Online University Expertise – Dissertation Consulting

As online education options have developed in quality and legitimacy over recent years, more and more working adult students are turning to fully or partially online doctoral programs to advance their degrees. The advantages of online doctoral degree programs are undeniable, especially for busy adults who are balancing their scholarly pursuits with other obligations, such as family and full-time employment. Online universities have also opened up access for working adult students, as you no longer need to commute to a local university to obtain your graduate degree.

Given the clear benefits of attending online doctoral programs, it’s little wonder why so many working adults are taking advantage of this option. In fact, a significant portion of our dissertation consulting clients participate in online doctoral programs, most commonly in our core research areas of nursing, business, education, and psychology. We at Precision Consulting have expertise in all of the major online universities’ programmatic requirements for doctoral research completion, from initial topic development all the way through data analysis and finalization of the study.

From our vast experience with clients attending universities such as Grand Canyon University, Walden University, Capella University, University of Phoenix, Northcentral University, and Liberty University, we have developed an intimate understanding of the variety of requirements that apply when conducting graduate research across these universities. For example, Capella University organizes the doctoral study process into discrete milestones that start with approval of a Dissertation Research Proposal (DRP), Doctoral Project Prospectus (DPP), or Scientific Merit Action Research Template (SMART), depending upon the degree program. In contrast, Grand Canyon University requires that doctoral candidates present a high-level sketch of their research topic and methods in a 10 Strategic Points form, which is subsequently expanded into a prospectus powerpoint, whereas Walden starts from a prospectus form.

Beyond such differences in doctoral study structure and sequencing, we also have familiarity with the particular areas of emphasis each major online university places on the more nuanced aspects of the work. For example, Walden University reviewers are sticklers for prevalence statistics in the problem statement. At Grand Canyon University, on the other hand, the problem statement will not receive approval unless it flows from an introductory statement such as, “It is not known…”, and it is placed in chapter 2 now rather than chapter 1. Familiarity with a multitude of small details such as these allows us to provide customized assistance to our clients from start to finish with their dissertations.

Our experience with online universities has also helped us to develop a “sixth sense” when it comes to deciphering the often cryptic comments their dissertation reviewers make. We know that it can sometimes be difficult to carve out time to discuss your reviewers’ comments with them as thoroughly as you might like, which can make it difficult to determine how exactly you should revise your work to meet their expectations. With our wealth of experience, however, we can quickly identify the type and scope of revisions your work needs, even based on minimally informative comments from your reviewers. And, we build revisions into our dissertation assistance plans, which means that we’ll keep working with the draft until we get it just right.

For the major online universities (Grand Canyon University, Walden University, Capella University, Northcentral University, and University of Phoenix), we have extensive experience with the following processes in any of the graduate degree programs offered:

• Research topic approval requires completion of the 10 Strategic Points and prospectus
• Five-chapter dissertations for DBA, EdD, and PhD research
• Five-chapter Direct Practice Improvement (DPI) projects for DNP
• All study templates include embedded rubrics with 0 to 3 ratings, must score at least a 2 on each section for approval (we always aim for 3s!)
• Academic Quality Review (AQR) required for approval at proposal and final dissertation stages
• Doctorate programs: Business Administration (DBA), Education (EdD), Nursing Practice (DNP)
• PhD programs: Psychology, Counselor Education and Supervision

• Research topic approval requires completion of premise and prospectus
• Five-chapter dissertations for PhD research
• Four-section project studies for EdD research, with four different possible project types: evaluation report; curriculum plan; professional development/training curriculum and materials; policy recommendation with detail
• Four-section doctoral studies for DHA/DrPH research
• Three-section applied business studies for DBA research
• University Research Review (URR) required for approval at proposal and final dissertation stages
• Doctorate programs: Education (EdD), Business Administration (DBA), Health Administration (DHA), Nursing Practice (DNP), Information Technology (DIT), Public Administration (DPA), Social Work (DSW), Public Health (DrPH)
• PsyD: Behavioral Health Leadership
• PhD programs: Nursing, Management, Public Administration, Psychology, Social Work, Public Policy and Administration, Public Health, Health Services, Health Education and Promotion, Forensic Psychology, Human Services, Counselor Education and Supervision, Criminal Justice, Education

• Milestone system breaks doctoral study process into sequence of discrete segments
• Research topic approval, Milestone 2, requires scientific merit review consisting of a DRP form for most dissertations, SMART form for action research studies
• Five-chapter dissertations for PhD research
• Five-chapter applied business study for DBA research
• EdD capstone is deliverable with three-section report, can be either a research paper (action research monograph or evaluation) or professional product (change management plan or curriculum)
• Action research studies for schools of public service leadership, nursing and health sciences
• Doctorate programs: Education (EdD), Business Administration (DBA), Health Administration (DHA), Nursing Practice (DNP), Information Technology (DIT), Public Administration (DPA), Social Work (DSW), Public Health (DrPH), Human Services (DHS)
• PsyD: School Psychology, Clinical Psychology
• PhD programs: Education, Business Management, Counselor Education and Supervision, Advanced Studies in Human Behavior, Information Technology, Psychology, Human Services

• Research topic approval requires completion of a prospectus
• Academic Reader (AR) approval required at proposal and final dissertation stages
• Five-chapter dissertation for PhD research
• Five-chapter applied studies for EdD, DBA
• Doctorate programs: Health Administration (DHA), Business Administration (DBA), Marriage and Family Therapy (DMFT), Nursing Practice (DNP), Public Administration (DPA), Education (EdD), Criminal Justice (DCJ)
• PhD programs: Human Resource Management, Instructional Design, Educational Leadership, Computer Science, Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, Business Administration, Data Science, Technology and Innovation Management, Organizational Leadership, Education

• Research topic approval requires completion of a prospectus
• Following topic approval, précis (chapter 1) and concept review (chapter 2) are required
• Five-chapter dissertations for practitioner doctorate studies
• Quality Review – Method (QRM) review for proposal approval
• Quality Review – Final (QRF) for final dissertation approval
• Doctorate programs: Business Administration (DBA), Education (EdD), Health Administration (DHA), Management in Organizational Leadership (DM), Nursing Practice (DNP)

Although above are the online universities we work with most often, we also have extensive experience with a variety of other prominent universities that offer online doctoral programs, including:

• Nova Southeastern University
• Liberty University
• Chicago School of Professional Psychology
• Columbia Southern University
• Regent University
• Concordia University
• Trident University
• Alliant International University
• California Southern University