Thesis
The thesis project must be an empirical research project that makes a scholarly contribution to the current body of knowledge in some area of psychology. The student may not submit an IRB/IACUC proposal or begin collecting data until after the proposal is approved by the committee unless the pre-proposal process (see below) is completed and approval to do so is granted.
Proposal: The student writes the proposal under the supervision of the advisor. The expectation is that the thesis proposal will result from an iterative process where, in order to develop a high quality document, the advisor edits drafts of the proposal that the student prepares. During preparation of the proposal, committee members need only be consulted if their expertise is needed. The proposal is to specify clearly, what the student proposes to do for the thesis project so that the student and the committee can discuss the details and arrive at definite decisions and agreement about the feasibility and quality of the proposed research.
Once approved by the advisor, the completed proposal is distributed to all committee members for review. A meeting (typically 2 hours) is scheduled, not less than one week after the proposal is distributed to members of he committee. The student should not make changes to the proposal after it is approved by the advisor and distributed to the committee.
Members of the committee are expected to read the thesis proposal and complete the written document portion of the thesis proposal evaluation rubric prior to attending the proposal meeting. During the proposal meeting the student makes a brief presentation during which he or she is expected to: demonstrate foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to the project; interact professionally with the audience; competently field questions about the project and the written document and; effectively use presentation software. Once all questions have been answered, the student will be asked to leave the room. Members of the committee will rate the student’s performance according to the Oral Proposal Defense Evaluation Rubric, discuss the document and the student’s performance, and decide whether the proposal should be approved, approved with specified revisions discussed in the meeting, or rejected.
In all cases, formative feedback regarding the quality of the written document and oral presentation will be provided to aid the student in preparing the written thesis and completing the oral defense, which serves as the comprehensive examination. If the proposal is rejected, the committee will make specific recommendations for remediation and the student may be required to make substantial changes to the document, schedule another proposal meeting, or both in order for the proposal to be approved.
The middle of the third semester is the target date for completing the Thesis Proposal however each student should consult with his or her advisor to determine (a) whether individual circumstances suggest that a later proposal date is appropriate and (b) the extent to which later proposal approval could impact completion of the thesis and the student’s anticipated graduation date.
Pre-Proposal Process: The pre-proposal process must be completed if the student (a) intends to use a pre-existing data set or (b) needs to attain IRB/IACUC approval and/or begin data collection before a full proposal of suitable quality can be completed. In such cases the student will work with the advisor to develop a pre-proposal document to be discussed by the thesis committee. The major issues to be addressed in the pre-proposal document are those related to the proposed method and analyses, however a clear hypothesis and rationale also must be provided so that the proposed method and analyses can be evaluated within context. A meeting to discuss the pre-proposal docment may be requested by the student or any member of the committee but is not required. If committee approval is granted, the student may submit an IRB/IACUC proposal (if necessary) and/or begin collecting data (if necessary) at that time. The pre-proposal is NOT a replacement for the thesis propsoal; students who complete the pre-proposal process also must prepare a thesis proposal that is ultimately approved by the committee.
Written Thesis: Once the data are collected, the student analyzes the data and writes the thesis under the supervision of the advisor. As with the proposal, several drafts of the written thesis are usually required. It is expected that the thesis will result from an iterative process where, in order to develop a high quality document, the advisor edits drafts of the proposal that the student prepares. While analyzing the data and writing the thesis, the committee members need only be consulted if their expertise is needed.
Once approved by the advisor, the complete written thesis is distributed to all committee members for review. The comprehensive examination meeting (typically 2 hours) is scheduled, not less than one week after the thesis is distributed. The student must not edit the thesis document after it is approved by the advisor distributed to the committee. Members of the committee are expected to read the thesis and complete the written document portion of the Thesis Evaluation Rubric prior to attending the Comprehensive Examination Meeting. The written thesis may be rejected, approved pending specified revisions, or approved as presented. If the thesis is rejected, the committee will make specific recommendations for remediation and the student will be required to make changes to the document, until it is acceptable.
