List of Figures Preface Who Should Read This Book and Why Key Features and How to Use Them Acknowledgments About the Author Dedication 1. A Guide for Practitioner Scholars Questioning the Doctorate Seeing the Doctoral Process Through Doctoral Students' Eyes This Book as Guidelines and Guardrails Strategies for Success 2. A Road Map From Start to Finish The Big Picture: An Outline of the Process The Dissertation Timeline Your Own Timeline and Benchmarks Embracing Technology: The Table of Contents and Reference List Structuring Your Life as a Doctoral Student 3. Focusing Your Research Articulating a Topic in "Academic Speak" Narrowing the Topic Your First Success at Focusing: Creating a Title and Research Question A Final Thought: Focusing Your Research at a Cocktail Party 4. Structuring Your Research Choosing a Theoretical Framework Doing a Literature Review Understanding Research Methodology Choosing a Research Method Empirical Methodologies Linking Research Purpose to Research Method 5. Conducting Your Research Linking Research Methods to Research Tools Institutional Review Board (IRB) Some Final Thoughts Before "ABD-Land" 6. Putting It All Together: Completing Your Dissertation The Dissertation as a "Machine" Reverse Engineering Your Dissertation What Are the Remaining Key Issues? 7. Defending and Moving On The Dissertation Defense Publish Your Findings Apply Your Research: Impacting K-12 Education Teach the Next Generation: Teaching in Higher Education The Beginning of Your Journey as a Practitioner Scholar Key Resources by Topic References Index.