| Attrition among "all but dissertation" (ABD)/doctoral candidates (DCs) from different disciplines is holding steady at alarming rates and PhD completion could take up to 12 years. This study sought to find factors that enable or inhibit dissertation completion among current ABD/DCs, and ABD/DCs that left studies before dissertation completion or recent PhD graduates since 2009 to 2014. A thorough review of literature by federal, state, private organizations, and researchers spanning 30 years was consulted on theoretical/conceptual frameworks and factors related to attrition and factors that enable or inhibit dissertation completion.;Study participants were recruited from five social media sites Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Twitter, and Yahoo Groups to take an online survey consisting of Likert-style questions and two-open ended questions. Primarily, descriptive statistics were employed in the analysis of the quantitative questions and a correlation analysis was performed using 29 study variables with Question 10c, "I felt confident I could finish my dissertation and graduate." The correlation analysis resulted in ten variables showing a significant relationship to this key variable. Five of those significant variables reflected different forms of advisor support.;In the descriptive analysis, participants reported that a sense of caring by advisers/chairs that stayed in touch and provided motivational support limited feelings of isolation or pessimism about dissertation completion. Moreover, feeling connected to other writers or support communities, feeling confident about completion, and maintaining a sense of control over the process were important. Factors that inhibited completion were lack of socialization into the dissertation process, distractions from writing, and pessimism fueled by lack of motivational or emotional support.;Qualitative responses reported by ABD/DCs and recent Ph.D. graduates provided a descriptive profile of factors that respondents felt facilitated or inhibited their success. Adviser support/help, staying motivated, personal internal qualities such as perseverance, determination, and belief in oneself facilitated completion. Factors inhibiting completion were issues with advisers/chairs, university processes/procedures, the amount of work involved, a lack of feedback or interaction about their dissertation topic, family issues, or personal issues such as lack of self-discipline or procrastination. Overall, adviser/chair support or caring was a critical success factor. |
