Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy
Adult Education
Graduate Handbook
Journal-Ready Dissertation Format
What is this format?
This format requires that a study be conducted as in the standard dissertation, but that several of the chapters of the dissertation would be individual journal-length manuscripts ready for submission for publication. The entire document would be linked together through the theoretical framework of the study. This format would be particularly appealing to those doctoral students whose career goals include positions in academia and/or research. The candidate, major professor, and dissertation committee must all agree that this alternative structure is appropriate for the candidate.
What does the journal-ready dissertation proposal consist of?
The dissertation proposal would include:
- An introduction of the topic, the theoretical framework, problem statement, research questions and methodology of the research study (much like a traditional chapter one with an additional section on methodology);
- An overview of the structure of the dissertation with a short (one page) summary of each article;
- A detailed, multiple-page outline/summary of each of the chapters/articles, including target audience and possible journals for submission.
What is the structure of the journal-ready dissertation?
The following structure incorporates the Graduate School guidelines:
- An introductory chapter that presents the theoretical framework for the study and informs the reader of the structure of the dissertation;
- A literature review that defines the objectives of the research; we suggest adding research methodology to this chapter if not adequately addressed in the two data-based articles;
- A minimum of three journal articles in ready-to-submit condition
- The name of the journal and article status, e.g., to be submitted, submitted, etc. must be given as a footnote to the title on the first page of each of the article chapters; articles submitted to journals prior to the dissertation defense must have been approved for submission by all members of the studentÕs committee
- At least two of the articles must be authored solely by the student; on co-authored articles, the student must be first author
- Our PhD article requirement may be one of the articles
- Articles can be research findings, literature reviews, methodology discussions, theoretical discussions, practitioner-oriented and/or policy articles. Two articles must be data-based, that is, based on data generated and analyzed in the research study
- All articles must be prepared during the studentÕs adult education doctoral program at The University of Georgia
- A concluding chapter that ties together the articles
Additional Guidelines:
Journals: Submissions must be to peer-reviewed, refereed journals only
Additional authors: Should additional authors be listed on one or more of the dissertation manuscripts, the candidate must provide a detailed summary of the work performed by these other authors. Further, a statement must be provided in which the additional authors agree (by their signatures) with the candidateÕs assessment of their contribution to the manuscripts. If an additional author is another graduate student, that individual must be apprised that such work may not be employed again in another dissertation. This information is to be provided in an Appendix immediately following each co-authored article.
Evaluation Criteria for Journal-format Dissertations: In judging the quality of both the prospectus and the dissertation, the faculty will consider the following three criteria, in addition to other criteria that might apply.
| Criterion | Description |
| Quality | The quality of (a) the research procedures employed and (b) the document |
| Significance | The implications of the research for theory, practice, and policy in adult education and learning |
| Coherence | The extent to which the separate articles, taken together, represent a coherent intellectual effort comparable to a traditional dissertation. The author is expected to explicitly argue for the coherence of the overall dissertation. |
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