7 Tips for Co-Authoring a Dissertation (or Other Works)

During my career as a public school teacher, I started working toward a three-year Ed.D. degree. A full year into my studies, my research proposal was rejected, and I was informed that I wouldn’t be able to use my elementary classroom as part of my research.

I had been working closely with another member of my graduate school cohort and, based on our shared education interests, he suggested that I join his dissertation as a co-author. In the end, we successfully completed that dissertation together, and it was a wonderful, uplifting experience to share the journey with a peer.

Here is what we did that worked, and some advice I have for other graduate students about co-authoring a dissertation. This advice can apply not only to dissertations but other types of papers and publications.

For starters, all else aside, you and your partner must agree on the topic and your thesis about it. Despite every obstacle we faced, my partner and I were able to successfully complete our dissertation because our views fundamentally aligned on the problems, purpose and future of public education.

Beyond that, I offer seven (lucky number) other tips.

1. Make a schedule. My co-author and I regularly shared a primary draft of our dissertation back and forth. Accountability through a schedule kept the work on track, and we set self-imposed deadlines with each other.

I was working as a waitress in the evenings in addition to my full-time teaching job, while my partner was an active church member with three kids. I had the dissertation on weekend days and also worked on it during the week when I wasn’t at my night job. He took it back on weekend nights. We made weekdays negotiable depending on our changing schedules.

Such a schedule requires not only a lot of self-discipline but also having other people on board. For example, I couldn’t do anything else but write on weekend days or I would fall behind. My partner had to ensure with his family that he could have privacy and time away to work in the evenings. Sacrifices for the dissertation are required of everyone involved.

2. Make and maintain a main draft. Accessing documents via Google Docs or other platforms may sound like a good idea in theory, but I caution against it. First of all, the document could become too fluid. Only one person at a time should work on it to retain its fidelity. Also, formatting can become a real chore when moving the document from a live version to whatever version is accepted by your university. It sounds like more work, but in the end, having a single draft owned by one partner at a time will save you a lot of headaches.

3. Combine writing styles. That can be challenging for co-authors. Spending time with your partner and co-editing both of your individual writing before working on the project together can help align styles. I was fortunate to have been editing and reading my partner’s work for other courses for more than a year before we joined forces on the dissertation. I already knew a lot about his style of writing and some of the issues we might have merging our writing.

I am a narrative writer, so making an adjustment to dissertation writing was difficult. Reading dissertations of various styles really helped. Writing can be very personal for some people, but you have to be open with your partner about your specific style and willing to compromise and make changes. Your end product may not be what you had in mind when you set out, but it may be, in fact, much better than you’d imagined.

4. Identify your respective strengths. Be honest with your partner and yourself about what you can and cannot do. Assign roles for the dissertation based on that information. Where there are gaps, learn together and support each other, like using Excel or calculating statistics, for example.

5. Divvy up the research questions. My partner and I had three research questions. He focused on one, I focused on another and we worked together on the third. That separation of interests worked well for us and allowed each of us to tackle questions that we wanted to invest time in and could really own.
6. Ask for help. Don’t wait. Make a list right away of your friends, family and coworkers with expertise you might be able to bring to bear on the project. Start paying it forward and building relationships with people who might be able to support you. I started doing favors for a co-worker who completed his doctorate a year before me, knowing I might have to ask him for some of his time later, which I did. I also got a lot of help with Excel from a friend who is a banker; another person advised me about some statistics work. Your friends and family are a very necessary support system during this process.
7. Take a break. Sometimes my partner and I met to talk about the work but ended up just chatting over coffee. Developing true care for your partner, or at least a deep respect, is important. You may not end up being best friends, but you will share this document forever.

I have contacted my partner many times since graduation about using the dissertation content for poster sessions or at international conferences. No matter what happens, your name will always be connected to this person, so you should care about what they do with their career and keep in touch. You will form a special connection. Don’t push the business side of things so much that you miss out on a friendship.