Dissertation Assignment

I am seeking a highly experienced academic editor with doctoral-level experience to review and refine Chapters IIII of my PhD dissertation for committee approval.

My study is titled:

Black Men in Leadership: A Phenomenological Exploration of Workplace Emotional Intelligence.

This is an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) qualitative study.

I have already made significant revisions based on my chairs feedback. I now need a comprehensive editorial review to ensure the document is committee-ready and formatted according to The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) dissertation template.

Scope of Work

I need the following:

1. Substantive Editing

• Eliminate redundancy and repeated sections
• Tighten arguments and improve logical flow
• Strengthen transitions between sections
• Ensure theoretical framework integration (Critical Race Theory, Social Identity Theory, Leader Identity Theory)
• Ensure clear alignment between:
• Problem statement
• Purpose statement
• Research question
• Research objectives
• Theoretical framework
• Methodology (IPA)

1. Methodology Alignment (IPA)

• Ensure full alignment with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009)
• Confirm sample size justification (710 participants)
• Confirm recruitment strategy clarity
• Confirm data analysis steps are accurate for IPA
• Strengthen trustworthiness section (credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability)
• Review positionality and reflexivity statements

1. APA 7 Formatting

• Correct all citation formatting
• Ensure consistency in reference formatting
• Correct heading structure
• Fix numbering errors (e.g., research objectives)
• Ensure figure and table formatting compliance

1. Grammar and Clarity

• Sentence-level polishing
• Remove awkward phrasing
• Ensure scholarly tone
• Ensure tense consistency
• Eliminate repetition and structural duplication

1. Appendices Review

• Review interview protocol
• Review recruitment messages (Slack and LinkedIn)
• Review screening questionnaire
• Ensure IRB-compliant language
• Ensure formatting matches dissertation standards

Deliverables

• A fully edited version using Track Changes and alignment with the universities template (spacing, etc. hyperlinks for appendix)
• A clean final version without tracked edits
• Brief notes summarizing any major structural recommendations

Important

This must be:

• Doctoral-level academic writing
• Committee-review ready
• Clean, tight, and professionally structured
• Aligned with qualitative IPA methodology

I will provide:

• My current dissertation draft
• USM dissertation template
• A sample approved IPA dissertation from my program
• My appendices file
• My chairs previous comments

Please confirm:

• Your experience editing qualitative dissertations (IPA preferred)
• Your familiarity with APA 7