Demystifying the Dissertation Writing Process
Patrice A. Prince
University of North Georgia; Gainesville, Georgia, USA
Writing a dissertation is the final task required to earn a doctoral degree. Yet, all too often doctoral students struggle with the process of writing a dissertation. In this workshop for doctoral students, Dr. Patrice Prince and will draw on her experiences as Dissertation Chair, Dissertation Mentor, and Methodologist to present a practical, motivational, and humorous talk on how to prepare for, organize, plan, schedule and write the dissertation. She will present an overview of the 8-step method dissertation writing system outlined in Peg Boyle’s (2009) book Demystifying dissertation writing: A streamlined process from choice of topic to final text. The system focuses on the writing process, on starting, writing and completing your dissertation successfully in a systematic way that maximizes your time and effort. The workshop will offer approaches to and ways of exploring your topic, and refining the scope and boundaries of a research project, writing the focus statement—a short summary of your research topic, and an outline for your dissertation. In addition, hints for effective reading and note-taking will be offered. This workshop will not address research methods methodology, or data analysis (although it encourages the participant to think about these in developing an outline).
 
 
Dr. Patrice A. Prince most recently served as the Founding Faculty Member of the Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration Program at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, Georgia. Prior to that she served as a Ph.D. Mentor, where she was responsible for helping doctoral learners to acquire the skills necessary for generating high-quality academic research and overseeing their efforts at writing and defending successfully their doctoral proposals and/or dissertations. She received both her B.A. in Interpersonal and Public Communication and M.A.Ed. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Dr. Prince holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Student Personnel Services from The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.
Dr. Prince has over 25 years of experience as a higher education professional in both student and academic affairs serving in such varied roles as Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at The College of Charleston, Founding Director of the Office of Student Activities at Spelman College, Director of Adult and Women Student Programs at Northeastern Illinois University, and Assistant Professor and Director of the Honors Program at Morris Brown College. She has also been the Principal Investigator for the first multi-year Ronald E. McNair grant at The College of Charleston which established one of three McNair Scholars programs in South Carolina to increase Ph.D. recipients among minorities. In addition, she serves as a Primary Peer Reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Prince is active in several higher education and student affairs associations and currently serves as a Mentor for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Council on Ethnic Participation Mentor-Protégé Program (for graduate students, early career faculty, administrators, and senior faculty).