Dear Dissertation Wizards,
I'm looking for that one-in-a-thousand (or million?) match!
NowI could easily tap into the sources of dissertation support listed way at the bottom of this adbut alas, I have a yearning hope that if I put the word and energy out there with my vision and inspiration, that I can find that special person who is a great match for this dissertation project.
There is huge potential for this to be a grand slam dissertation.
Maybe something that really impacts the field.
Why do I say that? What is my evidence?
1. I'm 59 years old and have been studying and teaching education and psychology for almost 35 years.
2. I have a BA from UC Berkeley.
3. I have a Master's in Ed-meets-Psych at Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a documented 3.73 GPA.
4. I have another Master's in straight-up Psychology from Pepperdine Graduate School of Ed and Psychology, with a documented 3.92 GPA (invited to the Honor Society).
5. I have all the credits necessary for my doctorate (EdD) program at Columbia Graduate School of Ed and Psych, with a documented GPA of about 4.10.
6. I wrote, directed, and produced a documentary on the topic of community in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcTJq9QrTa4
7. I'm working on a bigger project, an 8-hour docuseries on the topic of answering machine messages, based on the fact that my claim to fame is that I saved ALL of my answering machine messages (and photos and letters) for 14 years (1988 - 2002). I guess this makes me the most nostalgic person of all of the '90s: https://findingfatherfilm.godaddysites.com/
8. I led over 200 groups that I have called Art of Group Communication Salons, Dialogue Salons or Fractal Salons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlCP-v8EoYY
9. My two advisors are Columbia superstars: a man who is one of the worldwide experts on conflict, and advised the Biden Administration about polarized politics (arguably the biggest issue in our world), and a woman who is a funny and brilliant superhero of the topic of intersectionality, and much more!
10. The intention is to, after finishing the dissertation, convert it to a book (one of the intentions of dissertations anyway), and for it to be a best seller. And maybe accompany it with a short (or longer?) film!
OK, 10 is a good place to stop.
Now, what am I thinking is the topic of my dissertation?
Great question.
As you can imagine from my description above, it's something related toGROUP DYNAMICS, GROUP PROCESS, GROUP CONFLICT STUDIES, GROUP IDENTITY FORMATION, GROUP LEARNING, GROUP COUNSELING and/or GROUP WONDER (yeah, that's the favorite).
In other words: GROUP. Oh, how I wish that I could get away with calling my dissertation "GROUP".
Yes, of course it's necessary to narrow it down, ask a key question (or set of related questions), outline my research methods, and all that jazz
but first, can we just sit in the pure, raw wonder of the fact that our ancestors have been huddling in circles (often with a fire in the middle) for centuries, millennia? If we call Lucy the first human, it's 4 million years, and we could say Homosapiens (300,000 years ago), or those with complex technology and art at 50,000 years ago.
Point iswe seem to have liked huddling in groups.
Huddled around that fire, or candle, or vase of flowerslooking at the 7 other sets of beautiful eyes of fellow humans.
And when I'm sitting in a circle of 6-10 people, something special kicks in, and I'm at home.
I guess that's why I'm so good at facilitating circles of about his size.
Maybe I'm just, somehow, trying to get back home to my ancestors.
Or to the beginning of things.
So yeah, might as well do my dissertation on that topic.
I hope you are getting a sense for why I'm hopefully putting this ad out to the NYC area of Craigslist, in case that special person is out there who can midwife me through this process of finishing my dissertation!
Might it be you?
Or is it a friend or acquaintance of yours, to whom you now know you need to forward my message?
Remember, I'm in the process of making a film about answering machine messages titled "Call Me Back" (see #7 above).
Won't youor that friend of yoursplease call (or write) me back?
I'd truly appreciate it.
Beeeeeeep,
Scott
COMPANIES AND SITES I COULD TAP INTO:
1. The Dissertation Coach, founded by an EdD-level coach, global/remote availability — good for NYC or remote students. Free consultation offered.
2. Dissertation Genius offers topic/proposal help, lit-review support, methodology and data-analysis coaching (qualitative & quantitative), APA editing, and defense prep.
3. Dissertation Success Institute, boot-camp–style coaching(4/8/12-week packages), unlimited 1-on-1 coaching, unlimited critiques, assistance through every phase from proposal to defense.
4. Approval Ready Consulting (ARC) Dissertation consulting across fields (education, business, nursing, social work, etc.), editing, methodology help, formatting, customized plan, reportedly good for tight deadlines. Good for students needing structured customization (e.g., for EdD or interdisciplinary work)
5. Superprof, a marketplace — 40–50+ private dissertation-tutors listed in/near NYC; you can filter by “dissertation” topic and find hourly-rate tutors (avg $40/hr). Useful if you prefer more flexible, lower-cost, “pay-as-you-go” support rather than a full-service coaching firm.
Superprof
6. Wyzant (Thesis/Dissertation Writing Tutors NYC). Large network of tutors, many with PhD or graduate-level experience; you can review profiles, hourly rates, and past student ratings. Good for editing, conceptual feedback, writing structure, literature review help — especially helpful if you need support but not full-service coaching.
wyzant.com
7. My Dissertation Editor, focused on coaching and editing for dissertations and theses — helpful if you have a draft and need structural or editorial support. It might be more suitable in later dissertation stages (writing, polishing, defense prep) rather than methodology or early planning.