1. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Navigating Graduate School and Beyond: Sow Well Now To Reap Big Later Ditch the Dissertation

2. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Ditch the dissertation Choose an overarching theme for journal papers. Compartmentalize your research into 2-3 sections. Write the first paper and submit. Work on the second paper while you wait for your reviews and so on. Put the papers together for your dissertation.

3. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Work with your advisor and committee Confirm the data is accurate scientifically and technically. Pay close attention to grammar, content, and style. Consider including one of your committee members as a co-author.

4. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Pay attention to reviews Your committee members may not be experts in your particular field. Reviewers for your journal submissions ARE experts in your field. The reviews from the experts will carry a lot of weight with your committee members.

5. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Generic journal format 1.Title 2.Abstract – Discuss the major focus areas, results, and implications 3.Introduction – Provide relevant literature surveys and explain why the research matters 4.Data and tools – Explain what was used to conduct the research

6. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Generic journal format (con’t) 4.Methods – Provide enough research so that the reader can duplicate the study if needed 5.Results and discussions – Include figures 6.Summary and conclusions – Put the results, discussion, and analysis in context with some guidelines for future work 7.Acknowledgements 8.References

7. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Generic format for dissertation 1.Title 2.Abstract 3.Data 4.Methodology 5.Results 6.Conclusion with references, figures, and tables

8. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Combining the papers into dissertation 1.Title: Choose a “grand title” that describes all three papers 2.Abstract: Seam the three abstracts together and edit for flow and content. Sign your name. 3.Introduction: Write a 2-3 page introduction providing an overview of each paper 4.Body: Place the papers in the body of the dissertation one behind the other

9. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Steps to combine the papers (con’t) 5.Conclusion: Write about the future work that can be done 6.References, figures, and tables: Alphabetize your references 7.Appendix: If you have more than three papers, either incorporate all into the dissertation or use the additional papers as an appendix.

10. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Benefits of this method Published articles look good on your resume/CV Your advisor can point to the publications as your success metric Department and University have a top-notch dissertation You only went through the process once

11. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Additional benefits Journal format provides conciseness and focus. Expert reviewers provide valuable feedback that will be useful in further writing. It will be difficult for committee members to argue against your dissertation if the articles are in press. It is daunting to reassemble a dissertation into papers. Many times it doesn’t happen.

12. Dr. Sundar Christopher sundar@nsstc.uah.edu Food for thought What are the advantages of writing peer- reviewed papers before you graduate? What are the disadvantages?