THESIS

Master of Arts Graduate Program in Communication and Leadership

Program Director, Dr. J. M. Noe

 

Capstone

Advisor Selection - Comprehensive Exams - Defense of Thesis or Project

Capstone for Aitken's Advisees: Reflection or Project or Thesis

 

Communication and Leadership Pages

General Info: Books & Course Materials - Courses to Take Next - Ethics - Expectations of Students - Facebook Group - Graduation Faculty and Staff - Home - Online Learning Help - Program Requirements - Registration - Success for Grad Students

 

 

NOTE:  Faculty are not on staff during the summer term.  I will be happy to help you any way I can, but realize that your committee may not be available to read your work or meet during the summer. 

 

Please read this information carefully and talk to me about any questions.  Please call me (Joan Aitken) every couple weeks by phone.

 

TERM 1 PROPOSAL DEADLINE week 6:  Your final thesis proposal is due, which you need to send to your committee for approval by week 8.  You will receive a letter grade if you completed this proposal and emailed it to your committee for their approval.  No negotiation.  If you are not going to be able to meet this deadline, please drop the course and consider a different option or different advisor.

 

FINAL TERM BEFORE GRADUATION--DEADLINE week 1: Your final thesis draft needs to be emailed to your committee, and you need schedule your defense for week 3.  Do NOT enroll for your final credit hour unless you know your final draft is already ready to submit the first week of the term!

 

ENROLLMENT

You will want to enroll 6-12 months prior to graduation and stay on a time schedule, while working with your advisor along the way.  Once you enroll for you first term, it doesn't matter to your advisor whether or not you enroll again until your last term--you two will work together either way.  Some students enroll for 3 hours term 1, then six months later enroll in 2 hours the final term, while working together with an advisor in between the enrollment terms.   Other students enroll for one hour for 5 terms.  Do whatever works for your finances or financial aid, but make sure you save one hour for your graduation term.

 

Checklist for your final enrolled term, click here.

 

YOU MUST BE OFF PROBATION AND HAVE FULLY COMPLETED YOUR APPLICATION AND ADMITTANCE TO THE PROGRAM TO ENROLL IN THESIS HOURS.

    

This location:  http://ourwayit.com/CA797/

 

Table of Contents This Page

Term 1 Schedule & Due Dates - Term 2 Schedule & Due Dates

Final Steps - Formatting Details Guidelines - Forms - Park Requirements - Submitting to Your Committee - Textbook - Thesis Organization - Web Resources - Writing Guidelines

 

MANDATORY DEADLINE!
The Graduate School requires that you successfully defend your Thesis at least 4 weeks prior to graduation!  Therefore, the Defense should take place by week 3 or 4 of your final term.  First your professor will make sure you pass, then he or she will notify the Graduate School and Registrar that you have passed your capstone so you can graduate. 

By about April 15 (Spring graduation) or Nov. 15 (Fall graduation)--if you have not received a copy of your advisor's notification to the Registrar and Graduate School saying that you passed the thesis defense, contact your advisor immediately! 

 

DURING THIS PROCESS, please COMMUNICATE CAREFULLY!

 

Read this information carefully and please follow it.  Submit your weekly updates each Sunday and drafts in the e-course dropbox for CA 797. 

 

Please do NOT submit assignments by email.  Please don't forward your advisor's or anyone else's email, and please don't send daily emails to your advisor or anyone else on campus.  If you have a question or problem, telephone your advisor.  A simple conversation is more effective than multiple emails.,

 

You may feel disconnected and frustrated at times, but you have a better chance of success if the faculty, IRB, graduate school, and director of the library has a positive attitude toward you.  As in any organization, some parts of this process require knowledge and diplomacy of organizational politics. At some colleges, students have to wait months for faculty to read and thesis chapters.  At Park, however, most faculty give students responses in just weeks, which is amazing compared to what happens at many other colleges. 

 

If you don't hear from someone in a reasonable time, do not say "did you get my email?" but send your email with latest attachments again as a "friendly reminder."

 

Organize yourself! Be efficient on the front end  when you have control, so there is plenty of time near your graduation date (when you have no control).

 

 

SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS TO YOUR COMMITTEE

  • Send your committee versions of your thesis proposal, then chapters, and thesis drafts along the way.  Send the latest version of your evolving thesis to your faculty committee each term so they are up-to-date and so they can make suggestions if they want to do so.  If you enroll over 12 months, for example, send your proposal term one, your thesis draft term two, updated term three, updated term four, then the final thesis draft by the end of term four or week one of term 5.  Make sure you attach the thesis file with each communication with your committee.

  • Begin the file name with your last name and include the version at the end, such as

  • YourlastnameFirstNameThesisProposalDateV1.docx  AitkenJoanFinalProjectApril12014V7.docx

  • Only use a single, .doc or .docx file.

  • Make sure the version changes each time, including the suggestions and edits from your advisor or faculty committee. 

  • In color highlights, indicate major additions and changes in your draft so the faculty know what they are looking at.

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Term 1

Timeline will vary according to your overall schedule and the type of project.  Below are general guidelines. 

 

Please do NOT sign up for this course unless you have completed a major paper on the topic and received advisor approval in advance.

  • Set your own timeline by looking at your projected graduation date and figuring time backwards.

  • Receive advisor approval on the idea.

  • Revise your proposal from CA 516 and CA 517.

  • Revise you review of literature (cite and reference about 50 scholarly communication sources).

  • After receiving advisor suggestions, edit, then send your proposal to your committee.

  • Keep moving, with NO PROCRASTINATION.

  • WEEK 6 TERM 1 DEADLINE:  Send your final proposal to me (Joan Aitken).  There's no latitude on this requirement.  If you cannot meet this deadline, drop the course and select a different advisor or different capstone option.  No incompletes for any reason.  My experience says an incomplete means you will not be able to do this capstone option.  If I don't receive a final proposal by week 8, you will receive an "F" in the course.

  • If you are using a pre-published measure in your thesis, obtain author approval to use the measure or pay the required fees to use the measure.

  • If using SurveyMonkey.com, put the measure in SurveyMonkey.com

  • By Week 8 of term 1:  Ask faculty to be on your committee and email your proposal to faculty committee.

Term 2
  • WEEK 4 DEADLINE:  Complete an IRB application if you are using human subjects and obtain their approval.
  • Enhance your review of literature while you wait for the IRB.  If you are not enrolled in other courses, enroll in one hour so you can use the Park library databases. Hopefully you are able to use some assignments for other courses to add content to your review of literature.
  • If you are using archival data (e.g., websites, a speech text, films), begin your data collection, which will be used in your content analysis.
  • Week 6:  Send your committee an update on your progress.
Term 3
  • Collect data. 
  • WEEK 6 DEADLINE:  Submit your latest draft in the course dropbox.
  • WEEK 7 DEADLINE:  Send your committee a summary of the data you have collected.  This can be table form.
Term 4 or next to last term.
  • Analyze data and write the final thesis.
  • Convert your proposal to a thesis by going through and changing the tenses.
  • After receiving advisor suggestions, edit and send your proposal to your committee.
  • WEEK 6 DEADLINE:  Send your draft to your committee. 
  • WEEK 7 DEADLINE:  Send your committee a summary of the data you have collected. The thesis must be COMPLETE before you enroll for your last term. The 8-week sessions move very quickly, especially when you don't have the discipline of weekly class assignments.

Term Graduation Stay on track!

  • WEEK 1 DEADLINE:  Resend your draft to your committee (give them a minimum of two weeks to read your work before your defense).  Highlight changes in color so they know what they are receiving.  Schedule your oral defense and prepare a PowerPoint, which you send to committee members.  For the PowerPoint for the defense, use a small .ppt file, with the text outline of what you plan to say in the defense. Avoid pictures, although you may use charts.

  • Week 3 (or earlier):  Send reminders to your committee the day before the meeting.  Defend your thesis.

  • Week 4 (or earlier):  You advisor will notify the Graduate School and Registrar of successful defense.

  • Week 5-6:  Make any final changes required by your committee.  Submit the final electronic file to the Graduate School.  Submit final hardcopies to Dr. Schultis for binding.

CA797 IMPORTANT GRADUATE THESIS INFORMATION

 

 

 

Make sure you complete all admission and graduation requirements before beginning this course:  http://ourwayit.com/DoIt/

 

Make sure you have taken care of all admission and graduation requirements.  Admission requirements were due within 60 days of beginning the program.

 

Grading is based on submission of quality work, meeting deadlines, and faculty approval.

 

Weekly attendance is based on your direct communication with your professor.  Send a progress email each week and phone regularly.

 

Consult the Graduate Catalog and Graduate School Procedures. These requirements are the ones that must be followed.

 

Supplemental help is available for the thesis:  http://ourwayit.com/CA797/

 

Is Dr. Aitken the right thesis advisor for you?

 

Dr. Joan E. Aitken:  joan.aitken@park.edu

I have expertise in Communication Studies, including research in interpersonal, educational, organizational, public, Internet, media, and intercultural communication.  Leadership studies can be a broad field that fits into communication studies. 

My expectations for students selecting the thesis option:

  1. Submit a completed proposal by week 6 of your first term or drop the course.

  2. I do not give the grade of "incomplete" for any reason.  If you cannot meet the deadline, then you have a procrastination problem that makes this capstone with me a poor choice.  Please select a different advisor or different capstone option.

  3. I do not allow students to enroll in continuous enrollment and fade away.  Do not enroll in your last hour until your work is done.

  4. Set a clear timetable and follow it.  No procrastination.

  5. Be responsible for yourself and meet the deadlines without prodding.

  6. Send an update of your work to your committee member each term.

  7. Only research clearly relevant to human communication will be acceptable. 

  8. Do a thesis if you want to do original work and publish your work through our library.

  9. You cannot switch to a different advisor or the reflection option if the going gets tough.  Make sure you want to do the thesis option before you enroll.

  10. Many of my students use the survey research method or content analysis method.  I've seen some students give up during the IRB process, so IZ am an advocate of using content analysis.

  11. Select a narrow and do-able project.

  12. I prefer phone conversations to multiple emails.

  13. I am committed to prompt responses.  If you don't hear from me in a couple days, contact me again.  If you don't have my home phone number, just ask.  Feel free to call me to brainstorm, discuss problems, or any time I can help.

  14. I want to help you finish a high quality thesis as efficiently as possible.

  15. Work efficiently and commit to graduation on time!

  16. You need to have the final draft of your thesis complete BEFORE enrolling in the final term before graduation.  I can't say this enough, have back at least one of the five credit hours for enrollment in your final term so that you don't have to pay extra.  I do not believe in paying for continuous enrollment.  Get your thesis done.

 

See Department Guidelines for Thesis Requirements.

 

DEPT. & PARK RULES. The student has the responsibility of finding out and following departmental and Park University rules. You will find those in the graduate catalog. Your advisor cannot over-ride departmental or university rules. The department and university requirements supersede faculty requirements.

 

GRADUATE RECORD EXAM (GRE).  Park University requires that you complete the GRE and submit your scores to the Graduate School.  You cannot graduate from the program without completing this step. See http://www.ets.org/

 

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS. The department or university requires separate comprehensive exams of graduates.  This exam is different from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and required to show your learning in this MA program.  Comps need to be PASSED at least 8 weeks prior to graduation.  Here is Dr. Aitken's information about comps http://ourwayit.com/comps/

 

THESIS OR PROJECT? The thesis should be original research that makes a contribution to the learning in the field.  The thesis will be bound and made available to the general public through the library. If you plan to do research on human subjects, please do the thesis option.

 

TOPIC. Select a topic you love, which you have been studying in the program so far. The topic must relate to human communication or leadership.

 

COMMITTEE. You will present your thesis and defend your work, perhaps with other enrolled students during a meeting set up by the department.  This meeting can be conducted by teleconferencing for distance students.  Most students have a committee of 3 faculty members, usually at least two are from our department.  Faculty from other departments, part-time faculty, faculty at other universities can make excellent committee members.

 

Application for Graduation Deadlines

 

APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION.  Go to the Park website, find and complete the online form (Application for Graduation), and pay fees for graduation.  http://www.park.edu/grad/faq.aspx#faq37
 

August Completion or December Commencement Deadline: April 1

 May Commencement Deadline: November 1

 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

 

Buy an APA Manual and use it! 

Buy and use the APA manual!  

The APA manual contains all the information you need about what goes into the thesis and how to write.  For my summary on writing, see my APA Style Requirements.  For my summary on formatting and organization, see below.


 

APA (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 

Thesis Organization

Use this format beginning with your proposal.  Leave parts blank that you have not completed.

 

Blank page or copyright page
Abstract
Approval page
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations (if figures/graphs/etc. are used) List of Tables (if manuscript has tables)
Acknowledgments (if used)
Preface (if used)
Dedication (if used)
Abstract.
 

See Appendix A, p. 331 APA Manual.

 

Chapter 1: Defining the problem. (5 pages)

  1. Introduction – This is the background to the problem.

  1. A brief history of interest in the area.

  1. Specify unresolved issues, theoretical questions, and/or social concerns.

  2. Rationale for the study.

 

Chapter 2: Survey of literature.  (30-50 pages)

  1. Review of the Literature -- This is a survey of the theory and research related to the problem. It should provide the following:

  1. Define key variables.

  2. Critique and summarize prior research. This is a review of how the variables have been

studied and includes results, conclusions, and weakness.

  1. Establish the basis for your study, which isolate issues that merit further research.

 

Chapter 3: Problem Statement. (5 pages)

  1. Problem Statement -- Drawing from the literature review of 20-50 sources, explain the ideas you plan to investigate. Include the following:

  1. Identify variables (dependent and independent variables).

  2. Delineate the research problem to explain the relationships expected among variables (research questions or hypotheses).

 

Chapter 4: Method (5 pages)

  1. Method

    1. Describe why the research method (e.g., survey research) is used.

2. Instruments or measures

    1. Operational definitions of dependent and independent variables

    2. Instrument – rationale for the measure to be used (e.g., questionnaire, focus group, interview).

  1. Participants and procedures

    1. Selection of subjects (i.e., who and how to get them -- sampling procedure).

    2. Explain how materials will be distributed.

    3. Describe how data will be collected.

    4. Describe how data will be analyzed.

Chapter 5:  Results (5 pages).  Just the facts.

 

Chapter 6:  Discussion (10-30 pages).  See the APA manual.


References (Only peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles in APA style)
Appendices
Vita

 

 

 

No incompletes.  If you don't plan on meeting deadlines, you will want to use a different advisor or a different capstone option.

 

 

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS You need to have passed your comps BEFORE your final term.

 

At most universities, they are given MONTHS to do this, so even two weeks to read your thesis is an unrealistic expectation.  Make sure you warn the committee of your deadlines in advance, and you will want to send materials as you go along so there is less for them to read and respond to at the end. If you wait too long, you may not be able to graduate. During holiday times, between terms, and summer, please do not expect faculty to read, correspond with you, or meet.  

 

Please be sure to send an electronic copy of each chapter to each committee member as soon as it is done.  Tell them you just want them to see your progress, and you welcome any suggestions or corrections.

 

Send your final draft to your faculty committee at least two weeks before the defense meeting.  For more information about defense, see Defense of Thesis or Project

 

 

1.  AFTER FACULTY THE DEFENSE AND COMMITTEE APPROVAL

 

 

These contents are added to your thesis, if you desire, AFTER the committee approves your work.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PAGE
Of course you can say whatever you want, but usually people thank each committee member in the first paragraph. Then they thank key family and friends in the next paragraph (e.g., for their support, proofing of the manuscript). I've seen thanks to other university people who have helped, like a librarian. Don't thank the the company where your research was done,  but if you thank someone from the company, do so in generic terms to no one can they they were part of the study. It's considered bad form to thank pets. (grin)

 

DEDICATION

Again you can say whatever you want, but for an author's first book, the dedication is traditionally to parents.  Some people select their significant other.  It's considered bad form to dedicate to animals, causes, or things.

 

VITA

Write a couple paragraph narrative summary about your education, work, and personal life.  Use third person.

 

2.  IRB NOTIFICATION OF CONCLUSION OF RESEARCH

 

You are required to notify the IRB that you finished by contacting

Dr. Cohn of the IRB saying something like this.

This email is notification that my research on human subjects entitled _____________ , tracking number __________________ is completed.  I have finished collecting collecting data.  Thank you for your help with this work.

 

3.  FINAL ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE THESIS

 

Upload the final version of your thesis as a single electronic file in your course dropbox.  The file name needs to begin with your last name, then first name, the thesis, and other relevant information like this:

DoeJohnMACLThesisNov2013.docx

 

4.  BINDING

 

 

Make sure your advisor has four copies of the signature page on 100% cotton for the oral defense meeting.

 

Your advisor will send you or tell you if changes are needed to your thesis after the committee meeting for the oral defense.  Go back and REREAD THIS PAGE, particularly being careful to comply with the Park Procedures listed on this page.  You have to proof your final version carefully because no one will proof it for you.  You may want to hire a proof-reader to double-check everything.  You need to make sure everything is correct and in proper order.  Then send an electronic version to the Director of the Graduate School with the email copied to your advisor. 

 

Telephone Dr. Schultis and do exactly what she says regarding binding.  I may not have the most up-to-date information.  No arguments.  No emails.  She is an important and well-respected person at this university.  Be respectful!  Mail hardcopies of your thesis to:

 

Dr. A. Schultis

Director of Library Systems

Park University Library

8700 NW River Park Dr.

Parkville, MO   64152-3795 

ph: 816-584-6704

fax: 816-741-4911

 

I She will probably tell you something like the information below.

 

Print your copies of your thesis on high quality bond--acid free paper--and mail to Dr. Schultis with a check. 

 

Be sure to include a copyright page, if you plan to obtain a copyright.

 

Where to go for printing?

I recommend you go to some place like Office Max or UPS and talk to them about making your copies. You want acid free paper because you don't want pages to yellow. But someplace I went said all their paper is now acid free. Make sure you ask about the acid free part. Tell them you're having a thesis bound and ask for their advice about a good quality paper. 100% cotton is hard to work with, too thick, and very expensive, and I don't think you'll be happy with it. There's no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on this, you just want a nice copy that will last.  Then you hand deliver or ship the copies to Dr. Schultis (address above).

 

How many copies?

One for the library.

One for the department.

One for you.

Aitken does not want/need another hardcopy, so don't have one printed.

Check to see if the Director of the Program (Dr. Noe) wants one. 

 

The only professionally bound copy you absolutely MUST have is the one that you give to the library.

 

Finish on time! Everything must be done by Friday at the latest of week 4 of your final term before graduation.

 

 

Aitken's Homepage http://ourwayit.com/

Guidelines for Students http://ourwayit.com/Guidelines.html

Late Work http://ourwayit.com/Guidelines.html#BE_ON_TIME

Office Hours http://ourwayit.com/Guidelines.html#OFFICE

Teaching Philosophy http://ourwayit.com/Guidelines.html#PHILOSOPHY

 

Text Box: 1

 

Page reference: Aitken, J. E. (2012). Thesis design and research. Kansas City, MO: ourwayit.com. Retrieved from http://ourwayit.com/CA797

 

 

These pages are provided by Dr. Joan E. Aitken to supplement official information available through Park University. This page is provided as a free service, without the authority of any institution or organization. ourwayit.com. Copyright 2005-2012. All Rights Reserved.

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