School Psychology Doctoral Program Dissertation Outline1 Final Version 6/2/2006 Instructions: Double Underline means the item s hould be a title or… [615026]

School Psychology Doctoral Program
Dissertation Outline1
Final Version 6/2/2006

Instructions: Double Underline means the item s hould be a title or heading in your dissertation.
Do not deviate from the order of headings unless explicitly directed to do so by your dissertation
chair. Do not limit the dissertation to these he adings, however. Dissertation resources are listed
on the last page of this document.

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION

The introduction describes the research probl em or research question and lays out the
reasoning behind it. This reasoning is sometimes called a theore tical argument. It justifies
the study, in terms of a need for the information it will provide, in orde r to develop or test a
theory or to understand, explain, or further describe an edu cational phenomenon. Refer to
the APA manual for additional information about the introduction.

1. General description of the areas of con cern – set the stage (3-4 paragraphs).
2. Significance of the Problem
a. Include explicit statement of signifi cance specific to the topic studied.
b. Why is it important to conduct the study?
c. This section will probably not be very long but it should be very powerful!
d. What theoretical/practical reasons are there for wanting to know the answers to the research questions?
3. Analyze the Theoretical Basis for the Study
a. The organization of the variables that will be considered to answer the research questions likely will have a theoretical basis. Explicate how the most appropriate
theoretical perspective helps conceptu alize the study. Competing theoretical
perspectives should be analyzed in Chapter 2 Literature Review.
b. Include theoretical definitions of important terms and all c onstructs (should not
include operational definitions that will appear in the methods section).
4. Synthesize and Critically Analyze the “Very Relevant Literature”
a. Make the argument for the dissertation usi ng the “studies in the existing literature
that incorporate all the major variables or constructs that are present in the
proposed study” (Rudestam & Newt on, 2001, p. 63). Figure 4.1 (Rudestam &
Newton, 2001, p. 64) provides a visual conceptu alization of releva nce of literature.
b. This may require examining the intersect ion of only a subset of variables and
repeating the process with a nother subset of variables because the literature does
not have all variables incor porated in extant research.

1 This outline was adapted from the Dissertation Outline pr epared by the Ball State University School Psychology
Program

5. Problem Statement
a. State the purpose of the resear ch explicitly and succinctly.
b. The introduction should lead up to and provide support fo r the problem statement.
6. Research Questions and Hypotheses
a. Ordinarily the researcher will have a few research questions, with a number of
hypotheses for each.
b. Do not operationalize variab les in this section. Use theoretical questions and
hypotheses written in the language of constructs.
c. A research question should (a) be in the form of a question, (b) suggest a
relationship among constructs, and (c) be empirically testable.
d. Hypotheses are declarative statements written in the expected or predicted direction (usually an alternate hypoth esis). Such hypotheses are called research ,
scientific , or theoretical hypotheses and are written in the present tense.
e. Example adapted from Rude stam & Newton (2001, pp. 67-68).
i. Research Question: How do adolescents with dyslexia cope with the effects of their l earning disabilities?
ii. Hypothesis 1: Adolescents with dys lexia who accept the diagnosis of
having a learning disability use more problem-focused coping strategies
than adolescents with dyslexia w ho reject or deny the diagnosis.
iii. Hypothesis 2: Adolescents with dys lexia who accept the diagnosis of
having a learning disability rely more on social support than adolescents
with dyslexia who reject or deny the diagnosis.
iv. Hypothesis 3: Adolescents with dyslexia who reject or deny the diagnosis of having a learning disability use mo re avoidant coping strategies than
adolescents with dyslexia who accept the diagnosis.
v. Note how hypothesis 2 and 3 are word ed so that the coping strategy
hypothesized matches the specific gr oup. Also note that terms are not
operationalized here.

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Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews what has already been writte n in the field on the topic of the research.
The literature cited should support the theore tical argument being made and demonstrate
that the author has a grasp of the major ideas a nd findings that pertain to his or her topic.
Refer to APA manual for additional inform ation concerning literature reviews.

1. Historical Background
a. Put things in perspective. This is more than just a chronology and does not
necessarily have to include every detail since day one.
b. What are the major issues, controversies, etc. that impact your study. Include
background on all relevant variables.

2. Theory Relevant to Research Questions/Hypotheses.
a. What theoretical models/perspec tives inform your research?
b. Compare and contrast competing theories and justify th e theoretical foundation of
the dissertation.
c. Describe how the theoretical foundation of the dissertation app lies to the problem.

3. Current Empirical Literature Relevant to Research Questions/Hypotheses
a. Include in this section:
i. literature relating to individual variables
ii. literature relating to specific combination of variables (specifically
examine background and relevant background literature as shown in Figure 4.1) relevant to the dissertation
b. This should be more than a listing of studies. What common thread holds them
together? Use transitions to effectiv ely tie one section with another.
c. Incorporate discussion of strengths/weaknesses of methodology in previous studies and which you are building on/ hoping to avoid/improve upon in your
study.
4. Use headings and subheadings liberally to organize this section. Consider making a
“concept map” of relevant literature for or ganizational purposes ( do not include in the
dissertation text, however). This section should be refl ective of deductive reasoning;
starting broadly and narrowing the focus as the chapter progresses

Chapter III. METHOD

The method chapter should give sufficient deta il about the methodology used that the study
could be replicated. Sections in a Method chapter often incl ude, but are not limited to, the
following: participants, instru ments, materials, procedure, and analysis. Refer to APA
manual for additional information concerning methods sections.

1. Participants
a. Human subject’s consideration and clea rance from IRB (IRB is submitted after
the proposal and documented as passed in the final document).
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b. Describe subjects in enough detail so the reader can visu alize the subjects.
Important characteristics should be delinea ted (often not available until after data
collection, these data should be presented here rather than in the results section).
c. Describe methods for sample selection in detail. For example if a sample of
convenience is used, this should be explicitly stated. Specific inclusion and
exclusion criteria s hould be noted in this section.
d. Conduct and report a power analysis to determine the sample size for the proposal. Keep these findings in the final document and provide an explanation if there are
meaningfully more or less subjects in the final analyses.
e. If there was attrition, state the numbe r of subjects who dropped out (or with
unusable data), the reasons for attriti on, and information about the dropouts.
f. Discuss handling of missing data.
g. If a survey is used report the ra te of return in this section.

2. Measures

a. If an unpublished instrument or new measur ement technique is used, describe it in
detail. Include copies of all unpublished in struments in the appe ndices. It is likely
reliability and validity analyses will need to be part of the dissertation when unpublished instruments are used.
b. Published instruments or techniques that have been used before should be referenced with appropriate citations.
c. For all measures, evidence of reliability and validity should be stated explicitly. If
this information is not available from prior studies, piloting of the instrument/procedures should be conducted. For all instruments, the researcher
should include reliability information specific to the study sample (Thompson,
1994).
d. Organize this section in terms of construc ts measured. For measures that include
several constructs be clear in describing the measure which constructs are assessed and provide specific reliability and validity data for the subscale.

3. Research Design

a. Include general description of the research design in accepted terminology (e.g., Cook & Campbell, 1979; Kirk, 1982). Incl ude possible threats to internal and
external validity of the chosen design.
b. List independent and dependent variables and their operational definitions.
c. It is often useful to include a diagram/figure of the design.

4. Procedures

a. Procedures should be describe d in sufficient detail, that a reader could replicate
the study if so desired.
b. If a survey is used, the method of co llecting data, the rate of return, and
description of the procedures used in follow up and a description of the non-
responders should be provided.
c. Copies of materials used in intervention, etc. should be included in an appendix.

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5. Data Analysis
a. Restate each research question and hypothesis.
b. Each hypothesis should be followed by choi ce of statistical analysis to address
each.
c. Include brief description, the assumptions regarding the statistical analysis that
will be tested, and rationale for each statistical technique chosen.
d. State alpha levels to be used to determine statistical significance.

Chapter IV. RESULTS

This chapter presents the results of the analys es, usually in order by research question, and
any results of further analyses (that is, anal yses that were not proposed but which were
carried out). Results should be presented with out interpretation; interpretation is reserved for
the discussion in chapter V. Refer to AP A manual for additional information concerning
methods sections.

1. Order of Presentation for Nomothetic Studies
a. Descriptive Statistics (includes means, standard de viations, frequencies, etc. for
all variables in the study)
b. Preliminary Statistical Analyses (correlation matrices, etc.)
c. Statistical analyses to answer research questions/hypotheses.
d. Note: for single-subject, small n, and qua litative studies develop the order of
presentation with the dissertation chair.

2. Statistical Analyses to Answer Research Questions/Hypotheses
a. Use questions/hypotheses as an outline to organize results.
b. Each question/hypothesis should be restated followed by the results of the tests of
assumptions and then by the data anal yses which provide answers to that
question/hypothesis.
c. Report statistical power of the test and effect sizes.

3. Organize Data into Tables and Figures
a. Each Table or Figure must be referenced in the text.
b. Tables and Figures should include comple te information so that they can be
understood without reference to the text.
c. Place tables and figures as soon after their first mention in the text as is possible.
Chapter V. DISCUSSION

Results are interpreted in light of the research questions and discusse d in conjunction with
other literature. Limitations of interpretation and implications for furt her research may be
presented. Refer to APA manual for additional information concerning methods sections.
1.
Summary
a. Summarize results briefly.
b. Discuss results in non-statistical terms. Answer the research question and
hypothesis
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2. Conclusions
a. Organize this section with headings
b. Explicitly discuss the implications of the results. Integrate your results with the
theoretical background and very relevant literature findings.
c. Relate to literature review – point out (a) consistencies and (b) inconsistencies
with results of those studies reported in the literature cited.
d. Did findings provide support or differ from extant theoretical positions.
e. It is appropriate to specul ate on the meaning of the results as long as it is
made explicit that that is what the writer is doing.
3. Limitations
a. A limitation is a weakness or handicap th at potentially limits the internal or
external validity of the results, such as using a sample with a particular
characteristic such as all males. Most limitations should have been considered
when the study was conceptualized. Therefor e, limitations in this section are those
that were largely outside the control of the researcher.
b. Often limitations include a statement of the generalizability of the results, controls
that may be impossible to meet, etc. Fo r example, if you must use intact groups
rather than random assignment, how might this affect the in terpretation of your
results?

4. Recommendations for Future Research
a. Provide specific guidance based on the di ssertation finds and they relate to the
extant theoretical and empirical base.
b. Why is the proposed research needed and what form should it take.

REFERENCES
APPENDICES

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7Dissertation Outline References

Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: De sign & analysis issues for
field settings . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Kirk, R. E. (1982). Experimental design: Procedur es for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.).
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, R. R. (2001). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide
to content and process (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Thompson, B. (1994). Guidelines for authors. Educational and Psycholog ical Measurement, 54 ,
837-847.

Resources

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Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, R. R. (2001). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide
to content and process (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn
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