School of Psychology

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program

Dissertation

Other Resources

Dissertation Questions

Getting Started

One of the more difficult steps in completing a dissertation is the formulation of a set of research questions that can help add to the body of current knowledge in the field of I/O psychology, and serve as a stepping-stone into your professional career. Research questions come from many sources. Many students choose to continue the line of research they began in their thesis. Other students develop research questions that are consistent with one of the existing research team's program of research. Students may also develop ideas in regular meetings with their advisor.

These research ideas serve as the beginning steps of the dissertation.

From there, students immerse themselves in reading on the topic and work their way through the relevant literature. This work continues until the research questions can be operationalized into testable hypotheses. In the Florida Tech Ph.D. program, much of this process occurs in conjunction with the 3rd year proposition sequence. This course sequence consists of a guided research experience, starting in the idea phase and culminating in two complete research proposals. Students are instructed on the role of theory in research, research design, proposal writing, and provided rich feedback from student peers and faculty members throughout the year. This sequence is designed to provide a dry run for the dissertation and develop expertise in a concentrated area.