COTIZ.!ICION·

Statement of purpose Research questions Definition of terms Limitations of the study Chapter 2: Review of literature

Introduction Summary

Use subheadings for major topics/theories. Chapter 3: Methodology

For quantitative dissertations:

Research design Subjects Instruments Procedure Data analyses Hypotheses

For qualitative dissertations:

Participants

Role of Researcher Information Collection Procedures

Information Analysis Objectives of the project Chapter 4: Results

For quantitative dissertations:

Descriptive statistics (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity) Reliabilities for your sample

Tables of data

For qualitative dissertations:

Data analysis and results, organized according to the research question(s) Validity/trustworthiness

Data displays (e.g. tables & figures) Chapter 5: Discussion

Implications

How your results advance traditional counseling psychology Appendices: Manuscript from you dissertation

IRB Forms

Copies of Questionnaires

Steps on the Dissertation Path

1. Get your stats courses completed ASAP. Keep in mind that if you plan on doing a qualitative dissertation, you will need to take an additional sequence of stats courses.

2. Read in your general area of interest. Book chapters are usually better at providing general reviews of literature than are journal articles.

3. Brainstorm ideas for research projects.

4. Talk to peers, faculty, advisor about your ideas to get some feedback.

5. Narrow your interest to a specific topic (this is harder than it sounds and crucial).

6. Identify research advisor and discuss the project. It is your research advisors job to help you turn your research ideas into a project that is practical and doable.

7. Download and review dissertation manual from the Graduate School. 8. Write your Research Questions and Hypotheses.

9. Review and make a written summary of the 5-15 most significant pieces of literature related to your key constructs.

10. Write a rational for your study and write out your research design.

11. Consult with your advisor and/or a statistician regarding your Research Questions, Hypotheses, Methodological Design and Statistics. Be sure that your Design and Statistics make sense given your research question and hypotheses.

12. Begin submitting drafts to your research advisor (expect lots of corrections!). It is often helpful to start with chapter 1, then chapter 3 then chapter 2. You will only need the first three chapters for your dissertation proposal.

13. Choose a window for your proposal defense, having a deadline is more motivating than not. Remember you cannot defend during the last 2 weeks of any semester, and that many faculty are not on contract to serve on committees during the summer semester.

14. Select committee- Your Chair or a co-Chair must be Counseling Psychology faculty members. Your committee must be a total of 4 individuals. At least 1 (including your chair) must be from the core Counseling Psychology faculty, and one must be from the Departments of Counselor Education & Supervision or School Psychology. At least one must be from outside the school and serves at the Faculty Representative. The Graduate School requires that your chair or at least one co-chair have Graduate Faculty with Doctoral Research Endorsement status. 15. Consult with your chair or a statistician for advice and troubleshooting on Chapter 3. 16. More editing and drafts.

17 Schedule time for your proposal-defense with committee members- this is harder than it sounds, stay flexible.

Essential Elements Checklist for the Dissertation

Chapter 1 ___Introduction ___Need for study ___Statement of purpose ___Research questions ___Definition of terms ___Limitations of the study Chapter 2

___Introduction

___Review of literature relevant to each key construct in the study ___Theory, relating to key constructs, underpinnings of your study ___Overview of available measures

___History ___Summary Chapter 3

For Quantitative Dissertations: ___Methodology

___Research design

___Subjects, desired sample size, effect size, power analysis ___Independent and dependent variables

___Instruments, reliability, validity, argument for the measures you chose to use ___Procedure

___IRB permission ___Data analyses ___Hypotheses

For Qualitative Dissertations: ___Methodology

___Participants ___Role of Researcher ___Information Collection ___Procedures ___IRB permission ___Information Analysis ___Objectives of the project Chapter 4

For Quantitative Dissertations:

___Descriptive statistics (e.g. number of participants, age, gender, ethnicity) ___Reliabilities for the sample

___Statistics are named, described

___Values needed for significance are stated ___Means, standard deviations clearly stated ___Results presented are relevant to the study ___Results presented in logical order

___Tables ___Figures

___Analyses address all hypotheses

For Qualitative Dissertations:

___Data analysis and results, organized according to the research question(s) ___Results presented are relevant to the study

___Results presented in logical order ___Tables

___Figures

___Analyses addresses all objectives Chapter 5

___Discussion

___Summary of findings, clearly stated ___Interpretation of findings

___How do findings fit with previous research

___Implications: theoretical, methodological, applications

___Limitations of your study: internal & external validity, measurement, statistics ___How your results relate to future directions in counseling psychology

References ___Comprehensive

___Includes only those references cited in the body of the dissertation ___APA style followed

Appendices

___ Manuscript Length Summary ___ Copy of Questionnaires

Cone, J.D., & Foster S.L. (1993). Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields. American Psychological Association: Washington, DC.

Department of Counseling Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Manuscript Length Summary Policy

The Department of Counseling Psychology is dedicated to the development of doctoral level graduates who make both applied and scientific contributions to their professional areas of study. Therefore all doctoral dissertations completed in Counseling Psychology will include a summary of the study’s findings. This summary will be written in manuscript format and should be suitable for submission to a professional journal. This manuscript summary will be a separate Appendix to the formal doctoral dissertation. The format for the manuscript summary will follow the current publication guidelines from the American Psychological Association, or guidelines recommended by the student’s professional organization or guidelines recommended by a professional journal to which the student would like to submit the manuscript.

Dissertation Committees may make recommendations on ways to improve the manuscript. Any substantive changes made to the traditional sections of the doctoral dissertation (e.g., chapters 1-5) following the dissertation defense, should be reflected in the manuscript as well.

Students are not required to submit their manuscripts for publication as a condition of completing their doctoral studies.

If a manuscript is submitted for publication, current ACA and APA ethical guidelines should be followed for the reporting and publishing of scientific information. This includes, but is not limited to, publication credit.

University of Northern Colorado Department of Counseling Psychology

Counseling Psychology Internship Readiness Form

Submit this form along with your Annual Student Review Form the spring semester before going on internship and return to your advisor.

Student Name: _________________________ Date: __________________ To students: Please indicate your activities for which you will be evaluated regarding your readiness for internship.

Goal 1: Students will attain competency in the application of three different therapeutic