Your freshman composition instructor pestered you about writing with your intended audience in mind. As you’re writing your dissertation, you may be wondering: will anyone read my dissertation, anyway?
If you’re a perfectionist, you may have trouble finishing your dissertation, afraid of what your multitude of future readers will think. If you’re particularly outgoing, you may be worried that there’s no point, that no one will ever read it. Your readership will probably fall somewhere between these two extremes, so you can take comfort in envisioning whatever future that makes you feel most productive.
Here are the four most common scenarios for the future of your finished dissertation.
Scenario 1: A Published Book
In this scenario, your work is considered so important to its field that it’s published wholesale as a book. Your committee is thrilled. Your work will be cited for years to come.
This scenario is unlikely, but it is possible. In fact, I (Ellen) recently finished editing a dissertation that’s been slated already to become a book, and I formatted another dissertation that’s already found the same future.
Before you let this scenario freeze the perfectionist inside you, remember that your dissertation will need revisions before it can become a book. Finish your dissertation, pass your defense, and submit it to the grad school. Then focus on what it will be like as a book. It doesn’t have to be perfect right now.
Scenario 2: Journal Publication(s)
A much more likely scenario is that you’ll submit one of your chapters to a journal for publication. Or, you’ll submit it several times to several journals until it’s finally accepted. Either way, people will read one part of your dissertation, and you’ll have another publication for your CV. Your committee may recommend a particular chapter for you to submit after you defend. 8
In this scenario, your chapter will require heavy revisions to be able to stand alone as a journal article. Don’t allow concerns about a future journal article to slow down your writing right now.
As a quick note, some students, especially in the sciences, may do the reverse and use an already published article as a chapter in their dissertation. If that’s you, congratulations on your publication!
Scenario 3: Publication on ProQuest
In the third scenario, your dissertation is published on ProQuest or another similar archive of dissertations. Students will be able to find your work to cite in their papers, and they may use your recommendations for future research to guide their own dissertation research. In this case, researchers will be more likely to rely on your work if it’s relatively error-free.
Scenario 4: Worst-Case Scenario
In the worst-case scenario, no one reads your dissertation. No journal chooses to use a chapter for the article, and it never gets any hits from any search engine. This scenario is sad but entirely possible.
But you know what? You still have a Ph.D.
No matter what future you’re aiming for, writing a dissertation is hard work, and no matter which scenario you achieve, you’ve accomplished something important for yourself, your family, and your field.
If you need editing your dissertation to get it a little more perfect, or if you need coaching to help you finish writing your dissertation, you can contact us here.
