Blog Index- August

Blog Index
2014, Current to 8/29

Topic	Dates of Posts
Dissertation, general	6/25
Selecting a Topic	4/28, 5/9, 8/25
Organization
Committee Members	5/7
URR
Center for Research Quality
Overview of Process
Premise
Prospectus	4/4, 4/7, 4/9, 4/11, 4/14, 4/18, 4/21, 4/23, 4/25, 4/28, 5/2, 5/5, 8/27
Proposal
Research questions	4/18
C. 1
C. 2 (literature related)	6/9, 6/11, 6/16
C. 3	1/3, 1/6, 1/13
Defense
IRB	1/10, 1/15, 1/17, 1/20, 1/22, 1/24, 1/27, 1/29, 2/3, 2/5, 2/7, 2/10, 2/12, 2/17, 2/19, 2/21, 2/24
Data Collection
Quantitative	1/3, 2/26, 3/12, 7/9, 7/14, 7/16, 7/18, 7/21, 7/23, 7/25, 7/28
Qualitative	1/6, 3/14
Mixed Methods	1/3, 1/6
C. 4	3/5, 3/10, 3/12, 3/14, 3/17, 3/19, 3/21
C. 5	3/21, 3/24, 3/26, 3/28
Final Defense
Career	8/18, 8/20
Goal Form	5/23, 5/26, 6/2, 8/15
Motivation	1/1, 6/4, 6/6, 7/4, 7/11
Organizing	8/1, 8/4, 8/6, 8/8, 8/11, 8/13
Secondary Data	2/24
Support, Getting	5/21
Writing	5/16, 5/19, 6/16, 6/18, 6/20, 7/2, 7/7, 8/27
Other	2/14, 3/3, 3/7, 4/16, 5/12, 5/14, 5/28, 6/2, 6/13, 6/23, 6/27, 8/22

 2013

Topic	Dates of Posts
Dissertation, general	7/5, 8/16, 8/19, 9/27, 10/2
Selecting a Topic	4/23, 7/8, 7/10
Organization	4/22, 10/2
Committee Members	4/17, 5/3, 6/10, 7/19, 8/21
URR	5/8, 5/27
Center for Research Quality	12/9
Overview of Process	4/19, 9/18, 12/13
Premise	4/17, 9/6
Proposal	4/22, 9/9
Research questions	10/9
C. 1	5/6, 10/21, 10/23, 10/25, 10/28, 11/1
C. 2 (literature related)	4/26, 5/29, 6/3, 6/12, 6/17, 6/28, 9/16, 10/11, 11/4, 11/6, 11/9, 11/15
C. 3	5/1, 10/16, 10/28, 11/18, 11/20, 11/22, 11/25, 12/2, 12/4, 12/6, 12/11, 12/16, 12/18, 12/20, 12/23, 12/27
Defense	4/23, 5/8
IRB	5/10, 10/14
Data Collection	5/13, 5/15, 10/16
Quantitative	5/17, 7/24, 7/26, 7/29, 7/31, 8/2, 8/5, 10/4, 10/7, 11/20, 12/2, 12/4, 12/6, 12/18, 12/23, 12/27
Qualitative	5/20, 11/20, 11/22, 11/25, 12/11, 12/16
Mixed Methods	5/22, 11/18, 11/20, 11/22, 11/25, 12/11, 12/20, 12/23, 12/27
C. 4	5/17, 5/20, 5/22, 7/17
C. 5	5/24, 9/20, 10/11
Final Defense	4/23, 5/27/ 9/11
Career	7/12
Goal Form	8/12
Motivation	6/5, 6/26, 7/1, 8/16, 8/23, 9/2, 9/18, 10/18, 11/8, 11/27
Secondary Data	5/31
Support, Getting	4/26, 6/5, 6/24, 8/16
Writing	4/26, 4/29, 6/12, 6/21, 7/3, 8/9, 8/14, 9/4, 9/23,9/25
Other	4/18, 6/7, 6/14, 6/19, 6/24, 6/26, 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/19, 7/22, 8/7, 8/16, 8/19, 8/26, 8/28, 8/30, 9/2, 9/13, 9/18, 10/18, 11/27, 12/13, 12/25

 Next time we will start fall quarter! Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Starting to write

You are staring at a blank white screen, you write your name down… now what? Starting to write a dissertation sounds very scary. But let's take it a little bit at a time. Let's start with an outline of your prospectus. That's workable, so pull out the prospectus guidebook (from the research center), and copy down the topic headings they give you: 

Title Page

Problem Statement

Significance

Background

Framework

Research Question(s)

Nature of the Study

Possible Types and Sources of Information or Data

References 

Hey, you already have half page! You can do this! I suggest starting with the background section – this is the literature review. I recommend doing an outline of what you feel needs to be discussed- this will keep you from wandering off into other tangents. Let's say your topic is partner adaptation to testicular cancer. Your main topics will be: 

Testicular cancer (always start with the broadest topic)

Partner Adaptation 

Now think about some subtopics. Under testicular cancer you would want statistics (look at National Institute of Health and American Cancer Society [ACS]). Effect of the cancer on the patient and family (check ACS). Under Partner adaptation, you should talk about other research on partners with other forms of cancer. Anything that has looked at testicular cancer and partners. End with a statement of gap in the literature and how your study will address it. Always pay attention to the research methods used in previous studies. So our final outline is: 

Testicular cancer

Statistics (look at National Institute of Health and American Cancer Society [ACS]).

Effect of the cancer on the patient and family (check ACS). Research methods?

Partner Adaptation

Research on partners with other forms of cancer. Research methods?

Testicular cancer and partners. Research methods?

Statement of gap in the literature and how study will address it. 

Great start! Next time I will post an updated index for the blog. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Where to start?

You are nearly ready to start dissertation where do you start?? First, you need a project idea, but how do you find one? Some students know very early in their program what they want to explore in their dissertation; however, if you do not know, here are some ideas as to come with a topic. I suggest taking a couple of minutes and writing down what areas of psychology, classes you have taken, articles that you have found interesting, and general topics that have interested you in your educational career. For the moment don’t think about it in terms of doing a project, just consider things that have interested you. Let's say that you came up with the following list: 

Liked Women's Health class

Liked Changing Health Behavior class

Interested in pregnancy related topics

Interested in topic of cervical cancer

Really found this article interesting: Manne, S.; Ostroff, J.; Fox, K.; Grana, G.; Winkel, G. (2009). Cognitive  and social processes predicting partner psychological  adaptation to early stage breast cancer. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14(1), 49-68. 

Now just do some free association. How about partner adaptation to cervical cancer; which makes me wonder if anyone has looked partner adaptation to testicular cancer. I wonder if people have looked at cervical cancer and pregnancy? Is this an issue? What kinds of programs are there for partner support for health related issues? I wonder if I could do a program evaluation of one of them? Is there any secondary data available on any of these topics (I should go to the Walden's research center/Research Resources and look at the databases in ICPSR)? 

Ok we now have a few directions to explore. Go to the library and do some searches on the various topics- include the word "review" in your search terms, only look at the last 5 years. This will bring up recent literature reviews on the topics. Read through the articles paying particular attention when they talk about "future research" or "research needed". See if anything sounds interesting to you, follow it up with more articles, paying attention to the methods they use. Hopefully, you will have at least a general direction by this point!  

Next time I will talk about how to start writing about the topic. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Odds and Ends

Every day I run across interesting info that I think about sharing with you – today I am going to do so! First, I want to recommend a book: Jojo Moyes, Me before You. This is a novel that every health psychologist should read. It discusses what life is like as a quadriplegic, for the caregivers, and discusses euthanasia. It would be great break reading! 

Second, I received the following grant announcement.  

Janet Hyde Graduate Student Research Grant 

The Hyde Grant Committee welcomes proposals for the Hyde Graduate Student Research Grants. These grants, each up to $500, are awarded to doctoral psychology students to support feminist research. The grants are made possible through the generosity of Janet Shibley Hyde, Ph.D. Past recipients of Hyde Graduate Student Research Grants are not eligible to apply. Because the purpose of this award is to facilitate research that otherwise might not be possible, projects that are beyond the data analysis stage are not eligible. 

Please send all application materials attached to a single e-mail message to the Hyde Award Co-chairs at the following addresses by September 15th (for the fall deadline) or March 15th (for the spring deadline):

Dr. Clare M. Mehta, Mehtac@emmanuel.edu and Dr. Olivia Moorehead-Slaughter, MooreheadO@parkschool.org  

Requirements:

1. Cover page with project title, investigator's name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail address

2. A 100-word abstract

3. A proposal (5-pages maximum, double-spaced) addressing the project's purpose, theoretical rationale, and procedures, including how the method and data analysis stem from the proposed theory and purpose. References are not included in this 5-page limit.

4. A one-page, double-spaced statement articulating the study's relevance to feminist goals and importance to feminist research.

5. The expected timeline for progress and completion of the project (including the date of the research proposal committee meeting). The project timeline should not exceed two years. 

6.  A faculty sponsor's recommendation, including a statement on why the research cannot be funded by other sources. This letter should be attached to the e-mail with the application materials. Please do not send it separately. 

7. Status of the IRB review process, including expected date of IRB submission and approval. Preference will be given to proposals that have already received approval. 

8. An itemized budget (if additional funds are needed to ensure completion of the project, please specify sources).  Funds cannot be used for tuition, living expenses, or travel to present research at a conference.

9. The applicant's curriculum vitae  

 All sections of the proposal should be typed and prepared according to APA style. Please use 12-point font, and one inch margins.

Applicants should submit no more than 2 files, one with the letter of recommendation and one with all other required materials 

Proposals that fail to meet the guidelines described above will not be reviewed. 

Review Process

A panel of psychologists will evaluate the proposals for theoretical and methodological soundness, relevance to feminist goals, applicant's training and qualifications to conduct the research, and feasibility of completing the project. 

Other Requirements

Only one application will be accepted per student, for each application deadline.  Applicants who are involved in multiple projects that meet the submission requirements should choose the project that best fits the evaluation criteria (see “Review Process”). 

Within 24 months of receipt of the grant, recipients are expected to submit to the Hyde committee co-chairs a complete and final copy of the research document (e.g., a copy of the thesis, dissertation or journal manuscript based on the sponsored research), along with a 500-word abstract for publication in Division 35 newsletter.  In addition, grant recipients shall acknowledge the funding source in the author's notes in all publications. Hyde award winners will be announced at the APA convention during Division 35 Social Hour. The names of the Hyde award winners may also be posted in Division 35 newsletter as well as on Division 35 web page and listserv. 

Request for Abstracts from previous Hyde Award Winners 

Brief abstracts of the work conducted by previous award recipients are printed in the newsletters. Previous award winners are highly encouraged to contact Dr. Clare Mehta, Hyde Award Co-chair, at mehtac@emmanuel.edu to submit a 500 word summary of their Hyde grant-funded research for consideration of publication in the Feminist Psychologist. 

Questions and other communications may be sent to the committee co-chairs: 

Clare M. Mehta, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Phone: 617-975-9362, E-mail: mehtac@emmanuel.edu and Olivia Moorehead-Slaughter, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Phone: 617-414-4646, E-mail: MooreheadO@parkschool.org. 

Next time I will talk about where to start when you are beginning a dissertation. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

 

Service after the PhD

Something I would like you to think about is that once you have your doctorate you will be in a position to make a difference in your community through service. Like what? You could be on the Board of Directors for a nonprofit that you like and care about. These are typically unpaid positions, where you get to influence the direction the group will go in the future. You may also be asked to do fund raising, so check on that before you agree- know what is involved. Also, ask about "fiduciary responsibility" (being responsible for money problems) and if the board has some type of liability insurance for its members (they should!). 

Another type of service is using your research skills that you have learned in your doctoral program as a volunteer in a nonprofit. Here's an example that I am currently doing. My local no-kill animal shelter collects a great deal of information about each animal and its new adopted owner, but they haven't done anything with the data. I am entering all of the data into SPSS and analyzing several months of it for them. They can then use the analyses to better understand their programs and make future changes. I am hoping to publish with this data – so I discussed it with the nonprofit's administrators in advance and got IRB approval. This way I have cleared any obstacles for future publication opportunities. 

As a researcher and doctoral scholar, you will have opportunities to make a difference in your community. I hope that you will step up and create social change on this local level! You may also want to consider being an officer/ member of the board of directors for state and national professional organizations. Use your expertise for things beyond your own advancement, help your profession and community. 

Next time I will give you some info I have been saving for you. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu