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[autie13]

Can anyone recommend a book that guides one through the dissertation process?  There seem to be many out there, but I'm looking for a GOOD one!

[zharkov]

IMHO, it depends on your field....  An English vs. Economics vs. Engineering vs. Etruscan Poetry dissertations are pretty different beasts.   And that is just the Es.  To put my point differently, academic writing differs by field.

That said, I like McCloskey for econ and Becker for sociology writing. And the book They Say I Say for academic writing in general. 

[soprano]

There are two that I've seen that seem pretty decent - but I've not yet written a dissertation so I can't judge.

"Getting what you came here for" seems to be a good overall handbook with some sections on the dissertation, and "Completing your dissertation or thesis in two semesters or less."  They both seemed to be helpful and might be worth a try.

[vcats]

Are you talking about books that help you get it done, or books about the substantive choices and tasks you'll face along the way?

[hobbit]

I read They Say, I Say when someone (Zharkov?) recommended it once before, and found it immensely helpful. Another useful book is Destination Dissertation: A Traveler's Guide to a Done Dissertation by Sonja Foss and William Waters. The results section is not oriented to science research, but mainly toward humanities and social sciences. The rest of the book is filled with very useful strategies for writing and for tying things together so they flow logically and provide clear answers to your research questions. I've used some other books, but these are my favorites.
Good luck to you!

[reader]

Writing the Doctoral Dissertation by Gordon B. Davis gave me a chart showing the process.  The rest of the book wasn't as helpful to me.

I suggest you look up this book, or The Portable Dissertation Advisor by Miles T. Bryant, on amazon and look at "similar products" or "what others bought".  You'll soon come up with 8 or 10 titles that would work good enough.

Finally, ask around to read dissertations from previous years.  This encouraged me to see what people produced as a final product. 

[octoprof]

Writing the Doctoral Dissertation by Gordon B. Davis gave me a chart showing the process. 

Someone gave me this book when I was in the PhD program. It was helpful.  I passed it on to my first PhD student years later.

I'm sure there are better books, though, as this little book came out in the dark ages.

[dr_dre]

Two books helped me:

Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day (motivation, writing every day, overcoming blocks)

Patrick Dunleavy, Authoring a Ph.D. (how to structure a chapter, how is a chapter conclusion different from a concluding chapter, etc.; good for social sciences/humanities)

[olive]

One of the books Dr. Dre mentioned, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day, has been more helpful to me than any of the others I've turned to.  It was interesting to read back at the start of the whole process and now, almost at the end of my diss, I still turn back to it to when I'm feeling stuck. 

[zarathustra]

One of the books Dr. Dre mentioned, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day, has been more helpful to me than any of the others I've turned to.  It was interesting to read back at the start of the whole process and now, almost at the end of my diss, I still turn back to it to when I'm feeling stuck. 

Someone recommended the above to me also, and as I was up against a scary deadline, it didn't seem as applicable (I may have been too panicked to really read it properly).  But I did enjoy Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, even though it's tilted to fiction writers.  I was able to read her book in about an hour, skipping over chapters that didn't apply to me and found it very entertaining, supportive and insprirational (which is what I needed at the time).

[olive]

That's true, I haven't used Bolker's book in panic-stricken moments, so I couldn't speak for its usefulness in those situations.  It's more helpful in getting me through the long haul of dissertation-plodding.  And I love Bird by Bird, too--her section on s***ty first drafts has been invaluable. 

One of the books Dr. Dre mentioned, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day, has been more helpful to me than any of the others I've turned to.  It was interesting to read back at the start of the whole process and now, almost at the end of my diss, I still turn back to it to when I'm feeling stuck. 

Someone recommended the above to me also, and as I was up against a scary deadline, it didn't seem as applicable (I may have been too panicked to really read it properly).  But I did enjoy Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, even though it's tilted to fiction writers.  I was able to read her book in about an hour, skipping over chapters that didn't apply to me and found it very entertaining, supportive and insprirational (which is what I needed at the time).

[magimax]

"How to complete and survive a doctoral dissertation" by David Sternberg was very helpful for me.  It's a bit dated, but still has many useful points.

[zarathustra]

And I love Bird by Bird, too--her section on s***ty first drafts has been invaluable. 

Yes! That was my favorite part and I wanted to engrave that motto onto one of my reader's arms (ala Whatsherbucket in Harry Potter) because he didn't seem to get it.   Grrrr....still pisses me off.

[monkeydoc]

Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day (motivation, writing every day, overcoming blocks)

This was a HUGE help to me, and not only for the dissertation. Highly recommended.