Advising to Avoid or to Cope With Dissertation Hang-Ups

Abstract

This article presents guidelines for advisors to avoid dissertation hang-ups or. Addressed to fellow dissertation advisors, the aim of this work is to assist advisors in coaching their advisees so to avoid some classic dissertation hang-ups or, if encountered, to suggest some coping possibilities. Inspiration for what follows has grown out of experience in directing, serving as advisor, mentoring, and occasionally salvaging more than 50 dissertations at home and abroad. If the candidate has been accepted at a reputable graduate school, one hopes that a responsible judgment has already been made that he or she has the capacity to pass courses and a field exam and to generate a research proposal. Early on, the advisor and candidate may be able to enhance the prospects for completion of the dissertation by assessing the likely sustained personal interest of the candidate in the area proposed for research, appraising existent or readily attainable capacities for this candidate to pursue this particular research, and taking stock of the candidate's overall motivation to earn the doctoral degree.