An investigation of doctoral dissertation abstracts written between 2010-2017 in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study, which is a case study based on the qualitative research model, is to examine the appropriateness of the doctoral dissertation abstracts written between 2010 and 2017. For this purpose, 3463 doctoral dissertation abstracts, written in education, were accessed through the website of The National Thesis Center of Turkey by using the "advanced search" option based on predefined criteria. No sampling method was used in the research, and all the dissertations in the field of interest were accessed. To examine the dissertation abstracts, an abstract review form was developed by the researchers, and after receiving the view of the experts, fifty dissertation abstracts were examined in collaboration with 5 researchers to ensure compatibility and clarity. The form was finalized after the joint review/evaluation. Each dissertation abstract was examined independently by two different experts. The differences in the two expert reviewers’ opinions were also revised by a third expert, and the final decision was made on the abstract. A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted on the data collected by the dissertation abstract form. While it was found that almost all of them included aims and findings presented in an academic tone, they did not mention the sampling and data collection tools. However, a number of abstracts were included data collection and sampling methods, and also, a limited amount of reference and abbreviation was used. Along with these findings, it was also found that the number of doctoral dissertations did not differ significantly over the years. In line with these findings, it was concluded that Turkey has gender equality in education opportunities, and there is a lack of information regarding the information on the method of dissertation abstract. The differences in the Ph.D. dissertation abstracts, not only between university programs but also within the universities in Turkey, make it difficult to obtain an idea of the dissertations. In the dissertation writing guides of the institutes, it is suggested that the dissertation abstracts should be expressed in a new common national template by considering the required qualifications