Dissertation editing and dissertation advising

Dissertation stalled? Want to finish up and graduate?

Sometimes your advisor cannot offer all the detailed help you need. Some advisors encourage you to hire an editor. Or all the "good" advisors are booked two years ahead.

As a freelance dissertation editor and dissertation advisor, I sometimes work directly for universities, where I supervise student dissertations to meet university guidelines. I also work with selected students who are determined to get through a graduate program.

I absolutely, positively do not ghostwrite dissertations or term papers. I will not perform any dissertation research that properly belongs to the student. Don't even ask.

"Cathy works fast and accurately. She can take a rough draft and turn it into a coherent, readable outline. She knows the business field and the qualitative research area, so she is able to advise on content and suggest additional resources, as well as edit for style. I call it "working her magic!" -- Paulette Gabriel, Doctoral Student, Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania

When you're ready to begin:

Send an email with "dissertation editing" in the subject line. Include a clear statement of what you'd like me to do and if possible attach a draft of a few pages. Include the date you need to begin and your deadline.

How You Benefit From Hiring A Freelance Dissertation Editor and Dissertation Advisor

When your advisor isn't helping (or you don't want your advisor to realize you're lost), I will help you fine-tune your topic, manage your methodology and organize your material. I do everything that I'd do for students when I'm serving as an advisor or faculty member.

Caution: Before hiring any outside resource, review your department's written policies. If you can't find written policies, ask your advisor or dean and confirm with a memo. Students can be terminated from a program if they violate guidelines on using outside help. If I am aware that your university does not allow this help, I will not accept you as a client.

"Cathy your advice on my proposal topic was extremely helpful. It really helped steer me in the right direction." -- Samia Kazi, Rochester, NY "I have changed my work quite a bit in line with your comments. I've added more structure, clarified the topic and moved in a new direction. Thanks again for your help." -- Karan Arora, Boston, MA and Dubai, UAE

You do the thinking: I do the editing. And I may advise.

I do not conduct actual research -- that's what you are learning to do!

I am not a research assistant. Research assistants are learning from experienced researchers, not supporting students by providing expertise.

I do not conduct actual analysis of data, although I can comment on what you've done and make suggestions.for new approaches.  

I do not prepare literature reviews -- although I will be happy to guide you and make suggestions.

I do not interpret data, although I may ask questions that lead to interpretations.

I work entirely by phone and email with students all over the world.

I am not your cheapest option. But I will get the job done. If price is your Number 1 concern, don't consider working with me.

When you're ready to begin:

Send an email with "dissertation editing" in the subject line. Include a clear statement of what you'd like me to do and if possible attach a draft of a few pages. Include the date you need to begin and your deadline.

My bio:

Cathy Goodwin has been a college professor, business consultant and speaker for over twenty years in the areas of Services Marketing, Management, Organizational Behavior and Communications. She has advised dissertation students on topics as diverse as organizational culture, deviant customer and employee behavior, conflict among team members, transformational leadership, ecommerce, economic development, social interaction, consumer behavior and sales management.

Cathy has taught graduate courses in research and methodology for marketing and management students and she is familiar with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Her articles have appeared in journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, American Behavioral Scientist, European Journal of Marketing and Service Industries Journal. She has made over fifty presentations at national and international conferences. Sample topics include "How Salespersons Cope with Loss of a Major Account," "Motivation of Women to Maintain Fitness," "Influences on Complaint Behavior," "Metaphors of Service," and "Unions in Service Industries." She has received several research awards, including "Best Paper Award" at a national conference.

Cathy's book, Making the Big Move: How to transform relocation into a creative life transition (New Harbinger 1999) has received critical praise. She has been an expert guest on several talk shows, including KQED San Francisco, and in articles appearing in the Denver Post, Billings (MT) Gazette, Boardroom, Parents Express, USA Today Online, School Foodservice & Nutrition, Chicago Tribune Syndicate, and more. She will be featured as a "highlight topic" in a forthcoming college textbook on Developmental Psychology (McGraw-Hill 2005), as a result of her widely reprinted articles on midlife midcareer transitions.

Cathy's career and business articles have appeared in dozens of online and print periodicals and have been translated into foreign languages. Her article "Relocation as Identity Change" has been included in the book 100 Things Everybody Should Know How to Do (Morrow, 2004) featured on Good Morning America). She served an unprecedented six-year term as editor of a professional newsletter for a division of American Psychological Association Her cases, "Profile Banking: A Service Innovation" and "Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company" were published in textbooks published by Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill. When it comes to writing, she prides herself on being "the fastest pen in the west." Clients refer to her "magic" touch with their rough drafts, as she helps students transform a tangle of thoughts into an orderly, smooth presentation.

Cathy holds a PhD in marketing from the University of California (Berkeley) and an MBA from University of Pennsylvania. Besides editing, she operates an e-business that involves consulting on career change through her three websites that she designed and maintains. Therefore, she has first-hand experience with ecommerce and Internet marketing. She sells ebooks through her website, including Your 21 Day Extreme Career Makeover, Using Intuition for Business and Careers and Cathy's Irreverent Guide to Starting Life as a Coach.

Cathy has lived all over North America, including Alaska and Canada. She currently makes her home in Silver City, New Mexico, with two cats and a dog.

Scope: Management, Marketing, Consumer, Research, Qualitative Research, Ecommerce, Entrepreneurship, Organizational Behavior, Communications, Leadership, Sales Management, Marketing Plan, Organizational Change,Career Development, Internet Marketing, Organizational Teams, eLearning, Distance Education, Sociology, Customer Service, Internal Marketing, Coaching

How we work together

I will send you a contract to review and sign electronically. You can send drafts and questions by email and I'll return them, answered or edited, usually faster than you anticipate. Often I will add comments to your draft, with questions to stimulate your thinking and explanations of changes so you'll become more independent with each draft.

When you're ready to begin:

Send an email with "dissertation editing" in the subject line. Include a clear statement of what you'd like me to do and if possible attach a draft of a few pages. Include the date you need to begin and your deadline.

Editing and Organizing: My charge is $62 an hour with a minimum of five hours. For straight editing, you should budget 3-8 pages per hour, depending on what you give me. For advising, it is nearly impossible to make accurate estimates. You are charged for my time when I'm answering emails, reading your university's manuals, and editing. This charge includes editing when we communicate only by email. One or two calls - 5-10 minutes - may be included.

Consulting and coaching: I also offer one-to-one telephone consulting for $125-175 an hour. However, very few students need this service.

I accept major credit cards and PayPal.

Important: there are no refunds unless I fail to do the work, because editing is very subjective. I cannot guarantee that your advisors will like what I do: often two advisors on the same committee hold radically different viewpoints!

I work in five-hour or ten-hour increments. Once you pay, you have 30 days to use your hours, and then they turn into pumpkins.

You are responsible for learning and communicating your university's policies. Most universities allow you to hire an editor, as long as boundaries of academic integrity are respected.

However, a few schools specifically forbid hiring editors and consultants. I encourage you to inquire discreetly and, if possible, find a written policy statement. Violating a university's policies can cost you a degree -- and I won't give you a refund either.

To begin, send an email with academic editing in the subject line and a brief description of what you'd like me to do. If your university's policies permit, I'll look forward to working with you.