I think I might have...but maybe not...but possibly...you never know.

I think I may have settled on a dissertation topic. One can never be sure however seeing as how I tend to change my mind on these things a thousand times over. However, I came up with this topic last night around 5:30 and it's still with me 15 hours later so I'm taking that as a good sign. This here topic is sticky.

I will preface this with a little lesson on dissertation writing. As long as you cite your sources, there's really no such thing as cheating or stealing. Many faculty and friends have given me the advice that if I want to be done quickly, I should find a dissertation and replicate it making one minor change. Sweet. So last night I did some research through a database of dissertations (and side note, I never thought I would find that type of research interesting but again, I've been proven wrong) and stumbled upon a gem.

Essentially, it is the measurement of quality in online education. An area sorely lacking and in need of further research / discussion / development. So this morning, I'm working through the pre-proposal where I will need to identify the topic, the research problem, the research questions, the methodology, the data collection characteristics, the data analysis practices, the literature review topics, and the list goes on. Another milestone! My hope is to have it drafted by lunch on Thursday where I have plans to be coached by a colleague. Hopefully he can find ways to rip it to shreds before I submit it to my mentor. I'm sure he will. He's good at that kind of thing. Then I'll submit to my mentor and go from there.

150 days and counting...