The comprehensive examination and the dissertation are the final projects in your doctoral journey. These projects allow learners to demonstrate their skills as independent scholars and researchers. In a real sense, the entire range of academic preparation up to this point has been preparation for this. Between the conclusion of Track 3 of the Colloquia and the start of the comprehensive examination, there is time for continuing development and strengthening of one’s scholarly and research knowledge and skills.
As you know, in the comprehensive examination (hereafter called "comps") you will be asked to answer sophisticated questions in your specialization or field of study. You will have 28 calendar days to answer the questions in which you will need to bring your skills to the highest level for the greatest chance of success. These are skills in:
Scholarly Skills Needed in the Comps
There is a set of interrelated skills needed to pass the comps. They derive from the four competencies of the Colloquia (scholar-practitioner, critical thinker, researcher , and professional writer):
If you are weak or unready in any of these skills, develop a plan (which you will present to the courseroom instructor) for improving your skills between now and the quarter when you will take comps. This plan can be proactive—that is, a positive approach to developing or strengthening a particular skill. It can also include reactive elements, such as deciding to take a quarter off to concentrate heavily on developing or improving your skills. The comps and the dissertation are crucial to your success: only successfully completing both will allow you to succeed in this program. Careful and thorough preparation is key—the more ready you are going in, the greater your chances of success.
Some Ideas for Your Readiness-for-Comps Plan
When you meet your dissertation mentor, one of the first things you and the mentor will discuss is your research plan, developed through the Colloquia. So it is important that it be as well-prepared as you can make it before you have that discussion. You should have been updating your literature review in the research plan through all the quarters you’ve been taking courses and attending Colloquia. Between now and the comps, continue that. Once you have passed the comps and are on track to start dissertation, continue building that lit review and revising your research plan according to your latest findings.
Before you start the dissertation, become very familiar with the resources available to you in your school. Go to Research at Capella, and then click on the link to "Research in [your school's name]" at the bottom of the page. Open every document and discover what is there for you. Prepare yourself for talking with a mentor so that you sound knowledgeable about the processes and the various elements of the dissertation—do not wait for a mentor to tell you what is needed or how to find something. The dissertation is a demonstration of independent research.
Before you pass the comps, do not spend a lot of time preparing for dissertation (except to keep working on your research plan and building that lit review). Instead, devote the time to preparing for the comps—when you pass the exam, there will be plenty of time for gearing up for the dissertation.
Keep one thing in the forefront of your vision: The comps and the dissertation demonstrate your independence, as a scholar (comps) and as a researcher (dissertation). You will be asked to demonstrate not only that you have knowledge, not only that you can present that knowledge in a manner appropriate to a PhD, but that you can use that knowledge to generate new knowledge on your own initiative, independently. Consequently, evaluate honestly the level of your scholarship skills, the breadth of your knowledge, and the degree of true independence in your work.
Independence does not mean isolation, though. Scholars form a community, and they talk together, recognizing their limitations and asking for help when they need it.
Knowing when one needs help is a genuine dimension of independent scholarship. Can you ask for help when you need it? Can you tell when you need it?
Another thing to look at as you prepare for the dissertation (and the comps, for that matter), is to assess your comfort with difficult feedback. Particularly in the dissertation, you will receive a lot of difficult feedback—about your ideas, about your writing, about details of your research design, about any and every aspect of the project. You may even get differing feedback from different evaluators, and you’ll have to negotiate with them if the differences are extreme. Are you ready to not take tough feedback personally, but to use it to strengthen your work? Don’t pass over that point lightly—self-assess carefully on this point.
Finally, evaluate your time management skills. Perhaps the hardest problem to solve with the dissertation is how to ensure that you get done in a reasonable period of time. There are no real deadlines—although there are milestones—like there are in courses. The work is relentless, but there is no one expecting a document on a certain day. It is far too easy to get lost. This is another aspect of the independence you must demonstrate: the ability to get the job done on your own. If procrastination and time management have been problems during your coursework, they will be magnified enormously during the dissertation. If you have all the other necessary skills but allow yourself to procrastinate, your chances of success drop. So if that has been a problem, take time to investigate it and develop a plan to overcome it. You can do it, with a plan.
Doc. reference: phd_t3_u10s3_h01_prepcomp.html