of sources that learners commonly encounter [e.g. books, seminal or classical works, practitioner articles, etc.] and their appropriateness for inclusion in a dissertation and chapter 2. While it is a good idea to review dissertations as part of your preparation to propose a study, for the most part, dissertations are as sources to be cited and discussed in dissertations; they should not acceptable never be replicated and certainly can not be the sole or primary basis for a dissertation. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that the quality of dissertations varies widely, regardless of the sponsoring university, but perhaps more importantly since these are not published in peer-reviewed scientific/scholarly journals, they simply are not part of the knowledge base represented in literature.” The one exception might be when a dissertation “the resulted in a new instrument (e.g., survey) being created in an area where no other instrument exists, and this instrument meets the requirements for any other instrument a learner chooses to adopt (e.g., appropriate purpose and population; suitable evidence validity and reliability has been amassed and reported). CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Your introduction to the problem should achieve the following objectives: (a) introduces your reader to the problem, (b) provides your reader with a clear understanding of the problem in a concise yet complete manner, and (c) demonstrates that your problem is worthy of further investigation. Background, Context, and Theoretical Framework for the Problem
of sources that learners commonly encounter [e.g. books, seminal or classical works, practitioner articles, etc.] and their appropriateness for inclusion in a dissertation and chapter 2. While it is a good idea to review dissertations as part of your preparation to propose a study, for the most part, dissertations are not acceptable as sources to be cited and discussed in dissertations; they should never be replicated and certainly can not be the sole or primary basis for a dissertation. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that the quality of dissertations varies widely, regardless of the sponsoring university, but perhaps more importantly since these are not published in peer-reviewed scientific/scholarly journals, they simply are not part of the knowledge base represented in “the literature.” The one exception might be when a dissertation resulted in a new instrument (e.g., survey) being created in an area where no other instrument exists, and this instrument meets the requirements for any other instrument a learner chooses to adopt (e.g., appropriate purpose and population; suitable evidence validity and reliability has been amassed and reported). CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Your introduction to the problem should achieve the following objectives: (a) introduces your reader to the problem, (b) provides your reader with a clear understanding of the problem in a concise yet complete manner, and (c) demonstrates that your problem is worthy of further investigation. Background, Context, and Theoretical Framework for the Problem