THE RESPONSIBILITY SCALE - A RESEARCH NOTE ON DISSERTATION COMPLETION

As individuals mature, increasing responsibility is taken for life eve nts, but there is variation in this maturation from one individual to another. These individual differences can be observed in the doctoral candidate's acceptance of responsibility for completing the doctoral d issertation. The Responsibility Scale was completed by 142 graduates a nd 97 nongraduates (all but dissertations [ABDs]) in a college of educ ation. A principal components analysis of the scale indicated that two factors underlie responses. The scale appears useful for assessing at titudes of doctoral candidates toward responsibility for dissertation tasks and for planning student advising based on these attitudes.