Foundational Components

As you begin to focus your topic and develop your study, it is essential to have an understanding of the foundational components of a dissertation as well as how each piece fits into the larger picture. The figure above shows the flow of the research study, and the DEAL courses have been developed to align with this framework.

In the first two courses, your goal is to become familiar with the research that exists on your area of interest and begin to craft a relevant, focused, and researchable topic. In the second course, Foundations of Research, you will focus on crafting your problem statement and identifying a theory or theoretical framework that might provide additional insight and perspective to your identified research problem. The three-part problem statement, with the incorporated theory or theoretical framework, will provide the outline and structure for writing the Chapter 2 Literature Review.

In the third course, Organization History and Development, you will have the opportunity to explore the history of how your topic has evolved over time as well as the social, economic, and cultural impacts on your topic. The final paper in this course will be the first 8-10 pages of your Chapter 2 Literature Review. Literature Review is your fourth course and you will complete the draft of your Chapter 2.

In the fifth course, Research Traditions, you will continue building your study based on your problem statements and theoretical framework. The problem statements set up the need for a purpose of conducting your study. The purpose statement is direct, 1-2 sentences, and succinctly states the specific intent of your study. The research questions focus on how the purpose of the study can be accomplished and the types of questions asked determine the research approach: qualitative or quantitative.

In the seventh and eight course, Qualitative and Quantitative Research, you will further narrow your focus by selecting a qualitative or quantitative research design. Quantitative designs include descriptive (survey), correlation (regression), quasi-experimental (causal-comparative), and experimental. For this purposes of this program, you will either choose a correlation/regression design or quasi-experimental design. Qualitative designs include case study, narrative inquiry, phenomenology, ethnography, and grounded theory. Again, for the purposes of this program, you can choose a case study, narrative inquiry, or phenomenology. You will create a fully developed qualitative Chapter 3 and quantitative Chapter 3 and then you will chose which direction you'd like to pursue for your dissertation proposal.