Defending my Dissertation

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by truckie270, Mar 15, 2011.

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  1. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    I am defending my DPA dissertation on March 28th. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for navigating the process? Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Rehearse it a few times. Ask others to listen and ask you questions (even off the wall ones). More important - remember to breath!
     
  3. agschmidt

    agschmidt New Member

    Good luck! I had to do an oral defense for my MA. I only had two professors on my committee so it turned into more of a discussion about the process of writing the paper and what I learned - I had prepared to actually have them question my assumptions and findings, which they didn't really do. Of course, this was just for a master's thesis, not a doctoral dissertation, so I'm sure it is a totally different experience. I'm curious though, are the VSU DPA defenses conducted in person?
     
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    No advice, but I did want to say good luck!

    -=Steve=-
     
  5. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    I say just wing it. I mean it's only the culmination of your entire educational journey. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I've been told that if your advisor has done his/her job adequately then the defense should be a smooth experience. There will be questions but nothing surprising. I'm sure you'll do well.
     
  7. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    My questions were related to:
    Explain Power Analysis and how it played a part in my sample size
    What population could my generalizations NOT be applied to (response was related to foreign cultures based on different communication/cultural norms and styles)
    Why did I pick the statistical measure I picked and why were my results presented like "that" (samples size / df numbers, etc.)
    What would I have done differently?
    What are the stages of the "Uncertainty Reduction Theory" and how do you know you are entering and exiting each stage (I happened to mention the theory during a slide and they dug in on it)
    What are my plans for publication?

    That is all I remember - I kind of blacked out during a few parts due to stress!
     
  8. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    I'm a big fan of goat leggings, good friends and open alcohol fueled bonfires to set the appropriate tone just prior to the big day.. If you can get the local high school's varsity girls' field hockey team involved, that's a bonus.

    Wait.. dissertation, not wedding.. bad flashback..

    As others have said.. if you're ready, you're ready. Be confident that if you've made it this far your work will speak for itself. Don't contradict it.
     
  9. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Be yourself and they will like you for who you are :rofl:
     
  10. obecve

    obecve New Member

    It will be important to have your greatest concentration on Chapters 4 & 5. Be confident, you are the expert on your research area. Try to visit with your dissertation advisor a day or two before and see if they have any particular issues for you to concentrate. I used note cards to stay on track. Some people use power point.
     
  11. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Of course my defense was remote so I submitted my PPT and on my version I had all the talking points in the notes section.
     
  12. jayncali73

    jayncali73 New Member

    Congrats! I am awaiting my admission decision into the DPA program at Valdosta. Hopefully, I will be posting the same thing in 4 years...lol

    Good luck!
     
  13. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Wow, best of luck. Are you defending in person, or online? If in person, make sure you provide drinks and snacks. (seriously)

    Also, some people take "defense" rather too literally. If (I should say when) they start to criticize parts of your dissertation, don't become adversarial with your committee. Rather say things like, "with more time and resources, I could have explored that option" or "that would be a great idea for future research". The idea is you want to escape with only having to do minor changes, not an entire rewrite.
     
  14. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    I will flying down to Valdosta to defend in person. I have developed some good talking points for the areas where I think they may have some criticism.
     
  15. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I used those and "that was beyond the scope of this research but that is a fascinating concept". My response to why I did not explore how other cultures are impacted by communication frequency.
     
  16. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    If the dissertation defense goes like the defense of my proposal, I get the feeling that my committee's comments will be more focused on my research methodology and design than anything else. While my topic is not so specialized that the layperson would not be able to understand it, it is very industry-specific and will require a lot of explanation of concepts if the committee goes in the direction of questioning content.

    Although it would be my preference to talk specific content since I can talk all day long about my topic (fire service safety management systems through a systems theory perspective), my committee is very sharp and I think they realize I can go full-on "geek mode" and talk for my entire designated time (2 hours) if they get too deep into content-specific details.

    My methodolgy is sound, lit. review is comprehensive, and the results/recommendations are well supported and detailed. I also have some great ideas for future research that I can expand upon at length to further demonstrate my grasp of the subject.

    Thanks all for the comments. At this point, I am ready to just be done with this thing. They will not kill and eat me, so I am ready to knock it out.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2011
  17. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    There is a wonderful and terrible book called Doctor's Oral, by George Rippey Stewart (one of my favorite authors . . . "Storm," "Fire," "Earth Abides," "Names on the Land") who has fictionalized the process he was part of during his decades of teaching in university doctoral programs. Not pretty. But he confirms that, except for very unexpected developments, the decision has been reached before the session begins.

    May not be advisable to do what my wife did, at Vanderbilt. Her major professor said, "Marina Bear is here today to defend her doctoral dissertation." She said, "No, I'm not. I'm here to explain it. 'Defend' is such an aggressive term. Three of the five middle-aged white males actually liked that. The other two clearly had not read the dissertation and were busily paging through it, looking for something to ask about.
     
  18. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    Jay, I thought you applied and were accepted into the PhD in Management program at Sullivan University? If I remember correctly, you were exploring Sullivan and Capella. Anyway, good luck this time.
     
  19. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Just wanted to state that my defense was more on Chapters 4 and 5 - as well as my future plans. If you think about it, since the committee already discussed your methodology when you defended the proposal, you shouldn't get many questions there (Of course, each committee is different!) Good luck!

    Shawn
     
  20. jayncali73

    jayncali73 New Member

    Cyber:

    I did apply to Sullivan and was accepted but did not enroll. I decided to hold off on the Capella DPA and see if I could get into the Valdosta DPA program since it is much, much cheaper.

    I am following truckie270 as my inspiration! :smile:
     

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