Dissertation Solutions

Bradley N. Axelrod, PhD, is the director of neuropsychological and psychological assessment services at the John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He has published extensively in the area of psychometric analysis of neuropsychological and psychological test measures. He provides clinical training to psychology interns, and also provides research support to graduate students while serving on dozens of master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation committees. James Windell, MA, has been a court psychologist in the Oakland County Circuit Court’s Family Division in Oakland County, Michigan, where he provides group therapy for delinquents and divorced co-parents with high conflicts. He is the author or co-author of fifteen books on parenting, medicine, and high-conflict divorce.

Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Background
Chapter One. It Isn't Simply Hazing
Chapter Two. The Dissertation Process

Part II: Before, During, and After the Dissertation
Chapter Three. Don't Fear Starting
Chapter Four. Get it Out of the Box -- Work on it Early and Often
Chapter Five. Work Ahead
Chapter Six. Back it Up

Part III: Selecting Your Topic or Research Study
Chapter Seven. Use Coursework Strategically
Chapter Eight. Read Journals and Attend Conferences Aggressively
Chapter Nine. Investigating Faculty Members’ Research
Chapter Ten. Save the Nobel Prize for Later
Chapter Eleven. Pitfalls of Concurrent and Absentee Data Collection
Chapter Twelve. Pitfalls of Archival Data Collection
Chapter Thirteen. Maximizing Flexibility
Chapter Fourteen. Locale and Availability of Data Collection
Chapter Fifteen. The Financial Pain of Research

Part IV: Selecting Your Committee
Chapter Sixteen. Selecting Your Advisor
Chapter Seventeen. Selecting Other Committee Members (Part I)…Choose Who You Know
Chapter Eighteen. Selecting Other Committee Members (Part II)…Know Who You Choose

Part V: Preparing to Begin
Chapter Nineteen. Marriages Are For People, Not Work Products
Chapter Twenty. The Runaround and Getting your Ducks in a Row
Chapter Twenty-One. The Human Investigating Committee and the Institutional Review Board
Hurdle

Part VI: The Project: Ins and Outs of the Process
Chapter Twenty-Two. Managing Anxiety
Chapter Twenty-Three. Managing Indifference
Chapter Twenty-Four. Managing Lunacy

Part VII: Approaching the Defense
Chapter Twenty-Five. No Surprises -- Certainly Not During the Proposal or Defense Meetings
Chapter Twenty-Six. Preparing for the Defense
Chapter Twenty-Seven. You Know More Than You Believe You Know
Chapter Twenty-Eight. The Ruler Lady

Part VIII: Publishing
Chapter Twenty-Nine. Authorship
Chapter Thirty. Finding a Journal
Chapter Thirty-One. The Reviewers Said What?
Chapter Thirty-Two. Editors and Reviewers are People, Too

Part IX: Collaborating
Chapter Thirty-Three. Making a Team
Chapter Thirty-Four. Who is Doing What on the Project?

Part X: Wrapping It Up
Chapter Thirty-Five. Congratulations! You Did It! Now, Where do You Go from Here?

Appendices
Appendix A. Recommended Resources
Appendix B. References