Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Rejected dissertation topics

You can be forgiven if you thought I had dropped out of school based on the content of recent posts. Nope; I'm still here and looking for a dissertation topic. So far I haven't chosen one, but here a few I've rejected:
Action research on boundary spanning roles: Take a fundraiser, a donor, and a professor on a hike around the Sewanee perimeter.
Auto-ethnography on the process of choosing a dissertation topic: Pros: No problems getting access to the data.
Content analysis of my dissertation: It's like a mirror reflected in a mirror reflected in a mirror reflected in a ... whoa.
Factors predicting alumni giving at a private university in the South: Turns out it has been done. Who knew?
The topic doesn't matter, but the title doesn't have a colon: I realized I would never get a job that way.
Cosmopolitans vs. locals in the tenure process: Findings suggest that drinking too much isn't good for tenure bids, no matter whether you consume fruity Sex In the City cocktails or regional microbrews.

5 comments:

Whosis said...

I kinda like either "The topic doesn't matter, but the title doesn't have a colon:" or "Cosmopolitans vs. locals in the tenure process", but that's just me... as you can tell, I'm not attempting a dissertation... :)

(Sorry, the first posted comment had a typo)

Eve Proper said...

Perhaps I could engage your assistance to tackle that ages-old question, "Where the %$&@ is Grinnell?"

Whosis said...

To quote the back of my tshirt:
"Who the %$&@ cares?"

:)

Rebecca said...

A friend just did a qualitative dissertation on identity formation and the dissertation process of women in a higher ed program at a south western university. Navel gazing at it's best. Don't completely count it out...

Our writing group went to get bra fittings at AERA and are pretty sure we can somehow work that into a publishable paper.... Our goal is to turn just about EVERYTHING we do into a publishable paper.....

You are correct however; without a colon or semicolon you'll never get a job *grin*

Eve Proper said...

Now there's a topic I had not considered - no, not bra fitting. "Between the clever phrase and the actual point: The use of the colon in academic titling."