How long will this take?

One of the most common questions I receive is "how long will it take me to do a dissertation?" Of course, my answer is it is very individual, it depends on how good of a writer you are, the type of study you do, and what problems you encounter.

Let us go a little deeper. Some students become convinced they should be done with their dissertation within the program stated requirement. However, this number has little to do with reality; it is simply the academic requirement. Dissertations do not go according to schedule; it will take however long it takes. Yes, I have seen students finish in one year, but I have also seen others take 2-3 years.

Why does it take so long?? There are a number of reasons. (a) Students may not write well, requiring many revisions and they must work with an editor. (b) There are many waiting times; each person who reviews your paper must be given a reasonable amount of time to complete it. Therefore, if you have to do many revisions, the time adds up. (c) Different research methods take different time periods. The fastest is doing an archival (a data set previously collected in the past) or secondary data (data collected by someone else, may be from an institution or organization) analysis. Probably qualitative and mixed methods take the longest. (d) Problems arise; in fact, expect them. You may not be able get the required number of participants, your computer crashes, you or family members get sick, or your boss insists you work overtime. Things happen, which delay the process. (e) Chair or committee issues, sometimes personalities clash, committee members get sick or even die. There is no way to predict such things and they too slow you down.

What are characteristics of students who are done quickly? They tend to be excellent writers, work every day on their paper, and the dissertation gods grant them minimal outside problems. Promise yourself today, however long it takes, you will keep working on it. That will get you done.

Next time, I will discuss being one of many. 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

Control

When doing research you may feel you have control of your participants and your study. However, I would like you to keep in mind the photo of Jed that I am attaching, he is quite sure he is controlling the remote, and no one moves without him being involved. Yet, the reality is his control is minimal, such is the case with research. Despite all of your hard work and efforts to have things run smoothly, there will be occasions when participants do the unexpected. Some examples are quitting the study midway through, not reading questions carefully, misrepresenting themselves, or lying.

What can you do about these things? Actually, there is very little that you can do directly; all you can do is be aware of the issues and the illusion of control. When you analyze your data and get some strange data, remember the reality, that people do the unexpected and discuss the issue with your committee. They can make have suggestions on sorting it out.

Next time, I will discuss some how long a dissertation takes to complete. 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

Waiting

There are many wait times while going through the dissertation process, waiting for faculty, waiting for the IRB, etc. etc. What is your waiting style? Jed (on left) and Mandy are demonstrating their waiting styles. Jed ignores everyone and everything and takes a nap, while Mandy uses the downtime to keep an eye on things. Which is more like you? I hope you use Mandy's example during your waiting times and work ahead on your project, check the current literature, and read more articles. If you find yourself more of a Jed, using waiting times as a chance to get away from your paper, you may want to consider that you are wasting both time and money. Every day not working on your dissertation is costing you tuition money and lengthening the time until graduation. Use your waiting times productively!

Next time, I will discuss control. 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

How healthy are you?

How do health psychology graduate students compare with other online graduate students in the practice of health behavior?  You are invited to participate in an online survey that is designed to find some answers to this question.  The inclusion criteria are:  current enrollment in the Master’s or Doctoral Program at Walden University, live in the United States, understand English, are 18 years of age or older, do not live in an institution, and are able to spend approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete an online survey.  Your interest and participation in this study is appreciated.  All information provided in the survey will be kept anonymous and will not be able to be traced back to any individual.  If you wish to participate please go to the link provided and complete the survey.  The link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Healthmain

This quantitative research will examine demographics, health behaviors, self-efficacy, autonomy, relatedness and competency to determine if one is a better predictor of engaging in healthy behaviors.
A summary of the results of this study will be posted on all websites where this invitation was posted and will be available in late 2017.

Thank you for your help!

Pain and the dissertation

Gilbert (2015) discussed writing blocks and the pain that often both causes it and results from it. As I considered this related to writing the dissertation, I realized that there is an issue with psychology dissertations, and I wondered if something similar was present in other fields (I would love to hear others comment on this). In psychology, it is common for students to take on a topic that is related to their own experience, let's use as example, domestic violence. The student may have been in a violent relationship in the past, and wants to examine some aspect further in her study. However, such a close association with a topic can cause emotional pain to the extent it becomes almost a post traumatic flashback. She may find herself reliving the experience as she reads other people's accounts and at the data collection phase, personally hearing others' experiences can be very traumatic.

I commonly advise students to avoid such emotional topics, as they often result in pain at the thought of working on the paper, and cause their own version of a writing block. A student may be more comfortable with a related, but less personal topic, such as the experience of working in a domestic violence shelter. Do not set yourself up to have an emotional punch in the stomach every time you work on your dissertation. It will not be long before you choose to avoid the pain.

Next time, I will discuss waiting. 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 

Gilbert, E. (2015). Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

A trick for inspiration

Gilbert (2015) discusses a trick for inspiration – stop complaining. Every time you express a complaint about how hard it is to be creative or write your dissertation, inspiration takes a step away from you, offended. "It is almost like inspiration puts up its hands and says, 'Hey sorry, buddy! I didn't realize my presence was such a drag. I'll take my business elsewhere'" (p. 118).

Instead of complaining how difficult it is to write a dissertation; face the real reasons you decided to get a doctorate. Put aside the rationales that you may give to others and face the fact that you probably chose to go into this field because you love it (and if you don't, you should not be doing it!). So try saying, "I love my creativity and my dissertation."

By saying that you love your work, you will draw inspiration to you. "Inspiration will overhear your pleasure, and it will send ideas to your door as a reward for your enthusiasm and your loyalty" (p. 119).

Next time, I will discuss pain 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

Gilbert, E. (2015). Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

Catching creativity

I have been discussing Gilbert's (2015) book on creativity. She talks about the ebb and flow of creativity as something you seem to "catch" as it flies by, almost as if it is alive. The key point that she makes is the need to be working daily so the writer is in a position to be available when the creativity "arrives." She discusses the need for the writer to work on his or her craft daily, recognizing there will be days when the creativity is available and the words flow without effort while other days one must work hard for every word.

This relates directly to your dissertation, in that it is important to work on it in some way every day. If you wait until creativity happens, your wait may be long and little work be done. Recognize that your creativity will ebb and flow with days of great insight and days when you struggle to write a sentence. The important element is to be there every day, working on your dissertation, so you are in ready to catch creativity when it makes an appearance!

Next time, I will discuss a trick of Gilbert's to encourage inspiration. 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

Gilbert, E. (2015). Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.