It's Just a Dissertation!

Do as little as necessary! ... "Shorth is better than length" (Dr. Seuss) ... Your advisors want and need you to succeed ... A dissertation is not the capstone, magnum opus of a lifetime, it is a text produced by a beginning scholar ... Whether the Ph.D. is just a glint in your eye, or you are ABD (All But Dissertation) with a looming deadline for Ph.D. eligibility, or you are anywhere in between, this book will help you believe you can write a dissertation, show you in manageable steps how to do it, present attitudes, perspectives and practical suggestions to help you get through the tough spots, and help you to get it done sooner rather than later without being stressed out. You may even enjoy the process! (Okay, that might be a stretch for some, but you can at least not hate it.)
Table of Contents:
Forward: To Our Potential Readers: Is This Book for You?
Introduction: Busting Counterproductive Idealism in Dissertation Thinking
Chapter 1: It's Just a Dissertation
Chapter 2: Do I Really Have to Read This Whole Book?
Chapter 3: Making it Easier (Not Harder) on Yourself: Choose a Doable Area of Inquiry
Chapter 4: Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe Part 1: Selecting a Near-Perfect Advisor Part 2: Assembling a High-Performing Committee
Chapter 5: Happily Ever After Part 1: What You Can Do to Make Your Advisee-Advisor Relationship Work Part 2: What You Can Do to Make Your Advisor's Feedback Helpful to You
Chapter 6: Magic 101: Transforming Daunting to Doable Part 1: What is a Prospectus and How Do I Write One? Part 2: Creating a Doable Dissertation Timeline (or Revising a Former One)
Chapter 7: Think Small: The Nitty Gritty of Getting It Done
Chapter 8: Stuck in the Muck: Prevent and/or Combat Unprogress
Chapter 9: I Feel Like Quitting: Special Circumstances That Don't Have to Stop You
Chapter 10: The Finish Line--Transforming Doable to Done: Formatting Your Dissertation and Preparing for Your Defense