Session Type: Workshop Accepted by MIG(s): Scholarship, Education Time Allotted: 90 Description: Boost your dissertation progress! This interactive workshop specifically targets graduate students at any stage of dissertation work. Need to narrow your research question? Choose a method? Structure a literature review? Organize your results? This session will answer that next question, offer a different perspective, or simply affirm your progress. Abstract: The research process comprises many skills, which often require as much effort to learn as the dissertation content area. This interactive workshop specifically targets graduate students at any stage of dissertation work. The session will provide individualized and small group guidance addressing student’s specific dissertation needs, such as narrowing the research question, choosing a method, structuring a literature review, organizing results, and drawing reasonable conclusions. Time will also be provided to answer all-group questions on more general topics such as specific questions about qualitative and quantitative research, proposing, defending, writing, etc. The objectives and description of how this session meets the ILA conference goals follow.
This workshop has been offered since 2002 and, based on participant’s feedback, proved a valuable facet to the ILA conference.
Objectives
1. Attract more graduate students to both leadership research and ILA. By providing a workshop of this nature, ILA shows its support for graduate students and recognizes their importance as future members of the leadership community.
2. Facilitate individual dissertation progress.
3. Motivate individual dissertation progress.
4. Provide alternative perspectives of the research process to expand student’s understanding and conceptualization of research.
5. The many different approaches, types, and guidelines for research at other institutions will be complemented, respected, and deferred to as necessary.
This workshop meets the ILA conference goals as follows:
1. The workshop strengthens ties between leadership theory and practice by helping students operationalize their preliminary theories into realistic and valid research methodologies.
2. Students attending this workshop will be provided with many useful new ideas for how to work through different parts of the research process. This information will be summarized on handouts for students to take and reference in the future as they continue their progress.
3. As a workshop, we will work individually or in small groups to address various problems and issues. The extent of creativity will be limited to the prepared materials, since the primary objective is to address the questions, issues, and needs students bring to the session.
4. Not sure this session really adds to our understanding of leadership, except to say it will enhance how students conceptualize studying their particular piece of the field.
5. Relationship to conference theme: This session does not address transformational leadership directly, but rather facilitates individuals in their efforts to become key contributors to future efforts to build and refine new models of leadership. In a sense, going through the dissertation process is a personally transformative experience, enabling individuals to ‘see’ the world differently. These efforts will in turn someday shape the next generation of researchers, thinkers, and practitioners.
Anthony Middlebrooks, University of Delaware
Bio: Tony Middlebrooks, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Leadership Program in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware. Dr. Middlebrooks brings a unique blend of academic, research, and professional experience. Prior to assuming his present position, Dr. Middlebrooks helped develop the doctoral program in leadership as a professor at Cardinal Stritch University. And, he spent ten years in non-profit leadership positions, culminating in writing, consulting, and presenting on a variety of leadership topics. Currently Dr. Middlebrooks teaches courses in leadership theory, decision-making, organizational leadership, and research methodology. His scholarship interests include leadership formation and development, particularly at the individual conceptual level; the relationship between creativity and leadership, and the development of a critical service ethic. Dr. Middlebrooks has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Robert Colvin, Christopher Newport University
Bio: Robert E. (Bob) Colvin, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Chair of the Department of Leadership and American Studies at Christopher Newport University in eastern Virginia. He teaches courses in leadership research and theory, values leadership, and foundations of leadership. His doctoral dissertation focused on executive leadership and his publications are in the fields of leadership studies and public administration. Dr. Colvin has worked at the cabinet level in Virginia state government, headed a legislative agency, headed two executive branch organizations in state government, and was a local government official. He is a former chair of the Public Service Member Interest Group for the International Leadership Association and is a member of the managing board for the Journal of Leadership Education. He may be reached at rcolvin@cnu.edu.
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