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Studying the all-but-dissertation phenomenon Grosjean, Garnet
Abstract
When doctoral students complete all required coursework, pass the comprehensive examinations, and develop a proposal for an original piece of research which demonstrates their competence, they are admitted to candidacy. Because at this stage the execution and defence of the dissertation still remain, students become classified as ABD or All But Dissertation. Some never complete their dissertation, and never progress beyond ABD status. University administrators, the graduate programs they provide, the supervisors of doctoral students, and the doctoral students themselves, are all vested in the outcomes of doctoral education. Doctoral education is one of the primary functions of research universities. Yet studies indicate that only 50 percent of students who start a doctoral program manage to complete it. The reasons for this high level of doctoral student attrition are relatively unexamined: how and why doctoral students arrive at the decision to withdraw isn't fully understood. The current study addresses the issue by developing and pilot testing an instrument to begin investigating the All But Dissertation (ABD) phenomenon. When an extensive search of the literature on dropouts revealed little information on post-graduate attrition, theory-based research on undergraduate dropout was examined to determine its applicability at the doctoral level. Based on two major theories of undergraduate dropout, (Tinto, 1975 ; Bean, 1982) a conceptual model was developed to provide the theoretical framework for the current study. Five constructs - - Background, Environment, Organization, Attitude, and Intent - - were incorporated into the model in order to guide the investigation of the personal and contextual factors affecting doctoral students' completion of their programs. In-depth interviews, used in the context of the multiple case study method, were employed with six current doctoral students at the ABD stage to pilot test an instrument designed specifically for this study. A self-report measure of procrastination (Tuckman, 1991) was used in conjunction with the interview schedule to address psychological characteristics missing from earlier studies. The interview schedule and procrastination scale were not tested with any TABDs (Terminal All But Dissertation). Findings indicate that the instrument developed for this study is adequate for collecting data on ABD students enrolled in an adult education doctoral program. As such, it could prove useful to future researchers collecting data on the ABD phenomenon.
Item Metadata
Title |
Studying the all-but-dissertation phenomenon
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1995
|
Description |
When doctoral students complete all required coursework, pass the
comprehensive examinations, and develop a proposal for an original piece of
research which demonstrates their competence, they are admitted to candidacy.
Because at this stage the execution and defence of the dissertation still remain,
students become classified as ABD or All But Dissertation. Some never complete
their dissertation, and never progress beyond ABD status.
University administrators, the graduate programs they provide, the
supervisors of doctoral students, and the doctoral students themselves, are all vested
in the outcomes of doctoral education. Doctoral education is one of the primary
functions of research universities. Yet studies indicate that only 50 percent of
students who start a doctoral program manage to complete it. The reasons for this
high level of doctoral student attrition are relatively unexamined: how and why
doctoral students arrive at the decision to withdraw isn't fully understood. The
current study addresses the issue by developing and pilot testing an instrument to
begin investigating the All But Dissertation (ABD) phenomenon.
When an extensive search of the literature on dropouts revealed little
information on post-graduate attrition, theory-based research on undergraduate
dropout was examined to determine its applicability at the doctoral level. Based on
two major theories of undergraduate dropout, (Tinto, 1975 ; Bean, 1982) a
conceptual model was developed to provide the theoretical framework for the
current study. Five constructs - - Background, Environment, Organization, Attitude,
and Intent - - were incorporated into the model in order to guide the investigation of
the personal and contextual factors affecting doctoral students' completion of their
programs.
In-depth interviews, used in the context of the multiple case study method,
were employed with six current doctoral students at the ABD stage to pilot test an
instrument designed specifically for this study. A self-report measure of
procrastination (Tuckman, 1991) was used in conjunction with the interview schedule
to address psychological characteristics missing from earlier studies. The interview
schedule and procrastination scale were not tested with any TABDs (Terminal All
But Dissertation).
Findings indicate that the instrument developed for this study is adequate for
collecting data on ABD students enrolled in an adult education doctoral program.
As such, it could prove useful to future researchers collecting data on the ABD
phenomenon.
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Extent |
10197560 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-01-12
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0064460
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1995-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.