DISSERTATION DIVA.COM

Back in Action!

Hi Faithful Readers! After a brief hiatus during which time yours truly took on a new academic position at a university that rhymes with my favorite leafy green vegetable -- not chard, but kale -- Ask the Dissertation Diva is back in blogging action! Cruise throught the archives. Ask new questions. Post comments. And write write write!

 

 

 

Coney Island of the Mind

Dear Dissertation Diva,

You know that hot dog eating contest on Coney Island? Whenever I open the file of the final chapter of my dissertation, I feel like I've eaten 180 hot dogs. I can't stand to even see one more hot dog. The whole dissertation enterprise currently feels like a giant block. Writing is like excreting blood drop by drop. I'll just stare at the page and can't move forward. It has been like that for two weeks. I've gotten through writing block in the past, but as I get closer to the final deadline, I am deadeningly bored and tired from the process. It's like quicksand. How do I gather the superhuman strength to push out a dozen more pages of complete sentences?

Signed,

Mired and Tired

Dear Mired, 

Are you sure you're not Sarah Bernhardt? This is 11th hour high drama! Excreting blood drop by drop? Gothic!

Please take my advice and take a break lest you get anemic from blood loss. A full day to frolic and have fun will not only replenish your iron reserves, but break the monotony of your pattern and shock your system back into writing. Imagine how precious a full day of writing really is when you have only a few weeks to go!  A couple of hours of mindless holiday window shopping in the cold should click something on in your brain that says, "I am just a dozen pages and some breezy edits away from being Dr. Mired. I must re-energize for the final push."

Besides taking a daylong break: If you find yourself zoning out in front of the page or screen again, stand up, stretch, jump up and down, do jumping jacks -- physical activity will reboot your writing brain. 

Dissertation Diva

Stanford Dissertation Diva writing workshop

Thank you to all the brilliant Stanford PhD candidates who attended my workshop, "Dissertation Success: Practical and Holistic Strategies," yesterday. Amazing roomful of scientists and scholars. I am honored to work with you!  Much gratitude to the Stanford University Women's Community Center for organizing this annual dissertation workshop for women-identified grad students. I am truly impressed by the range and innovative thinking of emerging scholarship.

I was happy to see participants in the four-hour workshop tapping away at their computer keyboards, writing up their dissertation arguments, freewriting on challenging questions coming up in their thinking, and sharing strategies for writing, life/work balance, committee management, and organization. 

The best question I asked was: "Why are you writing this dissertation?"   This simple yet profound query allowed participants to connect with their core passion for the topic, cutting through the daily grind.
Remember to take healthy breaks, connect with peers and colleagues, and keep going!

Dissertation Diva

Diagnosis: A.R.S. Academic Re-entry Shock

Dear Dissertation Diva:

I dusted off my dissertation and made moves towards revising it into a book. An ancient email from an interested editor at a university press lurks stage left. I need to update my take on the current state of the field for the book's introduction in order to show where my argument fits. Problem is: Whenever I do JSTOR searches or try to update my bibliography, I break out in hives. Trying to situate my project in the 100s of new articles -- many in convoluted academicese that seems downright toxic to my confidence -- is overwhelming and demoralizing. Even making a list of the articles makes me think that my book is irrelevant, bizarre, or boring. Any thoughts? 

Signed, 

Anachronistic Annie 

 

Dear A.A.:

 

You are suffering from A.R.S.: Academic Re-entry Shock. A.R.S. affects PhDs who take a break from their dissertation research in order to focus on new research, a full time job, or other reasons. When they dust off their dissertation a year or more later, the dust enters their respiratory tract, causing hives-like symptoms, including wheezing and a sense of dread brought on by JSTOR searches.  

 

Antidote: Decompress in one of those chambers -- you know when people come back from deep-sea dives? 

 

You can also homebrew Dissertation-to-Book Diva Anti-A.R.S. Spray (TM) using NYC or San Francisco tap water, organic peppermint or rosemary oil, and a sprig of mint from a community garden. Spritz it around your workspace to clear your aura from toxicity. 

 

When you can approach updating your research once again, I suggest focusing on the major developments (books, authors) in your field and related fields, not every tiny article. Who are the Big Three in each field? Who is closest to your sensibility?  Also, stay on track with your book's argument, contributions, and unique angle, while taking into account new developments. 

 

Spritz! Spritz!

 

Dissertation Diva

When am I officially a PhD?

Dear Dissertation Diva:

Am I a PhD after I successfully defend my dissertation or after I officially graduate?  I might not make the deadline for this semester but want to know if I can use the title even if I don't graduate until a few months after my defense.

Signed,
Can't Wait 2 Gradu-8

Dear Can't Wait,

My understanding is that one is officially a PhD after the degree is awarded at the graduate school's commencement. (Disclaimer: I suggest you check with your university's dissertation office or graduate school administrative office for the exact policy for your situation.) After you pass the defense, you could write, for example, "PhD expected May, 2008" on your cv in the interm months. You could also add the date of your successful defense to your cv.

You might want to celebrate the successful defense of your dissertation and communicate that you will, very soon, be signing your name "Can't Wait, PhD", by sending out a lovely printed invitation to your PhD commencement.

Congratulations on your upcoming defense and degree!

Dissertation Diva

Defense Drama

Dear Dissertation Diva:

I was set to defend in two weeks but I just got feedback on a chapter draft from one of my committee members. The draft is full of suggested corrections! His exact words were: "This chapter needs substantial revisions before you are ready to defend." I'm freaking out. I don't have time to make these changes by next week. This committee member came on board recently (this past year) and has not followed the project from the start. It's the methodology chapter on a combined quantitative-qualitative social sciences dissertation. I've worked on this for ten years! My outside methodologist approved it, and the chair of my committee also thinks the project works although there are problems. I want to defend, rent a UHaul, and drive my stuff to my new job out of state... a teaching job that starts in mid-August. Any advice?

Signed,
I Can't Believe This Is Happening

Dear Believe,

Are you absolutely sure this committee member will block your project if you do go through with the defense? Would it help to have this committee member see the entire dissertation including the results, not just the methodology chapter, if they have not already?  Can you ask your Chair to speak to this committee member? What you have on your hands is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by your chair and among the committee members, especially since a defense date is set and you will be starting a teaching position shortly. I can't wave the Dissertation Diva Magic Wand on this one.

You are probably doing this already, but you may want to communicate  with  the chairperson of your committee and the head of your graduate program immediately about this discrepancy between a green light from your chair and methodologist and a red/yellow light from another, more recent committee member. These two people in charge may decide to move forward with your defense and to let you defend your project in front of the entire committee, which is what your defense is FOR. Perhaps there is a miscommunication about what is acceptable; perhaps the committee member in question needs to see the entire dissertation (not just a single chapter) to fully appreciate that you have addressed these issues elsewhere in the write-up. Hopefully the defense will be the space and time for the committee member's questions to be addressed satisfactorily. Your chair will be there to back up the project, right?

Finally, don't despair. You are at the end of a long and winding road. Your chair and other committee members would not have let you come this far without understanding and supporting your project, and will want to help you make arrangements to make agreed-upon revisions after the defense and prior to the granting of the degree. Get your second (third, forth, fifth) wind and keep sailing forward!

Dissertation Diva

Two paragraphs a day: Turtle or hare?

Dear Dissertation Diva,

I wrote two paragraphs today. On a good day, I can do 3 or 4, adding up to a page. This is after taking the subway to the library and locking myself in a room with no internet. It's like pulling teeth. Does everyone write this slowly? I am frustrated that this dissertation is going to take forever!

Turtle ABD

Dear Turtle,

Congratulations: you're writing!  Yes, most people write "this slowly" -- which is to say, you are making excellent steady progress. 3-4 paragraphs sounds like at least one double spaced page to me. At this rate, you can produce 20 pages a month, or a 40 page chapter in two months. Not too shabby. You will probably need to add time for editing, rewriting, or reorganizing, as well as additional research and footnotes, depending on your personal writing process.

Keep going. You are doing the exact right thing. Slow and steady wins the race.

Dissertation Diva

Shift to Big Picture

When working on your dissertation, it is easy to fall into the vortex of the daily micro-steps. Dissertation writers can get lost in the minute details, obsessing about perfecting tiny details, and thus easily lose sight of the Big Picture. I suggest that you shift to the Big Picture for yourself. For many of you, it is a finished dissertation, not a perfect dissertation.

Decide what is important and what is minor. Does that footnote warrant 2 hours of research? Can you delegate reformatting the margins to a friend or editor down the line? Try to think about the overall outcome you want to achieve. Glide over the details with more ease. Shift to the Big Picture!

Good luck!
Dissertation Diva

Dissertation Diva seeks agent for book project!

Hi everyone and happy new year!

Thanks to everyone who has emailed to give positive feedback on this site and to say "You should write a book!" The Dissertation Diva IS working on a book, gathering years of dissertation coaching wisdom (some of which you find on this site) into a fun and accessible format. The project is currently looking for an enthusiastic agent and publisher. If you have any suggestions, please do get in touch.

In the meantime, I have one piece of inspiration to all you struggling dissertation writers out there, mired (or flourishing) in the intricacies of constructing an intellectual argument, compiling quantitative research, emailing long-lost advisors, presenting at conferences, formatting footnotes, balancing family and work, and, of course, fighting the urge to surf the internet:

You can do it!

In solidarity,
Dissertation Diva

Dissertation Haiku Contest!

Announcing... the 1st annual Dissertation Diva DISSERTATION HAIKU CONTEST!

Send us your haiku poems about the dissertation process. A haiku, you'll remember, is a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five. Send us your English-language haiku. Have fun!

FABULOUS & USEFUL PRIZES: One grand prize winner will receive a 30-minute dissertation coaching session, a featured spot for their haiku on Ask The Dissertation Diva, and bragging rights! All haiku worthy of their seventeen syllables will appear on Ask The Dissertation Diva. Send us your dissertation haiku even if you don't want the prizes, because we want you to get creative and WRITE something, even if it's 17 syllables.

Deadline EXTENDED!: March 1, 2008.

TO ENTER: Submit your haiku as a comment to this blog post by clicking "Comments" directly below this post. Feel free to include your name, university affiliation, and dissertation title or topic, or to remain anonymous. All entries become the property of Ask The Dissertation Diva and may be reproduced. Please include your email (which remains private). Ask the Dissertation Diva reserves the right to decide what constitutes a haiku for the purposes of this contest. We reserve the right to change or cancel the terms of this contest at any time. Thanks and happy writing!

The top image is the  kanji of  'haiku' .

Fear of Success: How to stop sabotaging your writing

I've noticed that as graduate students in the final stages of their dissertations get precipitously close to actually finishing, a strange behavior may be observed. They (you).. balk.  After years and years of "not being finished," finishing -- as in, next month, not next millenium -- is a shock that's sometimes too much to bear.

What's going on here?

You've wanted to finish this project for years.. and you're actually in the final editing stages.. but.. what do I spy here?

Self-sabotage!

You may be resisting finishing this dissertation on many levels, and for complex reasons.

One reason is fear of success. If your dissertation process has been a long and winding road, you may be attached, on some level, to a self-definition of yourself as "never finishing." You may be attached to a sense of failure, as it were, and fear change into its opposite: success.

Changing that definition of yourself involves changing your self-concept.

And any change is difficult.

Be mindful of last-minute self-sabotage. Why might you be resisting going through with the final stages of the dissertation process? Try to notice what comes up for you at this stage in the process and gently let go of old patterns and self-conceptions. Get ready to actually finish. Yes, it's TRUE. You are almost finished. You are going to succeed at completing what you started. Embrace success!

Mindfully yours,
Dissertation Diva

Fan Mail

Hello dear Dissertation Diva, 

I just wanted to take the time to tell you that your work is deeply apreciated by the struggling PhD student that I am. Juggling a full time job, a passion for life in general, and devoting enough time and brain space to grad work is a real challenge for me. Reading your posts always helps me find my motivation and passion for my subject again, and keep going, even well into in my
sixth year…

I forwarded the link to your site to some of my grad friends, because I love your holisitc approach to grad work (it's about the whole person, not just a system). This is what puts you above and beyond most of the dissertation coaches out there.

My only wish ? That you would post more stuff on your blog, to keep me going.

So, thank you : )

Géraldine Cougnoux
PhD Student, Paris IV - La Sorbonne

Thank you for taking the time to write and say this, Géraldine. I'll try to post new blog posts more often; I dedicate most of my time to working with clients, and Spring is a busy time. Everyone's finishing! Or trying to finish. Or setting goals for the summer and making lists of action steps. Or applying for jobs.

Good luck to you!  If you're in your 6th year, you're almost finished. Glad I can provide some extra encouragement.

Dissertation Diva

Conquer Criticism

Dear Dissertation Diva:

How do I keep from being totally crushed when a top scholar in my field levies harsh criticism against my methodology, my approach, my training -- in short, me -- in a public setting?

Signed,
Trying to Stay Confident

Dear Confident:

It's harsh, and it happens. Here are three tangible strategies you can use.

First, depersonalize the criticism. It's not about you personally. It's about a difference of opinion on methodology or approach. This strategy can help you not take the words personally.

Second, look at why this particular scholar is critical of this particular methodology or approach. Why is that scholar invested in their position? What is threatening or groundbreaking about yours? Use your analytic skills to understand their position and to shore up your confidence in your own approach.

Third, be compassionate. Some elder academics may shoot arrows of criticism at emerging scholars in the public space of conference hall or panel discussion out of fear of losing their own positions as fields develop and shift. If you can build a bridge of understanding that other person's fear, you can keep from being crushed.

If all else fails, envision a criticism-proof armor of white light! But whatever you do, don't let others' unhelpful comments block your own brilliance. Keep doing your own work!

Dissertation Diva

Negotiating a Job Offer

Tis the season for.. job offers! I was asked recently for help on negotiating an academic job offer. Here is an article that offers succint, sage advice:

"Go Ahead, Haggle" by Rebecca A. Bryant and Amber Marks, of the Graduate College Career Services Office at the University of Illinois-Urbana.

http://chronicle.com/jobs/2005/11/2005110801c.htm

The bottom line: negotiate!  In my words: Ask for what you want. The worst reply you could get is no.

Deadline Dilemma: the Zen of Due Dates

Dear Dissertation Diva:

Thanks for a great blog site: reading it has been helping me get back on track with my dissertation after a long holiday/working to pay the bills break. But I do have a question. I am working on wrapping up my prospectus, and when I have set deadlines as you suggest on my prospectus, it has ended up stressing me out so much that I don't get anything done at all. And normally I'm a person who works well to deadlines. My advisors have suggested that the prospectus, as a conceptualization phase of the dissertation, is not necessarily suited to setting hard deadlines, but part of me wants to set firm deadlines to get the thing done, and I feel guilty when I fall short of self-imposed expectations, then begin to worry this is indicative of my ability to finish the whole dissertation. What do you think or suggest about this dilemma?

Thanks again,
Denise

Hi Denise:

Did you know that the historical meaning of the word "deadline" is "a line drawn around a prison beyond which prisoners were liable to be shot"? No wonder that thinking of the dissertation process in terms of deadlines makes people break out in a cold sweat. Your question is essentially about the dilemma of deadlines: Not meeting them creates anxiety, guilt, remorse, self-doubt -- all sorts of feelings better suited to a criminal confession than to a creative process! You will set and meet and not meet MANY deadlines during this long process. The best attitude is to not become attached to the outcome of a particular deadline, but to use the date as a motivation to work towards. This Zen attitude of detachment is difficult to cultivate, but worth the effort. Set a date to work towards, put in consisent effort towards your goal, but don't attach to the outcome. There's a balancing act for sure!

What helps is to rethink the whole concept of a deadline. You want to finish your prospectus by a definite date. Think of it as a TARGET DATE instead. You are working towards a target. Point all your arrows in that direction.

Also, break down the larger task into mini-target dates. So, in your case, tomorrow could be your mini-target date for updating the draft of Section One of your prospectus. The next day's mini-target is to assess what need to be done next and starting a list of additional research. The day after's mini-target is to download 3 articles from the list. The day after, you decide you need a new target, which is to start reworking the methodology section of your prospectus. Do you see how in this example, you have daily mini-targets to work towards? The focus is on the process, with daily targets for the outcome. I think this could work in your situation to dispel some of the anxiety about having one big deadline and missing it.

Let me know what happens!

Thanks for your feedback and question.
Dissertation Diva

How To Finish Your Dissertation in the New Year

New Year, renewed dedication to your goals. What do you want to accomplish this year? Use these first weeks of January to articulate your mission. Do you want to finally finish your dissertation? You can! Here's how:

1. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. State clearly what you want from the universe, and from yourself. Be specific. Write out your goal. For example -- if you are in the final stages of the PhD process and need to make that final push -- write: "I want to finish a draft of all five chapters and submit them to my advisor and committee this summer."

2. MOVE FROM "WANT" TO "WILL". Rewrite what you want using the word "will". Your statement now becomes: "I WILL to finish a draft of all five chapters and submit them to my advisor and committee this summer."  Feel the shift internally. You WILL do this. This attitude shift is forward thinking, and does not dwell in the past.

3. CREATE A PLAN TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. A coach, writing buddy, or support group can help create the plan and keep you accountable. But you can do this alone, too. Set aside time to make the plan. Sit down with your current version of what you have, a calendar, and a sense of optimism.. and plan it out! What will you do each month to get to the goal? From each month's goal, what needs to be done each WEEK? What will you do THIS week?

4. TAKE ACTION. Just do it, whatever it is. Move forward boldly. Stay dedicated and focused! You can do it.

With best wishes for 2007,
Dissertation Diva

Own the unique contribution of your dissertation

A key part of the dissertation process is to figure out -- and feel confident about -- the unique contributions of YOUR dissertation. What about your dissertation is original, innovative, in short, your own? How is your project, approach, or methodology different from your influences, mentors' work and all else that is out there? It may be hard to get out from under the thumb of a forceful advisor or from years of writing papers to please teachers. This project more than any other is about daring to say what YOU need to say, based on your findings and research.

Finding your own voice won't happen overnight. Identifying, articulating, and owning your true voice takes time and much writing to discover your true themes (in a humanities or social science or a creative dissertation) or patterns of findings (in the sciences / social sciences). In my work as a dissertation coach, I ask my clients to fill in this sentence: The original contribution of my dissertation will be....

Fill this in for your project. Own it. Update it as you recognize more and more contributions. Don't cheat yourself out of your own voice.

Zero Draft Writing

Many people get blocked at the very start of the writing process because they believe their writing has to be PERFECT from the get-go, with perfect word choice, perfect sentence structure, perfect spelling, and perfectly formed ideas.

Does this perfectionist attitude block your writing in the early stages?

I have news for you: Your writing does NOT have to perfect, especially not at this initial stage. Think of the earliest version of a piece of writing -- the draft even BEFORE the first draft -- as the Zero Draft.

You can also call it a Discovery Draft or Notes for a First Draft.

Thinking in terms of Zero Draft allows you to write for the purpose of discovering what you have to say. You are less stressed out about the outcome, which in turn can lead to bouts of brilliance! In your Zero Draft -- of a chapter, thesis statement, or dissertation abstract -- let yourself freewrite. You have the freedom to experiment with wacky ideas, type incomplete sentences, and let the automatic Spell Check underline every word. You don't care. Your job at this stage is to get ideas out from your brain and into your computer. Type, type, type. Don't censor, don't judge. Heck, you can even use an elaborate font in a bright color. 

In Zero Draft writing, allow yourself to be messy, wrong, unsure, and grammatically incorrect.

If you get tripped up or distracted by word choice decisions, sentence arrangement choices, and the like, take the pressure off of your writing by titling the top of the page: Zero Draft. 

Remind yourself that you can -- and will -- come back to a particular word choice, idea, or spelling question later. It's OK to leave incomplete sentences, dangling participles, and spelling that puts Spell Check into overdrive.  These gaps can be filled later, when you put on your Editor's hat during the revision phase. For now, get some core ideas out of your head and into the abstract system of signs known as written language. This is already an  accomplishment!

Good luck,
Dissertation Diva

PS: I wrote this post as a Zero Draft.. then went back and fixed spelling and organization. See? It works!

Be brave & hop to the next lily pad

You are a wee amphibian crossing a big pond. You can hardly see the other side. Be brave and hop to that next lily pad! In other words, do the next small action step on your list.

The dissertation process is not one big task that you finish magically, but many small tasks accomplished over time. What is required is steady, consistent effort. Breaking tasks down into small, do-able 'lily pads' (one of my useful terms in working with clients) makes the job manageable.

What is the next lily pad for you?  See it, gather your courage, and jump.

Metaphorically yours,
Dissertation Diva

Dissertation Diva Says: You Don't Have to Finish

The first thing I tell my coaching clients: You do not have to finish your PhD. No one is making you. The world won't implode if you don't finish your dissertation.

You read it right: It is perfectly alright to walk away and not finish your PhD. If the stress, hard work, financial strain, competition, boredom, and striving are too much for you, call the whole thing off. Do an about face at the altar. I give you permission. After all, about 50% of PhD candidates do not complete the degree. You can be among them if that is the best choice for you. Changing paths is a valid decision. There are many other challenges worthy of your time on this earth, like pursuing a non-academic career, taking a university job that does not require a PhD, raising your family, writing a book on another topic, making art, starting a business, teaching high school science, becoming a surfing beach bum in Nicaragua, engaging in political activism, traveling around the world, training for a marathon, etc.

Choose not to finish. Do something else. But it needs to be a conscious decision on your part. If you decide to take another path in your career -- for whatever reason(s) -- just do it.   

However, if you do decide to finish your dissertation, dedicate yourself 100% to the task. Don't waver in your commitment.  Realizing that finishing your PhD is a conscious decision -- and not a prison sentence -- is the one essential insight to motivate you from within. Knowing you are CHOOSING this particular challenge is empowering.

If you avoid making any decision, you will stay in the ABD/anxiety cycle indefinitely. Fish or cut bait. Decide, commit to your decision, and take consistent action to reach your goal.

Decisively yours,
Dissertation Diva