Assess your current status in your dissertation proposal development

Module 7: Week 7 Introduction

Overview

This week you will be fine tuning your skills for developing a dissertation proposal. It’s a great time to make any adjustments in light of what you learn.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Assess your current status in your dissertation proposal development.
• Assess and incorporate ethical standards in the helping professions.
• Compare and contrast current research involving individuals with a broad array of presenting problems in the areas of community, pastoral, and marriage and family counseling.

Personal Progress: Status Check – Module 7 Assignment Instructions

Overview

The student will complete 8 Personal Progress Assignments in this course. These reports will be submitted as a discussion within the course, providing students with an opportunity to collaborate on ideas and share resources related to dissertation topic interests. Discussion replies are OPTIONAL. For each assignment, students must support their assertions with scholarly citations in current APA format where appropriate. Each assignment must be between 200 to 250 words.

Instructions

Share a sense of how your topic development has progressed. If you have had meetings about your project with your professor, you should summarize the key points of that discussion, state your current tasks related to your dissertation, and include any questions you have.

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Module 7: Week 7 – Dissertation Proposal Progress & Refinement

Overview

This week’s focus is on progressing your dissertation proposal by refining the central elements, ensuring alignment across sections (e.g. question, theory, methods), and embedding ethical considerations. Students should use feedback from prior weeks or advisor meetings to improve coherence and feasibility.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the current state of your dissertation proposal, identifying strengths, gaps, and necessary revisions.

2. Integrate ethical principles relevant to research in the helping professions into your proposal (e.g. participant protection, confidentiality, informed consent).

3. Synthesize recent empirical literature (past 5 years) across relevant domains (e.g. community, pastoral, family systems) to situate your research problem and theoretical framing.

Assignment: Proposal Progress Memo (Module 7)

Purpose

The Proposal Progress Memo gives you a chance to reflect on where your project stands, solicit feedback, and chart the next steps. It fosters accountability, encourages iterative improvement, and surfaces any concerns or questions early.

Instructions & Requirements

• Length: 250–300 words (excluding references)

• Due: by Sunday, end of week (11:59 pm)

• Format: APA style (7th ed.) for in-text citations and reference list

• Submission: via the Discussion Board (as an original post)

• Peer replies: optional, but encouraged

Your memo should include the following elements:

1. Current Status & Reflection

   • Describe how your topic, research question(s), and theoretical framework have evolved.

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   • Summarize any meetings or discussions with your advisor or committee, and how that feedback influenced changes.

   • Reflect briefly on what is going well and what remains challenging.

2. Alignment & Coherence Check

   • Examine the alignment among your research question(s), variables (or constructs), and planned methodology.

   • Identify at least one inconsistency or gap (e.g. measure not matching construct, missing control, sampling challenges) that you plan to resolve.

3. Ethical Considerations

   • Name at least two ethical issues relevant to your study (e.g. informed consent, risk minimization, power dynamics, confidentiality).

   • Explain how you plan to address them in your proposal (e.g. anonymization, debriefing, oversight via IRB).

4. Next Steps & Questions

   • Lay out 2–3 concrete tasks you will complete in the coming week(s) (e.g. finalize measures, pilot test, revise lit review).

   • Pose any 1–2 questions for your instructor/peers about the proposal (e.g. “Is this sample size feasible given timeframe?”).

5. References

   • Cite at least 2–3 recent empirical sources (from the past 5 years) that relate to your topic or methods.

Assessment Criteria (Rubric)