Successful Dissertations and Theses: A Guide to Graduate Student Research from Proposal to Completion, 2nd Edition - Softcover

"Should save graduate students years, pain, and money."

"Madsen's book should be welcome both to graduate students about to undertake dissertations and to faculty needing to learn the role of thesis adviser. . . . Here one learns about long-term planning, avoiding self-defeating strategies, and negotiating with advisers. Model papers, shown at various stages of planning and development, clarify the steps. Madsen tells how to propose, outline, write, defend, and possibly publish a dissertation, information which should save graduate students years, pain, and money."
—Library Journal

Revised and updated to cover the increasing use of computers in research and writing, this start-to-finish guide to dissertations and theses is available for the first time in paperback. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of experience in advising graduate students, David Madsen provides a practical resource for thesis writers in all fields of study, including the liberal arts, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences.

Offering a comprehensive source of assistance, Madsen goes beyond other thesis guides—from topic selection and proposal, through the research and writing processes to the defense and subsequent presentation to professional audiences. With the help of many detailed examples, the author shows how each step can be confronted and completed efficiently and in good time. And he explains how to avoid the pitfalls of endless—and often needless—research and how to devise and adhere to a realistic timetable for completion.

David Madsen is professor of education at the University of Washington