INT OL850.OL2: Dissertation Proposal

We will meet regularly in a seminar format via Zoom. Of course, participation is the key to a lively class environment, and you will learn the most in this class if you are an active participant in our discussions. Typically, within a US context, participation includes dynamic attention and engagement, facilitation, contribution to discussions, and encouraging and supporting the contributions of others. It must be noted that there are factors relevant to cultural and educational norms around the world and in many sociocultural groups that do not follow these expectations. Thus, there is variability in how learners have been enculturated to participate in academic environments. With this in mind, students are invited to participate in this class in ways that they may not have previously experienced. If any student has concerns or curiosities about how this may be done, I invite and encourage you to contact me, the instructor, for ideas and support.

Your research questions will guide your dissertation. Questions must be crafted so as to narrow and focus the topic of study. In addition, research questions should fit the chosen methodology for the dissertation proposal.

You should draft an introduction and problem statement relevant to your topic of choice. Be sure to lay the groundwork of why the topic should be studied, the research question(s) you plan to address, and how you will conduct the study. The introduction should present the main issues hoping to be addressed by the study as well as the significance and potential impacts of the research.

You will be expected to complete the beginnings of an in-depth review of the literature relevant to your study. You will need to gather your source materials, read the literature, craft a list of references, and begin to summarize these in a manner that builds an argument in support of your research question for this draft. Information should be presented in a logical pattern addressing the issue or its context with thematic ties. In addition, the literature review should guide the reader as to how the information covered pertains to the issue under study.

This draft will need to include a description of your proposed methodology, including data collection from recruiting through recording of data, participant background and numbers, amount of data you intend to collect, transcription and coding processes you will follow, and analysis you will conduct. The framework should be an accepted one in the field and must be explained in-depth.

Every researcher needs to be able to present their dissertation idea succinctly. To do so, you will draft a short “elevator pitch” in written English. Based on feedback, you will create an ASL video version of this elevator pitch. These materials can help to inform your possible dissertation chair of your proposed dissertation study.

Using the drafts that have been produced, you will compile these into a draft document that considers the flow between the chapters. The draft of the Dissertation Proposal (concept paper) should adhere to the structure in Gallaudet’s Dissertation and Thesis Handbook. The proposal draft should be a carefully crafted paper that adheres to APA style formatting guidelines in accordance with the Gallaudet University Dissertation Handbook (2020). The proposal will be evaluated on a) inclusion of the sections, b) spelling and grammar, c) research questions and supporting framework, d) cohesion and clarity of arguments, e) quality of literature review, f) feasibility of methodology, and g) overall mechanics. There is no required length for the proposal.