Grounding the Dissertation in Practice (DiP) in Dialectic Pluralism

Abstract

The use of Improvement Science (IS) for the dissertation in practice (DiP) must be encouraged because the questions and concerns addressed in these projects go beyond answering basic research. Authors of dissertations in practice will bring philosophical assumptions, select research designs, and situate themselves somewhere along the practitioner continuum. DiP authors should be aware of the larger philosophical questions relating to the ontological, epistemological, methodological, axiological, and rhetorical grounding of Improvement Science. Grounded in these large philosophical questions, the Improvement Science project should be identified as a metaparadigm and counted among other research methodological paradigms.

Keywords

• methodological paradigm
• dissertations in practice
• Improvement Science
• practitioner-scholar