Getting To Finished: Strategies To Ensure Completion Of The Doctoral Dissertation

Abstract

This paper reports the results of focus group conversations with thirty-four doctoral students enrolled in an educational leadership program. Doctoral students were asked to provide suggestions and strategies used to complete the doctoral dissertation.  The results of these conversations reinforce the value of the collaborative cohort and the proactive interdependence students experienced as a result of working together. These findings highlight the need to examine how doctoral students experience the university context particularly as it relates to the dissertation phase of study.