There is a significant amount of discussion on this subject followed sometimes by heated arguments.

Surely no one will deny that having your dissertation written for you is very wrong and will bring down upon you, without hesitation, the wrath of your advisor.

On the other hand, it is not unusual for Doctorate students to get help on specific chapters of their dissertation. It also is not unusual for advisors to encourage students to seek outside help.

Many students hit their dissertation “brick wall” when they encounter the statistics section. Frequently, a student will struggle for months with that section before they seek a consultant to help them.

If I were to name a single reason why a PhD candidate gets off track in their program it is the statistics and their fear of statistics.

So, the question is whether or not it is ethical to get help at all. If so, how much help is too much.

I don’t know if there has ever been a survey of advisors who were asked this question, however, I know many advisors take the following position when they suggest or approve outside help:

“To a large extent the process is self controlling. If the student relies too much on a consultant, the product may look good, however, the student will be unable to defend his/her dissertation”.

It takes a committed effort on the part of the student and the consultant (resulting in a collaborative/teaching exchange) to have the student responsible for the data and thoroughly understand the statistics. The day the student walks in front of the committee to defend, there should be no question as to his/her ability to defend.

When that defense is successful the question of “was the help too much” is answered.