Improving Doctoral Candidates’ Persistence in the Online Dissertation Process

Variables associated with doctoral attrition and distance education attrition are academic, social, and emotional. Thus, methods chosen to support doctoral students in the doctoral journey, and more specifically, the dissertation process, should take into account doctoral students needs on both an academic and social/ emotional level. This article examines the use of a collaborative technology, Microsoft Office SharePoint, and its ability to support distance doctoral candidates both socially and academically in the dissertation process in comparison with traditional dissertation facilitation methods.