The Qualitative Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty

Maria Piantanida is an adjunct associate professor in the School of Edu¬cation at the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow University. As a curriculum consultant, she has worked with a variety of programs for health and human services professionals. For her efforts to catalyze research among hospital-based educators, she re¬ceived the 1989 Distinguished Author Award and the 1987 Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Society for Healthcare Education and Training. In 2007 she received the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award from Carlow University. Noreen B. Garman is a professor in the Administrative and Policy Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Previously she directed the University′s Institute for International Studies in Education and the Social and Comparative Analysis in Education Program. A former high school English teacher and recent Fulbright scholar, Garman has published journal articles and chapters in the fields of clinical supervision, curriculum studies, and qualitative research. From 1994 to 1997, she directed programs for teacher education planning and development in Bosnia and Her¬zegovina. She has served on more than 70 dissertation committees during her career, and in 1994, she received an award from the American Educational Research Association, "For Mentoring Women and Activism in Women′s Issues." In 2007 she received the Provost′s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.