What are you going to do with your doctorate?

Many of the readers of this blog are either health or general psychology students. What can you do with your doctorate in these fields? First, it is important to understand that you cannot be licensed as a psychologist with a degree in these fields. To be licensed, you would need to be in counseling or clinical psychology. So what can you do with it??

Many of our students go into academia and work as instructors or professors, conducting research and teaching. What would your professional life be like as a professor? It depends a great deal on whether you have a full time or a part time position.  Many beginning faculty members have one or more part time positions, particularly if they are working online. They may be teaching at multiple colleges or universities and teaching several courses at once. This would mean that you would be online responding to discussions, grading papers, and interacting students for many hours each day.

If you had a full time position, whether online or in person, you would be expected to teach 2-3 classes a term, conduct research (or teach additional classes), and do committee work for the college/ university. If you do research, you will be expected to include students, which means mentoring them in how to conduct reach projects.

What can you do now to prepare for such a position? Get some experience teaching. With a master’s degree you are qualified to teach at a junior or community college (no license is required). Another alternative is look at professional schools, as a grad student I taught an intro to psych class at a paralegal school. The important thing is to get experience in front of a class. Save any teaching evaluations you get, this is proof of your ability as a teacher. Consider getting a certificate in online teaching at Walden, it will teach you some valuable skills that will make you an asset to organizations.

Also, consider getting experience with research. Sometimes there are volunteer research assistant positions at Walden, but also consider applying for volunteer ones at any local colleges or universities. You will get valuable experience, and may get the opportunity to be an author on posters or publications.

Plan ahead for your future.

Next time we'll take a look at when to use tables and figures. 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

Finding a topic

I am often asked- how do I find a topic for my dissertation? This is a difficult question to answer. What are you interested in? Make a list- what topics have you written papers on during your education? What intrigues you? Take a look at your bookshelves, what topic areas keep reappearing?

Once you have a list of several topics (use a research journal, so you can keep track of your progress) then go to the Walden library and start doing some searches in these areas, include the search term "review". You will bring up some literature reviews in the area. Locate the most current ones and read these. What sounds interesting? Which topics suggest areas that need more research?

You should now be narrowing your subject. Go back to the library and see what has been done on these topics. Also, take a look at Amazon or other book site and see what books have been written in these areas.

Now stop and just think about each of the areas you have identified. You should now have a pretty good idea as to what needs more research and the areas that sound interesting. My advice is to pick one and start digging into the literature, look for studies that are related to the area that you identified as needing more research. As you read, think about how you could address this need. Write down ideas.

Keep playing with the ideas and reading literature. Talk to some faculty and/or experts in the field and run your ideas by them. Listen to their input, what are they identifying as problems? Write them down. Talk to faculty about issues that they foresee with the IRB (ethics board), you can even write the IRB an email outlining your ideas and get their input <irb@mail.waldenu.edu>.

No, you cannot escape reading literature. It is an essential part of research and you must understand the background and history of the topic area. You can do this, relax and don’t put pressure on yourself. Take it one step at a time, keep good notes, talk to people. You are not alone and there are many people willing to help.

Next time we will consider – what are you going to do with your doctorate? 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

Pain vs. passion

Students are often told to choose a dissertation topic that they "feel passionate" about. Such a recommendation is logical in that you will be working, reading, and writing intensively on the topic for a year or more. Caring about the topic makes sense. However, today I want to caution you against choosing a topic that has impacted you or a loved one and that affects you emotionally. Let me give you an example, if your parent, who you were the caregiver for, died of cancer- choosing the topic of cancer caregiving may be too close. Notice your body's responses when you consider the topic, if you feel that you are withdrawing from the topic, as evidenced by not wanting to read about it or write about it, that is a warning. Yes, you may be passionate about it, but do not put yourself through the continual pain and frustration of working in that area.

Many students who disregard this advice find themselves dropping out of dissertation, having bouts of frustration, anger, and self-doubt. Think about it, if you were required to do a difficult task in which every time you started to do it you were hit in the stomach, you would very soon rebel against it. This is exactly what is happening on an emotional level when you choose a tender topic.

So what can you do if you the topic you are passionate about brings you pain? Consider a related, but different topic. For example using the cancer caregiving example, you might look at caregiving in a different disease or context, maybe with dementia patients, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, etc. Alternatively, you could look at a different aspect of cancer, perhaps resilience in adolescent cancer patients. Again, pay attention to what your body is telling you, if it feels too close, it should be changed.

What do you do if you are already in the midst of your dissertation study and realize that the topic is causing you a lot of emotional pain (some symptoms: avoiding writing, sleepless nights, depression, anxiety). I suggest talking to your chair and discussing the situation. See if you can come up with a shift in topic that will allow to work without the pain.

Take care of yourself; listen to your body and the emotional evidence. The dissertation should be challenging but also interesting, it should not be painful.

Next time we will look at finding a topic for your 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

What is a dissertation?

Recently, a faculty member made the comment to me, "I don’t think some students understand what a dissertation really is." I thought it might be interesting to explore this – what is a dissertation, and why is required to get a Ph.D.?

It might help to take a step back and consider, what is a Ph.D.? This is a Doctor of Philosophy; it is a research degree, meaning that during the process of getting the degree you were trained as researcher. Your dissertation is therefore the demonstration of your ability to conduct research and to write professionally. It is considered the terminal (or highest) degree in your professional field. Receiving the degree places you in an elite group (less than 4% of the US population has a professional degree), and it is evidence of your professionalism and learning.

Why are you required to do research to show you are a professional? Conducting a research project shows your persistence and ability to complete a large project. It integrates all that you have learned in your education and shows that you can formulate new questions for future learning. Most degrees simply show learning; however, a PhD also shows your ability to go further and explore unknown areas, to develop research that answers questions. It shows that you are a logical and critical thinker; you can synthesize ideas, data and information, and write in a technical and professional manner. Conducting research also shows that you are able to sift through information to find the current thinking in the field; as well as able to apply theory to your thinking, practice, investigations, and current events. The dissertation is considered the first step in your future research plan for the rest of your professional life. Will you have to stay in this topic area? No, but you will have the ability to plan and execute future studies.

At the completion of your project, you are assumed to be able to teach in your areas of expertise – both content and method at a college or university level. No licensure beyond the doctorate is required to teach in post-secondary institutions.

Is the dissertation "just another paper to write?" No, it really is much more than that; it is a very formalized document that demonstrates your expertise in your chosen area of interest. Once you have completed the project, you are considered an expert in this area. The paper will eventually be published in the dissertation databases, and will be a part of the professional literature. Other researchers and graduate students interested in your topic will read it in the future.

There are a number of implications of these issues. (a) Your literature review must be correct and as complete as possible, both to demonstrate your expertise and also for future researchers. (b) Your research methods must be as accurate and complete as possible, so others know exactly what you did in your study. Consider the future researcher who does a study similar to yours but gets different results. He or she will want to be able to compare the two samples and methods to determine why the difference occurred. (c) Your paper must be written in the format required for publication, and the formatting will be checked before you are allowed to defend the final draft. (d) This paper will follow you forever. Any future employer or colleague will be able to look up this document. (e) For many students, your dissertation will be your first published work. Think of it as your first child, yes, you will make mistakes, and when you look back at it years later, you will see things you should have done differently. For your future self, make it as elegant as possible and something of which you are and will be proud.

Next time we will consider pain vs. passion in dissertation writing. 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

Share fairly

Jed, the cat, is demonstrating an important point to remember as you interact with your colleagues: Share fairly! The bed Jed is lying on actually belongs to Murphy (dog in photo), but Jed has claimed it.

In your dissertation work, it is important to share your resources with your colleagues, if you find interesting articles or other resources you think may be applicable to someone's study share it with them. Hopefully, they will do the same for you. Share your experiences and advice with new students, while always trying to avoid scaring them with your stories.

Hoarding resources does not help you, your colleagues, or the profession. Be open to being a professional that is known for sharing and mentoring others.

Next time, we will consider what is 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

One of many

One difficulty many students have is accepting that although their dissertation is a major priority in their life, for their faculty mentor, they are just one of many students. It is important to realize that your mentor's time is divided among not only all of his or her doctoral students, but also other obligations and commitments.

My message today is to be patient with your mentors, give them a reasonable amount of time for reviewing documents, answering emails and questions. Use your waiting times productively by going on to the next step in your paper/ process, such as the next chapter, preparing for a defense or IRB application.

Next time, I will discuss sharing. 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 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