1. Defending the Dissertation
Keep moving toward your goal.
CIS 720: April 4, 2016

2. Defending the dissertation
Pre-Proposal: A note on developing your topic (waterfall vs. agile)
Post-Proposal: Staying on track
Pre-Defense: Know the policies
Post-Defense: Know the policies

3. pre-proposal: Developing a topic using the waterfall method

4. pre-proposal: Developing a topic using the AGILE method
Development
Testing
Iteration
Planning
Design

5. Post- Proposal: Maintain your momentum

6. Post- Proposal: KEEP A RESEARCH DIARY
A space to dump all of your unorganized thoughts.
A way to brainstorm with yourself.
A reminder of avenues you have explored and what you have accomplished.
A to-do list of what you want to get done each day or each week.
Source:

7. Post- Proposal: Example timeline
May 2015: Proposal defense
June 2015: Pilot study
September and October 2015: Full study
November 2015 to February 2016: Analysis and writing
March 30, 2016: Submission to committee
April 20, 2016: Dissertation defense

8. Pre-defense: Know the policies
Students should work closely with their committee throughout the process, and the dissertation draft should reflect “at least one round of informed revision.”
Four weeks prior to the defense: Committee members have the “right to require a draft of the dissertation.”
Three weeks prior to the defense: Committee members must approve scheduling of the defense by providing written confirmation to the CIS chair to (1) confirm they can attend, (2) indicate whether they believe the research will be ready for defense and (3) optionally provide comments about what should be done before the defense for the research to be acceptable. Committee members may the CIS chair and courtesy copy the student and committee chair.
Students must the CIS chair with the intended date, time (2.5 hours minimum) and location of the defense, as well as the title and abstract to be used in the announcement.

9. Pre-Defense: Know the policies
Two weeks prior to the defense: Students must submit an announcement form to the Office of Graduate Education in Spalding 354 to schedule the defense in the university events calendar. Announcements must include the dissertation title, date, time and place of the defense.
Students must an announcement of the defense and the dissertation abstract to CIS faculty and students via the CIS list. They must also provide a reading copy of the dissertation to the dissertation committee and CIS chair.
OGE requires that a majority of committee members be physically present at the defense. If a member of the committee will participate remotely, a Petition for Remote Participation must be completed.

10. Pre-Defense: Know the policies
On the day of the defense: Bring Doctorate – Dissertation Evaluation (Form III).
Schedule (2.5 hours)
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Presentation (no more than one hour)
Questions from committee and audience
Committee can discuss the defense in private
Form III indicates approval or disapproval of the manuscript and the student’s ability to defend it.
Students may not participate in graduation ceremonies until all committee members sign Form III.

11. Post-Defense: Know the policies
Submit the final dissertation to the Office of Graduate Education
Official deadline for a spring graduation: April 1, 2016
To request an extension, the CIS chair must OGE on the student’s behalf.
Required materials
Two CDs with the dissertation saved as a single pdf file
Title page (two hard copies)
Abstract (two hard copies)
Form IV (signed by committee chair and members once the student makes necessary revisions)
Cashier’s check or money order for publishing and copyright fees
Doctoral dissertation agreement form
Survey of Earned Doctorates

12. If the dissertation is not accepted, then what?
The student may submit another dissertation with approval from both the graduate program and the Office of Graduate Education.
A student failing for the second time is dismissed from both the graduate program and the Office of Graduate Education.

13. Dissertation defense Submit manuscript
Committee members CIS chair to OK scheduling of defense
OGE Announcement/
CIS Announcement
Dissertation defense
Submit manuscript

14. Each committee member has a right to request your draft

15. After submitting the draft to your committee
Begin preparing your slides right away. Spend time on the organization and flow of your slides.
Practice multiple times with a real audience. Time your talk. Ask classmates, colleagues and friends to drill you with questions.
Re-read your thesis and write your own list of questions.
Get plenty of rest, eat a healthy diet and exercise when you can.
Don’t get distracted.
Visualize yourself giving a good defense and think about how good it will feel when it is over.
Source:

16. From student to scholar
“You know when you made it when you realize halfway through your dissertation you did everything wrong.” - Assistant Professor Wayne Buente
“You know when you made it when you realize half through your dissertation you did everything wrong.” Wayne received this advice from SI scholar John Leslie King.
“Things will change and you will look back and say I should have done things differently, I had these moments too, but that is the process of moving from a student to a scholar.”