Transcript Slide 1
The Dissertation Defense 1 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Arranging for the Defense 2 Once your dissertation chair and the rest of your committee approves, you should arrange a date and time for your dissertation defense. Each committee member and the program administrator should be provided with a complete copy of the dissertation at least two weeks before the defense. You should prepare a formal presentation for the committee, and you should also provide handouts for other participants. Agenda for Dissertation Defense 3 Thirty minutes prior to the defense appointment, the committee chair and candidate arrive. In the event that another defense is in progress, the candidate should wait outside the presentation room (TE 110 or 117). Fifteen minutes before the presentation, or as soon as a previous defense concludes, the candidate should organize the media presentation. There will be a laptop computer and LCD projector available in the presentation room. The candidate should bring the presentation on a CD or USB drive. The Defense Process 4 At the appointed time, the administrator for graduate studies begins the process, and then turns it over to the committee chair. The committee chair welcomes graduate faculty, introduces the committee, and opens in prayer. The committee chair introduces the candidate to the group. The candidate presents a brief (15-20 minutes) summary of the research study. The Defense Process 5 The committee chair opens the questioning from the committee members. When the committee members have completed their questioning, the chair opens the floor for questions from the graduate faculty. Following questioning, the committee chair thanks the participants and requests that the candidate and noncommittee graduate faculty excuse the committee. The Deliberation 6 The committee is isolated in the presentation room or another location to discuss the outcome of the defense. There are three possible options: A. The candidate has successfully completed the dissertation process and no additional work is needed. B. The candidate has successfully completed the defense process and editing or other revisions are needed for the document to be complete. C. The candidate had been unsuccessful and the study will need major revision. The defense will also need to be re-attempted. The Decision 7 The committee and the candidate reconvene- either in the presentation room or another location as dictated by the scheduling of additional defense presentations. The chair presents the committee’s decision to the candidate. Any revisions are clearly articulated by both the chair and the committee members. More Details 8 Follow-up The committee may choose one of two signature options: 1. 2. The committee members may sign the page if the committee agrees that the dissertation is nearing its final form. The committee may choose not to sign until all corrections are made. In either case, the chair and the administrator of graduate studies should not sign the document until all corrections, revisions, and final editing have been completed. Electronic Submission of the Dissertation 9 Please use the following link for information about electronic submission of the dissertation to the Liberty University Library. Follow the instructions exactly, and if you have questions, please contact Dr. Tyler Veak ([email protected]. If you have left campus, please also contact the library about obtaining an ILRC deposit form, which is necessary to complete the process. Binding of the Dissertation 10 Follow the link for binding options from the link above. Select Heckman Bindery, and cover color 588. Select gold lettering for the cover, and have the title printed on the spine and the cover. Use the single sided printing option. You will need to have at least three copies bound, one for the School of Education, one for your committee chair, and one for you (I recommend at least two). In addition, each committee member may request a copy. Common Dissertation Issues and Problems 11 The abstract should appear immediately after the signature page. It should appear as one paragraph, and should be a summary of your entire dissertation (with emphasis on findings). You should not include statistics in the abstract. An example of a title page and abstract is available through the following link: (add link) The dissertation should be double-spaced throughout. Do not leave spaces between selections. Even the references should be double-spaced. Common Dissertation Issues and Problems 12 For most format questions, you should follow the Glatthorn and Joyner text, but please do not include delimitations in chapter 1. The “Limitations” section belongs in chapter 5, right before “Recommendations for Further Research”. Use 1 ½” left margins, 1” right margins, and 1” bottom margins throughout the whole document. Use 1 ½” top margins for the preliminary pages, for the fist page of each chapter, and for the first page of the references. Common Dissertation Issues and Problems 13 It is recommend that you use Times New Roman with 12 pt. font. This isn’t an absolute requirement, but it looks more professional than some of the other styles. Don’t try to pad the dissertation with superfluous information. As an example, just because you have ten pages of statistical information doesn’t mean that you have to include all of it. Include only what is necessary to explain your study.