DOCTORAL Program
Clinical Research Requirements		 Doctoral Program

The doctoral clinical research study is conducted in accordance with guidelines established for doctoral candidates of Baker University.  The doctoral study follows recommendations found in “The Role and Nature of the Doctoral Dissertation:  A Policy Statement,” Council of Graduate Schools.

Purpose
The doctoral clinical research study will

  • Reveal the candidate’s ability to analyze, interpret and synthesize information;
  • Demonstrate the candidate’s knowledge of the literature relating to the project or at least acknowledge prior scholarship on which the study is built;
  • Describe the methods and procedures used;
  • Present results in a sequential and logical manner; and
  • Display the candidate’s ability to discuss fully and coherently the meaning of the results.

The clinical research study is the beginning of the candidate’s scholarly work, not the culmination.  Clinical research is expected to provide the candidate with hands-on, directed experience in the primary research methods of the discipline and should provide for the type of research that is expected after the Doctor of Education degree is awarded.

Process
Once a candidate has entered the program, he or she receives a full description of the process to be used for completing the study, including the following:

  • Clinical research proposal development and approval.
  • Statement on originality.
  • Format and publication of the dissertation.
  • Adviser-Advisee relationship.
  • Administrative and faculty support.
  • Study presentation process.
  • Deadline to complete dissertation.

The candidate is expected to successfully complete an initial portion of the study through enrollment in “Clinical Research Development,” six (6) credit hours, conducted in three, two-credit-hour seminars.  Seminars are scheduled at the completion of the first 15 hours of coursework.  The second portion of the research project, “Clinical Research Completion and Presentation,” includes initial enrollment in six-plus (6+) credit hours in a given semester.  A candidate is expected to participate in continuous enrollment of one credit-hour per semester (after the completion of the 6 credit-hour Clinical Research Completion semester) until the research study is successfully completed, presented, and approved by the candidate’s research committee.

General Content
Following approval of the study proposal by the candidate’s major advisor and committee, the candidate will submit the study to include the following:

    Chapter 1:  Introduction – A description of the study’s proposition(s), question(s) and hypothesis(es) to be examined.
    • Chapter 2:  Review of the literature – A logical link of data to the proposition.
    • Chapter 3:  Methodology – A description of the unit or units of analysis to be used.
    • Chapter 4:  Results – A description of the findings.
    • Chapter 5:  Discussion - A description of the interpretations made from the results, including the criteria for interpreting the findings and the applications to future studies.

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