EDDR 981 Qualitative Dissertation Prospectus

This course assists candidates in completion of their quantitative dissertation prospectus (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) under the supervision of an expert qualitative methodologist.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

The doctoral student will complete his or her dissertation prospectus with a specific focus on alignment among his or her research problem, question(s), design, and analysis. The final outcome of the course is a dissertation prospectus ready to be developed into a full dissertation proposal under the guidance of the candidate’s chair and committee member(s).

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

The Creswell and Poth (2025) textbook is used for this course and includes reviews of any readings necessary for the candidate to ensure competence with basic qualitative research. Additionally, the Saldaña (2025) text will be used as a supplement to the candidate’s primary design text for the qualitative data analysis and coding activities during this course and throughout the dissertation process. Finally, the methods text chosen by each candidate in EDDR 917 will be referenced as needed to ensure sufficient understanding of the chosen method is demonstrated in the prospectus.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate will complete the discussions in two parts. First, the candidate should post a new thread of 350-400 words in response to the provided discussion prompt. Then, the candidate should reply with 150-200 words to 2 classmates. (CLO: B)

Prospectus: Chapter 2 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the second chapter of his/her prospectus. Using previous course work related to his/her topic, the candidate will address any previous instructor comments. This chapter must be at least 15 pages and reference at least 40 sources. (CLO: B, E)

Prospectus: Chapter 1 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the first chapter of the prospectus, including all front matter found in the Qualitative Template. The candidate will revise and improve upon every section based on his/her work developed in previous courses and address all comments made by previous instructors. The chapter must include a minimum of 25 unique sources and accompanying references. (CLO: C, E)

Dissertation Committee Form Assignment

The candidate will complete the Dissertation Committee Form after creating his or her dissertation committee. After completing the form, the candidate will upload a screenshot to verify completion of the form.  (CLO: A)

Prospectus: Chapter 3 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the third chapter of the prospectus. The candidate will revise and improve upon all chapter sections developed in previous courses and address all comments made by previous instructors. (CLO: D, E)

Prospectus: Final Submission Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the entire prospectus, including front matter, references, and appropriate appendices. The candidate will address all comments regarding previous chapters made by the instructor. The final submission must contain a minimum of 40 pages and 60 unique sources. (CLO: E)

Quizzes (4)

Four quizzes will ensure a comprehensive understanding of the dissertation process, how to secure a dissertation chair/methodologist, plagiarism, and the Qualitative Dissertation Template. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, consist of 5–25 multiple-choice or true and false questions, and have either a 1-hour time limit or no time limit. Quizzes will allow 1 attempt, except Quiz: Qualitative Dissertation Template, which allows multiple attempts with the highest attempt counting towards the score. (CLO: F)