===================================================
THE ALL-BUT-DISSERTATION SURVIVAL GUIDE(tm)
Devoted to practical steps for completing
your doctoral dissertation.
www.ecoach.com
=======================================================To subscribe, visit www.ecoach.com
INDEX
1. Ben's Note
2. It's No Big Deal
By Susan Corbin, Ph.D.
3. Words of Wisdom
4. Inspirational QuoteSUMMARY
=========
In this issue, Dr. Susan Corbin shares some
ideas for creating a new perspective
about the dissertation.
We round it out with Words of Wisdom & an inspirational quote.<>===<>===<>===<>===<>===<>===<>===<>===<>===<>
Ben's Note
May 13, 2004
Dear ABD Survival Guide Reader,
First, a small bit of housekeeping: The ABDSG has
a new website, located at this URL:
http://www.abdsurvivalguide.orgPlease update your bookmarks. All past issues will
now be archived at this site. Please make a note
of it.
Now, on to this week's issue:
So much of your experience in the dissertation process
depends on your perspective. If you feel confident,
capable, and as if you will succeed- you very often do.This issue's feature article encourages you to think
of the dissertation as "no big deal"- because, once
you do, you'll be on your way to getting this project completed, once and
for all.
If you could use a bit of extra information or advice,
check out our Words of Wisdom section and our
inspirational quote.In the next few weeks, make it a point to keep finding a
perspective that keeps you moving forward.See you in two weeks.
Warmly,Ben
============================================
It's No Big Deal
By Susan Corbin, Ph.D.
============================================In my last article, I mentioned that I had gotten through my
dissertation by telling myself it was no big deal. I even
remember the moment that this thought occurred to me. I was
on a three mile power walk with my husband. When we walked
it was no stroll; we moved. We walked for exercise, not fun.
Maybe it was all the oxygenated blood getting to my brain
or maybe it was the silence. My husband is not a talker,
so I had lots of time to think.
I was, of course, stewing about that huge project,
THE DISSERTATION, that I hadn't been working on, but was
never far from my thinking at any time. As I was mulling over
the construction of my dissertation, it occurred to me that
I had five chapters.Your project will, of course, look a bit different, but
not terribly. There was my introductory chapter in which
I told what I had researched (theory and research questions)
and how I did it (methods), as well as what the research was
based on (the dreaded lit review). Then there had to be a
concluding chapter that told what I had just said, why it
was important, and projecting future research. Finally, I
had three data chapters. Three chapters, hmm? Hadn't I
just finished taking three courses a semester for how
many semesters? Didn't I have to write a research paper
for every one of those classes? Didn't I just write three
papers for my comprehensive exams? By golly, I'd written
three fifths of a dissertation every semester. And this
should be an easier project because all the papers were
related to the same overarching topic! I could do this
because I'd already done it.It was no big deal!
I repeated this mantra throughout the time that I was
writing my dissertation. Notice I didn't think this as I
was collecting and analyzing the data, different thinking
processes entirely. The "no big deal" thinking was during
the writing process. I've read and heard time and again
that many graduate students think of the dissertation as
the apex of their writing. In one sense, it is the biggest
thing they've ever done and they are correct in thinking
that way. To a graduate student, a dissertation is probably
the biggest, longest, and most comprehensive thing s/he has
ever written. So it is a big deal. However, in the long
scheme of things, looking at it from the other end of a
scholastic life, it is the first of many big, long and
comprehensive pieces of writing that a scholar will do.
You have many, many research articles in you and maybe a
book or two. Why, you may even turn that dissertation into
a book. Looking at a dissertation in this way shows:It's no big deal.
So, let me leave you with these two thoughts: First, you've
already done research and writing in the many classes you've
taken. That was training; the dissertation is to prove to
your committee that you learned from their lessons. And it
should be easier because you are writing much about one
topic instead of a research paper for each of three or more
different classes. Second, this is the beginning of your
research career, not the end. Your dissertation is a statement
that you have learned to be a researcher and a scholar. The
best is yet to come. So, remember this mantra.Stare that dissertation monster in the eye and say:
It's no big deal.
=======================================
About Susan Corbin, PhD
=======================================Susan Corbin, Ph.D. coaches and mentors graduate
students on a daily basis as the Graduate Coordinator for
the Communication Studies Department at the University of
Texas at Austin where she received her own doctorate in Interpersonal
Communication. She is available to coach graduate students on an
individual basis as well.
She can be reached:
On the web: http://www.susancorbin.com By phone: 512-345-5493.=====================================
Words of Wisdom
====================================
For me, one of the biggest challenges of the dissertation was
hat every time I felt like I had accomplished something major,
I looked ahead to yet even more major things to accomplish!
When I focused too much on all that was left to do, I felt
discouraged. What helped me was to remember how much
I had already accomplished to keep the entire project in
perspective. I created check-lists and kept them visible to
show me all of the tasks I had completed. I tried to be as
specific and concrete as possible in writing out every task,
so I always had something productive to do (rather than just
sitting staring aimlessly at the computer). I also picked some
milestones, like receiving HSIRB approval and completing
interviews, and gave myself a break or celebration once I
reached those goals.=======================================
Inspirational Quote
======================================="Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible,
and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi===================
Your Own Coach
===================If you are considering whether to get your own coach
to help you reach your academic goals, send any email
to: ben16-76471@autocontactor.com=============================
BEN DEAN, Publisher, ABDSG
===============================Ben holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of
Texas at Austin. He is the founder of MentorCoach
(www.MentorCoach.com), a virtual university training
Accomplished mental health professionals to become
extraordinary coaches. With Martin E. P. Seligman,
Ph.D., Ben is also the founder of Authentic Happiness
Coaching (www.AuthenticHappinessCoaching.com), a virtual
university training educators, consultants, trainers,
therapists, parents and other professionals to apply
the principles of Authentic Happiness in their own
lives and in the lives of their clients, students, and
children. Ben lives in suburban Maryland with
his wife and two young children, Walnut, their
hamster, and Rubin, their cocker spaniel.==================================
RACHNA D. JAIN, Editor, ABDSG
==================================I'm a dissertation coach and licensed psychologist
based in Maryland, with a doctorate from the
University of Denver. I'm the Editor of the
ABDSG, as well as the Author of "Get It Done!
A Coach's Guide to Dissertation Success"
If you'd like to learn more about me or my book, please
visit my website: www.ExcelWithEaseCoaching.com
If you have questions about this newsletter, you
can direct them to me: rachna@mentorcoach.comI'm excited to be working with you to meet your academic
goals. You can do it!================================================
THE ALL-BUT-DISSERTATION SURVIVAL GUIDE(tm)
================================================"The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide"(tm) focuses
on ways to help its readers more readily overcome the
roadblocks that often seem to stand in the way of
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INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH A DISSERTATION COACH?
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=================================================Email ben16-76471@autocontactor.com
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Web: www.mentorcoach.com(c) Copyright 2004 Ben J. Dean. All rights reserved.
Rachna Jain, Ph.D.
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