Doctoral Program Issues: Commentary on Companion Dissertations

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Author:

Beverly Irby, Fuhui Tong, James McNamara, John Hoyle, Rafael Lara-Alecio

Subject:

Social Sciences

Institution Name:

Connexions

Collection:

Connexions

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

Our experience has been that collaborative research models the teamwork required of leaders in schools. Doctoral students must have common goals and build consensus between or among themselves. They must know their role in the research and how it relates to the other researchers. These roles must be defined at the outset of the research process. During the dissertation process, these roles may have to be redefined. Just as knowing the roles of each of the research team members, the researchers also must know the strengths in terms of knowledge, research skills, leadership, and support of each researcher so that the research itself can become the best that can be produced. With teamwork being pivotal in collaborative research, we must address the definition of a companion dissertation, also referred to as a joint, cluster, collaborative, or coordinated dissertation. First and foremost, it is not a single dissertation with two names on it; rather, companion dissertations are characterized by collaborative inquiry by one or more students in which (a) each dissertation may utilize a target population with a unique study sample centered on a problem, a phenomenon, or a general topic of interest or (b) each dissertation may utilize two or more different target populations yet they may focus on the same problem, phenomenon, or topic. We offer five formats in which a companion dissertation can be conceptualized as one of the following models: (a) meta-analytic model, (b) multiple case study model, (c) evaluation model, (d) single case model, and (e) subsequent replication model.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Readings, Syllabi

Media Format:

Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0