This book is a practical guide to researching and writing the doctoral dissertation or master's thesis. Part 1 offers seven chapters on preparatory steps: laying the groundwork for the thesis and dissertation; finding a research problem; conducting a focused review of the literature; making a preliminary choice of methodology; organizing and scheduling work; developing the prospectus and organizing the committee; and learning from the preproposal conference. Part 2 section focuses on the proposal, emphasizing that the quality of the proposal directly affects the quality of the dissertation. Chapters cover: conducting a comprehensive critique of the literature; detailing the methodology; and developing and defending the proposal. Part 3 follows the process of implementing the research plan and writing the dissertation. The nine chapters address the following: carrying out the research design; mastering the academic style; organizing the dissertation; writing the introductory chapter; summarizing the review of the literature; explaining the methodology; presenting, summarizing, and discussing the results; and preparing the dissertation for defense and publication. The 2 chapters of Part 4 discuss defending and publishing the thesis or dissertation. Finally, Part 5 considers problems throughout the dissertation process, including problems with the committee and personal problems with the dissertation. (Contains 35 references.) (DB)