LibGuides: Library Resources for SJD Students: Home

Introduction to this Guide

Welcome to Penn Law! This guide is intended to introduce you to resources that will assist you with your doctoral research. The resources listed in this guide include links to electronic library catalogs, legal databases covering primary and secondary legal materials, and interdisciplinary electronic resources to further enrich your scholarship.

These materials are not exhaustive. If you require further research assistance, please contact the Biddle Law Library Reference Desk or fill out the meeting request form to make an appointment to meet with a reference librarian. Appointments with librarians may be held virtually via Zoom (or by phone if you prefer).

Introductory Materials

Here are some materials which can help you focus your thesis work; prepare a good proposal; approach your research in a methodical fashion; outline the content of your thesis; and produce a high quality written product. Eight ebooks are listed first, followed by a few hard-copy volumes from Penn collections.

Dissertation Solutions (ebook) by Bradley N. Axelrod; James Windell
ISBN: 9781610488686
Publication Date: 2012-11-01
New graduate students are often unaware of the many hazards and pitfalls that occur during the dissertation process: intensive schedules, dwindling motivation, difficult or unavailable mentors, and research and publication complications. Lacking the experience and wherewithal to successfully overcome or avoid these impetuses for derailment, many students are unable to complete the dissertation process, losing sight somewhere in between reading, studying, collecting data, and writing a thesis. Based on the authors' inside knowledge and extensive experience, Dissertation Solutions provides graduate students with the basic tools and skills to help them navigate the whole process with minimal damage, making the whole process of planning, researching, and writing more manageable.
Destination Dissertation (ebook) by Sonja K. Foss (Editor); William Waters (Editor)
ISBN: 9780742554399
Publication Date: 2007-05-30
Dissertations aren't walls to scale or battles to fight; they are destinations along the path to a professional career. This friendly guide helps doctoral students develop and write their dissertations, using travel as a metaphor. This time-tested method comes from the authors' successful work at the Denver-based Scholars' Retreat. Following concrete and efficient steps for completing each part of the dissertation, it includes a wealth of examples from throughout the dissertation process, such as creating the dissertation proposal and coding data. Essential for all PhD candidates!
Finish Your Dissertation, Don't Let It Finish You! (ebook) by Joanne Broder Sumerson
ISBN: 9781118419250
Publication Date: 2013-10-28
An all-inclusive, practical guide to help you design, conduct, and finish your academic dissertation--with minimal drama Sharing the secrets for successfully navigating through the dissertation and thesis process while maintaining your sanity, Finish Your Dissertation, Don't Let It Finish You! presents comprehensive coverage of the entire dissertation process, from selecting a committee and choosing a research topic to conducting the research and writing and defending your dissertation.
How to Design, Write, and Present a Successful Dissertation Proposal (ebook) by Elizabeth Wentz
ISBN: 9781483323817
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
How to Design, Write, and Present a Successful Dissertation Proposal, by Elizabeth A. Wentz, is essential reading for any graduate student entering the dissertation process in the social or behavioral sciences. The book addresses the importance of ethical scientific research, developing your curriculum vitae, effective reading and writing, completing a literature review, conceptualizing your research idea, and translating that idea into a realistic research proposal using research methods.
How to Finish and Defend Your Dissertation (ebook) by Daniel R. Tomal; Cynthia Grant
ISBN: 9781475804003
Publication Date: 2013-08-28
This CHOICE award winning author has teamed up with a Chair of the Department of Research at Concordia University Chicago to write a comprehensive book on finishing and defending a dissertation. A first of its kind, this book provides you everything you need to know about successfully passing the dissertation defense such as: preparing and finishing the manuscript, using cloud-based communities, preparing presentations, using effective communication strategies, managing stress, motivating yourself, revising and editing the manuscript, publishing and presenting the final dissertation and more.
A practical guide to dissertation and thesis writing (ebook) by Mark Stephan Felix, Ian Smith
ISBN: 9781527536814
Publication Date: 2019
This book provides a step-by-step guide to writing the different chapters of a PhD dissertation, which will benefit aspiring, beginner and mid-track PhD students and candidates in the Social Sciences. Based on the authors' combined experience of working with both Masters and PhD students through the dissertation writing process, it offers helpful writing guidelines, from the conceptualization and problematization of the dissertation through to the literature review, methodological issues, writing up results and, finally, to the discussion, conclusions and abstract writing process.
Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language (ebook) by Brian Paltridge; Sue Starfield
ISBN: 9781351690669
Publication Date: 2019-07-25
Fully updated and packed with new material, the second edition of Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language is the ideal guide for non-native speaker students and their supervisors working on writing a thesis or dissertation in English. Considering the purposes of thesis and dissertation of writing alongside writer/reader relationships, this book uses accessible language and practical examples to discuss issues that are crucial to successful thesis and dissertation writing.
Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation [electronic resource] : Invisible Rules for Success by Brause, Rita S.
ISBN: 9780203024577
Publication Date: 2012-10-02
Increasing numbers of adults are enroling in doctoral programmes, but their earlier college lives often do not prepare them for the rules of the academic game. Many have no idea what a dissertation looks like, how it gets that way, or what options are available to them. This book is a practical guide for students who need help in progressing from the decision to write a dissertation to the planning, writing and defending of it. It includes samples of proposals and dissertations that have been accepted and data drawn from a number of sources, including focus groups with doctoral students and graduates and responses to an open-ended questionnaire from doctoral students across the United States.
The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth; Gregory G. Colomb; Joseph M. Williams; Joseph Bizup; William T. FitzGerald
Call Number: Open Reserve Q180.55.M4 B66 2016
ISBN: 9780226239569
Publication Date: 2016-10-19
With more than three-quarters of a million copies sold since its first publication, The Craft of Research has helped generations of researchers at every level--from first-year undergraduates to advanced graduate students to research reporters in business and government--learn how to conduct effective and meaningful research.
The Dissertation Journey by Carol M. Roberts
Call Number: Open Reserve LB1742 .R63 2010
ISBN: 9781412977982
Publication Date: 2010-08-23
A doctorate in education has become a requirement in many states to become a district-level administrator. This title focuses on the practical aspects of writing and organizing a dissertation, in particular the psychological and social hurdles that are involved.
How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal by David R. Krathwohl; Nick L. Smith
Call Number: Open Reserve LB2369 .K725 2005
ISBN: 0815681410
Publication Date: 2005-05-01
This step-by-step guide begins by identifying and defining the basics of a dissertation proposal. With careful consideration, they explore proposal functions and parts, show how to build your study's chain of reasoning, and carefully review alternate study designs. Three extensively annotated proposals of former students provide examples of the guidance offered and illustrate common types of studies.
Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: a systematic approach by Gordon B. Davis; Clyde A. Parker; Detmar W. Straub
Call Number: Van Pelt Library. LB2369 .D357 2012
ISBN: 9780764147876
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
Many students have praised this title's two previous editions for their ability to convey a sense of order and structure to the formidable task of dissertation writing. This new edition has been updated to account for recent advances in digital technology and the realities of today's academic world, it presents solid advice on: Selecting an advisor and a dissertation committee; Selecting a dissertation topic; Investigating existing knowledge on the topic; Making a dissertation proposal Budgeting and scheduling time for research and writing; Working with the advisor and dissertation committee; Managing dissertation activities; and Defending and publishing the dissertation.