The significance of a doctoral student’s completed dissertation is of immense importance both to the field and student. The dissertation not only signifies the candidate’s ability to perform independent research, it also confirms the... more
The significance of a doctoral student’s completed dissertation is of immense importance both to
the field and student. The dissertation not only signifies the candidate’s ability to perform independent
research, it also confirms the candidate’s ability to provide original contributions to
knowledge. This study examines the dissertation topic selection process of doctoral educational
leadership students in order to understand what influences the student’s dissertation topic selection.
The emerging approach of Dynamic Network Analysis (DNA) was used to examine the
interactions between task, belief, resource and knowledge in determining students’ choice. Data
was analyzed using the Organizational Risk Analyzers’ (ORA) software measures of Newman
Grouping, centrality betweenness, cognitive demand, knowledge exclusivity, resource exclusivity,
eigenvector centrality, and total degree centrality. The results suggest that topic selection is
influenced by faculty member’s research agenda, departmental core courses, and network factors
like professional experience, life experience, and practical experience. This result will help doctoral
students understand the influences of mentor and adviser’s research interest, departmental
core courses, professional experiences and life experiences as they navigate through dissertation
topic selection and research.
the field and student. The dissertation not only signifies the candidate’s ability to perform independent
research, it also confirms the candidate’s ability to provide original contributions to
knowledge. This study examines the dissertation topic selection process of doctoral educational
leadership students in order to understand what influences the student’s dissertation topic selection.
The emerging approach of Dynamic Network Analysis (DNA) was used to examine the
interactions between task, belief, resource and knowledge in determining students’ choice. Data
was analyzed using the Organizational Risk Analyzers’ (ORA) software measures of Newman
Grouping, centrality betweenness, cognitive demand, knowledge exclusivity, resource exclusivity,
eigenvector centrality, and total degree centrality. The results suggest that topic selection is
influenced by faculty member’s research agenda, departmental core courses, and network factors
like professional experience, life experience, and practical experience. This result will help doctoral
students understand the influences of mentor and adviser’s research interest, departmental
core courses, professional experiences and life experiences as they navigate through dissertation
topic selection and research.
