Writing the Dissertation Proposal

General Resources The following is a list of resources on writing the Dissertation Proposal. Though checked for quality, this list is not meant to be exhaustive; it is heavily geared towards social science writers, and is meant as a general purpose resource. It is not meant to replace or replicate the content of the DPDF workshops; it is, rather, an additional resource at your disposal. While some of the links below are html websites, many are links to Adobe Acrobat .pdf versions of already published material. I. Online Resources Columbia University: Guide to Grantsmanship: Proposal Writing Tips http://www.columbia.edu/cu/tat/careers/grants_writing.html Guide aimed at pre-dissertation and dissertation level grant and fellowship applicants. The page is organized in a series of tips and best practices and is a good springboard to more elaborate writing guides, which are linked to the page and organized in three areas: Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Przeworski, Adam, and Frank Salomon. "The Art of Writing Proposals." New York: Social Science Research Council, 1995. http://weber.ucsd.edu/~proeder/Proposals.pdf This work is geared for those in the social sciences, but it is still one of the best resources on grant writing in general. It is a Social Science Research Council publication and is closely associated with all the fellowship programs, including DPDF. The piece was first written to guide our applicants through the fellowship proposal writing process and to clarify some of the standards their proposals are expected to meet. It is the single most downloaded document on the SSRC site. “Berkeley-Rockefeller African Development Dissertation Workshop”, Institute of International Studies, UC-Berkeley. http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/DissPropWorkshop/ Website seeks to construct a holistic system with which to approach writing the social science dissertation proposal. The site adds to and hyperlinks Michael Watts’ “The Holy Grail: In Pursuit of the Dissertation Proposal”, an excellent essay on proposal writing. The website includes separate pages on Theory, the Research Question, Research Design, Background and History, Timeline, Budgeting, Concepts and Terminology, Style and the Bibliography. Provides sample budgets and sample successful proposals. An Adobe Acrobat .pdf version of Michael Watts’ essay is also provided on the Shared Documents Library. Writing and Presenting your Thesis and Dissertation, by S. Joseph Levine, Ph. D., Michigan State University: http://learnerassociates.net/dissthes/ Guide was created to assist graduate students in thinking through the many aspects of crafting, implementing and defending a thesis or dissertation. The guide is particularly strong at providing concrete examples to elaborate the various pieces of advice. It looks at many of the quasi-political aspects of the process. Such topics as how to select a supportive committee, making a compelling presentation of your research outcomes and strategies for actually getting the paper written are discussed. This is a companion to the “Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal”, see below.

x Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal http://learnerassociates.net/proposal/ Written by S. Joseph Levine of Michigan State University. Offers excellent advice on all parts of the proposal. Includes a sample proposal and links to other proposal writing sites.

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University of Texas at Austin: Dissertation ListServ and Resources https://webspace.utexas.edu/cherwitz/www/ie/disslist.html The strength of this website is the commentary from faculty and dissertation advisors from the various disciplines. The commentary is concise, to the point and clearly points out disciplinary differences and similarities. “The Elements of a Proposal” by Frank Pajares http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/proposal.html Very concrete and concise; delineates the technical components of proposals; emphasis on choosing the appropriate research methodology for your research question. Gillis, Christina M. “Scholarly Arguments: Strategies for Writing Persuasive Proposals in the Humanities.” Townsend Center for the Humanities, University of California, Berkeley, 1993. http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/pubs/scholarly%20arguments.pdf This is an excellent guide, contextualizing the political economy of proposal writing in the humanities. It does a particularly good job in getting writers to think about target readers. University of South Dakota: “Guidelines for Writing Research Proposals and Dissertations” by Mark A. Baron http://www.usd.edu/~mbaron/edad885/Dissertation%20Guide.pdf A very specific, step-by-step, guide to writing the different components of the dissertation proposal. University of California, Berkeley: Grant Writing in the Social Sciences http://www.ucop.edu/acadadv/ppfp/documents/grant-writing-socsci.pdf An excellent aggregator of resources; we have replicated many of the resources in this document, since some of the url addresses are no longer stable. Research / Writing Resources: General Purposes http://www.internationaleconomics.net/research-resources.html This is a great aggregator of resources for all writers. Included sections: Referencing Guides, Funding Bodies, Writing Guides, Job Market Resources, Software Resources, Working Paper Databases, and Journals. Even though the focus is on International Economics, the resources can be helpful to all disciplines. “The Art of Grantsmanship” by Jacob Kraicer http://www.hfsp.org/how/ArtofGrants.htm Solid overview of how to make the various sections of the proposal relevant to your research question. University of Wisconsin-Madison: A Guide to Preparing Your Doctoral Dissertation http://www.grad.wisc.edu/admin/academicservices/pguide.html#2 A guide on formatting the dissertation to ensure it adheres to standard practices and requirements. Grants Information Center http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/grantshp.htm (Links to Seminars and Workshops, FAQs, Funding Sources) II. Bibliographic Resources Frequently cited books; also reviewed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center: Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. Thorough and sophisticated treatment of the research process: moving from a topic to a research problem, building a convincing argument, drafting, and revising. Also includes a helpful chapter on "Communicating Evidence Visually."

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Locke, Lawrence F., Waneen Wyrick Spirdoso, and Stephen J. Silverman. Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals. 4th ed., 2000. A useful general guide for students writing proposals. Annotated bibliography; annotated samples of experimental, qualitative, quasi-experimental, and grant proposals. Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review 1998 Excellent resource to help think about the process of literature review. Thorough overview of how to visualize the relevance of the literature review section to the rest of the document and how to make it fit tightly. Meloy, Judith M. Writing the Qualitative Dissertation: Understanding by Doing. 1994. Based on a study of dissertations and on data collected from faculty and students. Shares their comments and offers questions to consider at various stages of the process in brief chapters that include "Selecting and Working with a Committee," "Preparing and Defending the Proposal," and "Connecting Focus, Literature, and Ownership." Rudestam, Kjell Erik, and Rae R. Newton. Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process. 1992. Treats the dissertation process from finding a topic to the oral defense. Chapter on results gives detailed information on presenting statistical information in tables and graphs. Section on process, subtitled "What You Need to Know to Make the Dissertation Easier," includes practical advice on managing time and dealing with writing anxiety, including "Twelve Tricks to Keep You Going When You Write." DeBakey, Lois and Selma. "The Art of Persuasion: Logic and Language in Proposal Writing," Grants Magazine, I (March, 1978), 43-59. The focus is on writing; the content is useful, detailed, and timely despite the early date of publication. *Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 3rd ed., 1988. The emphasis is on grant proposals, with a section on dissertation proposals; much of the material applies to any proposal. Useful "Checklist for Critiquing Proposals" (pp. 146-153) and "Writing Tips" (pp. 183-185). Other:

x Holloway, Brian R. Proposal Writing across the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. x Fred Pyrczak, Completing Your Thesis of Dissertation: Professors Share Their Techniques and Strategies

(Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2000). x Jacqueline Fitzpatrick, Jan Secrist, and Debra J. Wright. Secrets for a Successful Dissertation (Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998). x Hall, Mary, and Susan Howlett. Getting Funded: The Complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals. Fourth edition.

Portland, OR: Portland State University, Extended Studies, Continuing Education Press, 2003.