Moderation & Mediation: the Relationship with your Dissertation Chair
You have likely heard the
term ‘love-hate’ relationship, right?
When I was a doctoral student and then candidate, I can recall having
what I would describe as a ‘like-fear’ relationship with my chair. He was extremely helpful, very smart, and a
generous mentor. I completed my
doctorate at a brick and mortar institution so was part of my mentor’s research
lab and met regularly with my chair and his other students, all of us working
on various aspects of his research program.
I learned a great deal from this experience and my chair remains a role
model for me today.
However, about that fear part
I mentioned… We would all meet with our chair individually as well, and I would
go to his office with my various drafts, chapters, literature reviews,
analyses, and relative brainstorms. By
the time I began on my dissertation, I can honestly say I put all of my energy
into it; it was a completely consuming process.
As a result, I had a tremendous amount invested in the dissertation
process and he became the gatekeeper, the repository for my efforts and
provider of feedback about how successful those efforts were. A quantitative methodologist would readily
agree that my chair mediated my
dissertation process. My successful
graduation could only occur but through my chair’s approval. As a result, submitting my documents to the
chair brought with it a reasonable amount of fear. Fear that the work was not good enough, my
ideas too naïve, or that my writing was unclear. One time, I proudly plunked down a draft for
his review, which was a sizeable stack of paper (reminder: this was before submitting documents
electronically). My chair’s reply? He promptly told me to cut it in half!
I am lucky in that my chair
understood the importance and the centrality of his role in my dissertation
process. While he pushed us all to do
our best, he was gracious and actively worked to reinforce our individual
strengths. While the iterative nature of
the dissertation process provided me with plenty of practice at taking
constructive criticism, he delivered his feedback in a way that did not
belittle my efforts or me. Over time
then, my fears became less and I did not dread trudging to his office to
deliver drafts, brainstorm ideas, or ask for his help. Personally, I feel that two factors served as
moderators in the relationship
between my academic efforts and my receiving my degree. First, my chair’s perspective on mentoring
was vital for my survival. I may not
have fared so well had my chair been less available and less student
centered.
Second, I believe those
iterations, the back and forth act of submitting chapters and receiving
feedback, moderated the relationship between my academic efforts and my
receiving my degree. Each iteration,
while fear inducing, provided me with practice, information, and
reinforcement. When I had just a few
iterations under my belt, my chances of getting that degree seemed scant. When I had more and more behind me, the
degree became within reach. Some might
say that time is the real moderator here however; I had seen some students
spend many years at school and who seemed adrift, who did not end up obtaining
the degree.
Eventually, I am pleased to
say, that my relationship with my mentor evolved solely into ‘like’ and moved
away from ‘fear’ – but this took some time.
I also realized that I was not so much afraid of my chair as much as I
was afraid I could not accomplish the herculean task in front of me. The nature of the dissertation process and my
mentor’s steady guidance taught me I could succeed and it was liberating to
learn this over time. I am grateful to
my chair for all of this.
Now a mentor myself, I never
forget how it felt to earn this degree and how it felt to have a chair that was
clearly on my side. I strive to be the
best mediator in my students’
processes as possible both in terms of my direct actions but also through my
mentoring philosophy. I also encourage
students to submit as many iterations as possible so that someday they too will
they will experience the satisfaction of knowing the degree is in reach.
No doubt, you have heard the
metaphor that a dissertation is like a long distance race… and it truly
is. It can be exhausting, overwhelming,
isolating, fear inducing, and have you questioning why you entered in the first
place. It can test and try all of the
skills you thought you had when you gleefully accepted a slot in your school’s
program. So when finally it comes time
to pick your chair, think about how well your personality, your skills, and
your needs fit with those of a prospective chair. You are
going to put a lot of academic effort into earning this degree. Your chair will serve as conduit between your effort and obtaining the degree,
so this decision is important. Even if
you have no research plans post-degree, you want to find a chair that will help
you evolve into the best academic you can while you produce your dissertation. Speaking quantitatively again, some models
fit better than others!
Next time I will discuss updating your articles. 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
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