Dissertation Demons

Dissertation Demons

Being a doctoral student writing a dissertation is very, very different from being a doctoral student in classes.  In addition to the work being different, how you respond to this new stage is critical. If there were issues while you were a “student” taking classes, those issues may not only remain, but may haunt you in new ways now that you are working on the dissertation. For example, if you struggled with your own intellectual self-esteem in classes, then you will struggle much more at this point when boundaries are pushed and expectations are higher. If you struggled with reconciling your life/professional condition with those around you (others who appear to have more time to write, etc.) then you will find those struggles even greater as you work on your dissertation. If comparing yourself to others either helped or hindered your efforts in coursework, doing that now will, in all likelihood, become a major obstacle for your success.

While it may be a bit of motherly advice, here are some thoughts I want to share regarding these potential demons:

1. Do not compare yourself to others. In all likelihood, student around you are and will continue to be further along than you are. In time, some will probably finish before you finish. If you let this bother you it will become an obstacle that will be difficult if not impossible to overcome.

2. Do not beat yourself up. When I was a doctoral student, I had one of those great lists of “You know you’re a doctoral student if. . . “ One of my favorite items on the list (other than having more copy cards than credit cards) was that guilt is an inherent part of everything you do. Set boundaries for working on this, your personal life, professional life, etc. Otherwise, you will constantly feel like you should be working on the dissertation. Give yourself permission to take time away from it as long as it’s a reasonable amount of time and you know when you will return to it. In other words, taking a weekend away to spend time with family will help this process in the long run.Taking 6 months off to start a new job or redo your house will definitely impede and possibly undo your efforts.

3. Listen, listen, listen. For the most part, those advising you are giving you advice to help you succeed. This is not about power or control. If I ask you to rethink something, revise something, shift a direction, etc., it is because I am trying to help you create something of quality that you will be able to defend. Taking it personally or getting angry will be self-defeating.

4. Give up 20/20 hindsight. Do not spend a minute lamenting the fact that you did not start your topic two years ago. In all likelihood, you wouldn’t be as far ahead as you may think right now. I stand by what I shave said to many of you, “It does not pay to tether one’s self to the pole of utse with too short a rope.” Your lines of inquiry throughout your program have helped you to develop dispositions and understandings that you would not have had if you had narrowly relegated yourself to one topic.  Some of you have managed to integrate ideas throughout the classes – and often used a theoretical perspective in order to do this and thus helped to enlarge your vision of the things that matter to you. That’s different, and it did not nor would it happen to everyone. It has as much to do with how you see the world as it does the conscious choices you make as a student.

5. Defend your directions and choices. Believe it or not, this point does not necessarily contradict #3. You do not just defend your dissertation at the end. You defend your directions, methods, etc. throughout the entire process. Do not come to your advisor or your committee timid or unknowing. Come with well thought-out ideas justified in your mind and on paper and then defend those directions. Many have heard my horror stories of my own experience. Had I stood up to my advisor at the time, things may have been different. True, it is a tender negotiation because we do know something about the process and while we may not be experts in your topic, we are “experts” in the inquiry process per se. So, know when and how to pick your battles and prepare for those intellectual battles. Further, document what we say to you so you can refer to it if we later forget or change the direction.

There are many more demons that will emerge throughout the process.  This is just the first ones that come to mind.  Feel free to add your own in the discussion.