Are you on the right path?*

How do you know if you are on the right path in getting a PhD? How do you know if your study or your dissertation is "good"? The reality is that you don't know- all that you can do is keep going, one step at a time. You will get a lot of feedback and advice along the way to your PhD, some you will be required to take to continue, other advice you will have to make your own decision about whether to use it or continue in the same direction. Don't let the decision making lead to a fear of movement, rarely is any decision fatal or unresolvable. One step at a time… keep going.

There is a tendency for many people to become paralyzed in the dissertation process because they look at the big picture and have a hard time seeing themselves making that trip to the end. Focus on the next step, if that seems too big, break it down even further. Is writing that first chapter the obstacle? Start with an outline of all the topics you see as being related to the topic. Pick one and start reading and taking notes. Is the data analysis freaking you out? What is the first step that needs to be done? Entering the information in SPSS? Maybe transcribing the interviews? Take the first step.

For many students the freezing in the headlight moment comes when they get the URR review and yet more changes are required. I recommend reading the review then setting it aside for a day. Resist the temptation to start criticizing yourself, everyone has revisions- this is just another hoop to jump through. Instead, think of it as a problem to solve. Lay out how you will approach it, and take the comments one at a time and address them. No, you do not have to take every suggestion or comment – but you do have address them. So if you disagree, use track changes and respond to the reviewer why you have chosen to not change the item. Also, realize that the URR may disagree with you and insist on the changes. Is this thing really worth holding up your progress? If you answer that no, then change it, and move on.

Some students get hung up on the idea that their dissertation is "theirs" and they do not want anyone else's advice and refuse to make changes. PLEASE, give up on this idea. It is not "yours" it is your dissertation committee's paper and you are just a member of that committee. Your committee's names will be on the paper as well as yours (check out the Walden library's dissertation database, if you want to see). Their job is to make sure that your paper will get through the process, don’t waste time with ownership issues, move on.

Trust that you are on the right path, trust your mentors, and keep taking one more step to your goal.

*This is a repeat post from my research blog The Transparent Lab http://transparentpsylab.blogspot.com/