Discussion 1: Dissertation Process Overview: The Premise, Prospectus, Proposal, and Dissertation

As you begin this course, it is important that you have an overview of where the Prospectus fits in with the entire Dissertation process. As the course continues, it will become clear why it is important to have a course dedicated to completing the Prospectus, to require that you complete your Premise before the Prospectus, and for you to understand the steps in the entire Dissertation process and the amount of time you anticipate that the entire process will take. In this first Discussion in Week 1, you will begin with these basics that you will build on throughout the course.

To prepare for this Discussion, review the Dissertation Resources in this week’s Learning Resources.

By Day 3:

• Describe the purposes for and analyze the relationships among the Premise, Prospectus, and Proposal components of the Dissertation.
• Describe what you have completed so far to prepare for writing your Premise and Prospectus. What literature have you searched in the course of your academic program to date? What else have you done to prepare for writing your Premise and Prospectus?  Be specific and share resources and ideas with others.
• The link for My Doctoral Research (MyDR) is in your dissertation course. First, complete all of the MyDR training. Also, look at the MyDR link for the Dissertation Process Worksheet, in the Center for Research Quality (CRQ). Then, estimate the time you expect it will take you to complete both your (a) Dissertation Proposal, including the approval of your committee and University Research Reviewer (URR); and (b) entire Dissertation, to include final approval by the Chief Academic Officer (CAO). Note the turnaround time for each step with your committee and others, as well as the fact that both the Proposal and final Dissertation may require a number of iterations, with feedback for each.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 6 to the postings of at least two of your colleagues who have not yet had a reply, in any of the following ways:

• Comment on the progress your colleagues have made so far on preparing for the Premise and Prospectus processes.
• Post any sources they may have missed and ideas for their continued literature search.  Use their feedback to focus your own literature search.
• Finally, comment on the feasibility of your colleagues’ estimates on time to complete both the Dissertation Proposal process and the Dissertation itself, including approvals of both.

Discussion 2: Public Policy and Administration History and Traditions

In this Discussion, you will analyze the influence of seminal thinkers and events on public policy and administration concepts and processes. Dwight Toavs’ Timeline on Ideas of Governance is designed to “foster an appreciation of the evolution and development of ideas that constitute contemporary governance.” Spanning over 2,000 years, the timeline illustrates the ways political philosophers “build on the works of their predecessors, crafting arguments for or against those ideas, or modifying them to incorporate and justify new insights” (Toavs, n.d.). This overview of the history and traditions of public policy and administration should provide the foundation for the development of your research ideas, plans, and processes in this field.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Toavs’ Ideas of Governance timeline, located in the Learning Resources. 
• Select three political philosophers and/or events and search for scholarly articles on each topic. 

Post by Day 4 a paragraph on each political philosopher and/or event, expanding on the chronologies with peer-reviewed journal articles. Analyze the influence each of these seminal thinkers and/or events has had on the public policy and administration concepts and processes with which society is governed today. Explain the reasons you came to these conclusions.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.