The Companion Dissertation: Enriching the Doctoral Experience.

BACKGROUND

The completion of a doctoral dissertation has traditionally been an individual journey. Innovative approaches, such as the companion dissertation, are helping to shape doctoral education. The companion dissertation is a collaborative inquiry among two or more doctoral students who share mutual research interests.

METHOD

Lack of innovative approaches to doctoral dissertation completion led to the development of a companion dissertation. Generative leadership, specifically focused on processes that influence interaction, served as a useful framework to support this form of innovation.

RESULTS

The companion dissertation process yielded consideration of differing perspectives, richer data, stronger data analysis, and robust research outcomes. Most important, this approach to research fostered student-to-student connectedness, which was essential to dissertation completion.

CONCLUSION

Currently, the attrition rate for PhD students is approximately 30%. Therefore, it becomes imperative to consider innovative approaches to completion of the dissertation process. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(9):564-566.].