Assignment: Doctoral Pursuit

Assignment: Doctoral Pursuit

Assignment: Doctoral Pursuit

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DNP 801 Week 8 Discussions GCU

DNP 801 Topic 8 DQ 1

What is the most important skill for success in your doctoral pursuit? Why?

DNP 801 Topic 8 DQ 2

Reflect on the material and assessment given in the course and what you have learned in this course, what aspects of the doctoral pursuit do you find the most challenging? Most rewarding?Things You Should Know Before Pursuing Your Doctoral Degree. … Here are six tips for students to consider before pursuing a doctoral degree. 1—You may need to work hard to stay motivated while pursuing a doctoral degree.

Are you considering the pursuit of a doctoral degree? If so, you are about to embark on a life-changing journey. Being well prepared for those changes can make it easier for you. Here are six tips for students to consider before pursuing a doctoral degree.

1—You may need to work hard to stay motivated while pursuing a doctoral degree.

A challenge you may face while working on a doctoral degree is staying motivated. At some point, often about half way through the process, you could feel alone, uncertain and overwhelmed. In fact, half of all doctoral students leave graduate school without finishing their programs. It is important to develop a good rapport with your university advisors, professors and dissertation chair.

2—Good time management skills are essential.

While pursuing a doctoral degree, learn to effectively manage your time and embrace work-life balance. Despite how busy your life is, you will want to make time for your family and friends. A turning point for successful students in graduate school is when they discover that perfectionism can affect their academic career. Learn to set priorities, and don’t overcommit. The American Psychological Association suggests you find the tools that work best for you when managing your time, and learn to use modern tools that can help you save time.

3—Is it best to begin graduate school immediately, or to wait a while before pursuing a doctoral degree?

According to LiveCareer, students may believe that it is easier to attend graduate school immediately after receiving a bachelor’s degree while their study skills are sharp, and they are accustomed to being a student. However, LiveCareer suggests that students may want to delay pursuing a higher degree for a few years:

To better understand career goals by working in a chosen career
To gain work experience that can make graduate school more relevant
To get a broader view of the world that can help make graduate school research more impactful
Choosing whether to continue to graduate school immediately after completing an undergraduate degree, or taking time to work for a while, is something you should consider based on your needs.

4— What is the difference between these two types of degrees: Applied Doctorate versus a PhD?

In a PhD program, you focus your research on contributing new knowledge and theory to the body of knowledge in your field. Applied doctorate programs will focus your research on the practical application of existing knowledge and theory within the field. If you plan to continue your work by implementing your research, the applied doctorate might be the right choice for you. If you plan to contribute to your field through researching and analyzing new theories and solutions, the PhD might be the right choice. In short, the applied doctorate student will focus on the how, while the PhD student will focus on the why.

5—Understand the need to devote a set time to study while pursuing a doctoral degree.

A good tip for doctoral students, particularly those who might decide to pursue a degree through an online program, is to practice self-discipline. Students will most likely need to balance their work, school, and personal life. Take time before embarking on your degree program to explore study tips for students, such as:

Set aside a fixed time to study each day
For every 50 to 60 minutes of study time, take a 10 to 15-minute break
Tackle the most difficult tasks first
Reward yourself
Set realistic goals
Find out when your best study time might be, and use that to your advantage
6—While pursuing a doctoral degree, remember to take care of yourself.

Even though your time may be at a premium while pursuing your doctoral degree, remember to eat well, get plenty of exercise and get enough sleep. Find ways to manage your stress along the way.

So consider these six tips for doctoral students and set your expectations prior to beginning an exciting journey toward a higher degree.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.