Doctoral Support Center & Doctoral Programming Blog

Ed.D. Dissertation Submission Workshop - March 1, 2010

The Ed.D. Program Office will be hosting a second Dissertation Submission Workshop on Monday, March 1 from 4:00 – 5:30 PM in Von Kleinsmid Center (VKC) 100.

At this event, we will review all dissertation paperwork, submission deadlines, and the Graduate School profile website. There will also be presentations about the Doctoral Support Center’s role in the dissertation process and what the Graduate School will need from you. Many of your dissertation-related questions will be answered at the workshop. You do not need to RSVP for the event.

Presentation Reminder: Mock Dissertation Defense: March 1, 2010

Are you wondering how you can best prepare for your dissertation defense?

Join us for this presentation! The mock defense presentation addresses how to organize your ideas in a coherent manner covered in your dissertation chapters with a focus on Chapters 4 and 5, as well as what to expect during your dissertation defense.

Monday, March 1, 2010, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm. MRF 204

Institutional Review Board

Well it is that time of year. It is the time when many second year EDD students are beginning to seriously contemplate what they would like to research for their dissertation. While choosing a topic is never easy, it is important to plan ahead especially if your dissertation will involve human subjects.

If your research will involve human subjects than obtaining IRB approval before you carry out your research will be essential and is one more step to consider in the process of completing your degree. Additionally, because it generally takes at least three weeks to obtain IRB approval,  it is recommended that you plan ahead.

As the IRB advisor, I am here to help you get through the process, which can be very straightforward if everything is done correctly. However, similar to many of the other degree requirements, you need to be aware of what is expected of you in order to make your life easier and thus ensuring that you are on the fast track to obtaining your degree.

If you have any questions about your IRB application do not hesitate to contact me at: kevin.collins@usc.edu or call me at: 213-740-4267. My office is located in the Doctoral Support Center in Suite 402. I look forward to talking further with you...

Welcome Kevin

The Doctoral Support Center is pleased to welcome a new staff member to our team. Kevin Collins will serve as the DSC's Institutional Review Board (IRB) adviser.  Prior to coming to USC, Kevin worked in K-12 and higher education for the past seven years in a variety of different capacities including as a college administrator, classroom teacher and educational consultant.

Currently, Kevin is also an advanced Ph.D. Student in Higher Education at the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Prior to beginning his tenure at Claremont, Kevin earned an advanced masters degree in Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a masters degree in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and a Bachelors degree in Social Studies Education from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He is also a credentialed English and Social Studies teacher in the state of California.

Throughout his graduate career, Kevin’s research interests have included the following: the history of the honors movement in American Higher Education, the founding and rise to prominence of community college honors programs, the ability of community college students as well as graduates of honors program students to gain access to elite public and private colleges and universities, and the special programs available for gifted and talented students in both K-12 and higher education.

Kevin’s dissertation will be a multi-disciplinary analysis that examines the historical origins of the free speech movement in higher education (including academic freedom and speech codes). At the same time he will also investigate the modern legal and public policy implications of the relevant Supreme Court decisions with the intended goal to clarify the constitutional frameworks and tests that have been provided by the courts to deal with issues of free speech on college campuses. It is Kevin’s goal that his dissertation will provide clarity and direction to higher education administrators with regards to the free speech dilemmas as well as how to properly address them when they arise.

Reminder: Ref Works Presentation is Tomorrow

 

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RefWorks -- an online research management, writing and collaboration tool -- is designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. The workshop will be tomorrow February 24, from 3:00pm to 4:00pm in MRF 204. Please remember to RSVP: rsoedsc@usc.edu

Presentation will also be available online

 

Presentation: Using RefWorks - Wednesday, Feb. 24

The DSC will be sponsoring our own Refworks presentation Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm, MRF 204.

Learn how to manage your research better!  RefWorks -- an online research management, writing and collaboration tool -- is designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies.

At this presentation you will learn how to:

• • Get your references into RefWorks
  • Both direct export, using BibTex to import, and manually inputting.
  • Organize references into folders
  • Use Write-N-Cite to do in-text citations.
  • De-duplicate reference list and creating shared work folders
  • Share References
  • Format Bibliographies and Manuscripts in Seconds
  • Change Formats (say, APA to MLA style) Quickly and Easily

Please RSVP: rsoedsc@usc.edu

Reminder Writing Group Workshop 27 and 28 February

Reminder the Writing Group Workshop will take place on the 27th and 28th of February.  We will be located in WPH Rm. B49 from 8 to 5 pm. Please remember to bring your Student ID to access the building on the weekend.  This will be the first Sunday we will be trying to access the building.  So I will be keeping an eye out for any problems on Sunday morning.

If you have not attended before please RSVP to Linda at lfischer@usc.edu.

Write On and Fight On! Linda

 

REMINDER: Literature Review Presentation TODAY!

Are you wondering, worrying about or stuck as you work on your literature review?

Synthesize, synthesize, synthesize the literature, huh? Come and find out what we mean by, "Don't just describe the research, theories, ideas, etc... but critically analyze and synthesize such sources."

The Doctoral Support Center (DSC) is offering our Spring presentation writing Literature Reviews:

Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm, MRF 204

Presentation will also be available online through Blackboard OnDemand.

ODA Application Deadline Extended to Monday, Noon!

Don't forget to get your application in for the Spring semester Operation Dissertation Acceleration (ODA) by Friday, February 19, 2010 Monday, February 22, at 12 noon.

What's ODA?

ODA is an all inclusive residential writing retreat. It's designed for doctoral students who need / want to set aside a serious block of time to make a significant push toward the next step of their dissertation.

The retreat is targeted toward students who:

• Have research question(s) but have not been able to complete chapters 1, 2 and 3 (the proposal); OR
• Have defended their proposal and collected data, but have not completed chapters 4 and 5.

Retreat participants will be selected and assigned to work directly with a DSC writing instructor. The ratio of advisor to students will be 1-to-4, meaning students will have a great deal of support and interaction on their project. In addition, participants will exchange papers and support each other through peer-to-peer feedback.

• Workshop Dates: Thursday March 25 - Sunday March 28, 2010
• Application Deadline: February 19, 2010
• Acceptance Notification: February 26, 2010
• Fee: $1500*
  First deposit due : 3/5/10 - $750
  Second deposit due: 3/19/10 - $750
  (*The first 8 students to register will receive a $400 scholarship and pay only $550 on each due date)

Apply early and the first eight applicants will receive a $400.00 scholarship that lowers the costs of the dissertation writing retreat to $1100.00. (This amount pays for the residential component of the retreat which is lodging, meals, and retreat logistical fees.)

If you are interested in  testimonials of past dissertation writing retreat participants please access the following online-presentation here. You will need to enter the username and password:

Username: rsoedoctoral

Password: doctoral1234

Operation Dissertation Acceleration (ODA) 2007 Testimonials Link.

Applications may be here: Download.

For more information email Dr. Ilda Jimenez y West.

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Photo attribution: / CC BY 2.0

Presentations: How to Write a Literature Review

Are you wondering, worrying about or stuck as you work on your literature review?

Synthesize, synthesize, synthesize the literature, huh? Come and find out what we mean by, "Don't just describe the research, theories, ideas, etc... but critically analyze and synthesize such sources."

The Doctoral Support Center (DSC) is offering our Spring presentation writing Literature Reviews:

Saturday, February 13, 2010, 10:00 am - 12:00 Noon, WPH B49
Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm, MRF 204

Presentation will also be available online through Blackboard OnDemand.

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Photo attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/candiedwomanire/ / CC BY-SA 2.0