What are the biggest reasons doctoral candidates stay ABDs and do not become PhDs?
What advice would you give to help me not make those mistakes?
Lyn Walden, EdS, EdD, PhD
More than any other reason, I definitely believe the biggest downfall is not following directions and not staying committed. These issues will keep a candidate from his or her goal. If a candidate will simply follow all (every tiny) direction given orally, in print (read the manuals), or in residency, he or she will finish barring any unforeseen circumstance. The second reason for non-completion is laziness or disorganization, whichever word you prefer. You must stay the course and keep the dissertation foremost in your thoughts and actions to finish. Partying and socializing must take a back seat. Set a goal of two hours each day or 14 hours (minimum) each weekend and stick to it-regardless!
Next, I would say pride stops many from completion. You are going to get beat up, humiliated, and embarrassed-- stay the course. Consider this a hazing and remember the prize. Many of you were hazed before allowed into a fraternity or sorority. Well, that hazing was peanuts compared to the hazing you will endure in the dissertation process. If you submit a perfectly written paper with absolutely no errors the first few times, your mentor will still make you change things, revise, reword, redo. This is simply part of the process--accept this, hold you head up, and say, "Thank you for the beating. I will back this time tomorrow for another beating."
The next major issue I see is not keeping track of things. I cannot tell you the mess I often see when I cross check references. Keep track of every article or dissertation you use--right click-ctrl+S to your desktop. Keep track of every mentor comment, every committee comment, every involved professor's comment given regarding your dissertation. If nothing else, you can say (respectfully), "Sir, you told me to use a MANOVA on such and such a date. Please explain why you want me to use ANOVA now." (or something similar)
I would have to say a poorly selected or hastily accepted mentor is another reason for failure. Do not select a friend to be your mentor nor allow the university to assign a novice mentor to your dissertation. Select your mentor as carefully as you would select a spouse. Once you have a mentor, do research on him or her. Read every dissertation he or she has signed off on. Then stay with that person. Fight the system if they try to make you switch mentors. If you have a tough, professional, knowledgeable, seasoned mentor, you will go twice as far, twice as fast. Respect your mentor--never, ever submit less than your best if you want respect. In addition, your mentor is always right--regardless of what I or any other dissertation coach says.
Learn APA! How in the world can you expect to write a 100 page or greater dissertation without knowing at a minimum the basics of APA (or MLA, Harvard, etc.)? Keep the manual with you and read it every spare minute you have. Do not use software to format your references. You might not be able to use software in residency. Save yourself some embarrassment--memorize the basics of APA.
Finally, expect and plan for expenses other than tuition and books. No one person can know everything there is to know about a dissertation-especially not a first-time dissertation author. Save money or set money aside for experts. Have a statistician check your chapter one before you get too deep in the process. If you are not skilled at writing and do not know APA like the back of your hand, hire an editor before submitting for IRB or Quality Review; of course, do the same before you submit to the dean. Purchase a year's worth of service with Grammarly.com. Run every page you write through this software even if you have an editor. Grammarly is not a substitute for an editor; it is just another way to help you finish faster. Hire a dissertation coach or seasoned PhD to read your work several times during the process. You will need to hire a transcriptionist and possibly someone to code your qualitative work unless you are a skilled typist and know the software. Hire a statistician for your quantitative work even if you are good with stats--have him or her double check your work. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. A few expert opinions along the way will save you at least one quarter and possibly a couple of years. What does one-quarter cost? approximately $3000-$6000. Plan on spending this amount on experts. No, I am not saying hire, me, I am saying hire experts with a proven track record.
Dr. Walden is highly skilled in all phases of the dissertation process, from finding a significant topic and a gap in the literature to the final edit and oral defense. She stands beside and guides motivated people from a novice doctoral learner to a doctoral candidate, to a doctor, to an accomplished professional. She will work as hard as you do.
She is an accomplished editor, dissertation coach, and writer. She is a published author who just completed another book, this one is 380+ pages. She is a member of several organizations including the National Academic Advising Association, the American Writers and Authors, the Professional Editor’s Network, and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Who’s Who has honored her six times as have five academic honor societies.
Next, I would say pride stops many from completion. You are going to get beat up, humiliated, and embarrassed-- stay the course. Consider this a hazing and remember the prize. Many of you were hazed before allowed into a fraternity or sorority. Well, that hazing was peanuts compared to the hazing you will endure in the dissertation process. If you submit a perfectly written paper with absolutely no errors the first few times, your mentor will still make you change things, revise, reword, redo. This is simply part of the process--accept this, hold you head up, and say, "Thank you for the beating. I will back this time tomorrow for another beating."
The next major issue I see is not keeping track of things. I cannot tell you the mess I often see when I cross check references. Keep track of every article or dissertation you use--right click-ctrl+S to your desktop. Keep track of every mentor comment, every committee comment, every involved professor's comment given regarding your dissertation. If nothing else, you can say (respectfully), "Sir, you told me to use a MANOVA on such and such a date. Please explain why you want me to use ANOVA now." (or something similar)
I would have to say a poorly selected or hastily accepted mentor is another reason for failure. Do not select a friend to be your mentor nor allow the university to assign a novice mentor to your dissertation. Select your mentor as carefully as you would select a spouse. Once you have a mentor, do research on him or her. Read every dissertation he or she has signed off on. Then stay with that person. Fight the system if they try to make you switch mentors. If you have a tough, professional, knowledgeable, seasoned mentor, you will go twice as far, twice as fast. Respect your mentor--never, ever submit less than your best if you want respect. In addition, your mentor is always right--regardless of what I or any other dissertation coach says.
Learn APA! How in the world can you expect to write a 100 page or greater dissertation without knowing at a minimum the basics of APA (or MLA, Harvard, etc.)? Keep the manual with you and read it every spare minute you have. Do not use software to format your references. You might not be able to use software in residency. Save yourself some embarrassment--memorize the basics of APA.
Finally, expect and plan for expenses other than tuition and books. No one person can know everything there is to know about a dissertation-especially not a first-time dissertation author. Save money or set money aside for experts. Have a statistician check your chapter one before you get too deep in the process. If you are not skilled at writing and do not know APA like the back of your hand, hire an editor before submitting for IRB or Quality Review; of course, do the same before you submit to the dean. Purchase a year's worth of service with Grammarly.com. Run every page you write through this software even if you have an editor. Grammarly is not a substitute for an editor; it is just another way to help you finish faster. Hire a dissertation coach or seasoned PhD to read your work several times during the process. You will need to hire a transcriptionist and possibly someone to code your qualitative work unless you are a skilled typist and know the software. Hire a statistician for your quantitative work even if you are good with stats--have him or her double check your work. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. A few expert opinions along the way will save you at least one quarter and possibly a couple of years. What does one-quarter cost? approximately $3000-$6000. Plan on spending this amount on experts. No, I am not saying hire, me, I am saying hire experts with a proven track record.
Dr. Walden is highly skilled in all phases of the dissertation process, from finding a significant topic and a gap in the literature to the final edit and oral defense. She stands beside and guides motivated people from a novice doctoral learner to a doctoral candidate, to a doctor, to an accomplished professional. She will work as hard as you do.
She is an accomplished editor, dissertation coach, and writer. She is a published author who just completed another book, this one is 380+ pages. She is a member of several organizations including the National Academic Advising Association, the American Writers and Authors, the Professional Editor’s Network, and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Who’s Who has honored her six times as have five academic honor societies.