Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2006. / Vita. Bibliography: pp. 123-133

Thesis (M.S.)--Medical University of Ohio, 2005. / "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences." Major advisor: Michael J. Dennis. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: iii, 82 p. Title from title page of PDF document. Title at ETD Web site: A positron emission tomography (PET) system comparison utilizing the American College of Radiology accreditation phantom. Bibliography: pages 43-44.

This mixed-methodology study examined a set of award winning dissertations to determine what factors may have led to their receiving recognition by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). The study addressed seven specific research questions which were answered via two different research designs: 1) a survey administered to the 27 recipients of the dissertation award, and 2) through the qualitative assessment of a sample of the winning dissertations. The quantitative survey was distributed to recipients of the Association for the Study of Higher Education Dissertation of the Year award from 1979 through 2004. The survey collected specific information on the personal attributes and characteristics of the award recipients, descriptive information about the award winning dissertations, information concerning the quality of the winner's doctoral experiences, the quality of their relationship with their dissertations advisors and the progression of their careers after winning the award. The qualitative assessment involved applying a set of evaluative questions provided by Gall, Gall and Borg to describe a sample of the award winning documents. The results indicated that recipients of the ASHE award were not representative of education doctoral students as indicated by 2004 data. The results of the study also indicated that, as a group, these dissertations winners were full-time doctoral students, likely recipients of some form of financial assistance (assistantship and fellowships) and were able to complete their dissertations and degrees in substantially less time than typical education doctoral students. The findings also suggest that Gall, Gall and Borg's procedure for evaluating educational research can be used to assess doctoral dissertations.