Rewriting

You have rewritten your proposal umpteen times for your chair. It is sent to your committee member who wants more changes. What is all this rewriting about? Are you really that bad of a writer?  

Rewriting is an integral part of professional writing (as is criticism). It is tough to go back through and rework it again and again. But it truly is part of the process and prepares you for peer review of future articles you will write. You are writing a very technical paper and it is easy to make errors, and not be precise. There are no quick fixes, but I can make a few suggestions. 

Be gracious in accepting feedback, don’t argue with the reviewer. If you truly feel that he or she is wrong on a point – make an argument in a comment in your paper (support it with literature, APA manual). Always be polite, thank them for taking the time to read and critique your paper.  

Carefully go through each comment and change it as needed. If it is a grammar or formatting issue, check the entire paper and make sure that it doesn’t show up again. Yes, I know how time consuming it is, but it will save you time in the end. While you may want to use the Replace function in Word, make yourself check each suggested change before replacing it. English is a fickle language; often what is correct in one circumstance is not in others, so double check. 

Try reading your paper aloud to catch problems. If you find that this does not work for you, ask someone who is a good writer to proof it for you. Again, no arguing! Thank them for helping you. 

It is a great idea to keep notes of common problems you have in writing. You can then double check these issues before submitting it to your reviewers. Read your writing critically, have you made clear arguments? Have you supported each statement with citations?  

I find it helpful to think of rewriting as a challenge – I want to outwit the reviewer by making it as clear and correct as possible. While rewriting is not particularly fun, it can be a learning experience and will make you a stronger professional. 

Next time I will talk about the word "done." 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

Is an outside mentor for you?

I have had a couple of questions about whether having a mentor outside of education is useful. First, let's define what we are talking about – it is NOT someone on your committee. We are talking about someone in your field of interest that might have an applied view of the topic. This person may be able to offer insights that from the applied side that you can't get from just reading about the topic. An example might be if you are interested in domestic violence, a contact or mentor that works in a shelter may offer ideas that you have not considered. 

It is definitely something to consider, but a few cautions- remember they probably do not know what is required for a Walden dissertation, so do not rely on them for this type of advice. Even if they have a doctorate, they probably do not have the necessary knowledge of Walden's dissertations. Always check their comments/ ideas against the literature; they may have interesting anecdotal information, but you must rely on empirical support. An applied perspective can lead you in interesting directions; however, it must be tempered with literature. 

How do I see the relationship working? Talking with them when you are trying to come up with a research question makes sense. Running ideas that you find in the literature by them may be useful. Also when you have your results talking them through the results in light of their applied experience may be very helpful. Just keep in the back of your mind when writing that you are not trying to please them – they are not on your committee, use them as a resource. 

It is a nice idea to send them thank you notes for helping you and a copy of your final dissertation. Be sure to mention them in your acknowledgements. 

Next time I will talk about rewriting.  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

Health issues and the dissertation

Life has a way of throwing things at you when you have the least time for it. This makes sense from a health psych perspective – as your stress increases, the chances of health issues increase proportionately. So let's talk about how to handle health issues during dissertation work. 

As you probably know, there are 2 types of illnesses – acute and chronic. Acute illnesses are short term ones, such as colds, flu, a broken bone, etc. The key point is that they are time limited- there is an end in sight. For these types of illnesses, keep your chair informed of the issues. Do not just disappear from dissertation! Faculty understand that emergencies happen, but make sure they are informed as soon as possible. Let your chair know if there are issues that will affect your writing ability, a great example is a student with a broken wrist. He or she may be able to use voice recognition software to write, but it will definitely slow the progress. Remind your chair occasionally that you are dealing with this, they may not remember. Contact disabilities services to cover yourself. You may want to let your dissertation peers know for support and suggestions. 

Chronic illnesses are more of a challenge. Chronic illnesses are ones that are not time limited, they may continue indefinitely. Some examples are diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and some forms of cancer. Contact disabilities services – they may be able to offer extensions and other accommodations. Let your chair know about your issues, it may be a good idea to educate them a little on your illness so they understand what to expect in the future. It is a good idea to give your chair info on how to contact your next of kin so they have a way to check up on you if you disappear from the classroom (you must give permission to allow such communication). It is also a good idea to give your next of kin your chair's contact info so they can update him or her. Remind your chair occasionally that you are dealing with this illness, they may not remember. 

If a flare-up or crisis occurs, you may wish to explore taking a leave of absence (LOA) with your academic advisor and chair. Ask about what it will mean with your dissertation. Can you return and be with the same chair? Consider LOAs if you are going through a difficult period- don’t risk getting a U. Be sure you keep in contact with chair during LOAs- he or she needs to know that you are ok and your plans for the future. When you return from your LOA, let your peers and chair know how you are doing. Remember, these people have formed relationships with you; they can be supportive if they know what you are dealing with. 

Next time I will talk about considering having an outside education mentor.  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

Too close?

Judi asks: When is your study too close to research already done? 

There is nothing like the panic a researcher feels when they find a study that appears similar to theirs! What do you do?? First, take a deep breath, rarely is a study going to be identical, so relax. I suggest your next step is to analyze the differences and similarities between yours and theirs (a spreadsheet works great for this). 

Compare the population/ sample. How are they similar and different?

Look at their methodology, how are they different? What measures are being used? 

If you find they are similar, consider tweaking yours to add to the literature (this should always be your goal!). Perhaps adding a different variable or two would tell us more about the issue. If the previous study was quantitative, a qualitative or mixed methods study may provide interesting insights that aren't evident in a quantitative study. Keep in mind that a major limitation of surveys is that people are limited in their response to the choices given- they may have more to say. 

Perhaps you can slightly change your population to look at the issue in a new way. A hypothetical example might be that originally wanted to look at diabetes in children and its effect on their schoolwork; your plan was to talk to the students and parents. Let's say you found a very similar study. You could tweak yours and look at the teachers' views of diabetic children in school. How knowledgeable are they about the illness and how do they see it affecting the child's work? 

I often suggest that students use the similar study as a contrast in their paper. Example – Smith and Jones (2014) examined children and parents' views of the effect of the child's diabetes on schoolwork. The present study will extend this work by examining the perspective of the teachers' of diabetic children. 

Next time I will talk about coping with health issues and the 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

Accepting feedback gracefully

An inevitable part of working on your dissertation is getting criticism. This can be very difficult for some students- they feel defensive and resentful. PLEASE, take a step back from this and think about it – a faculty member has taken a great deal of time to read and critique your paper. They do not like saying negative things any more than you like to receive them. However, it is the faculty's job to help you learn to write, and that is what they are doing when they give you feedback. It does not matter if a hundred other people think you are a marvelous writer- accept that this person does not, and see how you can fix it. 

How to approach the feedback? I suggest quickly reading through the feedback and if you find you are feeling defensive, close it and think about it for a while- resist the impulse to immediately write back. Remind yourself that they are trying to help you learn to write professionally, and that they want you to get done. Then when you feel that you are ready (hopefully no more than a day!), begin the revisions, take each comment one at a time, think about it and revise. If you find you are not sure what the faculty means with a comment. Carefully write out an email of inquiry- here is an example: 

Dr. X,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and suggestions! I find that I do have a question about comment LE5, in which you state: "I don’t know what you mean here." Could you clarify please, do you mean that the sentence itself is not clear or do you mean that the word "finaglosity" is not clear in this context? 

Thank you again for your help,

Jane Student 

Always be polite, and thank them for their help. You will find that you get much further with being kind than you ever will with being defensive. 

Next time I will talk about what to do if you find a previous study is very similar to the one you want to do.  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

Prospectus: Faculty review

You have finished a draft of your prospectus and sent it to me as your committee member- what am I looking for? I typically read through the paper twice. The first time I am looking at APA formatting, spelling and grammar issues. Be sure you double check your citations and references with the APA manual– I will look at those closely. If you use any acronyms or abbreviations, make sure you spell them out the first you use them. If you use jargon (e.g., self-efficacy, locus of control, resiliency), make sure you define it (even if you think I know what you mean). A good rule of thumb is would someone not familiar with psychology know the term? If not – define it. 

I then read through it again concentrating on content. I want to make sure that you are consistent with how you are describing your study throughout the paper. For example, if you are doing a qualitative study, you should not be using terms like "correlation." I will make sure that your research questions are consistent with the literature you reviewed and that your theory makes sense for your study. I will look for some predictions with your theory, as to how you expect the study to come out. I will look for evidence that you understand your analyses and that they make sense given your research questions. By the time I finish your paper, I should feel confident that you understand the topic area and that you are capable of doing the study. Finally, I will print out your references and go through the paper crossing off references as they are cited. They should come out even- no extra references or citations. 

Personally, I use track changes and make a lot of comments. I try to be clear in my concerns, but would always want you to ask for clarifications if you were not sure what I meant. It is better not to guess if you are doing things right- save yourself some time and ask about issues. 

Next time I will talk about accepting feedback gracefully.  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

Prospectus: How do I start?

How do you start writing the prospectus? I suggest starting with entering all of the required pieces (like an outline). Here is a cheat sheet for you J 

Title Page 

Problem Statement 

Significance 

Background 

Framework 

Research Question(s) 

Nature of the Study 

Possible Types and Sources of Information or Data 

References 

The next step would be to write out your research questions- these are your guides for the rest of the paper. Then write out your problem statement. It often helps to get started with "the problem is…." Make it clear to your reader why your study is needed. 

I suggest then skipping to the Background section. This is your literature review which will help you understand and explain what has previously been done in this area and why your study is the logical next step. Then begin filling in the other areas. Be sure you use the Prospectus Guidebook, as well as, my recent blog entries for help. 

Next time I finish up with the prospectus by talking about what I look for as a faculty member when reviewing a prospectus.  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