"If you are a new doctoral student or a master student thinking about obtaining a doctoral degree within the next few years, please prepare for the live orientation session in August by getting a copy of one of these Lovitts & Wert booklets (from Stylus Publications; also available in the University bookstore and Library), and reading it. We think that you will want your own copy to keep notes as you work your way through your degree program.
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Sciences: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of biology, physics, engineering and mathematics, but also applies to chemistry, behavioral neuroscience in psychology, materials science, and nursing.]
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Social Sciences: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of economics, sociology, and the social science subdisciplines of psychology, but also applies to anthropology, education, history, management, and political science.]
Lovitts BE, Wert EL (2009) Developing Quality Dissertations in the Humanities: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence. [Includes specific advice for the disciplines of English, philosophy, and the humanities subdisciplines of history, but also applies to art history and comparative literature.]"
SUNY Binghampton's Instructions to Graduate Students
"Lovitts and Wert wrote Developing Quality Dissertations in the Humanities as a guide for both dissertation advisors and graduate students as they work though the dissertation writing process. The text is arranged in booklet format focusing on the intentions of the dissertation, rather than the typical procedural focus commonly found in 'how-to' dissertation books. This text will prove useful for new dissertation advisors and graduate students looking for very basic guidelines on the purpose, significance and quality expectations of a disseratation."
NACADA Journal
"These booklets are a terrific resource for graduate students who want to learn what faculty members look for in a quality dissertation. They will also prove useful to faculty as they convey explicit expectations to their students about a quality dissertation."
Karen L. Klomparens, Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Education, Michigan State University
COMMENT ON "DEVELOPING QUALITY DISSERTATIONS IN THE SCIENCES"
"I read the science booklet as if I were a beginning grad student and thinking about such matters for the first time. I was pleased-the booklet seemed like it was speaking directly to me. I found the writing to be crisp, conversational and compelling. It exceeded my expectations."
Louis Sherman, Professor, Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, and member, "Making the Implicit Explicit" advisory committee.
"These booklets are a useful tool for demystifying the culminating element of doctoral studies--the dissertation. I recommend that students use them to initiate conversations with their advisors about how to achieve high quality dissertations."
Chris M. Golde, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Stanford University, and member, "Making the Implicit Explicit" advisory committee.
