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Friday, March 13, 2009

Thesis and Dissertation Consultants

“Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.”

James Frank Dobie

The quote above describes how almost every student is likely to feel at the end of every tiring semester. They studied and researched and went through the many hardships required in today’s ever-competitive world. Graduate school is “crunch time,” where no matter how much they try to meet their goals, Murphy’s Law still operates. Due to tight deadlines and an abundance of work to worry about, students frequently do not have the slightest idea as to how to put things into perspective. They might have all the knowledge and skills needed, yet many students fail to even decide on a topic for a dissertation, let alone begin to write the entire dissertation.

Theses and dissertations can sometimes be very complicated, and let’s face it- students do not always have access to their advisors all the time. Students need a guiding hand, such as a thesis and dissertation consultant, to help address all sorts of problems that might be encountered during the course of writing a thesis or dissertation. A large number of students are preparing a thesis for the first time, and they absolutely have no idea as to how to start. All of these problems and more can be addressed by seeking the services of thesis and dissertation consultants. Thesis and dissertation consultants are professionally-trained individuals who can help students in an organized manner, which does not at all mean that thesis and dissertation consultants are meant to replace the advisor or the professor. Practically speaking, thesis and dissertation consultants are there to provide a helping hand.

The completion of a dissertation demonstrates the ability to address a major intellectual problem, and the results constitute a contribution to knowledge in the field. Thesis and dissertation consultants can be very beneficial in the hour of need. Thesis and dissertation consultants can provide friendly and relaxed consultations and address the students’ questions at length. They can also help students choose an interesting and worthy topic. Thesis and dissertation consultants can also help students learn how to turn the selected topic into a sustainable research project. Consultants can also help in terms of research and organizing students’ literature reviews, statistics (a subject increasingly applicable to non-statistical studies) and writing and proofreading the final submission. Thesis and dissertation consultants can further help with advising on base level problems, such as sample size selection, suitable statistical techniques, formats for citation, along with topics such as the right method for conducting a regression analysis, how to deal with missing values and much more. Consultants can also help in interpreting results and formulating meaningful conclusions based on one’s findings. Finally, thesis and dissertation consultants can also help in preparing for the final oral defense.

Another benefit of thesis and dissertation consultants is that they can help reduce a students’ workload dramatically, particularly for the students or candidates who have very little time due to their commitments to work. In addition, for those who are not very good with managing time or schedules, thesis and dissertation consultants can be a God-send.

Students should always remember that they should keep a strong team dynamic while working on the project with the consultant. A lack of coordination and cooperation can lead to friction in the course of research and would ultimately affect the quality of the project. Thesis and dissertation consultants are, or should be, like mentors or assistant faculty whom students can access at any point of time. All in all, in order to avoid unnecessary tensions and confusion, one should hire a thesis and dissertation consultant so that they can go start their research on the path for a superior grade.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Dissertation Statistics Tutoring

At the end of every semester, almost every student has to complete a dissertation in order to get his or her degree. Though the student has studied the entire semester and has done his/her own research work, he/she is frequently so overburdened and overwhelmed at the end of the semester, that the student fails to make sense of all he/she has studied, learned and researched. In other words, by the end of the semester, many students are so burnt-out that they are unable to truly focus on their dissertation. Additionally, many students are “first timers” when it comes to writing a thesis or dissertation and they frequently have absolutely no idea as to how to go about the research process.

Writing a dissertation is a complex task in and of itself, particularly when it comes to statistical analysis. Frequently, even non-statistics related dissertations involve statistical analysis. For a non-statistician, such work can be not only intimidating, but it can also be impossible to complete without help. Statistics involves the “magic of numbers,” and in order for one to produce, explain and defend such “magic,” a student must be a master of numbers—for statistics is not really magic; rather, it is the science, collection and analysis of numbers that can often seem like magic because of its complexity. Thus, because of its complexity and difficulty, the subject is quiet nerve-racking, especially if the student has improper, little or no guidance. As students do not have access to their teachers at all times, they need someone else for step-by-step guidance. The pains and frustrations that students go through during dissertation research are endless. Further, it can be even more derailing and discouraging when professors keep rejecting students’ dissertations due to insufficient data, inadequate research, ineffective writing style, or incorrect formatting and compilation. Such rejections from professors can ultimately make students miss their deadlines. This, however, is where the dissertation statistics tutoring can be of great help!

Dissertation statistics tutoring can go a long way in helping students develop the research project or experiment, select methodologies, interpret results and write the dissertation. At the very least, dissertation statistics tutoring can be extremely useful in helping students with statistical analysis for non-statistical academic programs. Statistics is becoming pervasive in nearly every field of research and study. For instance, medical science, clinical research, market research or marketing, financial services and many other industry verticals use statistics in developing new and more efficient methods of operations.

For a student in a non-statistics discipline, dissertation statistics tutoring can be invaluable because without proper statistical analysis, a student’s dissertation can be rendered invalid or inaccurate. Dissertation statistics tutoring can help answer students’ doubts regarding many statistics topics, including Decision Theory, Statistical Inference, Regression Analysis, Multivariate Analysis, Probability, Signal Processing and Econometrics. However difficult or complex the problem or topic may be, dissertation statistics tutoring can make it easy, accessible and understandable for students. Dissertation statistics tutoring gives regular feedback on students’ experiments and research. Therefore, the dissertation statistics tutor continually makes sure that the students are moving on the right track.

A dissertation is required for all graduate and doctoral students. The timely completion of a student’s dissertation demonstrates his/her aptitude in a field of study and the results constitute a contribution to knowledge in the field. Dissertation statistics tutoring services are usually provided by experts who have knowledgeable insight within a field of study, particularly on the topics that every student comes across while writing the dissertation. Among other things, dissertation statistics tutoring helps in editing the actual writing of the dissertation. They also oversee and give guidance on the methods used to support conclusions and inferences to ensure that students come up with accurate and plausible results. The best thing about dissertation statistics tutoring is that they take even the most minute details of research into consideration and they help the client achieve an error free diagnosis and conclusion.

Often students struggle as they have many time restraints. Some students are the sole bread earners of their family and consequently have no time to take care of the actual research or writing. Alternatively, some students may be poor time managers and may not be equipped to finish the dissertation in time. Dissertation statistics tutoring can help these time-strapped students by providing much needed guidance and support. With guidance, students will find it easier to write a solid thesis and create meaningful analysis.

Because dissertation statistics tutors can be an invaluable help to students who are writing their dissertations, it is very important that students find the right tutor. Part of this selection process involves hiring a qualified and professional tutor. Students are well advised to discuss new ideas and findings with the tutor in order to obtain the tutor’s valuable feedback. Additionally, it is very important that dissertation statistics tutors who are working with students discuss and answer all questions that the student has. They must also be sure that both the tutor and the student are on the same wavelength. This will greatly improve the overall quality of the dissertation.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Dissertation Consultant


Dissertations can sometimes be both very complicated and very difficult to write alone. Though students may need help selecting a dissertation topic, conducting research, writing the dissertation, or analyzing the actual data, students may not always have access to teachers for much-needed assistance. A large number of students who prepare dissertations for the first time often require just as much help gathering research materials as they do writing up the results. For many of these “first-timers,” a dissertation becomes a headache rather than a valuable academic experience. A dissertation consultant, however, can be the answer to many students’ prayers.

A dissertation consultant is a professionally trained individual who provides useful direction to students. This dissertation consultant is trained in selecting topics for dissertations, setting up experiments, designing research methodology and writing up the actual dissertation. Additionally, the dissertation consultant can proofread the dissertation and can provide ad-hoc guidance for students when they need a lot more time than their guide can provide. This does not necessarily mean that the dissertation consultant is replacing the guide at the college. Rather, the dissertation consultant is acting as a supplement to the college guide.

There is a popular notion that a dissertation consultant writes papers for students. The truth, however, is that a good dissertation consultant provides writing guidance and advice to the students. In addition, the dissertation consultant can assist with proofreading or “cleaning-up” the dissertation to make it look more professional. Often, a student will write a decent term paper, but when the student must write the results of a statistical experiment, their write-up is less than adequate and it certainly does not look professional.

In addition to offering writing assistance, a dissertation consultant can help research the topic in depth and he/she can provide support for the task of research. For example, many students may not be very good at navigating complex research databases. Or, students might not be familiar with the different citation formats. Not only can a dissertation consultant provide help on citation formats and other aspects of the writing, he or she can also help selecting the right format and template.

Dissertation consultants also enable students to manage their time more effectively because a lot of students have to juggle with the demands of family obligations or a full time job while attending classes and writing their dissertations. A dissertation consultant helps the students set reasonable writing schedules and goals that can go a long way in making room for the students’ non-student life demands, which are often more pressing.

The advantages of hiring an expert dissertation consultant are many. First, the student will not need to worry about what topic will work best for his/her program of study. Further, there is always someone to guide the student when the subject matter is too complex and difficult to understand. In addition, the dissertation consultant can provide real-time guidance on what content to include, thereby offering helpful and meaningful critique on the dissertation.

The students availing the services of a dissertation consultant must make sure that their concerns and questions are addressed to their satisfaction and understanding. For this purpose, they must enquire about the qualifications and experience of the dissertation consultant in question. Often, the best way to choose a dissertation consultant is by word of mouth; students should seek references from fellow students or colleagues. However, even Google can sometimes yield a very high quality consultant, although it is best to communicate effectively with the dissertation consultant to make sure that the student and the dissertation consultant are a good fit.

There must be a good work dynamic between the student and the dissertation consultant. If that does not happen, it will create friction between the two individuals and ultimately it will effect the quality of the dissertation. Where there is proper and free communication between the dissertation consultant and the student, there are correspondingly results of much higher quality. Students must always feel free to discuss new ideas with the dissertation consultant.

It is important to think of the dissertation consultant as a mentor or guide rather than a vendor who provides academic assistance for a fee. The right dissertation consultant will provide an experience that lasts the student a lifetime, as the dissertation consultant teaches the student to fish rather than merely giving the student a fish to eat.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Dissertaton Consulting

Dissertations can sometimes be very complicated and the students may not always have access to the teachers for assistance relating to selecting a dissertation topic, conducting research, writing the dissertation or actual analysis of data. A large number of students prepare dissertations for the first time and often require help in gathering research materials as much as writing up the results. For many of these first-timers, a dissertation becomes a headache more than a valuable academic experience. A dissertation consultant can be the answer to many a students’ prayers.

A dissertation consultant is a professionally trained individual that provides useful direction to students in terms of selecting topics for dissertations, setting up experiments, designing research methodology and writing up the actual dissertation or proofreading it. A dissertation consultant is trained in all these topics, in addition to providing ad-hoc guidance for students when they need a lot more time than their advisor can provide. This does not necessarily mean that the dissertation consultant is replacing the advisor at the college, but rather that the dissertation consultant is acting as a supplement to the college advisor.

There is a popular notion that a dissertation consultant writes papers for students. The truth is that a good dissertation consultant provides writing guidance and advice to the students. In addition, the dissertation consultant can assist with proofreading or cleaning up the dissertation to make it look more professional. Often a student will write a half-decent proposal but when it comes to writing up results of a statistical analysis, the task is more difficult than expected.

In addition to writing assistance, a dissertation consultant can help research the topic in depth and provide support for the task of research as well. For instance, many students may not be very good at navigating complex research databases or citation formats. Not only can a dissertation consultant provide help on citation formats and other aspects of the writing, he or she can also help select the right format and template.

Dissertation consultant also enables students to manage their time more effectively while writing dissertations, because a lot of students have to juggle the demands of family obligations or a full time job while attending classes. A dissertation consultant helps the students set reasonable writing schedules and goals that can go a long way in making room for their non-student life demands, which are often more pressing.

The advantages of hiring an expert dissertation consultant are many. First of all, the students will get the qualitative and quantitative help they need. In addition, the dissertation consultant can provide real time support on what should and should not be included in the dissertation, thereby offering valuable and meaningful critique on the dissertation.

The students availing the services of dissertation consultant must make sure that their concerns and questions are addressed properly, to their satisfaction and understanding. For this purpose, they must enquire about the qualifications and experience of the dissertation consultant. Often, the best way to choose a dissertation consultant is by word of mouth- seeking references from fellow students or colleagues. However, even google can sometimes yield a very high quality consultant, although it’s best to communicate effectively with the dissertation consultant to make sure there is a good fit.

There must be a good work dynamic between the student and the dissertation consultant. If that does not happen then it will create friction between the two and ultimately it will affect the quality of the dissertation. Where there is proper and free communication between the dissertation consultant and the students, the results will correspondingly be of much higher quality. Students must always feel free to discuss new ideas with the dissertation consultant.

It’s important to think of the dissertation consultant as a mentor or guide rather than a vendor who provides academic assistance for a fee. The right dissertation consultant will provide an experience that lasts the student a lifetime, by teaching them to fish rather than giving them a fish to eat.


For assistance with your dissertation click here.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Range in Statistics, Variance in Statistics, Standard Deviation in Statistics, and Standard Error of the Mean in Statistics

I spoke with someone today about a few things that I just take for granted as a dissertation consultant and statistician. This particular client, ever so politely asked that I explain the terminology associated with her descriptive statistics. Specifically, the terms in question were range, variance, standard deviation, and standard deviation of the mean. There are so many terms out there like these that are thrown around in research papers, journal entries and the such, without many of the readers – or even the authors – really knowing what they mean. 

  • What exactly is range and how is it used in a dissertation or thesis?
  • What about variance and standard deviation? Are there numbers I should be looking for when I see the results of these tests?
  • What in the world is standard error and is there a difference between just standard error and standard error of the mean?

For me, and any other statistician, these questions are easy, but what about the nursing student trying to finish up nursing school or the school teacher trying to become an assistant principle or principle so he or she can shape the lives or our young people? These people don't really have to be experts on this stuff and will probably never use it again.

So it's my job to make sure I can help these wonderful people move on to the truly important things, like saving lives and teaching children. Since you don't have to be an expert and you really just want to know how and why you are presenting this information, here is a quick and dirty explanation of those terms I mentioned at the top.

What is range in statistics?

Also commonly called range score, statistics range, or range value (these aren't formal terms, just what they're commonly called by my clients), this is in the most simple terms, the difference between the largest and smallest values in variable in a dataset. To calculate this by hand…you guessed it…subtract the smallest value in the variable from the largest value in the variable. You shouldn't have to calculate this by hand, since Excel will do this for you and other statistics software packages like SPSS and SAS will also calculate range for, by simply checking a box or choosing a command. I would like to clarify before I continue that I specify variable, because the range measurement will only be for one variable in your dataset. Receive professional assistance with using range in your Master's thesis, Master's dissertation, Ph.D. thesis, or Ph.D. dissertation.   

What is variance in statistics?

Variance is used in so many ways that I could dedicate a blog just to variance as it pertains to statistics. What do you need to know to stand before your committee and defend this stuff? It pretty much tells you how the data is dispersed around the mean of your variable. If the variance is small, then the data is very closely dispersed around the mean, i.e. the data points are close in value to the mean. If the variance is large, then the data is more widely dispersed around the mean, i.e. the data points are different from the mean.

You would be crazy to calculate by hand since there are so many programs out there that will do it for you, but should you choose to, you are going to average the squared differences between each value in the variable and the mean. To illustrate more plainly, let's start with just one value. I am going to refer to the dataset 3, 5, 8, 4, 2, and 9.

  1. To start, we are going to calculate the mean of the dataset. We calculate the mean or average of the variable by adding the values and dividing by the number of values – just like grade school. When we finish we have an average or mean of 5.1667.
  2. We are then going to subtract that mean from the first value in the dataset, which is 3. This gives us -2.1667.
  3. We then square this value to obtain 4.6946 rounded.
  4. This value of 4.6946 is then divided by the number of observations or numbers in our variable minus 1, which is 0.9389.
  5. Do the same thing for each of the other variables in the variable, 5, 8, 4, 2, and 9.
  6. You should end up with 0.9389 + 0.0056 + 1.6055 + 0.2722 + 2.0056 + 2.9388 = 7.7666. This is our variance for the variable in our dataset consisting of 3, 5, 8, 4, 2, and 9.
Simple enough, and this number is really going to lay the groundwork for our other descriptive statistical measures, mainly standard deviation and standard error of the mean. Click here to receive help with using variance in your Master's thesis, Master's dissertation, Ph.D. thesis, or Ph.D. dissertation.

What is standard deviation in statistics?

Standard deviation in statistics is also presented in the descriptive statistics results of any graduate thesis or dissertation. For the purposes of what we are doing, the standard deviation tells us how all the observations in the variable are distributed or clustered about the mean of the variable. After calculating the variance, the rest is all downhill. You are going to love this! Ready? The standard deviation is simply the square root of the variance, which is 2.7869. That's it!

The same rules apply to standard deviation as apply to variance: when the data is very closely dispersed around the mean, i.e. the data points are close in value to the mean, the standard deviation will be small. When the data is more widely dispersed around the mean, i.e. the data points are different from the mean, the standard deviation will be large. To receive help calculating standard deviation for the variables used in your Master's thesis, Master's dissertation, Ph.D. thesis, or Ph.D. dissertation, click here.

What is standard error of the mean in statistics?

Standard error of the mean in statistics is often defined as the standard deviation of all possible sample means. Basically, if we had a population from which to draw, we could draw many 6 observation samples from our population and each of the samples could have a different mean. The standard error tells us how much these means vary. With one sample, we often still want to know how much the mean could vary, therefore we estimate the standard error by dividing the standard deviation we just calculated (2.7869) by the square root of the number of observations (6) in our variable. We end up with 1.1377. Another easy one.

Interpreting the estimated standard error of the mean is a little different. In this case, the number is going to fluctute with the number of observations we have in the variable. The more observations we have, the smaller the standard error. The fewer the observations, the larger the standard error. Click here to receive help with standard error as it pertains to the statistical analysis in your Master's thesis, Master's dissertation, Ph.D. thesis, or Ph.D. dissertation.

It is amazingly rewarding to help graduate students understand this stuff. It is the moment the light switch comes on that makes it all worthwhile. If you are having some difficulty or just want another set of eyes to see your Master's or Ph.D., thesis or dissertation, I can help you. Please click here to schedule an appointment for a free consultation.