Each student must write a dissertation that presents the results of research carried out by the student. An appropriate research project involves a substantive piece of original and independent research grounded in an appropriate body of literature. It is relevant to an identifiable field as it is currently practiced. It represents a hypothesis tested by collection and analysis of data and provides a significant contribution or advancement to that field. It is the responsibility of the student’s doctoral committee to evaluate the dissertation in these terms and to recommend awarding of the doctoral degree only if the dissertation is judged to demonstrate these qualities.