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[artsy_122]

Hi - my first time posting here...

Yay!  Just sent off my proposal this morning!  Happy dance!

I hope it goes over ok...

Only 5 more weeks of fieldwork left and then it will be all about writing.  (and trying to figure out how to earn some money...  oh - and applying to jobs!  Ack!)

I hope that posting updates here will help me stay motivated.

[grasshopper]

It is helpful. I've found it helpful, not so much for motivation, but to blow off steam.

Have fun with your fieldwork! Come back when you want to scream about writing frustrations!

[monita]

I never post on this thread, since it's practical and I mostly use the Forum for procrastination.  But, I have exciting news:  I have just finished the LAST CHAPTER of my dissertation! 

Whooohoooohoooohoooo!!!!!

I'm well aware that I have loads of revisions ahead of me, but for now I'm going to savor this little success.

[scampster]

I never post on this thread, since it's practical and I mostly use the Forum for procrastination.  But, I have exciting news:  I have just finished the LAST CHAPTER of my dissertation! 

Whooohoooohoooohoooo!!!!!

I'm well aware that I have loads of revisions ahead of me, but for now I'm going to savor this little success.

Congratulations!

[dellaroux]

This just in, thought someone might find it amusing, useful, further help in procrastinating...whatever...

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-lundberg/doctoral-dissertations-in_b_271509.html

I hope all are doing well.

[scampster]

This just in, thought someone might find it amusing, useful, further help in procrastinating...whatever...

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-lundberg/doctoral-dissertations-in_b_271509.html

I hope all are doing well.

'

I'm totally writing my dissertation haiku immediately!

[zarathustra]

This just in, thought someone might find it amusing, useful, further help in procrastinating...whatever...

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-lundberg/doctoral-dissertations-in_b_271509.html

I hope all are doing well.

I'm disappointed...I thought this site would make a haiku for me.  Because I suck at haikus.

[foreigner123]

Hi, I wanted to ask about my method for dissertation writing.
I just defended my proposal and I have since been reading and making HUGE outlines that should later turn into chapters.  Does this seem to be a good system for starting out?

[prof_smartypants]

Sure - just make sure you do some actual writing at some point. Maybe outline a chapter and then write it, rather than trying to outline everything. You have no idea what will happen between now and when your dissertation is finished. Recognize and embrace the fact that it will change significantly. You'll learn about new theories, find new vital pieces of literature, and you'll change your approach here and there to accommodate that. So, trying to outline everything won't work, but using outlines to do individual chapters is a great way to start.

[lily1]

Hello all!  I'm a PhD candidate in oceanography, currently writing papers/chapters.

I was wondering what might be the average number of iterations one goes through while preparing a paper?  My advisor and I have been going back and forth with a rather complex paper that will be submitted for publishing and will be the first content chapter of the dissertation.  Part of me thinks I should have been able to produce a submittable paper in three iterations, the other part of me thinks I expect too much of myself.

I'm seeking opinions on whether or not I'm being too hard on myself, and data on how many times y'all had to revise papers before submitting. 

[phalene]

I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I just wanted to say I successfully defended my MA thesis today! I have a short break, and then I'll be starting my PhD in about two weeks... *busy, busy, busy*

[scampster]

I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I just wanted to say I successfully defended my MA thesis today! I have a short break, and then I'll be starting my PhD in about two weeks... *busy, busy, busy*

Congrats!

I was wondering what might be the average number of iterations one goes through while preparing a paper?  My advisor and I have been going back and forth with a rather complex paper that will be submitted for publishing and will be the first content chapter of the dissertation.  Part of me thinks I should have been able to produce a submittable paper in three iterations, the other part of me thinks I expect too much of myself.

I'm seeking opinions on whether or not I'm being too hard on myself, and data on how many times y'all had to revise papers before submitting. 

I guess it depends how involved your advisor is along the way. I usually am communicating with him while I'm writing, so he is never surprised by any of the science he gets. Mostly it is argument structure type revisions I need to make. So by three iterations, it's usually ready to go out the door. But if he is more hands off in preliminary stages (or excessively picky before submission), then I could easily see it taking more iterations.

[thundering_m]

Hi, I wanted to ask about my method for dissertation writing.
I just defended my proposal and I have since been reading and making HUGE outlines that should later turn into chapters.  Does this seem to be a good system for starting out?

Kind of depends on the type of study and your confidence to do it. Outlining everything in advance sounds quantitative, which has a clear recipe for structure and you simply flesh out each section. OK, not so simply, but the writing is pretty straightforward. The challenge is to collect and analyze the data, which the proposal defense permits you to do if it involves human subjects.  A qualitative study is of course more unwieldy and it is important to start writing as soon as possible because the process of articulating what you are noticing amongst all the data and their connections to the literature is the way to clarify your thinking.

Taking a clue from your moniker, Foreign 123, my first thought is that you are describing a reading and writing activity, not a research activity. If you are not confident in your writing, a good strategy is to establish a frequent conference schedule whereby you know someone else is gong to be reading what you produce. Outlines are the ultimate paralysis by analysis. You already have an adequate outline thanks to your proposal. By now you should be writing complete sentences.  Start producing paragraphs for each study you plan to summarize. All your terms should be defined and these should be introduced in a cohesive and parsimonious essay.

Are you talking specifically about outlining the introductory literature review? If you are not confident in having a grasp of the knowledge base already in the field, be warned that you will never feel completely confident, and finding more stuff to thind about is a way to stay passive, another delaying tactic to avoid action. Just write what is needed for a succinct rationale for what the study involves. Read several dissertations that have already been approved by your committee members and also dissertations based on similar studies. Then go ye therefore and do likewise.

But enough with the outlines.

[scampster]

Oh my God! I have become that grad student!

Tonight we had a grad student meeting with the department chair (which I only went to for the free pizza).

We did introductions.

And I officially am the student who has been working on their PhD the longest.

There used to be another student that we used to kid about being here forever.

NOW IT'S ME!

I think I need to go find a beer to cry into.

[foreigner123]

In response to the last post about the outlines, I have found that for now this is the only way I can manage my research findings (I am putting together not only the analysis, but also the history of a major historical event--few people have written about this before).  I am writing (connecting sentences and articulating complete thoughts) as well, just in a very sloppy, stream-of-consciousness way.  Later, I plan to go back and polish things up (many times, of course).  Thanks for your suggestion.