Dissertation Editing Service

[boomblap]

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Long time reader, first time poster. I have completed a first draft of my dissertation. I'm considering using a editing service to look it over. A quick google search results in dozens of services. Has anyone ever used these? Any recommendations? I've also heard horror stories about using a service and then their dissertation showing up in plagiarism check websites like turnitin. Myth?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I would strongly recommend finding another student or trusted peer to assist. You may also consult with your university about services they offer for a discounted rate. I have seen some excellent services available for IRB review, grant application review, stats consulting, etc. At my prior institution they offered FREE services that were subsidized by the university and through paid work from grants and whatnot. You may also check with your university's writing center. I believe they are usually geared more towards undergrad assistance, but they might be able to assist you and/or have one of their employees assist for a fair fee/rate.

Pay services in academia (for editing, writing, etc) tend to be pretty questionable. There are of course legit options, but they tend to be established groups that consult on large grants and projects. You should ask your mentor or DCT about what students in the past have done. I'm guessing they will say they used other students…as they will have a need for such services soon enough!

 

[erg923]

I would check with your school first, I think some have policies about using said services. I would make the argument that editing is your job...along with your major advisor/dissertation chair.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Great point erg.

To clarify, my recommendations were for students who need assistance with syntax, not content. Content editing should be from the student and mentor.

 

[boomblap]

Ah yes. I meant editing in terms of syntax, grammar, spelling, APA style, maybe reworking a sentence here or there for clarity, etc, etc etc.

 

[Icculus8]

Why don't you do your own work?

 

[psychRA]

I recommend asking your department if there are rules in place about this as well.

I don't know how many drafts you're likely to do, but paying for edits could be an expensive process. It's been a few years since I did mine, but there was a freelancer in our city who had a small side business doing the final formatting for dissertations post-defense. The freelancer wasn't involved with anything content-related, so no proofing or editing of the dissertation itself, but they put the document into the very specific format that was required by the university. I believe they charged $100-200.

 

[CLB1]

Why don't you do your own work?

Don't hate. It sounds like the poster is looking for someone legit to do that once over at the end that everyone needs from an outside source.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Long time reader, first time poster. I have completed a first draft of my dissertation. I'm considering using a editing service to look it over. A quick google search results in dozens of services. Has anyone ever used these? Any recommendations? I've also heard horror stories about using a service and then their dissertation showing up in plagiarism check websites like turnitin. Myth?

As others have advised, I think that checking with your chair/department on their views of whether using such services is kosher or not is essential. In the 'new age' of the internet and the availability of such 'editing' services I think that it's a fair question to ask: "Can you really defend the final written product as your personal intellectual creation/product and not something that has been substantially influenced by other contributors (outside, of course, the sanctioned and recognized input of your chair and committee members)?" One of the things they will be critically judging you on is your ability to produce a written product that is logically sound, sophisticated, clear and grammatically-correct. If you get help with any part of this (via editing), they may or may not be okay with it. But it's an interesting (and debatable) topic, I think, as to what constitutes 'too much' or 'too specific' help from those outside your committee/chair such that it would threaten to cross the boundaries of propriety or intellectual/academic honesty. Over the years I have had master's candidates approach me to 'help' with their statistics on their theses (because I'm pretty comfortable with stats/math and experimental design). I always was very careful to (1) let them know that they needed to seek out this kind of input from members of their committee instead of me (especially if it involved any level of detail) for multiple reasons; (2) at least hinted at the fact that they should be doing their own work and not seeking too much help outside their committee due to ethical/academic honesty considerations; and (3) offered some rather global advice or general knowledge type input (e.g., describing what a discriminant function analysis was good for as well as important concerns such as cross-validating the discriminant function on a new sample different from the sample from which the function was originally derived (and why, conceptually and practically, this was important). If they started to request specific advice regarding steps to take in their particular project, I gently steered them back to their committee (most of them have a 'stats person' or other expert in this area).

 

[hil.larious]

if you have any questions regarding formatting, it's best to check the guidelines. there must be something. or/and consult with your supervisor. also there's lots of stuff on the internet. for example, tips at dissertationwriter.org on formatting and on how generally your paper should look like. there's also you can ask for editing. but i think it's best if you do the whole thing yourself. although it may not be perfect and you won't get an A+, you'll know that you did it yourself because if you start using somebody else's help whenever you want although you can do the job yourself, you'll get used to it and you won't be able to anything on your own in future. still the decision is always yours.

 

[deleted343839]

Definitely look into what resources might be available through your campus. I would avoid using web-based editing services without an honest testimonial from someone you personally know and trust. If you insist on using an editor and it's OK with your dissertation chair, try finding someone who is local and legit. Be ready to pay up, though. Good editors aren't cheap.

 

[CheetahGirl]

I concur with the above. My program had several graduates that would help with this very thing (and charged reasonable hourly rates), and would send out their information through our listserve. The benefit of using a graduate of the program is that they know what to expect from faculty, university library, etc. Reminds me of when someone posted something about needing an outline for a dissertation proposal. Each program has their own nuances, so best to stay within house. If they don't have any available resources, ask around (someone has to know somebody within your university's community that could help). Also, what about your university's writing center? You could try there.

And, boomblap, congrats on getting out that first draft! Whew, right!?! Monster effort, but remember it's always easier to revise than generate - and you're almost there. 🙂

 

[bmedclinic]

First, as cheetagirl said, congrats. I think that's a huge milestone, and it should be viewed as such.

My personal preference is to not use those editing services. Anecdotally, though my writing in the academic circles is considered average at best, when people outside academia look at my writing, by their standards it's "really good". Therein lies my concern with the use of an outside source potentially and certainly to a certain degree, the student writing center. Even when I was an undergrad and tried this (at a major R1 university) they told me my writing was too good and tried to recruit me to be one of their editors. My concern for you is that you might get robbed blind by using someone else rather than using your own time, a colleague, and your advisor. Not saying you're trying to get out of any work, so dont get me wrong-- just that I think you may be better off and be money ahead doing it the way its typically done.

 

[WisNeuro]

It's now several years back, but I don't remember the editing/formatting being too terribly time intensive. Just read the guidelines thoroughly, block off a good half day dedicated to it, and get it done. Presumably, you're fairly well acquainted with the nuances of Microsoft word and it's formatting tools from years in grad school at this point.

 

[bmedclinic]

I will say this. My doc university's ETD dept is, how you say, le dumb? So, it was told to me that before I got too far along in the process to understand both how my committee wanted things formatted and how the ETD dept wanted things formatted. They are not professional writers, and they are not necessarily right. But they likely have a workshop and/or a manual. And honestly, even after you defend, you still will have to get your **** through them. I had stupid holdups both at the masters level and the phd level with this crap.

ETD does not care about APA style. And they do not use their brains. And they will be offended that you attempt to use your brain. Just do their format. Best case scenario is that you can explain to your committee that you are writing in a certain format for ETD at some point and they'll get on board with that.

 

[PsychPhDone]

Other students may be willing to look it over for proofreading, especially students who haven't read a diss before. And they can usually be bought with beer and acknowledgement.

I will say this. My doc university's ETD dept is, how you say, le dumb? So, it was told to me that before I got too far along in the process to understand both how my committee wanted things formatted and how the ETD dept wanted things formatted. They are not professional writers, and they are not necessarily right. But they likely have a workshop and/or a manual. And honestly, even after you defend, you still will have to get your **** through them. I had stupid holdups both at the masters level and the phd level with this crap.

ETD does not care about APA style. And they do not use their brains. And they will be offended that you attempt to use your brain. Just do their format. Best case scenario is that you can explain to your committee that you are writing in a certain format for ETD at some point and they'll get on board with that.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Agreed with having another student proofread if needed.

As for the editing, I wrote the thing in APA as I went along, and used EndNote to handle the references. When transitioning the document to my university's required format (which, as bmed said, wasn't APA; and which, as WisNeuro mentioned, wasn't too complicated), I sat down and knocked it out in probably 4 hours. It mostly consisted of making sure each of the different sections was aligned/nested properly, and that all of the different parts were included.

 

[deleted343839]

I think all depends on what site you are choosing. My advice - read reviews about some services before placing the order. Wish you A+ 😉

"It’s easy to hire a professional writer for writing your papers than trying to fit everything into your busy study schedule." - PapersOwl.com

I see you do quotes for dissertation chapters. Do you offer a volume discount for writing the whole thing?

😉

 

[futurepsydoc]

Congrats on finishing your first draft.

I agree with others, in that if you are going to use a service, try to find something within your school (i.e., writing center).

Personally, I would ask 1-2 friends in your cohort. Having colleagues proof-read your work for syntax, grammar, and spelling errors should suffice. I did this for a couple friends in my program, they did the same for me. We all miss a few minor edits that we are unable catch after re-writing and re-reading something an inordinate number of times. You could also ask someone in your lab to review it, particularly a senior member who has been published or is further along with their own dissertation. This may be ideal, as they may be most helpful in providing feedback with respect to the formatting required by the department.

Good Luck!

 

[Rose Martin]

Your decision is absolutely correct and it should work for you. Mostly students write their dissertations and other assignments but could not succeed for several reasons. The strategy which they should follow is to first write their dissertations and hand it over to the professional dissertation writers for editing and proofreading. A professional touch will be helpful for them to succeed in their academic life.