Quantitative Dissertation Checklist

Quantitative Dissertation Checklist

• The following provides guidance for reporting on quantitative studies.
• All items may not be relevant to your particular study; please consult with your chair for guidance.
• The checklist items may not necessarily be in the order that works best for your dissertation. Please consult with your committee; however, the checklist should work well in the absence of other considerations.
• Instructions for Students:
  • Indicate on the checklist the page number (use the actual document page number, not the MS Word pagination) where the appropriate indicator is located.
  • Respond to comments from the chair and/or URR comments in the comment history box. Do not delete previous comments¾just add your response and use some means to clearly identify your remarks (different font/bold/italics/color).
• Instructions for the chair and/or URR
  • Provide specific feedback in the comment history column. Do not delete previous comments¾just add your response and use some means to clearly identify your remarks (different font/bold/italics/color).
  • If you made detailed comments on the draft (using track changes and comments), you can make reference to the draft rather than restate everything in the checklist comment history section.

Date: (click here and type today’s date ®)             

 

Student’s Name:                                                                   Student ID (for office use only) —          

School: (click here and pull down to select school name ®)       

 

Committee Members’ Names:

Chairperson

Member

University Research Reviewer

 

 

 

Front Matter
Checklist Items	Comment History
Title [Insert Dissertation Title]
Type of relationship between variables.
Key variables (independent and dependent).
Applicable population.
Abstract
Describe the research problem and why it is important.
Identify the purpose of the study.
State the theoretical foundations and/or conceptual frameworks, as appropriate.
Summarize the key research question(s).
Describe, concisely, the overall research design, methods, and data analysis procedures.
Identify key results, conclusions, and recommendations that capture the heart of the research (for the final study only).
Conclude with a statement on the implications for positive social change.

 

CHAPTER 1
Checklist Items	Pg/NA	Comment History
Introduction
Describe the topic of the study, why the study needs to be conducted, and the potential positive social change implications of the study
Preview major sections of the chapter

 

 

Background
Briefly summarize research literature related to the scope of the study topic
Describe a gap in knowledge in the discipline the study will address
End the section on why the study is needed
Problem Statement
State the research problem
Summarize evidence of consensus that the problem is current, relevant, and significant to the discipline
Frame the problem in a way that builds upon or counters previous research findings focusing primarily on research conducted in the last five years
Address a meaningful gap in the current research literature
Purpose of the StudyProvide a concise statement that serves as the connection between the problem being addressed and the focus of the study. The purpose contains:
Indication that this is a quantitative study.
The study intent (such as describe, compare, correlate, explore, and develop).The independent, dependent, and covariate variables.
Research Question(s) and Hypotheses
State the research questions.
State the null and alternative hypotheses that identify the independent and dependent variables being studied, the association being tested, and how the variables are being measured.

 

 

Theoretical and/or Conceptual Framework for the Study Studies must include either a theoretical foundation or a conceptual framework section or both.
Theoretical Foundation
Identify the theory or theories and provide the origin or source.
State concisely the major theoretical propositions and/or major hypotheses with a reference to more detailed explanation in chapter 2.
Explain how the theory relates to the study approach and research questions.
Conceptual FrameworkThis applies to some epidemiological studies (as well as to some other quantitative studies).
Identify and define the concept and/or phenomenon that grounds the study.
Concisely describe the conceptual framework (a description of the body of research that supports the need for the study) as derived from the literature with more detailed analysis in chapter 2.
State the logical connections among key elements of the framework with a reference to a more thorough explanation in chapter 2.
State how the framework relates to the study approach and key research questions, as well as to instrument development and data analysis, where appropriate.
Nature of the Study
Provide a concise rationale for selection of the design and/ or tradition.
Briefly describe the key study variables (independent, dependent, and covariates).
Briefly summarize the methodology (from whom and how data are collected and how data will be analyzed).

 

 

Definitions
Provide concise definitions of the independent variable, dependent variable(s), and any covariates (with more detailed analysis of coding, etc.  described in chapter 3).
Define terms used in the study that have multiple meanings (e.g., socioeconomic status, educator, health service professional, etc.). Do not include common terms or terms that can easily be looked up in a dictionary.
Include citations that identify support in the professional literature for the definition or operational definition.
Assumptions
Clarify aspects of the study that are believed but cannot be demonstrated to be true. Only include assumptions critical to the meaningfulness of the study.
Describe the reasons why the assumption(s) was (were) necessary in the context of the study.
Scope and Delimitations
Describe specific aspects of the research problem that are addressed in the study and why the specific focus was chosen (issue of internal validity).
Define the boundaries of the study by identifying populations included and excluded and theories and/or conceptual frameworks most related to the area of study that were not investigated (this is an issue of external validity).
Address potential generalizability.

 

 

Limitations
Describe limitations of the study related to design and/or methodological weaknesses (including issues related to limitations of internal and external validity, construct validity, and confounder variables).
Describe any biases that could influence study outcomes and how they are addressed.
Describe reasonable measures to address limitations.
Significance
Identify potential contributions of the study that advance knowledge in the discipline. This is an elaboration of what the problem addresses.
Identify potential contributions of the study that advance practice and/or policy, as applicable.
Describe potential implications for positive social change that are consistent with and bounded by the scope of the study.
Summary
Summarize main points of the chapter.
Provide transition to chapter 2.

 

CHAPTER 2
Checklist Items	Pg/NA	Comment History
Introduction
Restate the problem and the purpose.
Provide a concise synopsis of the current literature that establishes the relevance of the problem.
Preview major sections of the chapter.

 

 

Literature Search Strategy
List accessed library databases and search engines used.
List key search terms and combinations of search terms (with more detailed search terms located in an appendix, if appropriate).
Describe scope of literature review in terms of years searched as well as types of literature and sources searched, including seminal literature as well as current peer-reviewed literature.
In cases where there is little current research, and few (if any) dissertations and/or conference proceedings, describe how this was handled.
Theoretical Foundation
Name the theory or theories.
Provide origin or source of the theory.
Describe major theoretical propositions and/or major hypotheses, including delineation of any assumptions appropriate to the application of the theory.
Provide a literature- and research- based analysis of how the theory has been applied previously in ways similar to the current study.
Provide the rationale for the choice of this theory.
Describe how and why the selected theory relates to the present study and how the research questions relate to, challenge, or build upon existing theory.

 

 

Conceptual Framework (As appropriate)
Identify and define the concept and/or phenomenon.

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