The Dissertation Coach

Dr. Linda Kaiser, Capella University

Alison — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:32:15 +0000

Dr. Colleen Halliday-Boykins is an excellent dissertation consultant and is highly recommended. I contacted Colleen when I reached Chapter 4 in my dissertation. I had collected data and was now on a tight timeline. I knew I couldn’t complete all of the necessary analysis alone in time. From the very first phone call with Colleen I knew she was a confident and highly experienced professional in the area of statistics. She immediately put my mind at ease, was consistently professional in all communication, and quickly responsive to all questions I had throughout the process. I was never left wondering if I would get a response – she was that quick at addressing any questions or concerns I had. I was provided with high-quality work that exceeded all of my expectations. Everything was explained so very clearly and I completely understood the how and why of the entire process. Colleen remained engaged in this process completely through my defense answering any question, no matter how small, almost immediately. In our final email conversations, Colleen asked to be notified as soon as I had completed my defense call so she could be one of the first to call me Dr. Kaiser! That shows that Colleen is interested in her clients not just for business reasons but also as real people. I have since referred Colleen to several of my colleagues who have also given me thanks for the referral as their experiences were just as stellar. Thank you so very much Dr. Colleen Halliday-Boykins for a superior job not only in the service you provide but for your excellence in customer service as well.

Tracy Thomas, PhD., Psychology

Alison — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:43:32 +0000

After an exhausting experience writing chapter 2, I knew I needed help editing both my chapter 2 and all of the subsequent chapters to come. Jill Blackwell, PhD helped me streamline a 265 page project into a dissertation that received feedback such as, “this is the best dissertation I’ve ever read” from multiple members of my university. Jill was not only efficient, she was fast, thorough, and spot on with her input. Jill was also incredibly encouraging and enthusiastic about my dissertation, which was validating and motivating. The accessibility I had to Jill, her quick response time and problem solving ability, gave me the feeling that I had a partner, a team member, a mentor, a teacher, a therapist, and a cheerleader along the way. It’s a great thing when you get more and better help than expected, and from someone you’d want to be friends with. I cannot say enough about Jill Blackwell.

M. O., Doctorate in Psychology

Alison — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:20:18 +0000

With literally a few emails and two short phone calls, Colleen was able to provide me with the guidance and direction that my committee collectively had not provided over the course of the two years I had been working on my dissertation. I had already defended my proposal, collected data, and written several complete drafts of my dissertation. Even though it seemed I was close to the end, I could not get past this part of the dissertation process due to several challenges with lack of support from my university, as well as various struggles with my committee. Colleen was able to provide me with the support and guidance one would expect from a dissertation chair. I worked with several dissertation coaches who honestly were a waste of my money and added to my frustration, so by the time I had the initial consultation with Colleen, I was very discouraged that my project would ever be completed and was quite frankly exhausted. From the start, Colleen provided me with what I needed…someone with specific experience and know-how in my field, realistic goals and flexibility, and the right attitude…that ”in spite of” the challenges I was facing with my actual committee, I was going to be successful in creating a solid finished product. In essence, she acted as my pseudo-chair. I really appreciated her direct approach and was very happy with her efficiency with product turn around and concise feedback. What I was most surprised about was that she actually corrected very little of my actual writing, but rather she taught me how to approach things differently, and empowered me to be a more skilled writer. So in essence, I am much more competent in compiling literature reviews and writing up research. By the time I submitted a completed paper to my actual committee, my confidence surrounding my project was unbelievably improved. Not only was I confident in my product, but my passion for my project was renewed which definitely helped facilitate getting to the final defense and then successfully defending. Wholeheartedly, I feel every penny spent for Colleen’s services was well worth it. I have recommended and will continue to recommend Colleen to other colleagues in need of something more than what they are getting from their actual committee members.

J.M.C., Ph.D.

Alison — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:41:19 +0000

I just successfully completed my dissertation defense in the fall of 2011. It went extremely well, with few revisions and I owe a large part of that to the guidance and support of Dr. Charles Parekh and your team. I contacted your company after extensive research of dissertation coaches and it paid off! I never dreamt that Dr. Parekh could provide so much encouragement and guidance throughout the last two chapters. Keep up the good work and be assured your service is a vital one to all us new scholars.

Michal Lemberger, PhD – Dissertation Coach and Consultant

Alison — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:25:37 +0000

Michal Lemberger holds a PhD in English from University of California, Los Angeles. She has taught at various local colleges and universities in Los Angeles in subjects ranging from composition to American and British Poetry and Bible as Literature and has acted as thesis advisor for students, guiding them though the process of formulating a topic, conducting appropriate research, setting goals, and producing a written product. As an editor, she has worked with graduate students and academics at various stages of their careers, providing feedback and assistance on everything from thesis proposals to articles or dissertation chapters to entire book manuscripts. She has experience working with scholars in the fields of literature, history, education, sociology, theology, philosophy, fine arts and art history, and law. Michal has developed a specialty in working with scholars for whom English is not a primary language. She can help guide students through the entire process of conceptualizing, writing, and editing a dissertation. Michal has a love of language and a thirst for knowledge. Compassionate and attentive, she relishes the opportunity to support students as they find their authentic voices and progress to completion in a timely manner.

Lindsey Patterson, MS – Dissertation Consultant (specializing in statistical analysis)

Alison — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:24:48 +0000

Lindsey has a Masters of Science in Applied Social Psychology at PSU in 2010 and is a highly skilled statistician. At PSU, Lindsey also works as a teaching assistant for both undergraduates and graduate students and served as a reviewer of many master’s theses and dissertations. Lindsey can assist students in analyzing quantitative data. She has expertise in conducting a variety of analyses including independent and dependent t-test, one-way and factorial ANOVA and ANCOVA, MANOVA, correlation and regression, multiple regression, mediated regression, moderated regression, logistic regression, multiway frequency analysis, HLM, factor analyses, cluster analysis, power analyses, chi-square, and a number of non-parametric tests. Lindsey can also aid students in transforming their research questions into appropriate hypotheses and provide guidance and editing for writing of the Methodology, Results, and Discussion sections of theses and dissertations. Lindsey is enthusiastic, positive, supportive and known for her ability to explain statistics in a straightforward, easy to understand manner.

Kathryn Paterson, PhD – Dissertation Coach

Alison — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:09:18 +0000

Kathryn Paterson holds an M.A. in playwriting from the University of Cincinnati, and an MFA and Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from the University of Houston. Dr. Paterson has worked with arts, humanities, and social science students for the past 16 years, teaching everything from developmental writing and reading to graduate level seminars in research. She currently teaches at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where she advises theses and mentors both undergraduate and graduate literature students. Her students have won local, state and national prizes and have published in a wide variety of journals. She has written plays, short fiction, and literary criticism, with research emphases in managing writing anxiety and in the application of mythic structures to the composition of lengthy projects. As a coach, she enjoys helping students at various stages of the writing process, particularly those who are stuck in the phases of idea development and generation. She helps students identify their writing blocks and figure out strategies to overcome them and manage the physiological aspects of writing anxiety.

Melva Turner, Ph.D., Capella University

Alison — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:20:24 +0000

I began my dissertation journey in January 2009 and after many revisions, my proposal was accepted by the Institutional Review Board in August 2010. Once I completed my research, I made the decision to contact a statistician to assist with a quantitative analysis. Prior to contacting The Dissertation Coach, I had contacted another company. However, I was not completely satisfied after talking with the representative of the company. Subsequently, I went online and searched for another statistician. I was fortunate enough to find The Dissertation Coach. After reading about the company, I decided to call and talked with Colleen Halliday-Boykins, Ph.D. with whom I immediately felt comfortable. Once I e-mailed all the data and necessary forms, Colleen was very expeditious in performing the analysis and providing notes explaining the outcome. I wrote Chapter 4, and sent it to ColIeen for her to critique as well because I did not want to prolong the dissertation any longer. Needless to say, Chapter 4 took far less time for approval than the previous three chapters. I signed the contract with The Dissertation Coach on November 11, 2010, and Chapter 4 was approved by my mentor on January 22, 2011, on the first review. Without Colleen’s guidance, I would probably have gone through one or two more quarters trying to complete Chapter 4. I will be forever grateful for the assistance from Dr. Collen Halliday-Boykins. The Dissertation Coach would be a valuable asset to anyone working on a dissertation.

Michelle Schladant, Ph.D., Special Education

Alison — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:18:15 +0000

When I first contacted Dr. Alison Miller, in October of 2010, I was completely overwhelmed and doubted whether I could finish my dissertation while working full-time and managing a busy family life. I found Dr. Miller’s website, after doing an Internet search for “dissertation coach”. I was looking for someone to help get me on the right track and hold me accountable. I was also seeking guidance and support to address the tremendous amount of self-doubt and anxiety I was experiencing about writing. After our first telephone conversation, she related her experience with getting through her doctoral program and I was intrigued by the fact that she too at one time was a student trying to complete her doctoral program. I knew she understood what I was going through. She put into words what I had been experiencing. That is, I was paradoxically in a constant state of either procrastination or perfectionism and this was impeding my ability to write. As soon as we started working together she helped me to develop a reasonable timeline and she also helped me break down the writing process into manageable steps. She taught me tools to be a more effective writer. We set up a system where she could check my progress daily and she communicated with me by phone and email almost daily giving me positive encouragement and constructive feedback. She helped me to work through those internal blocks (fear, procrastination, perfectionism) that were inhibiting my progress and preventing me from finishing and she taught me tangible tools to remove those blocks. I worked with Dr. Miller for 6 months and she empowered me to stay focused and productive. The tools I learned from her not only helped me with finishing my dissertation, but I continue to use these tools in my professional and personal life. I am extremely grateful for her help and I highly recommend the Dissertation Coach for anyone who is struggling to finish.

K.B., Ph.D., History, Chicago, IL

Alison — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:15:32 +0000

Without the assistance of Alison Miller, I would not have been able to finish my dissertation. Before I began dissertation coaching, anxiety, depression and uncertainty were creating barriers so severe that I was on the verge of abandoning my PhD program. Working with Alison, I was able to remember not only what I liked about my dissertation topic, but also what I loved about my discipline in the first place. The lessons that I have learned are vitally important to my future career, and I recommend Alison in the highest terms to anyone who is struggling with graduate work–from the earliest stages of research to the completion of the dissertation.