Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(10 customer reviews) 98 of 102 people found the following review helpful
This book sets out the basics, like "do what you need to do",
February 12, 2000 "roger388" - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing the Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)
This book is helpful, if you have no idea about what it means to write a dissertation. It does provide an overview of all of the basics, like what it means to select a committee, and how many pages make an average dissertation. However, it is full of advice that boils down to, "do what you need to do" and "do it with integrity". While it is a very compact book, and has lots of useful information, it's a bit like reading a style manual. Several books for social scientists are available (see Howard Becker), and some of the books that deal more with the psychology of writing (and staying motivated to write) the dissertation might be a better buy.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
A decent overview, but not a text that stands alone.,
August 28, 2004 Carolyn K. Broner, Ph.D. - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing the Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)
Although written in 1997, much of the information in this book still provides a good overview of how to manage the dissertation, or even the thesis process for traditional students. Davis and Parker start off good by providing case studies of doctoral students in the first chapter; however, it is only at this point where such easy to relate to scenarios are presented. It is clear that this book was written with conventional students in mind. If you are an individual enrolled in a nontraditional program, for instance at a distance education institution, you will find that this book lacks pertinent information that pertains to you.
In addition, at some points, the text becomes overly mechanical making the read a tad bit dry, while not providing enough about other significant issues (e.g. the literature review, the components of the proposal, or the dissertation defense). As one would suspect, the information on technology is dated. What's more, the book lacks an index, which...Read more
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Excellent read,
February 21, 2007 T. Wade (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing the Doctoral Dissertation (Paperback)
As I'm preparing my doctoral dissertation, I've read a number of books on the topic. This is the only one from which I was actually able to learn something. Most remind you of the obvious. This text goes beyond, providing checklists, concrete examples, and the answers to questions that most would be too timid to ask.
