Qualifying Examination Dossier

Once the Learning Plan is approved, the student may begin preparing the Qualifying Examination Dossier (QED). The QED will be assessed by the student's supervisory committee and the Program Director (or delegated Chair) in a formal oral examination. The three established components of the QED are intended to provide a degree of structure and scope to the qualifying examination:

Interdisciplinary Scholarship: a systematic or scoping review of the literature in one’s topic area; (e.g., the results of a pilot study written up for peer review; a synthesis of the theoretical literature pertinent to one’s proposed research; a synthesis of the methodological literature);
Research Into Action: (e.g., a written description of the “lunch and learn” session the student offered to colleagues in their workplace about their research topic; a foundation grant application that drew on a synthesis of relevant evidence for a non-profit partner; the synthesis and application of existing knowledge to develop a new research instrument or tool; an evidence-based program model; an evidence-based article for a news outlet like The Conversation; the documentation of a research-creation process);
Dissertation Proposal: a thorough explanation of the proposed research context, objectives, questions, relevant literature, theory/theories, methodology/methodological influences, methods, participants (where applicable), analytic strategies, and significance.

It is expected that the interdisciplinary nature of the program and the range of research problems under study will result in a broad variety of approaches to developing the examination dossier components. The Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Research Into Action components may be designed around questions, problems, or tasks that are negotiated between the candidate and the supervisory committee, while the dissertation proposal can be developed in accordance with the guidelines appended to this document.

Suggested Dissertation Proposal Structure

In many ways, interdisciplinary research defies standardized approaches, therefore, it is expected that each dissertation proposal will be unique to the problem under study. The following suggested headings are offered as guidance. Additionally, these suggested headings integrate research design elements that are required to be reported in an application to the Research Ethics Board.

Abstract (250 word maximum)
Table of contents
Introduction to the research problem
Research questions
Rationale for the research, including practical and/or theoretical benefits
Literature review
Methodology & data collection methods
Information about participants, recruitment strategies, seeking consent and amount of time participants will be asked to dedicate to their participation
Data analysis strategies and process
Anticipated results (if appropriate)
Ethical considerations and risk mitigation
Anticipated timelines
References
Appendices