Review:
These booklets are a useful tool for demystifying the culminating element of doctoral studies--the dissertation. I recommend that students use them to initiate conversations with their advisors about how to achieve high quality dissertations."-- (02/01/2008)
"By offering practical, directly applicable quality metrics for scientific and technical dissertations, including originality and significance, the authors help students and faculty clarify mutual expectations and eliminate the misunderstanding that makes dissertations unnecessarily onerous. The authors especially intend that students use their advice to become more proactive in consciously managing the communication demands of their professions. The responsibility, they emphasize, lies more with the student than the teacher.
Short, inexpensive, practical, offering usable advice based on Lovitts' own previously published research, laid out in distinct modules that are easily identified and assigned, and focused on representative disciplines that are generally applicable, this pamphlet can readily supplement in-depth study of dissertation research and writing methods. Recommended."-- (08/01/2010)
"These booklets are a terrific resource for graduate students who want to learn what faculty members look for in a quality dissertation. They will also prove useful to faculty as they convey explicit expectations to their students about a quality dissertation."-- (07/01/2008)
"I read the science booklet as if I were a beginning grad student and thinking about such matters for the first time. I was pleased--the booklet seemed like it was speaking directly to me. I found the writing to be crisp, conversational and compelling. It exceeded my expectations."-- (02/01/2008)
"The writing style and organization of this guide are as accessible to students as its size and price. As the authors state in the "Note to Faculty", they hope this guide will be used by faculty and students together as they negotiate the dissertations process (Lovitts & Wert, 2009, v).... Advisors and students will find significant value in this dissertation guide. With focus on faculty provided feedback, students may feel more confident in their abilities to engage effectively in the process. Advisors may also use this as a go to resource in aiding doctoral students through the mental and physical processes of the biggest paper in their lives so far."-- (09/01/2011)
"If you are a new doctoral student or a master student thinking about obtaining a doctoral degree within the next few years, please prepare for the live orientation session in August by getting a copy of one of these Lovitts & Wert booklets (from Stylus Publications; also available in the University bookstore and Library), and reading it. We think that you will want your own copy to keep notes as you work your way through your degree program.
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Sciences: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of biology, physics, engineering and mathematics, but also applies to chemistry, behavioral neuroscience in psychology, materials science, and nursing.]
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Social Sciences: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of economics, sociology, and the social science subdisciplines of psychology, but also applies to anthropology, education, history, management, and political science.]
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Humanities: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of English, philosophy, and the humanities subdisciplines of history, but also applies to art history and comparative literature.]"-- (02/01/2010)
About the Author:
Barbara E. Lovitts is an independent higher education researcher. She was formerly Senior Program Officer in the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education at the National Academy of Engineering, and is the author of Leaving the Ivory Tower: The Causes and Consequences of Departure from Doctoral Study. She has worked at the University of Maryland, the American Institutes for Research, the National Science Foundation, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ellen L. Wert, a former a program officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a freelance writer and editor who has been involved with national efforts to improve U.S. graduate education for nearly two decades, including Preparing Future Faculty, the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate. and the Survey on Doctoral Education and Career Preparation. Past clients include the American Association for Higher Education, The Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Education Policy Institute
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.