Our Dissertation Coaching Services

We offer full-service and a-la-carte coaching packages for scholars at various stages in the dissertation process. You can reach more about each service below.

Personalized Graduation Timeline

Based on your institution's academic deadlines calendar and your personal PhinisheD goals, we can develop a personalized graduation timeline to help you stay on task from beginning to end. Informed by over fifteen years of higher education expertise, our proprietary timeline includes 50+ benchmarks to ensure that you do not miss a key milestone along the way.

Research Question Design

Convert your ideas for a dissertation study into researchable dissertation questions. Our coaches can walk you through the process of selecting a possible research topic, refining the scope of your study, and creating research questions that align with your proposed research method -- qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods.

Literature Review Development

The literature review is often viewed as the most difficult part of the proposal-writing process. Learn how to refine your research scope, create a cohesive literature search strategy, select literature appropriate for your research question(s) and study design, and organize your literature to create a cohesive & logical overview of prior studies, policies, and/or historical precedent.

Research Methods Development

Whether you are conducting a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods dissertation study, our coaches can provide advice on how to select an appropriate methodology as well as which methods are recommended for your proposed study. Once your proposal is approved, we can support you throughout the data collection and analysis process. Our team is highly skilled in statistical analyses for quantitative designs as well as coding synthesizing themes for qualitative designs.

Proposal Writing and Defense Support

Doctoral students are often required to submit a prospectus or proposal prior to beginning the research process. Our coaches can help you develop a thorough outline of your study -- including the creation of an outline of your first three chapters, the development of a literature review plan, and an overview of your proposed research plan -- to submit to your chair and/or committee for approval.

IRB Application Prep

Your institution -- as well as your study site -- may require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to conducting research. Our coaches can help you convert your dissertation into an IRB-ready application. Requirements for the IRB application (or a site-based equivalent) may include a thorough recruitment and research plan, a review of data collection & analysis protocols, detailed informed consent procedures, and an overview of relevant ethical considerations.

Editing Services

Our staff of editors can work with you as you write your dissertation and after your final defense to format your work according to your school and discipline's formatting guidelines. We can format your document according to ProQuest or other electronic publication specifications, as well as common formatting styles including APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian style.

Time Management & Prioritization Support

Completing the dissertation is hard enough as a full-time student. If you have other commitments outside of doctoral studies -- such as your partner, children, work, and unforseen emergencies -- the dissertation is often first on the chopping block. Learn techniques and strategies to help make the dissertation process manageable while living your best life.

Research and Data Analysis Support

Once your IRB application has been approved, NEXUS Education Consulting can coach you through the research process. Whether you are looking for a consultant to help you address pitfalls in your study or are looking for a statistician to assist with quantitative analyses, we are here to help! Research & data analysis support services include but are not limted to:

QUALITATIVE:
  • Interview and focus group transcript data
  • Data from site-based observations and formal site visits
  • Analysis of photos and videos
  • Content analysis of open-ended survey items
  • Analysis of forced-response survey items
QUANTITATIVE:
  • Analysis of local, state, and Federal databases
  • Analysis of data obtained through quantiative surveys
  • Descriptive and inferential analyses
    • Chi-square tests
    • t-tests
    • Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
    • Regression
  • Structural equation modeling
    • Path analysis
    • Factor analysis
    • Model fit statistics
    • Hierarchical Linear Modeling

NOTE: Support for mixed methods studies is also available.

Start working towards finishing your degree today.

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