CHECK LIST

1 1. Find/Form a support group or dissertation buddy 2. Interview potential advisor 3. Pick your advistor and your topic 4. Refine your topic with your advisor 5. Select other committee members 6. Write a prospectus 7. Get permission for the study 8. Compose a timetable for completion 9. Create a work schedule 10. Make a mockup of your dissertation 11. Outline your literature review 12. Set up a dissertation filing system 13. Review the literature 14. Select your instrumentation 15. Select your analytical method 16. Draft your proposal 17. Submit and polish the proposal 18. Present the polished proposal to the committee 19. Defend the proposal 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 2 1 3 1 4

Months of the project

1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7

20. Make corrections to proposal, submit to the dean 21. Revise and expand the literature review 22. Pilot test your methodology 23. Adjust and refine your methodology 24. Schedule data collection, begin collecting 25. Score the data 26. Enter the data into the computer 27. Analyze the data 28. Interpret the results 29. Write up results 30. Update your literature review 31. Revise the proposal into dissertation format 32. Write your conclusions and implications 33. Submit the dissertation draft to your advisor 34. Present the draft to your committee for comments 35. Schedule, prepare for and take your oral exam 36. Incorporate changes from orals into the dissertation 37. Have your typist give the manuscript a final polishing 38. Submit manuscript to dean, make necessary changes 39. Resubmit the dissertation for publication