This volume serves as a companion to Early Psychological Research Contributions from Women of Color, Volume I. It focuses on the dissertations of 20 builders, women of color who earned their doctoral degrees in psychology prior to 1990 and who were leaders in the field through their leadership or innovation.

An introductory chapter bridges the two volumes. Each subsequent chapter summarizes and examines a dissertation using a consistent format, including a biographical sketch of the builder with an emphasis on her significant contribution to an organization or innovation that moved the field forward, a summary of the dissertation, a reproducibility critique of the dissertation, and an alternative framework section that analyzes the dissertation from a modern theoretical perspective or methodological approach (e.g., feminist theory, liberation psychology, mestiza consciousness, etc.).

The topics cover the breadth of the discipline of psychology, including physiological, cognitive, developmental, social, and clinical. Some topics are also relevant to business, education, medicine, and social work. The varying nature of these dissertations allows the book to be used to augment coursework either as a complete collection or as individual chapters.

This volume is intended for both instructors and students. The course activities provide examples of how to integrate key aspects of the dissertation research into the classroom. The volume was written with upper-level undergraduate students in mind so that it could be used across the psychology curriculum, but the editors envision this book as a potential graduate-level text as well.