writing – Page 5 – Love Your Dissertation

October 25, 2017

Five tips to help you finish your dissertation proposal and earn your doctorate

Do you need to finish your doctorate to advance your career? Many people start doctoral programs but don’t finish, losing out on future income and promotions. Did you get stuck trying to get your proposal approved? Take heart. Here are five tips to help you get back on track, finish your proposal, and earn your doctorate.

1. Dissertator, know thyself

Know your institution’s dissertation requirements. Every school has different guidelines. You need to know them and follow them. Requirements can be inconsistent, and many things can go wrong. Familiarize yourself with your institution’s dissertation handbook.

Update your computer skills. You may have gone to college before the Internet. In some ways, studying now isn’t much different than it was then, but now we have technology to dazzle and confound us. You may not need fancy software to analyze your data. Plain old Word and Excel might be enough to get the job done. Keep it simple, keep learning, and don’t give up.

Choose a topic that suits you. Out of the billion or so fascinating topics in your field, how do you narrow the choices down to one that is manageable? Do some journaling using these prompts:

In your graduate courses, what were your favorite subjects and controversies?
Where do you see yourself in five years, 10 years?
What topics will position you for the career you want?
Talk to practitioners in your field. What problems do they face? Can you help?

2. Find and manage your sources like a pro

Look for journal articles that have been “peer-reviewed.” Peer-reviewed means the source has been reviewed and approved by a jury of the authors’ peers (i.e., fellow researchers). The very best (i.e., the most reputable, top tier, well-respected, super hard to get published in) journals use a blind review process, in which the reviewers don’t know the identity of the author or authors, so there can be no taint of bias. The work stands or falls on its own merit.

Manage your sources efficiently. Once you find all those peer-reviewed sources, what do you do with them? Managing sources can be like herding cats when your research folders begin overflowing with files. Some dissertators use source management software like Endnote or Mendeley. I managed thousands of sources by labeling them with codes that I could easily search on using only Windows Explorer. See my method in my book.

Write a strategic literature review. Save online sources as Word or pdf documents. Highlight important ideas as you read. That will save you time when it is time to incorporate the sources into your literature review. The literature review, typically Chapter 2 of your proposal, provides the background for your study and the proof that you have identified a viable problem worth researching. It takes time and effort to distill all the sources you’ve studied into a succinct and readable rationale for why the world needs your study. Be strategic: You don’t need to include everything; however, all the sources you choose to include should be synthesized into a clear argument and justification for your study.

3. Search for the elegant bones

Define the research problem accurately. Are you having trouble figuring out how to state your research problem? I wrote in circles for weeks, writing around the problem without succinctly identifying it. Once you get the research problem clearly defined, things flow much more smoothly. Use a simple worksheet, like this one.

Let your research problem dictate your theoretical framework. As you wrestle with your research problem, think about a logical theory that can provide the backbone for your study. You usually only need one main theoretical framework to hold the study together. Don’t overdo it by proposing multiple theories. You can discuss them all in your literature review, but choose one or two to focus on for YOUR study. Applying theory is one of the biggest hurdles dissertators face. See more in my book.

Align the bones around a strong framework. All the main elements of your study—the problem, purpose, research questions, methodology, and methods—should be built around the theoretical framework you’ve chosen. Getting these pieces to work together, or “align,” is an iterative process that can take time, but it’s important to get it right if you want to get your proposal approved. Hone the pieces down to the bones of your study. Start adding flesh when you are sure the bones can stand on their own.

4. Study the work of previous researchers

What is your study’s contribution? To get your proposal approved, you must convince your reviewers that your study will contribute something valuable to the body of knowledge. The best way to do this is to study how other researchers have contributed. Read how previous researchers chose their methods, recruited their samples, and collected and analyzed their data.

How did others do it? Read everything you can to learn the jargon researchers have used to describe their procedures. Certain words signal to reviewers that you understand the nuances of the research process. For example, you may notice the word “explore” is often used for qualitative studies and “examine” is used for quantitative studies. Phenomenologists cite Moustakas (1994). Case study researchers cite Yin (2009). If you use the “correct” words and cite the “right” sources, your reviewers will see you’ve done your homework.

5. Be an ethical researcher

Identify your study’s assumptions and limitations. Every study has assumptions, limitations, and delimitations, whether they are explicitly stated or not, so don’t panic. Some assumptions are unavoidable—for example, we hope our respondents answer honestly. Some limitations are inescapable—for example, for all you quantitative dissertators, remember, we aren’t studying the entire population of the planet, or even of one town or one school. We limit our sample to a certain randomly selected group and hope through the magic of probability and the bell-shaped normal distribution that this group’s views reflect the views of similar people who weren’t studied.

Follow IRB guidelines. Most dissertators collect data from people. Whenever we involve people in our research, specific ethical guidelines apply. Make sure you are familiar with your institution’s IRB guidelines.

Don’t be a plagiarist! Many dissertators seem to believe that citing their sources is optional. Citing your sources, either in the text or in footnotes or endnotes, is a requirement of academic writing. Plagiarism is no joke. Your degree can be rescinded decades later. Careers can be ruined.

Validate your study. Desperation can motivate even the most ethical person to consider engaging in unethical behavior. Sadly, desperation or arrogance causes some researchers to cut corners, throwing the trustworthiness of the entire research process into question. Validation is the process you will undertake to ensure your study is as robust and trustworthy as it can be.

What should you do now?

Consider buying my book. As I was struggling to get my own dissertation proposal approved, I identified 28 1/2 potential obstacles. I discuss each one in detail in my book RESUBMIT! 28 1/2 REASONS WHY YOU CAN’T GET YOUR DISSERTATION PROPOSAL APPROVED. It’s a big fat book with lots of worksheets and diagrams, but luckily you only need to read the chapters that apply to you. I tried to make it reader-friendly. Let me know if I succeeded.

Sources

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4^th ed.). Applied Social Research Methods Series Vol. 5. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Print version
Kindle version

August 30, 2017

Understanding our place on the research continuum

Some students seem to start writing at the top of the paper and grind out page after page, until they get to the bottom of the last page, where they stop and type “In conclusion.” That is how they know they are almost done. Along the way, they write whatever comes to mind. Citations are rare. These students seem to assume that the only thing that matters is their opinions on the topic. Undergrads often write like this. However, for doctoral candidates, this writing approach is a massive red flag. Maybe this approach comes from a belief that now they are ABD (all but dissertation), reviewers actually care what they think.

If your approach is similar to what I just described, I ask you, What is the point of researching anything? You apparently already know all the answers. What more is there to learn? I hope you can see the problem with this self-focused approach. When you pursue a doctoral degree, you join the big wide wonderful world of academic research. That means you are not an isolated researcher conjuring opinions out of the ether. You are part of a continuum.

What is the “research continuum”?

Humans tend to be self-centered. I’m sure it’s a survival trait, passed down to us from our ancestors who saw a stick in the path and didn’t wait to find out if it was a stick or a snake. I’m out of here, stage right! In our efforts to survive, we moderns may forget that we are the product of generations who lived before us.

The same idea is true in our conception of research. We think our study is on the cusp of something unique and remarkable. We think we are the cutting edge, the culmination of a grand and memorable idea the world has never seen before. Well, maybe you are, maybe your research will be world changing. However, most of us must be content to contribute our little container of coleslaw to the world party. The key word here is contribute. Like those who have gone before us, we offer our findings to the body of knowledge, and then we fade away.

Well, we don’t entirely fade away. People who come after us may cite our study, just as we cite the studies of those who came before us. This is the continuum of research. It began when someone looked at the world and asked, “Why?” I imagine it will go on until humans no longer have inquiring minds. (Some may say that time has already come, but we know better, don’t we? I hope so.)

Sorry, your opinions are not that important

I know what you are thinking: My opinions are not important!? Sorry if that offends you. I know, ouch. We don’t want to hear that our opinions aren’t important. My intention is not to be disrespectful. I’m sure your opinions are full of pithy insight. I’d love to read them someday, when you finally get your massive tome published.

The challenge that trips us up is forgetting that we are part of the research continuum, tossing our little piece of knowledge into the vast knowledge pool. We spout, in depth and at length, to show how much we know and to explain to our readers that we have the answers. Often we drone on (oh, sorry, I mean, we write eloquently) in our Literature Review, gushing our opinions rather than actually reviewing the literature! I see this tendency to offer opinions with some frequency in the papers I edit. This problem can delay your proposal approval.

Right now, I’m sorry to say, nobody cares about your opinions. When you are writing your proposal, you haven’t yet earned the right to have an opinion. After you collect and analyze your data, then you can have an opinion—about your findings, that is. You can’t just spout unsubstantiated claims and expect to get away with it. And, certainly, your opinions don’t belong in the Literature Review. That is the place for other researchers’ opinions. Remember the continuum of research!

I edit many papers. Sometimes I come upon uncited assertions in the first three chapters—for example, “Teachers should give their students more homework.” Or: “The world will fall apart if XYZ is not implemented immediately. Therefore, we should do XYZ right away!” These are recommendations that come from the dissertator’s heart, I get that. But writing these uncited statements leaves these dissertators hanging out in the short branches with no support and a long way to fall.

Unsupported statements sneak in when we are unclear in our thinking. Unclear thinking leads to unclear writing. To combat this very human tendency, create the structure of your argument and do not stray from it, no matter how tempting each verdant tangent may seem. Stick to the bones of your argument and avoid the fat. Your reviewers will be more likely to approve your proposal if they can see the elegant skeleton underlying your project. Then they can see that all the elements fit in satisfying alignment.

Beware the frothy emotional appeal

Dissertators sometimes write with passion (drama! and who cares about citations when you are beating your favorite righteous drum?). I understand the temptation to get on the soapbox, even if it is to convince some university reviewer that your proposal merits approval. However, reviewers spot the unsupported appeal a mile away—the dissertator’s argument is short on substance and long on froth. Usually, it’s a sign the dissertator has not fully grasped some basic research concepts or is more interested in expressing his or her wrath than in finding objective reality.

More reading is the antidote to the lack of understanding about concepts. The solution to the anger thing requires some self-awareness, a little soul-searching, and a commitment to finding and telling the truth as it exists, not as you perceive or desire it to be.

Be specific. Be concise. Be objective. If you want to make a passionate point, make sure you have lots of company (that means provide solid sources to cover your backside). Save your impassioned recommendations for your discussion chapter (and make sure you base them on your research findings). Don’t assume your view is the only view. Cultivate a little humility. Find all sides of your argument, and cite your sources. Be a fair, honest, and objective scholar. Welcome to the continuum of research!

Print version
Kindle version

July 7, 2017

Feel like you can’t? Get busy and get it done

I can come up with a gajillion excuses why I can’t. Can’t what, you say? Can’t anything. Ask my mother, I bet she will say I was born moaning “I can’t!” Usually the thing I think I can’t do requires things I think I don’t have—typically, time, money, or energy. Rarely is the problem as simple as I don’t know how. Almost always, I’m bound up by my fear that I will fail. Here’s what to do when you are struck with a case of the “I can’ts” as you are struggling to get your dissertation proposal approved.

I can’t [fill in the blank]

When I was working on my doctorate, my sad refrain to my long-suffering colleagues was “Woe is me, I can’t finish this monstrosity!” While I was writing my first book, I whined frequently “I’ll never get it done!” to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. I seem to be genetically disposed to complaining that I can’t do something, when the evidence implies otherwise.

The fact is, I did finish my doctorate. I did write that book. I can’t very well point to my track record and say, “See, Carol? You didn’t . . . so you can’t.” Because I did. So clearly, I can. If you get my drift. I confess, I was a Negatron long before there was such a thing. The good news is, it doesn’t matter! Let me repeat: positive attitude or negative attitude, or anywhere in between—it doesn’t matter.

Confidence is nice but not essential

You may be an expert on the power of positive thinking. If so, yay for you. If you don’t tend to look on the bright side, welcome to the club! The good news is, you don’t have to. Confidence is nice but not essential to completing your proposal. All the confidence on the planet is not going to earn approval if your grammar is subpar or you are missing critical citations. Just saying. In fact, I think confidence might be overrated. Confidence can become arrogance in a heartbeat. Arrogance can lead us to assume that our work is stellar when really it’s a big hairy mess.

Some people are naturally confident. I’m not one of them. Lacking natural confidence might sometimes be a good thing. For example, if I were naturally confident, I might say something breezily self-centered like “Feel your fear and do it anyway!” I might say “Go boldly in the direction of your dreams” without noticing you are hiding under the covers. I might say “Hey, all you have to fear is fear itself.” Blah blah blah. But I’m not naturally confident. I’m naturally terrified. You can diagnose me with low self-esteem, personality disorder, whatever. I’m here to tell you, none of that matters. I lack confidence, and I still earned my doctorate—it can be done!

There were times in my 8-year doctoral journey that I seriously doubted my ability to perform to a high enough standard to achieve my dream. When things got intense (meaning, when I was terrified out of my wits that I would fail), I narrowed my focus to the tiny piece of action in front of me: the chapter, the paragraph, the sentence. After I typed each sentence, I stopped to make sure what I was writing was on track and in alignment with my overall purpose and plan.

Sometimes I was too scared to write. Naptime! Right up until the end of the defense, I lacked confidence. As I wrote my book, I lacked confidence. As I write this blogpost, I lack confidence! Argh! However, if you are reading these words, I rest my case!

Action is the magic word

Lately my plaintive cry is “Alas, I can’t be creative. I can’t be successful. I can’t be successful being creative.” It is so much easier to complain about how my dreams daily fail to materialize . . . while ignoring the embarrassing fact that I’m doing practically nothing to help them happen. I spend a lot of time dreaming and fretting and not much time doing. (I can’t because . . . )

What do you worry about? Probably we worry about similar things. Here are a few of my worries: My work isn’t good enough. My topic is stupid. It’s been done. It’s already obsolete. It’s incoherent gibberish. I’ll never get done. This is costing me a fortune. I usually finish up with something like Alas, alackaday, woe is me [place back of hand on forehead].

We don’t need positive thinking, and we can’t sit around doing nothing. It’s all about action, people. Any action. You don’t have to believe in it, you just have to do it (obligatory kudos to Nike’s tagline, forever embedded in the American zeitgeist). It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to get done. This isn’t the culmination of your career, it’s just the beginning. You have lots and lots of road ahead of you to get it right.

Some words on the paper is better than zero words, even if they are incoherent gibberish. That’s how this blogpost came to be. Bla bla bladdy bla and next thing I know, I’ve got something done. Not perfect. Who cares. Sometimes, yes, the good is the enemy of the best, but perfectionism is the enemy of good enough. Nobody gets it right all the time. The ones who win (you define winning) are the ones who don’t quit, no matter what.

Here’s my suggestion: Work on your outline first. Get it on paper (that means type it up). Figure out what sources support which subsections. Then you can take a nap.

If you need some help, check out my book.

Print version
Kindle version