Dissertation manual revised 10 26 2011 12pt

Columbia Seminary and School of Ministries Doctor of Ministry Degree DISSERTATION-PROJECT MANUAL Table of Contents Page Chapter 1: The Doctor of Ministry Degree and Research 1 The Doctor of Ministry Degree 1 The Nature of D. Research 2 Approaches to Research 3 Quantitative Research Qualitative Research Mixed Methods Research Types of Research Design 4 Bibliographic Research Descriptive Research Evaluative Research Experimental Research Assessing research 5 Chapter 2: The D. Dissertation 7 The Structure of a Dissertation-Project: The Five Chapter Approach 7 Characteristics of a Good Research Topic 8 Precedent Research 8 Empirical Unknowns and Research Questions 10 Research Methodology 12 Reporting Research Findings 13 Research Conclusions and Recommendations 13 Chapter 3: Methods of Research 15 Bibliographic Research Methods 15 Ethnographic Research Methods 16 Grounded Theory Research 18 Survey Research Methods 19 Selection of Survey Respondents 20 Polling, Random Sampling, Systematic Sampling, Stratified Sampling, Convenience Sampling i ii Design of the Survey Instrument 21 Standardized Instruments, Researcher Designed Instruments, Types of Survey Items Sample Rate of Response 22 Presentation of the Survey Instrument, Tips for Designing a Survey Instrument Case Study Research Methods 24 Evaluative Research Methods 25 Chapter 4: Analysis of Research Data 26 Analysis of Verbal Data 26 Content Analysis, Constant Comparison Statistical Analysis of Numeric Data 27 Basic Concepts in Statistics 27 Populations, Samples, and Variables, Types of Measurements, Types of Distributions Descriptive Statistics 29 Measures of Central Tendency, Measures of Variability, Standard Scores, Correlation Reporting Statistical Data 31 The Use of Tables, Charts, and Graphs Chapter 5: From Proposal to Dissertation 32 Working with a Dissertation Director 32 The Dissertation-Project Proposal 33 The Proposal Defense 34 The Dissertation Oral Review 35 Submitting the Approved Dissertation 36 Chapter 6: Guidelines for Dissertation Writing 38 Research on Human Subjects 38 Stylistic Guidelines 39 Technical Guidelines 40 Appendices A. Basic Outline for a Dissertation-Project Proposal 43 B.

Basic Outline for a Dissertation-Project 45 C. Notes on Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition 47 D. Turabian Formatting and Pagination in MS Word 2010 49 E. Sample Pages 51 Sample Title Sample Approval Sample Table of Contents iii Sample Version Statement Sample First Page of a Chapter or Appendix Sample Page with Three Levels of Headings and a Content Footnote Sample First Page of a Reference List F.

Sample Survey Instrument Items, Their Use, and Analysis 59 Sample Instrument Items The Use and Analysis of Survey Instrument Items Analyzing Verbal Data Analyzing Numeric Data G. Informed Consent Form for Research on Human Subjects 68 H. Final Edit Checklist 69 I. Forms to Be Submitted with the Approved Dissertation 70 Microfilm Distribution Agreement for TREN Library Checklist—Binding Order Chapter 1: THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY DEGREE AND RESEARCH So, you’ve begun to think about the dissertation-project that is part of your Doctor of Ministry studies.

The dissertation phase of the program typically generates the most anxiety among D. students and it is true that across D. programs nationally, a majority of students who fail to complete their degree are A.—All But Dissertation. You should know, however, that CIU’s D.

program has a much higher than average percentage of students who complete their dissertation and receive their degree. You also should know that the dissertation phase of the D. probably will be both the most demanding and the most rewarding work encountered in your academic career. In designing, researching, and writing a dissertation, you will develop understandings, skills, and disciplines previously unattained.

Research is essential to doctoral studies and to doctoral levels of effectiveness in ministry. This chapter provides a basic introduction to the role of research in the D. program at CIU. The Doctor Of Ministry Degree The doctoral degree is the highest academic award granted by Western colleges and universities.

Doctoral studies take two forms, the research doctorate and the profes- sional doctorate. The research doctorate is designed to develop the research skills of the scholar, whether the discipline field is philosophy, history, or one of the sciences. The focus of the research doctorate is the advancement of knowledge, thus the degree is awarded for “pure” or academic research. The degree typically awarded by universities offering research doctorates is the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.

A research doctorate in theology leads to the Th. Doctoral recognition in professional fields may pursue “pure” research interests and lead to a Ph. degree, or may focus on applied research designed to enhance the practice of the profession. Doctoral programs focused on applied research—i., profes- sional doctorates—may lead to the Juris Doctor (J.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D), Doctor of Business Administration (D.), or another degree appropriate to the professional discipline.

While the Doctor of Theology (Th.) has a long and well-established history, the Doctor of Ministry (D.) was first awarded in 1964 and was first recognized by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) in 1970. As a professional doctorate, the focus of D. study and research is the practice of ministry. Due to its brief history, more variation currently exists among D.

programs than among Th. 1 2 It is important to note that the distinction between research and professional doctoral programs is the focus of study and research, rather than their rigor. The standard of doctoral education is the same, whether the focus is “pure” research—i., research primarily of academic interest—or applied research. The Nature Of D.

Research It is helpful to bear in mind that research is disciplined inquiry. Both aspects of this definition are important. Research is first and foremost inquiry; it always involves asking and answering questions. This bears important implications for those seeking to identify a research topic.

It means, for instance, that a topic framed in the form "To prove that.," or "To show that.," is not appropriate as research. Valid topics, by contrast, may be framed "To learn what.," "To observe how. A reliable way to test the appropriateness of a prospective research topic is to express it in interrogative form. The interrogative form clearly belies the intent of the topic, whether to inquire or to build a case for a previously espoused position.

Topics intent on inquiry may constitute valid research projects; those with other intents never will. As inquiry, research is disciplined by logical and empirical consistency. The rigor of any research design is tested logically. The logic of well designed research forms a seamless whole, from the statement of the problem, through the methods employed, to the conclusions derived.

When a research design lacks logical rigor, the research is vulnerable to alternative explanations (i., "rival hypotheses") which detract from--and may destroy--the usefulness of findings and conclusions. The researcher is responsible to design the research with such care that rival hypotheses are precluded, or are incorporated into the research design. Since Doctor of Ministry education focuses the practice of ministry, it is appro- priate that this program of study should culminate in the dissertation-project. The dissertation-project is so named because it combines a dual focus on research and minis- try practice.

dissertation-project will engage the student in research directly applied to the student's present or prospective ministry. Students who emphasize the term "project" in conceptualizing their task, often submit proposals which describe valid and worthwhile endeavors, but fail to qualify as research. Typical of this group would be a proposal to develop a curriculum, plan a preaching schedule, or develop a church planting strategy for a specific community. What these projects lack is field (or ministry) involvement.

Each constitutes one element of an appropriate dissertation-project exercise, but must be expanded to include specific engagement in ministry. The curriculum must be field tested with a sample population; the preaching schedule must be implemented and evaluated on the basis of pre-estab- lished criteria; the church planting strategy must be grounded in an ethnographic study of the target community. 3 The dissertation-project submitted will be a carefully written document with a text at least 125 and no more than 200 pages in length. The document will describe the nature of the problem explored, the methodology employed, the research findings, and the conclusions reached.

The dissertation-project will reflect careful scholarship, including perceptive observation and incisive critique, grounded in a thorough acquaintance with the primary and cognate discipline fields. Yet the dissertation-project is more than a formal research paper, just as the Doctor of Ministry program is different from studies toward a research doctorate. As doctor of ministry education seeks to focus theological reflection on the practice of ministry, so the dissertation-project brings theological reflection to bear on the findings of research for the enhancement of ministry practice. The student, therefore, will not offer detached analysis of a sterile, academic issue, but will deal carefully and reflec- tively with matters vitally relevant to the practice of ministry.

At CIU, the dissertation- project is expected to demonstrate how biblical theology illuminates and critiques ministry practice. Since biblically illuminated research always has significance beyond the local context of the researcher, the dissertation-project will include implications and recommendations for other ministry settings. Approaches To Research Formal research, from the Enlightenment through the mid-20th century was guided by Modernist values and assumptions. Reality is stable and is measurable, observation can be pursued with detachment, and truth is rational and is discernable through disciplined observation and reason.

This led to an approach to research which seeks to express reality as numbers which can be analyzed statistically. Appropriately, this approach is known as Quantitative Research. In quantitative research, data are numerical, analysis is statistical, and methods are objective. Replicability is an important aspect of research design since findings are verified when replicated by other researchers.

Most scientific advances are the fruit of quantitative research and quantitative assump- tions continue to dominate research in the natural sciences. With increasing attention to human issues in the social sciences and the rise of the post-modern critique of Modernist assumptions, an alternative approach to research was proposed. The variable nature of human relationships and social structures, as well as divergent views of truth and morals led to abandonment of absolutist understandings of reality central to the Modernist project and to quantitative research. Constructionist epistemologies precluded any assumption of an unbiased observer.

From numerical precision, attention was redirected to qualities present in the environment, in human interactions, and in individual constructions of “truth” and “reality.” It also is appropriate that this approach is known as Qualitative Research. In qualitative research, natural settings are respected, processes and relationships, not only quantifiable variables, are of interest, data are verbal, analysis employs interpretative methods, and findings typically 4 are not replicable. Qualitative research assumptions and methods are widely embraced within the social sciences. Research in ministry rarely is purely either quantitative or qualitative; most research in ministry employs a Mixed Methods Approach.

This name is misleading, however, since the differences between quantitative and qualitative research are less methodological than philosophical. It is no more necessary to embrace the naturalistic assumptions often associated with quantitative research than to subscribe to the epistemo- logical relativism that underlies much current qualitative research. Truth and reality are grounded in the person of God himself. The world God created can be objectively observed, as evidenced by the concurrence of multiple observers.

Yet, humans and human society hold value that extends beyond the natural specifically because God created men and women in his own image. Research is possible and profitable because the universe God created is rationally structured; attention to social contexts and human choices is appropriate because of the imago dei. It should be noted, furthermore, that very few research methods are solely quantitative or qualitative, grounded theory re- search being the principal exception. Types Of Research Design In order to pursue research in ministry effectively, it is useful to discriminate various types, or genre, of research design.

Recognizing the design of research appropri- ate to a project affords guidance in the selection of research methods. It is helpful to discriminate four discrete types of research design.