ssdavid
New member
Posts: 9
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« Reply #1215 on: September 27, 2009, 11:31:17 AM » |
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Hi, I'm new here. I'm in the social sciences field and in the last stage of my dissertation. I've finished the interviews (a year ago!!) and am writing the analysis. Because I choose a topic and use a methodology both rare in my field in my country (I'm not in US) but are very common in UK and US. No one can guide me with the analysis. I am very alone in this process!
Many people try to persuade me to change to another easier method or topic. But I cannot go through another BIG direction change now. I've already devoted hugely into the current project, besides it's too late because I'm in my 7th year! After a year of endless reading and experimenting with analyses, now I finally know how to analyze my data and begin to write down the results.
I should be happy however I find myself unmotivated to speed up the process. The main reasons I think are that I don't see any career prospect (the job market is terrible), and I still have to deal with a group of very harsh committees. Thinking of this only adds frustration. I can hardly get any support around me. Nobody understands what I'm doing. Some try to help but they just can't do anything. BTW, I have a part-time job to support myself.
The process is painful but I still hope to finish it step by step. If luckily I can get rid of the melancholy, I maybe can graduate by next Spring.
Thanks for your patiently reading.
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« Last Edit: September 27, 2009, 11:32:07 AM by ssdavid »
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grasshopper
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« Reply #1216 on: October 11, 2009, 09:17:06 AM » |
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I should be happy however I find myself unmotivated to speed up the process. The main reasons I think are that I don't see any career prospect (the job market is terrible), and I still have to deal with a group of very harsh committees.
As bad as the job market is with a completed PhD, it's even worse without. Git 'er done. The sooner you get it written up, the sooner you can rid yourself of the Very Harsh Committees, and the sooner you can get yourself into a work situation that you enjoy. How much longer before they boot you out of the program? Don't most places have caps on the amount of time you can take to complete? In Grassy's world, I'm discovering that it is, indeed, very difficult to write a dissertation while working full-time. Whodathunkit? Remember way back in the olden days, when everyone told me how rotten the job market was, and I poo-poohed them, thinking that ahhhh, but I was special, and would certainly have my choice of jobs? And remember how difficult it was when I realized that, huh, everyone was right, and the job market really does suck, and I'm not quite as special as I thought I was? Yeah, well, now I'm coming to the realization that everyone was also quite correct about the difficulty of writing a diss while working. Again, my special brand of specialness doesn't make it any easier. Time to open the Word document. |
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timurid
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« Reply #1217 on: October 15, 2009, 12:09:14 AM » |
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Chapter 4 of 7... the one with my most important arguments... is finally wrapping up and will be turned in at the end of the week.
160 of approximately 230 pages are done. Speaking of which... I thought this thread was a good place to pose a question. The folks I asked around the department could not reach a consensus.
Does the standard quoted length of a dissertation include things like the bibliography, end notes, illustrations, etc... or is it just the body text? The figures I stated above assumed the latter...
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scampster
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« Reply #1218 on: October 15, 2009, 12:18:50 AM » |
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Does the standard quoted length of a dissertation include things like the bibliography, end notes, illustrations, etc... or is it just the body text? The figures I stated above assumed the latter...
Does it really matter? I wouldn't be surprised if my PhD dissertation comes in at the same length as my masters thesis, simply because I had to double space my masters thesis and put each figure on an individual page. For my dissertation, it will be roughly journal formatted and the figures will be integrated into the text... |
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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timurid
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« Reply #1219 on: October 15, 2009, 01:06:55 AM » |
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Does the standard quoted length of a dissertation include things like the bibliography, end notes, illustrations, etc... or is it just the body text? The figures I stated above assumed the latter...
Does it really matter? No, not really. There are no official length requirements or restrictions in my department. It's just a question a few of us were batting around. I was curious to see if I could get more feedback here... |
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synecdoche
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« Reply #1220 on: October 15, 2009, 04:44:09 PM » |
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Does the standard quoted length of a dissertation include things like the bibliography, end notes, illustrations, etc... or is it just the body text? The figures I stated above assumed the latter...
At my university, yes. I'm sure it depends on the institution, though. |
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synecdoche
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« Reply #1221 on: October 15, 2009, 04:47:16 PM » |
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This chapter's still kicking my butt, six months later. I don't know why I can't get through it. I feel like I have a really good, interesting argument, but it's not coming out on the page. Every time I think I make a breakthrough, I hit another wall. It's not helping matters that I can't seem to get a hold of my supervisor. E-mailed him a few days ago to ask if he had fifteen minutes to talk through some stuff, and he hasn't even replied. I think I'm over-relying on my second reader, who is just as busy, and is really going way above and beyond her role here.
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prephd
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« Reply #1222 on: October 15, 2009, 06:20:58 PM » |
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Met with advisor today and had a very productive meeting.
Chs. 1-3 just about complete. I need to do some minor editing & tightening, then we're ready to hand it off to the rest of the committee--hopefully by the end of Nov.
Hooray!
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me. Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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grasshopper
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« Reply #1223 on: October 15, 2009, 06:28:12 PM » |
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This chapter's still kicking my butt, six months later. I don't know why I can't get through it. I feel like I have a really good, interesting argument, but it's not coming out on the page. Every time I think I make a breakthrough, I hit another wall. It's not helping matters that I can't seem to get a hold of my supervisor. E-mailed him a few days ago to ask if he had fifteen minutes to talk through some stuff, and he hasn't even replied. I think I'm over-relying on my second reader, who is just as busy, and is really going way above and beyond her role here.
Maybe it's time to move on to another chapter, and let this one sit? Sounds like you've hit a block, and need a kick-start. Sometimes the momentum of writing something else sparks those juices. |
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timurid
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« Reply #1224 on: October 15, 2009, 06:53:51 PM » |
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This chapter's still kicking my butt, six months later.
I know the feeling. I'd planned two months for this last chapter, and it ended up taking a bit over four. The length also nearly doubled, from an estimate of about 30 pages to an actual figure of 57. Well, that chapter was the most important one, essentially the crux of the whole project. Two more body chapters and a conclusion to go. If I'm going to make my goal of a March defense I need to get more ruthless with both my time and my word counts... and get into "save it for the book" mode... |
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prephd
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« Reply #1225 on: October 16, 2009, 12:19:20 PM » |
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Okay, I've got 2 1/2 days with no obligations stretching out before me. This will be the weekend forever known as "the great marathon weekend of dissertating and house cleaning of 2009."
I am determined to hunker down and write, clean, write, clean, write, clean, and write. All in one-hour blocks topped off with a hot bath and a cold beer in the evenings.
I aim to come out on the other side of Sunday with a draft that will make my advisor (and me) proud.
Here I go...
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me. Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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unnamed
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« Reply #1226 on: October 25, 2009, 04:55:11 PM » |
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Hope your writing was productive, prephd!
My issue of the moment: I'm putting the very final touches on my thesis. The feedback I've had from my advisor on the previous draft is proving invaluable. The problem I have, though, is that while some changes suggested in the writing itself are helpful, others seem to me to be more an issue of "voice". I don't see these suggested changes adding anything, they just make it sound like my adisor wrote it. Of course, it could be that I'm just not able to see the weaknesses of my original writing. In most cases, though, I can see why the suggested changes are better, so it's not that I'm completely blind to the flaws.
How do other people go about evaluating comments on their work?
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artsy_122
Junior member
Posts: 66
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« Reply #1227 on: October 25, 2009, 05:01:47 PM » |
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I get lots of good comments from my committee and advisor...
I try to follow them as much as possible. At this point in my career the main point is to finish and graduate. If following suggestions makes that speed along... all the better. I think the main thing is you need to know when you chose your battles. If you do not make a requested change you better be able to say why. But, know that if you make a change - it is only a thesis or dissertation. You can always can always change it back when you revise to publish.
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prephd
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« Reply #1228 on: October 26, 2009, 06:57:04 PM » |
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Hope your writing was productive, prephd! It was, thanks. Still got a few more hours to do this weekend before I send it off into the ether again. |
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me. Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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captthesisblowfish
New member
Posts: 1
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« Reply #1229 on: October 27, 2009, 10:04:07 PM » |
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Just wanted to introduce myself, and get my first post out of the way, and hopefully become a regular part of this thread. It seems like its helping many people here. I am done with my course work for my MA, and only have my thesis to complete. I just moved to a new city so I've been trying to get settled but can't put the writing on the back burner any longer. I believe my main issue is narrowing down my topic, articulating the question I want to answer to myself, and disciplining myself to write everyday. This thing has to be finished so I can graduate by Jan 2010. I'm sure wading through this thread might answer many questions I have.
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