About Our Book
From Research to Reality
The dissertation journey is one of the most challenging yet rewarding milestones in academia. From Research to Reality: A Practical Guide for Writing Your Dissertations your essential companion for conquering this process with clarity and confidence.
Dr. Alison Pattison and Dr. Lori Wieters - experienced educators, dissertation chairs, and mentors -provide a step-by-step roadmap for managing the research, writing, and revision phases of your dissertation. With practical strategies, structured guidance, and workbook—style exercises, this book helps doctoral candidates stay on track, overcome obstacles like writer’s block and imposter syndrome, and develop a sustainable writing routine.
Whether you’re just starting or feeling stuck, From Research to Reality: A Practical Guide for Writing Your Dissertation delivers the structure, encouragement, and tools you need to complete your dissertation and earn your doctorate. Let this book be your trusted guide on the path to academic success.
Meet the Authors
Dr. Alison Pattison
Dr. Alison Pattison (Dr. Alison) is a business owner, professor, speaker, and writer with a passion for guiding others through transformative learning experiences. With over 25 years of experience in curriculum development, instructional design, and higher education, she has authored more than 350 courses tailored for adult learners.
She has taught at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and Louisiana State University and currently serves as professor and senior doctoral chair at Grand Canyon University. In this role, she mentors doctoral candidates through every stage of their dissertation. She teaches in both Master’s and Doctoral programs, sharing her expertise in education, leadership, and organizational development.
As the founder of an education company based in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Alison is committed to empowering individuals and organizations through innovative learning solutions. In addition, Dr. Alison is the host of the Beyond the Classroom podcast, where she engages with industry leaders on topics ranging from advocacy and leadership to education and public policy. She holds a Doctorate in Education in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Instructional Leadership and a Master’s in Education in School Counseling. Her diverse background enables her to bridge the worlds of academia, business, and personal development with insight and empathy.
Dr. Lori Wieters
Dr. Lori Wieters (Dr. Lori) has been balancing her time between business consulting, speaking, writing, executive and doctoral coaching, and teaching at the Masters and Doctoral levels in var ious universities. As a Doctoral Chair, Dr. Lori has participated in more than forty committees as the Chair or Content Expert, where the students have all graduated with their doctorate degree. As a res idency instructor for more than 10 years, Dr. Lori has seen and advised on thousands of studies that have resulted in hundreds of graduates.
Through her business co-laboratory, one of the communities of practice is a Dissertation Facebook Com munity, which has more than 1800 doctoral learners from more than 30 universities across the world who collaborate, learn, and celebrate each other. Dr. Lori has a passion for helping doctoral students to finish their doctoral degrees and achieve their life goals. Dr. Lori’s Ph.D. is in Organization and Management with a specialization in Human Resources (2007). Her doctorate degree and MBA have positioned her for the work she does as a business consultant, speaker, author, and facilitator. She has worked in her consulting practice full time since 2010, where she does strategic planning, organizational development, executive coaching, advising, and transition management. Much of the expertise from her business initiatives translates into her educational efforts for doctoral students, especially for those who want to turn their research into businesses, speaking opportunities, and create new thinking in the world.