another time thats why I couldnt answer some of the questions one way or another. But thanks for putting the info up for use by others like me that need all the hep I can get. (5/17)
• Excellent site - I've come across your name when trawling the Web previously and that was the reason for me taking the time to fill in the form. Found soem very useful information - Many thanks for making it available. (5/16)
• Just what the (future?) Doctor oredered! (5/14)
• Thanks for all the work and effort creating this site. My program requires I submit a prospectus (3 - 5 page paper) outlining my area of study BEFORE I submit a proposal. I researched and wrote three of these before finally realizing that I'd better not reinvent the wheel and see what others have done. I have also found out that jealousy and envy over the completion of the dissertation by others is tremendously motivating. My real problem is finding a topic that is small enough and INTERESTING enough to sustain my interest. I have been told "the best dissertation is a done dissertation", but I really believe that I need to be invested in the research to bring it to fruition. A good idea that I got from another source (APA book on Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish) is not to be too grandiose or try to write the magnum opus as a dissertation. It is tough to balance this practical advice against being invested in the topic area. I am also trying! to keep the "meta-level" political issues in mind -- that the plain truth is that writing a dissertation is a "rite of passage" for many, and your future professional colleagues (who sit on the committee) are going to be sure that you "have what it takes" and they will use the dissertation to take their "last shots at you". Some of the re-writing and suggestions are just the plain interpersonal politics and are hoops that have to be jumped through. Probably a good idea to not have any passive-aggressive types on the committee.
  Anyway, thanks for the site - I have bookmarked it and also another link from within (the Purdue one). Thanks again, G. Geysen, M.A. (5/14)
• Thanks for your help, I will study your site when I have more time...back to work.... (5/13)
• Its nice to see that there are people who are prepared to provide real information (not junk)on the internet for free. (5/13)
• It is very helpful thankyou (5/12)
• Thanks for having all the info on one page. I tend to print this type of info out in order to read it in detail and make notes. Also, the links at the bottom are great. Just the types of sites I was looking for in my web search for "writing a thesis." (5/12)
• I am already very far along in my dissertation proposal development. Your guide is quite accurate and helpful. A useful piece would be sites that provide instruments of use in studies. (5/11)
• Thank you for a good help to teach my students. E. P., MD, PhD (5/9)
• I am really looking for a reference to research methods. I cannot find anything on the net nor in the library that doesn't relate purely to sociological research methods. What about experimental research methods??? (Note - Take a look at "Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research" by Campbell & Stanley (1963) - Hopefully it will help! Good luck. s.j.l.) - Hopefully it will help! Good luck. s.j.l.) (5/9)
• It's a wonderful effort.Certainely this website will add a lot to the understanding of its visitors,who are looking for guidense. I personally want to say thanks for this help/guidence effort. Keep it up. Kind regards. W. (5/9)
• I printed the pages and will read later thank-you (5/7)
• Thanks for the information. It will serve as a valuable tool as I complete my thesis. (5/7)
• Very useful (5/6)
• I found this site extremely helpful while completing my own thesis. (5/5)
• This is an excellent site for any graduate student pursuing a doctorate degree. The site inspires through clarifying the process. Actually, it makes getting the doctorate degree more "user friendly." Perhaps highlighting this experience as a process benefiting students, institutions, and the general society. (5/5)
• I answered "just happened to stop by" to number 4 because it fit the best. I happened upon this wonderful site when doing a search on Adult Education in Canada. Thanks! This will help me when I eventually get to the dissertation/thesis stage. B.W. (5/4)
• I would help me a lot if there is a sample thesis... Anyways, I'm doing this search to help my sister in her MS. (5/4)
• Thanks for having what I was looking for, to explain the concept of the thesis. I've never even seen one before and wasn't sure what is expected of me for the Master of Science in Management (MSM). I appreciate the throughness with which you present the stages of preparation that go into the thesis because I was concerned that the "thinking" that I have been doing is unnecesssary. Low and behold there it is your first stage! May 10th starts the semester called "Thesis" so Thanks again. (5/3)
• Wonderful site, now to read all this info I just printed and learn just how to write this thing. Hopefully this will open doors and provide knowledgable insight. Thanks for the site. Kudos - M.S. (5/3)
• In an Alta Vista search, I typed in "Dissertation Guide," and yours was the first entry. I spent a few moments looking it over, and then downloaded the whole piece. It seems to be exactly what I am looking for to begin organizing my dissertation. Thanks for your efforts in posting this site! (5/2)
• Thanks for providing this helpful information Web Site !! (5/2)
• I'm an MS student in a rigorous graduate program which requires original research, a thesis, orals, and a presentation of the research before I can graduate. I am glad someone else realizes that the challenges faced by PhD. students are often shared by master's students! (5/2)
• I am pleased about the guidelines. It has solved a fundamental problem I have been trying to get over (5/1)
• Thanks for your efforts (4/30)
• This webpage is extremely useful for both student and advisor. It is very well organized. (4/28)
• Thank you. I am about 1.5 yrs from reaching my goal and I have a great deal of information gathered. I have a long way to go and I am concerned about how this will finally turn out. It's best to get an early start. Thank you again for this information resource! (4/27)
• What a wonderful site that actually encourages and provides information that is easily read, not full of more "goobledygook" Thank you (4/26)
• Very helpful advice written in an accessible tone. Great common sense recommendations, especially regarding the consistent use of key words. (4/26)
• I only have a couple of weeks before my dissertaion has to be completed. I had hit a 'brick wall' and was having a mental black. Your site helped me considerably by giving me fresh ideas and by confirming that what I had done so far was on the right lines. THANK YOU!! (4/26)
• I am involved with developing a work-based research degree project. The "students" will be carrying out environment-related research in there workplace, i.e., they will be distance students. I am collecting useful links to add to our website of support resources, would you be happy for us to link to yours. It is different from a lot of the sites that I have looked at and linked and I think it would help some of the students. Our system in the UK is a bit different, but the principles are the same. Best wishes (Note - Please feel free to link to the dissertation/thesis website. I'm pleased that you feel it will be helpful to your students. I've sent you a note via email. All the best! s.j.l.) (4/26)
• Thanks for your help! I will return many times (4/24)
• Very clear and helpful site. I havn't had a good look at the guide yet, I've just spent a little while downloading it to Word. What I did browse through looked useful though. (4/21)
• If only this website existed when I did my proposal/thesis. It would have certainly spared me the agony of learning the process on my own through trial and error. Although I sucessfully contributed to this area of expertise as a result of my research it could have been made much easier. By the way, I found this website by randomly choosing professor's names. A still better access is needed. Thanks (4/20)
• I will use your guidlines in my PhD thesis (4/20)
• Thank you for your suggestions. Unfortunately professors at my university (Eastern Europe) are not effectively advising students. The whole dissertation defending process is often marked by unprofessional attitudes. (lack of organization, lack of interest, bribery,etc) This attitude is spreading among students too. I hope times will change and teachers will start implementing educational methods from their western peers. (4/19)
• I found the site to be extrememly helpful for my purposes. Thank you! (4/18)
• I will be back when I have more time - I am about to begin a PHD and my husband is starting his MA thesis, so this will help us both focus. Thank You (4/18)
• I wish that my supervisor from curtin university had recommended that i read this information before I started my thesis! (4/18)
• Great tips!!! Thank-you. (4/16)
• I would just like to thank you for providing such a needed a well organized service to those of us writing or preparing to write a thesis/dissertation. (4/16)
• Thank you for this site (4/15)
• Exellent website (4/14)
• My dissertation is in biology. I am looking for help writing the goals, objectives, hypothesis section of my proposal. I have been told to set my objectives in terms of hypothesis. I have been having trouble figuring out what this means. (I think I know now after visiting a variety of grant writing web pages.) So, I would suggest the following. Under the 'goals and objectives' section, if you could distinguish objectives for research projects from the objectives of programs and elaborate on how to state research objectives as hypothesis. Thanks for the webpage :) (Note - I wish there was an easy way to deal with this. Depending on a particular study, hypotheses may or may not be appropriate. Most research texts provide info on writing hypotheses for experimental, descriptive or evaluative research. [see: http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/HYPOTHES.HTM] I think it's important to keep in mind that the goal of a thesis/dissertation has a broader perspective - to make a contribution to one's field of study. s.j.l.) (4/14)
• I have just started writing my dissertation, and it is enormously reassuring to be able to 'dip into' your practical suggestions whenever I want to. I thought the idea of doing different drafts on different colured paper was good, and conclusions are not my speciality so your advice is very welcome. Thanks Joe! (4/14)
• Thanks for the page, I also found the links particularly useful (4/13)
• I am in the process of writing my dissertation proposal. I have visited your site several times over the past six months. The first time was to get a general picture of what constitutes a well written proposal. The second time was to get practical tips for proposal writing, most specifically the literature review. This last time was to review your site before going to my first committee meeting. The most helpful suggestions was to "begin writing with sections that you know the best, For me, it was chapters one and three. Chapter two is so immense that, although the lit review guided my research questions, it seems like it is never ending. Thank you for such a wonderful web site. I have shared this incredible find with several colleagues. (4/10)
• I was actually looking for info on preparing a business proposal. But the information was still very helpful. Thanks. (4/8)
• A very informative and useful site for students. I for one will bookmark it and share it with others. (4/6)
• Excellent site. Wonderful information, excellent links. Thank You! I plan to share this site with my advisor who was not helpful at all!!!! (4/5)
• Will be very helpful to students who seek ideas and directions for conceptualizing and writing their dissertations. (4/5)
• Good info. Will tell friends. (4/4)
  
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