The dissertation process produces a lot of emotions: loneliness, frustration, fatigue and, ultimately, a sense of satisfaction and victory that comes with making a substantial intellectual contribution. But confusion shouldn’t be one of them.

The dissertation process produces a lot of emotions: loneliness, frustration, fatigue and, ultimately, a sense of satisfaction and victory that comes with making a substantial intellectual contribution. But confusion shouldn’t be one of them.

But confusion is an easy state when this process is new. The words float around in your head until you get a handle on them: Qualitative research and analysis. Statistical analysis. Alignment. Literature Review. Purpose of the Study. Background of the Study. Assumptions. Significance of the Study. Research Question. Research Gap. Methodology. Study design. Theoretical Framework. Descriptive data. Quantitative Research. Abstract. Study Limitations. Evaluation of the Findings. Mixed Methods. Recommendations for Future Research. You repeat the Chapter 1 mantra: “My study will…..” Eventually, you grow into the terminology, into using the tools, until they become second nature–or at least comfortable.

It’s not like your future graduate school alma mater isn’t trying to help. Your university has given you an advisor, a committee and a small pile of dissertation guidelines, including templates. There’s a big, quiet building on campus that you can hide in, and in that building there are computers with electronic databases waiting for your scholarly-source deep-dive. (On positive days, you daydream that one day your dissertation will be filed away in there.) If you’re lucky, there might even be a doctoral support group on campus somewhere, filled with equally exasperated All-But-Dissertation peers waiting for you to arrive to complete the circle of intellectual adventure. But if you need more help with your dissertation–and more, frankly, is always best in this process!–we suggest these five websites that, collectively, will make a fine dissertation coach:

1) Times Higher Education Blog: “10 Tips For Writing A Ph.D. Thesis” by Ingrid Curl

This blog post presents some basics that really help the Ph.D. or thesis writing experience. Our favorite by Curl: “Do not write up in chronological order. Work on each chapter while it is fresh in your mind or pertinent to what you are doing at that moment, but come back to it all later and work it up into a consistent, coherent piece, restructuring sections where necessary.” A dissertation is five interlocking chapters. (Think of it as five 20-25 page research papers if that helps you.) All your ideas concerning your subject should be in it. So if you’re writing Chapter 2, and suddenly you come up with an idea/concept/sentence/paragraph that belongs in Chapter 5, go to Chapter 5, type, and then resume Chapter 2.

Even typing notes in chapters when ideas come to you—and there is no doubt that those ideas will come—will be extremely helpful when you finish your first full draft. There will be time later to properly write and source your ideas. At first glance, that approach seems slipshod: Shouldn’t I be writing this in order, and citing as I go along? your very rote, organized brain asks innocently. No! You should be writing down every relevant idea you had from your Comprehensive Exams (remember them? This is the point where they may have some use) while using your prospectus as an outline. Filling any spot of a chapter—even if it’s just a sentence—helps down the line. Any author will tell you that chronology is the arch-enemy of Getting Writing Done.

2) “How To Write A Good (No, Great) Ph.D. Dissertation” by Priya Narasimhan

This outline by Narasimhan balances humor, graphics and pertinent information. We especially like that it talks about the why of this—what the process is about.

From one of our favorite slides:

WHAT’S A GREAT PH.D. DISSERTATION?

• One that kicks the door open for another 3-4 future dissertations
• Means that you started an area of work or a line of thought that opens many more lines of thought
• High-impact, i.e., “Look, Ma, I …….”
• Have left my mark behind in my field
• Fundamentally changed the way that something is done today
• Introduced a new concept that can be “mined” by others in the future
• Solved a problem that has plagued the field for years
• Eliminated a fundamental assumption that has been made in the field
• Provided strong empirical evidence that the field has been lacking
• Will continue to influence the field and be cited by others

We also like the fact that it makes gentle fun of the dissertation online, because it knows that the ABD candidate must move past it into writing the rough draft. And yes, it asks for baby steps because you must start somewhere.

3) “How To Write A Ph.D. Thesis” by Marie-Claude Boily (Adapted from Geva Greenfield’s lecture)

The most important of Boily/Greenfield’s slides are these: “Examiner’s Expectations,” “External Examiner’s Checklist” and “Examiner’s Don’t Like.” One of the best forms of dissertation help is understanding what your committee expects of you and from the research process. The dissertation process, especially the defense, is, after all, an intellectual exchange that increases learning on both sides.

Examples from the “Checklist”:

• Why? So what?
• Do I believe it?
• Research aims clear?
• Literature reviewed/ critiqued?
• Theoretical basis sound?
• Appropriate methodology?
• Findings make significant contribution to the field? How?
• Any inconsistencies?

We know how precise a committee member’s questions can be. (It’s why we take all aspects of the dissertation, including the Literature Review and Methodology chapters, so seriously.)

4) “On the Dissertation: How to Write the Introduction” by Leonard Cassuto, from The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education has shown once again that it is deserving of the stature it has had for 53 years. This is a very concise blog post about dissertation introductions, but we are also linking it so you can use the five corresponding blog posts in the “Related Content” section. Together, these six blog posts give many important tips about the entire process.

Notice how one of the five related blog posts is how blogging helps the process. Writes the post’s author Maxime Larivé: “writing online gave me a feeling of accomplishment that is necessary for every writer. Short-term confidence boosts are especially helpful when you’re writing a doctoral dissertation or a book, which are lengthy processes that can seem endless at times.” Amen to that.

When dealing with a dissertation, more writing never hurts, and almost always helps. Because writing, once down on paper or pixels, can always be expanded and corrected.

5) “The No-Fail Secret To Writing A Dissertation” by Theresa MacPhail, published on

This is a very no-nonsense article. To her credit, MacPhail does not pretend that dissertation or thesis writing is going to be a fun process. Among her first instructions: “Disable your Internet and turn your phone on silent. Come into your writing space having already done the research you need for that day’s writing task.”

And then there’s the painful truth, that no-fail secret-that’s-no-secret (and the core of the advice you’ll get from any good dissertation coach): writing must be done every day. That’s every single day. Even when it’s nice outside. Even when you don’t want to. Even on Super Bowl Sunday, the Fourth of July and your birthday.

“Writing is thinking. It takes time and it’s supposed to be challenging. The biggest mistake I’ve seen most graduate students make is to mythologize what I call ‘the moment of genius.’ Because writing is thinking, brilliant thoughts do not just appear on the page after long hours of arduous musing on a subject. In my experience, the best ideas almost always come about through the act of writing itself—usually just at that moment when you’ve run out of steam and are staring down a seemingly intractable problem, desperately wanting to quit. These are the breakthrough moments. When you’re writing a dissertation, one of the most difficult intellectual tasks a person can do, commitment to the writing process is far more important than genius. If the smartest person in the world cannot learn to write, then she won’t be a successful academic. Period.”

And that’s why on those holidays we listed above, you just write a page. Just one page. What’s interesting is that how easy it becomes to write two pages after you’ve committed to writing one. That’s the bonus that comes from the pain of discipline.

6) “8 Tips for Writing a 210-Page Doctoral Dissertation In 8 Months” by Omar Abdullah, in Medium.com

We like Nos. 1 (“Write 200 Words Every Day”) and 4 (“Have a Routine”), but it’s important that we quote from No. 5, “Be Mentally Strong When It Comes To Feedback.” Believe it or not, but your carefully-chosen committee is going to morph from a group of professors you thought you knew to a group of frenemies.

Writes Abdullah, who uses the hashtag #200wordsadaykeepstheadvisoraway here: “Spoiler alert: Your advisors will tear your dissertation to shreds. That’s their job! They want to make sure that your research is up to snuff, so it’s nothing personal. I remember feeling humiliated when an advisor said that my argument was ‘overstated’ (which it definitely was) but I immediately went back and made changes within 2 weeks. Sometimes they might critique elements that you feel are non-negotiable, but remember it is just a dissertation. You can rework your analysis when you decide to publish it on your own. Make sure you communicate the expectations you have of your committee and what they expect to see from you. If there is a disagreement within the committee that’s for the dissertation chair to figure out — you continue writing!”

7) Our Website’s Dissertation Services

We are very proud of the comprehensive dissertation support services we offer online on our website, blog, and on YouTube. Our goal is to explain the entire process in detail, and to show that we can help you in a multitude of ways. (This blog is our way of showing that we understand the needs of doctoral candidates and care about their challenges and eventual success. We provide it as a free dissertation help service.)

Some highlights:

Topic Development: In order to develop a successful study, your research topic needs to be three things: clear, contemporary, and compelling. This means you need to present in your dissertation or thesis writing a focused and specific topic that has current relevance in your field. More importantly–and this is where compelling comes in–your topic should be one that has yet to be addressed in the existing research.

Prospectus: It can be helpful….to think of your prospectus or concept paper as a ‘blueprint’ for the study to come. If the foundation is solid, it’s easy to continue to build on it as you develop your full dissertation chapters. This solid connection between the core elements of your study (beginning with the problem, purpose, research questions, theoretical framework, and design) is what’s referred to as alignment. The earlier you confirm that your study is optimally aligned, the smoother the research and approval process moving forward.

Introduction: Throughout your introduction, we ensure each of your foundational elements (problem, purpose, research questions, and methodology) are presented in polished academic prose and follow all dissertation editing requirements per your university’s style guide. Discussion of all literature is presented in past tense, as you are discussing previously published work in your field. In contrast, any reference to your proposed study is presented in future tense to clearly indicate that this research is pending approval and yet to be completed.

Literature Review: The literature review has a two-fold purpose: to justify the focus of your study and to provide a rationale for your methodological approach. To do both effectively, you need to engage in considerable synthesis and critical analysis (terms you may have heard before!) of current research in your field. Synthesis will allow you to address inconsistencies in existing research and shed light on contradictions that point to the need for your study. You want to avoid summary of individual studies. While discussed in depth, they will ultimately be used to drive an ideas-based argument for your own original research. Critical analysis is necessary for exploring the strengths and weaknesses of recent studies in your field, particularly as those studies help you to better understand and discuss existing inconsistencies and conflicts. However, and regardless of whether you’re conducting quantitative or qualitative research (or a mixed methods study!), analysis is a critical part of justifying your proposed study’s methodological approach.

Qualitative Methodology: When you complete qualitative research, your focus during data collection (and eventual analysis) is based on language rather than numerical data. In other words, instead of using statistical analysis to make sense of numerical data, you follow a systematic language-centered analysis technique to make sense of various forms of data that are not quantified. This is why one very common form of data collection takes the form of interviews with participants, which are then transcribed for qualitative analysis.

Qualitative Analysis: Our qualitative research experts are highly experienced with qualitative analysis software, including NVivo 11, ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, and Dedoose. As qualitative research becomes more complex, with IRB documentation requirements, more participants, audio and video recording, data coding, and multiple levels of analysis, universities are encouraging students to use these software tools. As full service dissertation consultants, our expertise with these platforms allows us to help you with each stage of the analysis process so that your results are robust and provide clear insights into your research questions. We know that a clear analysis process and results discussion are the best way to get your completed research approved sooner!

Quantitative Methodology: In contrast to qualitative research, quantitative studies have predefined variables that determine the presence of relationships between and among those variables. In other words, they’re deductive, investigating “if” something already thought of is true. There are a couple of main strengths to a quantitative approach that we emphasize to our statistical consulting clients. First and most obvious, you can determine the statistical relationships between variables–something that is not possible in qualitative research, with its focus on perceptions and experiences of phenomena, rather than the phenomena itself. Second, numerical data are comparatively easy to analyze (as opposed to qualitative data), you are not limited in your sample size. This allows you to use large samples of randomly selected participants, which in turn allows you to confidently generalize the results from your statistical analysis to the broader population this sample represents.

Quantitative (Statistical) Analysis: Studies with quantitative methodologies have a number of possible designs, each of which must be articulated effectively in your research questions (and hypotheses), variables, and testing plan in order to ensure robust results. At Precision, we can assist you with developing a testing plan and performing your full analysis for each of the research designs–and we can also help you determine if additional testing is needed to guarantee compelling findings and faster approval. Our expert statisticians are proficient with virtually every statistical method and test across a broad range of statistical software packages, including SPSS, SAS, STATA, R, LISREL/AMOS/EQS, and many others.

IRB: For many of our dissertation consulting clients, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process can be tricky. This is because for doctoral research, the ethical considerations can prove to be quite intricate, particularly in terms of articulating a high level of care and attention to ensure that the participants themselves will not be harmed by the research aims and methods. The protection of participants from any potential risk is, in many ways, the core goal of the IRB and its approval.

Dissertation Editing Services: We’re extremely proud of our comprehensive three-stage dissertation editing service for our clients, and here’s a closer look at this support in detail:

• Sentence-level support, which includes addressing any problems regarding passive voice and anthropomorphism, as well as correcting any spelling, grammar, or structural issues within the text.
• Formatting support ranges from a standard review of the text according to APA 6.0 style (or whichever style guide you must follow for your dissertation editing), to closely comparing the text to specific university or publication requirements to ensure all guidelines are followed (e.g., correct order and placement of the text in all front matter and appendices, correct headings, margins, pagination, and a complete, automated Table of Contents).
• Reference audit support, which goes beyond the citation and reference formatting review per APA editing guidelines included in our formatting service, and requires a complete and thorough review of both in-text citations and your full reference list to ensure that any sources cited within the text are included in the full references (and vice-versa), as well as that all necessary source information is provided. As part of our reference audit service, we offer the following:

Dissertation Defense: It’s critical during your defense to include key (research-supported) points to indicate why your selected methodology is the best approach to explore your topic, for example, as well as the key findings that situate your study as a critical addition to current research.

Thesis Writing: Since many thesis projects include primary and/or secondary data analysis, we’ve become familiar with a wide variety of government databases, school-based data, standardized test data, medical data, financial reports, in addition to virtually every type of qualitative data such as interviews, focus groups, primary historical documents, and speeches, among many others. Regardless of your specific dataset or data collection instrument, we can import and clean (if necessary) your data, prior to completing whatever qualitative or statistical analysis you might require. We’re experts in quite sophisticated statistical analysis (including path analysis and SEM), as well as in-depth qualitative analysis protocols often required for exploratory or larger-scale research projects, so we’re well-equipped to assist with virtually any data analysis and results discussion. As part of our comprehensive assistance to draft your results, we can incorporate tables and figures, as appropriate, to provide clear visual illustrations of each of your key findings. At the end of this process, we would be able to provide you with all the files generated by the coding, as SPSS, NVivo, and/or pdf files, as appropriate.

Journal Article Assistance: This support takes two main forms: developing a publication plan and manuscript revision. Of course, we quite often work with researchers who are conducting new research, and can provide comprehensive support throughout the academic research process, including topic development, literature review assistance, methodological specification, data analysis, and interpretation. We assist hundreds of researchers pursuing publication with their qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies each year, in nearly every field and methodological approach. Our staff is comprised of specialist researchers with PhDs in their respective fields, including psychology, economics, healthcare, and business, to name a few. Precision’s comprehensive consulting and editing services ensure academic researchers can confidently submit their work for publication.

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At Precision, our team becomes the client’s team. We provide both research services and editing services, for both qualitative research and quantitative analysis. We outline thoroughly, and we are known by our clients as being a strict MLA and APA editor. But the important thing for doctoral candidates to know is this: a dissertation is not rocket science (unless, of course, it is ); it can be conquered. All it takes is will, and the ability to ask for help, for dissertation assistance. After that, it becomes a pleasant activity, and a forever-pleasant memory.