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The guidelines and procedures for preparing and submitting a dissertation proposal in the Department of Educational Psychology. It covers the purpose and preparation of the proposal, the composition of the advisory committee and readers, the oral defense process, and required forms and procedures. The document also includes appendices with assessment criteria, proposal format, and review forms.
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Dissertation Proposal Guidelines Department of Educational Psychology
EPSY Dissertation Proposal Revision Committee
Natalie Olinghouse, Chair Melissa Bray E. Jean Gubbins Orv Karan Catherine Little Megan Welsh Michael Young
Graduate Student Advisory Committee
Donald Briere Cindy Massicotte Kelly O’Shea
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Dissertation Proposal Guidelines Department of Educational Psychology
The Dissertation Proposal Guidelines document provides the following information and documents:
Purpose of the Dissertation Proposal
The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal is to ensure that the student has a strong understanding of the literature and methods relevant to the intended study, and that the student has used this understanding to develop a high-quality plan for the dissertation. Specifically, the Dissertation Proposal should highlight the theoretical framework and the rationale for the study and incorporate established research methodology to address the research questions.
For the doctoral student, the Dissertation Proposal represents an opportunity to move from structured academic and research experiences to more independent, original research.
The Graduate School’s Standards and Degree Requirements provide the following guidelines for review of Dissertation Proposals:
Dissertation Proposals are reviewed with the following questions in mind: (1) Is the proposal well written, well organized, and well argued? (2) Does the proposal describe a project of appropriate scope? (3) Does the student demonstrate a knowledge of the subject and an understanding of the proposed method of investigation? (4) Does the student show awareness of the relevant research by others? and (5) Does the student consider how the proposed investigation, if successful, will contribute to knowledge? (http://catalog.grad.uconn.edu/sadr/sadr-page12.html)
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Guidelines for the Review of Literature
Preliminary Review of Literature
The Review of Literature (step 1) is an important part of the Dissertation Proposal. A thorough Review of Literature identifies the strengths and gaps in the existing literature, thereby providing justification for the study. Additionally, the Review of Literature targets the research questions and informs the dissertation study methodology, including the study design, the measures, and the data analyses, among other aspects of the study. The Major Advisor should ensure the student has completed a review of the existing literature prior to the development of the Dissertation Proposal.
Comprehensive Literature Review
The Comprehensive Literature Review (step 4) is written based on the Review of Literature (step 1) and overseen by the Major Advisor. It is suggested that the Comprehensive Literature take one of the formats below. The Comprehensive Literature Review should be available upon request to any member of the Advisory Committee or a Reader.
Dissertation Proposal Literature Review
The Dissertation Proposal Literature Review (step 5) included in the Dissertation Proposal should be a succinct summary of key points from the Comprehensive Literature Review (step 4). This proposal section should provide the context for the study and display sufficient evidence of the student’s depth of understanding of the literature.
Dissertation Advisory Committee Composition
The student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee is composed of a Chair (the Major Advisor) and at least two Associate Advisors. The Chair must hold Graduate Faculty status in the student’s Area of Concentration (AOC). If there is no AOC, the Field of Study (FOS) takes precedence. At least one of the Associate Advisors must hold University of Connecticut Graduate Faculty status, and at least one must be from the student’s AOC or FOS. If an external Associate Advisor is desired, the guidelines for securing this appointment (found in the Graduate Catalog http://catalog.grad.uconn.edu/advisory.html) must be followed.
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Committee decisions regarding the approval of the Dissertation Proposal as well as the Comprehensive Examination, the written dissertation, and oral defense of the dissertation must be unanimous.
Readers for the Dissertation Proposal
Upon preliminary approval of the written draft by the student’s Advisory Committee and approval to schedule an Oral Defense, the Major Advisor (acting on behalf of the Head of the Department or Program to which the student was admitted), in collaboration with the student, will select two Readers from outside the Advisory Committee to review the proposal. Readers should have a doctoral degree, and should have expertise relevant to the dissertation topic and/or methods. Readers may be within the Neag School of Education, the broader University of Connecticut faculty, or outside of the University. The role of the Readers is to serve as external reviewers of the quality and merit of the proposed dissertation. It is strongly suggested that EPSY faculty who serve as Readers and have Graduate Faculty status should be added as Associate Advisors for the dissertation.
When conducting the review of the proposal, the Readers shall use the Dissertation Proposal Reader Review Form (Appendix C) to guide their comments. Written comments, including a decision to approve or revise and resubmit, must be provided by each Reader to the student and the Advisory Committee prior to or at the time of the Oral Defense.
Oral Defense
After the Advisory Committee’s review and initial approval of the proposal, the student may schedule the Oral Defense. The student sends the Dissertation Proposal, which has been revised based on committee feedback, to the Advisory Committee and Readers and allows for 2 weeks for the review process.
After approval to schedule the Oral Defense, the student contacts the EPSY Administrative Assistant to (a) reserve a room for the date and time agreed upon by the Advisory Committee, and (b) provide the information necessary for notification to the broader EPSY community of the student’s Dissertation Proposal Oral Defense. This information includes the student’s name, program, Dissertation Proposal title, and the date, time, and location of the Dissertation Proposal Oral Defense. This must be completed two weeks in advance of the Oral Defense date.
The Administrative Assistant will notify the EPSY faculty and Ph.D. students of upcoming Dissertation Proposal Oral Defenses (providing the student’s name, program, title of Dissertation Proposal, date, time, and location) scheduled for the current week and the following week through email and/or the EPSY website home page.
Department of Educational Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Process
Steps Who Supervises (S)/ Approves (A)
Key Components/Tasks Details
Major Advisor (S) (^) • General overview of relevant literature
Major Advisor (S) • Preliminary Statement of the Problem
Major Advisor (S) (^) • Formation of Advisory Committee
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Steps Who Supervises (S)/ Approves (A)
Key Components/Tasks Details
Major Advisor (S) Advisory Committee (discretion)
Major Advisor (S) • Title page
Major Advisor (A) (^) • Dissertation Proposal ready for Advisory Committee feedback
Advisory Committee (A)
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Steps Who Supervises (S)/ Approves (A)
Key Components/Tasks Details
Advisory Committee (A)
Major Advisor (A) • IRB-1 protocol or IRB-5 exemption form and other required documents as appropriate to the study
IRB (A) • IRB-1 protocol or IRB- 5 exemption form
Major Advisor (S) • Dissertation Proposal Graduate School forms
Major Advisor (S) (^) • Data collection related to the proposal cannot be conducted until IRB approval (or exemption) is obtained, if IRB review is appropriate.
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1. Introduction and Statement of the Problem: - Does the introduction provide a general overview of the issues surrounding the study? - Is the problem under investigation clearly stated? - Is evidence used to demonstrate the significance of the problem? - Are important terms defined? - Are assumptions clearly stated? - Are major assertions that lay groundwork for the study articulated? 2. Review of the Literature: - Is the study grounded in a larger body of research? - Is the review current and representative of work in the area? - Are related studies examined critically and gaps identified? - Does the review provide a clear rationale of the study? - Is the review well organized, using subsections where appropriate? 3. Research Questions and/or Hypotheses: - Do the research questions and/or hypotheses develop a specific focus for the study? - Do the research questions and/or hypotheses support the problem statement and background sections? - Are the research questions worded so as to imply responses more complex than "Yes/No"? 4. Methods and Limitations: - Is the research design described clearly and appropriate for the study? - Are the sample and participants fully described? - Is the sampling plan appropriate for the study? - Are data gathering procedures fully explicated and appropriate for the study? - Are analytical procedures fully explicated and appropriate for the study? - Is the technical merit of instruments described clearly? - Are issues related to limitations and/or trustworthiness satisfactorily identified and addressed? - Do the sampling, data collection, and analytical procedures appropriately match the problem statement and research questions? - Are the instruments or interview guides acceptable and appropriate for the study? 5. Other Concerns: - Does the proposal demonstrate a high quality of written expression? - Is the proposal cohesive and coherent? - Does a consistent conceptual framework or paradigm unite the problem statement, research questions, and methods section? - Is the tone of the proposal impartial, unbiased, and scientific? - Are applicable support documents (appendices) included and satisfactory? - Is an appropriate style (e.g., APA style) used correctly and consistently? - Does the proposed study adhere to relevant ethical codes? - Does the abstract summarize the contents of the proposal clearly and accurately?
Appendix A Department of Educational Psychology Criteria for Assessment of Dissertation Proposals
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Students should consider the use of Appendices to present such items as instruments, consent forms, tables, figures, and lengthy descriptions that do not need to be in the body of the proposal. If any of these documents are lengthy, they may be abridged.
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Instructions to the Major Advisor: Complete the top portion of this form, attach it to the proposal, and share with the Reader.
Date: _________________________
Name of Candidate: ___________________________________
Major Advisor: ___________________________________
Reader: ___________________________________
Title of Dissertation: _______________________________________________________________________________
Instructions to Reader: Please rate the proposal on each of the following criteria. Please return the form to the Major Advisor on or before the Oral Defense date.
Acceptable Unacceptable
1. Contribution of proposed project to knowledge within the field. 2. Demonstration of knowledge of the content area and awareness of relevant research by others. 3. Appropriateness of the methodology to answer the research questions. 4. Demonstration of adequate understanding of proposed methodology. 5. Clarity and organization of writing.
Approve Revise/Resubmit
Overall Recommendation
Signature of Reader: _______________________________________ Date: ________________________
Appendix C Department of Educational Psychology Dissertation Proposal Reader Review Form
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Instructions to the Major Advisor: Complete this form at the Dissertation Oral Defense, give a copy to the student, and submit one copy to the EPSY office to be placed in the student’s file.
Date of Dissertation Proposal Oral Defense: ____________________________________
Name of Candidate: ____________________________________
Major Advisor: ____________________________________
Associate Advisors: ____________________________________
Title of Dissertation: ___________________________________________________________________
Status Result of Dissertation Proposal Defense Pass: Approval to proceed (no revisions needed) Pass: Approval to proceed (minor revisions—Advisor withholds signature) Pass: Approval to proceed (major revisions—Advisor withholds signature; relevant Advisory Committee members may withhold signatures) Resubmit: Revise and resubmit —all Advisory Committee members withhold signatures. This decision requires another Oral Defense. Students are allowed no more than 2 Oral Defenses of the Dissertation Proposal after an initial Resubmit decision.
Major Advisor signature: _________________________________
Student signature (receipt): _________________________________
Appendix D Department of Educational Psychology Dissertation Proposal Advisory Committee Review Form
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Instructions to the Major Advisor: Complete this form at the Dissertation Oral Defense, give a copy to the student, and submit one copy to the EPSY office to be placed in the student’s file.
Date of Dissertation Proposal Oral Defense: ____________________________________
Name of Candidate: ____________________________________
Major Advisor: ____________________________________
Associate Advisors: ____________________________________
Title of Dissertation: ___________________________________________________________________
Status Result of Dissertation Proposal Defense Pass: Approval to proceed (no revisions needed) Pass: Approval to proceed (minor revisions—Advisor withholds signature) Pass: Approval to proceed (major revisions—Advisor withholds signature; relevant Advisory Committee members may withhold signatures) Resubmit: Revise and resubmit —all Advisory Committee members withhold signatures. This decision requires another Oral Defense. Students are allowed no more than 2 Oral Defenses of the Dissertation Proposal after an initial Resubmit decision.
Major Advisor signature: _________________________________
Student signature (receipt): _________________________________
Appendix D Department of Educational Psychology Dissertation Proposal Advisory Committee Review Form
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT THE GRADUATE SCHOOL Unit 1006, WHETTEN GRADUATE CENTER 2nd^ floor STORRS, CONNECTICUT 062691006
Please follow carefully the instructions on the reverse side. Student’s name in full Mr. Miss Ms. Mrs. __________________________________________________________________________ Student ID # ___________________ Dr. First M.I. Last
Telephone # (______) _______________________ Email address ______________________________________________________________
Mailing address for reply ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Field of Study __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area of Concentration ( if any ) ____________________________________________________________________________________
Title of proposed dissertation _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Date by which you expect to complete and defend the dissertation ______________________________________________________________
Use of Human or Animal Subjects If human or animal subjects are involved in the proposed research, approval must be granted in advance by the appropriate (either Storrs or Health Center) Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). HUMAN SUBJECT means a living individual about whom an investigator either obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or obtains personally identifiable private information. ANIMAL SUBJECT means any live, vertebrate animal. For Storrs information, please see . For Health Center information, please see for human subjects or for animal subjects.
This research involves ( check as appropriate ): |____| Human Subjects |____| Animal Subjects |____| Neither Human nor Animal Subjects
If human or animal subjects are involved in this research, a copy of any required IRB or IACUC approval(s) must be attached to this form.
Student’s signature __________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________________
========================================================================================================= Signatures of each Advisory Committee member signifying approval of the attached Dissertation Proposal are required below: names printed names signed
Major Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ Associate Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ Associate Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ (Associate Advisor) ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ (Associate Advisor) ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________
========================================================================================================= Reviewed and Approved by the Department or Program:
Dissertation Proposal |____| Read by two reviewers Review Option ( check one ) |____| Student presentation to Advisory Committee and two reviewers |____| Review Committee
Department or Program Head or Review Committee Chairperson ___________________________________________________________ Date ________________________ Signature ========================================================================================================= Do not write below Received by the Graduate School ____________________________________________________________ Date ________________________ Signature
Whetten Graduate Center, 438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1152, Storrs, CT 06269-
Telephone: (860) 486 - 3617 * Facsimile: (860) 486-6739 * www.grad.uconn.edu
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT THE GRADUATE SCHOOL Unit 1006, WHETTEN GRADUATE CENTER 2nd^ floor STORRS, CONNECTICUT 062691006
Please follow carefully the instructions on the reverse side. Student’s name in full Mr. Miss Ms. Mrs. __________________________________________________________________________ Student ID # ___________________ Dr. First M.I. Last
Telephone # (______) _______________________ Email address ______________________________________________________________
Mailing address for reply ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Field of Study __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area of Concentration ( if any ) ____________________________________________________________________________________
Title of proposed dissertation _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Date by which you expect to complete and defend the dissertation ______________________________________________________________
Use of Human or Animal Subjects If human or animal subjects are involved in the proposed research, approval must be granted in advance by the appropriate (either Storrs or Health Center) Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). HUMAN SUBJECT means a living individual about whom an investigator either obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or obtains personally identifiable private information. ANIMAL SUBJECT means any live, vertebrate animal. For Storrs information, please see . For Health Center information, please see for human subjects or for animal subjects.
This research involves ( check as appropriate ): |____| Human Subjects |____| Animal Subjects |____| Neither Human nor Animal Subjects
If human or animal subjects are involved in this research, a copy of any required IRB or IACUC approval(s) must be attached to this form.
Student’s signature __________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________________
========================================================================================================= Signatures of each Advisory Committee member signifying approval of the attached Dissertation Proposal are required below: names printed names signed
Major Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ Associate Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ Associate Advisor ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ (Associate Advisor) ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________ (Associate Advisor) ________________________________________ | ___________________________________________
========================================================================================================= Reviewed and Approved by the Department or Program:
Dissertation Proposal |____| Read by two reviewers Review Option ( check one ) |____| Student presentation to Advisory Committee and two reviewers |____| Review Committee
Department or Program Head or Review Committee Chairperson ___________________________________________________________ Date ________________________ Signature ========================================================================================================= Do not write below Received by the Graduate School ____________________________________________________________ Date ________________________ Signature
Whetten Graduate Center, 438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1152, Storrs, CT 06269-
Telephone: (860) 486 - 3617 * Facsimile: (860) 486-6739 * www.grad.uconn.edu
