Dissertation 5: Chapter 4 Design

Dissertation 5 Course Description

Students in the Dissertation 5 course will demonstrate principles of lifelong learning by participating in and contributing to professional communities, which involves sharing thought processes and approaches to organizing and synthesizing large data sets. Course requirements for Dissertation 5 include: (1) developing a detailed design of Chapter 4 of the dissertation that clearly demonstrates the organization and logical flow of the content that will be included and (2) recording a video description of the Chapter 4 design to share on a discussion board forum with other cohort members. For both qualitative and quantitative approaches, Chapter 4 includes two distinct sections: (4a) Data Presentation and (4b) Data Analysis. The detailed Chapter 4 design must align with the structure provided for either a quantitative approach or a qualitative approach as described in the SNU Dissertation Template.

Before developing your Chapter 4 outline, use the SNU Dissertation Template to review the structure and content to be included throughout Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 to develop a solid understanding of what information is included in each section of both chapters. In addition, review the dissertation examples provided to gain a better understanding of how to approach the written content in the final two dissertation chapters.

Overall, whether you are doing a qualitative or quantitative study, the main goal of Chapter 4 is to tell the story of your data collection processes and findings in a logical, orderly way that flows well. Do not interpret or analyze your data. Instead, focus on objectively sharing, in detail, all the information you collected when conducting your study. Chapter 4 consists of two main sections: (4a) Data Presentation and (4b) Data Analysis.

• 4a: Data Presentation: The purpose of this section is to objectively describe the details of how your study unfolded based on your planning in Chapter 3. Do not interpret the meaning of the data collected, but rather present exactly what took place during the data collection process. The major focus in this section is to establish the context of your study. Think about anything that would help to set the stage for the upcoming information you will share in Chapter 4. For qualitative studies, include the research context, participant descriptions, and answer your research questions. For quantitative studies, include the research context and sample descriptions

• 4b: Data Analysis: The purpose of this section is to objectively analyze your research data. For qualitative studies, you will identify themes with supporting evidence from data collection and for quantitative studies, you will answer your research questions. For qualitative and quantitative studies, you will include a theoretical analysis and include each theory/theoretical framework component as a separate level heading.

Place a great emphasis on Data Presentation and focus on expanding this section as much as possible to establish the context of your study. THIS LINK explains more about context and why it is essential in writing, “Context clues in a literary work create a relationship between the writer and reader, giving a deeper understanding of the intent and direction of the writing.” Determine which contextual elements must be included in Chapter 4 to tell the story about the data you collected to answer your research questions in a logical, orderly way.

For this assignment, develop a detailed outline of Chapter 4 that clearly demonstrates the organization and logical flow of the content you plan to include. Your detailed Chapter 4 outline must align with the structure provided on the SNU Dissertation Template and include appropriate APA headings to show how you intend to organize your sections. Include an introduction paragraph, a short description after each heading to explain what content you plan to include in that section, and a conclusion paragraph.

Some additional resources that may be helpful to use include:

• TEMI Interview Transcription Service (for transcribing interviews)

• JASP Textbook (for statistical analysis)

• APA Numbers and Statistics Guide

• APA Formatting for Tables and Figures

• Statistical Abbreviations: APA Manual pp. 183-186