May
22
Dissertation by the Numbers
May 22, 2007 |
Writing the Doctoral Dissertation
To my mind the creation of the Doctoral Dissertation has always had certain abstract qualities. So, for those that are comforted by more concrete representations, consider the following:
Dissertation by the Numbers
- Median page length: 225 pages
- Mean page length: 240 pages (ranging from under 100 to over 600 pages)
- 80% of dissertations are from 130 to 390 pages
- typical dissertation requires 15 months work (a month consisting of 175 working hours)
While 175 hour months seems daunting, translating that to 40 hour work weeks or 8 hours a day 5 days a week, makes it seem more manageable.
Breaking Down the 15 Months
- 5 months: Writing, Editing, and Proofing
- 7 months: Research and Analysis
- 1 month: Complete search of prior research
- 2 months: Topic adjustment and proposal
Five Major Ways to Improve Productivity
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Improve Motivation
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Improve Task Management
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Conserve Attention
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Reduce Errors and Omissions
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Eliminate Redundant Processes
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