Writing the Qualitative Dissertation: Understanding by Doing

My most ardent piece of advice is to seek out and surround yourself with people who trust and support the organic and often ambiguous nature of what you are trying to do. I consider myself extremely fortunate in that my committee is made up of women who believe in taking risks when it comes to issues of social justice, something I admire and want to emulate in my research endeavors. They offer the encouragement and support for me to, as one member often says, “take risks from a position of strength. ” (Kelly)

The first three chapters of this book include many conceptions of support when undertaking qualitative research for the doctoral dissertation. Committee members, chairs, and advisors have helped their students throughout the experience. Faculty members from other institutions have made their services available to novice researchers and faculty members less familiar with alternative methodologies. The annual Qualitative Research in Education Conference sponsored by the School of Education at the University of Georgia is a third means by which doctoral students and faculty members can find support. To address this important topic more thoroughly, this chapter begins by providing references to the books and authors the correspondents found useful while contemplating and doing their studies. Because I include this information within the text of their letters, the appearance of the references is neither alphabetical, categorical, nor exhaustive of all books available. Additionally, because I believe it may be useful to have this information in context, and in order to save you from searching the bibliography in the back for each individual text, I conclude this chapter with the full citations of each of the books the correspondents

-73-