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I am really impress by the amount of information I found in this book that is helping me complete the proposal phase of my dissertation. If you are thinking about doing research or writing a dissertation this is the book to buy. This book will defently help you complete your dissertation.
This is a rhetorical view of how to write a dissertation -- no useless info like 'close the door to your study when the kids are around.' It's a strategic approach to composing a document we call 'dissertation.' No drama, just a frame for building.
At first I was skeptical about the book based on the title - sounded kind of frivolous to me, since I usually equate traveling with leisure, and writing my dissertation has been anything but a vacation - but I've since realized that it's the perfect metaphor for outlining the journey. This plan works for everyone, regardless of discipline. I am ABD, facing my 6th year of study and running out of time. Waters have heard them all and let you know right up front that excuses won't get the job done. Foss and Waters' methods are clear, straightforward, and I believe guaranteed to move you forward if you follow their plan and stick with the timeline. No matter what your excuse has been for dragging your feet in finishing your dissertation Dr. Although my dissertation chair has given me similar guidance, somehow viewing the process from Foss and Waters' no bull approach has been the push I need to move forward.
You can pick up the book and start wherever you are in the process. Destination Dissertation has proven to be my lifeline. Each chapter flows seamlessly according to the usual dissertation format. Foss and Dr. I think they should have called the book "Dissertation Boot Camp". I was so captivated by this book that I am working on getting the authors to come to my university to give a scholars workshop. This book should be required reading in all doctoral programs, particularly for students who are stuck in the writing process.
Graduate students who are at the start of their doctoral work will benefit greatly from reading this book. The book has lots of specific detail as well as some more general tips.
While there are many suggestions for how to deal with bad advisor-student interactions, I found little for good-but-confusing ones. The authors also include some key insights from Boice's studies of effective writing habits, and they present them in a less grating manner than Silvia's (How To Write A Lot). Definitely a book every university library should have on hand, but I returned it. (Saved by interlibrary loan, phew. I give the authors a lot of credit for their efforts to demystify the dissertation process. The suggestions for optimal communication with advisors did not look like a good fit with my section of my department. The guidelines on data coding and getting unstuck were not ones that I could figure out how to apply to my (quantitative) topic, but I can believe they help others.
If I could, I'd give the book 3.5 stars, and I may recommend it to others, especially people just starting grad school or trying to define their topic. (Note that I already had a topic and a nearly-finished proposal draft before reading it; I skipped sections on stages I had completed and most of the example material from other authors).The phase of dissertation work I was stuck in when I ordered it is something the authors think should take a week, not six. But since I've read that already and have Fiore's Overcoming Procrastination: Practice the Now Habit and Guilt-Free Play, I could not find much new in the book that I could use, even reading with a very hungry eye. I got much more comfort out of the suggestions for doctoral students tucked into the back of Krathwohl's How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. That book was a huge help in the week before my proposal defense).If you're in speech comm, linguistics, or the humanities, you might want to buy this book just for the comfy feeling of having examples from your discipline. Maybe the travel-guide tone was too Fodor's and not enough Lonely Planet for me or something. The book did not help resolve the particular scope, approach, or morale questions I was grappling with, but the caring tone and practical suggestions will no doubt help many other students.
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