Customer Reviews

Writing the Winning Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Writing the Winning Dissertation was the only guide I needed when writing my dissertation. After I completed my research study and began to try to pull my data and research information together in a cohesive manner, I was at a loss. This book led me step-by-step through the process. The guide is straight-forward and easy to follow. It explains exactly what you need to include in your dissertation and describes the order in which the information should occur. For me, it was a lifesaver!

As the title suggests, this book is truly a step-by-step guide for writing the dissertation from beginning to end. Glatthorn's use of sections to breakdown the dissertation, or thesis, writing process; short and easy-to-read chapters, illustrations, and examples make this book not only user-friendly, but an excellent resource for managing the dissertation project. Readers should find the thorough explanation of research designs and subtypes, as well as the presentation of typical questions to be expected during the defense to be particularly helpful.

There are only a couple of areas in the book that could use some fine-tuning. First, Glatthorn does not present the discussion of writing style until halfway into the book - after the discussion of writing the proposal. Second, instead of interweaving the topic of problems encountered during the dissertation process into the appropriate chapters (e.g. problems with committee members), he instead chooses to present this information at the end of the book. He even acknowledges that you may want to read these chapters out of sequence.

Although written with a slant toward graduate students in education at traditional colleges and universities, individuals enrolled in nontraditional (e.g. distance education) graduate programs will find the information in this book to be invaluable. It offers straightforward reading and uncomplicated instructions for "writing the winning dissertation". In fact, this text appears on the recommended reading list for my distance education graduate student clients.