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Questions: (103)
Looking for a book on how to conduct an auto ethnography. Suggestions?
What are the specific parts to an abstract of a dissertation.
Are you doing research on international students?
Anyone need a dissertation editor? Here's a good one.
How do I prepare for the national teachers exam?
How do I read the similarity index on the turn it in website? What color are the problems?
Is there a particular outline that your proposal has to follow for the dissertation?
Does anyone know of good software, a website, or some other means of doing group work on projects?
is anyone on here getting their masters in nursing education?
How to manufacture microgrooves on the surface of polymer films or tubes
Can anyone help with Refworks?
Has anyone out there used an internet based assessment to gather data from subjects for a PhD
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Answers: (87)
True. Whatever she thinks about me or my dissertation, I'm determined to get my degree and get out of here forever.
Sorry, she is mentally unstable.
Where can I find someone to help me proofread and format my proposal? Samandu 574/387 5681
There are several highly skilled, professional dissertation editors online. I found this option to be cheaper than the editors or typists recommended by schools. My favorite editing service by far is www.editingworm.com. She is a great editor, and she also has a blog where she posts helpful articles relevant to grad. school and academia.
I've used editingworm.com for help proofreading my dissertation, and they did a great job. They worked closely with me and helped me improve the clarity of my writing, since as a non-native speaker, I struggle with writing in English.
I agree that electronic editing software/services are not what is needed when you want a dissertation or thesis edited. However, there are professional copy editors that do personalized revisions for this type of work. A great dissertation editor is Katrina Oko-Odoi at editingworm.com. She's been doing this for years and just recently launched the website to meet the needs of her growing clientele. I've used her numerous times and her work is always impeccable, prompt and reasonably priced.
There are some great editing services online for help polishing your thesis prior to submission and publication. I would check out editingworm.com; they are great at revising your writing for comprehensibility as well as correct grammar, punctuation and style.
I have used Editing Worm (editingworm.com) for scholarly editing of my own dissertation and several subsequent journal articles. It's a small company and their editors are very personable and engaged in their work - they correspond directly with you and address both grammatical, punctuation, style, and argumentative issues.
A great, personalized dissertation editing service that several of my colleagues have used with great success is http://editingworm.com/dissertation-editing/
Be open with your major professor. This transparency may lead to funding. Good luck!
Student Perception Survey
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but what is "the RGA"? It may help to clarify. Thanks.
A cheaper and FAR superior option is to use the Foreign Service Institute's online language materials. The address is:
http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php
Rosetta says they're what FSI uses. They're not. As a former FSO, if what you want/need is conversational, FSI's program is better; there are more langagues offered; and the downloads are free.
I second this post. I tried them based on this site's recommendation and would definitely say it's worth it.
Anyone need a dissertation editor? Here's a good one.
Try Elite Editing. They are really reputable and focus on academic editing. They are based in New York. eliteediting.com
Try Elite Editing. They did an awesome job on my dissertation. I was a bit skeptical to try an online company but a friend recommended them and I had a similarly good experience with them. Plus I submitted my chapters in batches and was given the same editor throughout which was extremely helpful in getting a cohesive final draft. Their website is http://eliteediting.com
Thank you so much for your response. Your comments are very helpful.
Changing schools is a possibility. The director at the school where I did my Master's and where I taught for six years as an adjunct has suggested I consider coming back there for doctoral work. There is no one there with the specific expertise of my late advisor, but there are people - faculty and students - interested in my field and at least I wouldn't be so alone in that regard. I would have to shift focus somewhat, from a technical perspective to historical, but that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.
The issue with transferring is that I was in my third year (part-time) when my advisor passed. I've earned 21 credits at my current school. In addition, they took 21 transfer credits from my Master's programs (I have two Master's). I'm 42 credits into a 54-credit program. The program at the other school is only 42 credits, 12 of which are the dissertation, but the university policy is not to take transfer credits at the doctoral level. So I would be looking at having to complete 30 more credits of coursework. That WOULD be a deal-breaker for me :(
My hunch is that universities can override their policies if they have a compelling reason to do so. The director of the school discussed my situation with the Graduate School and evidently, while they had every sympathy for my situation, they did not find it compelling enough to allow for the transfer of credits. I had not, however, thought of asking officials at my current school to intercede on my behalf. That is a wise suggestion on your part, and I appreciate it.
The truly frustrating part of the transfer credit situation is that the two universities are affiliated in a consortium, so cross-registration between institutions is allowed. I have thought of asking if it would be possible to make my coursework at my current school a retroactive cross-registration. I'm just not sure who to ask, or if I can even get access to the right person to ask. Perhaps that is a question administration at my current school could ask of administration at the other institution.
Thank again for your feedback. While having my fear that finishing at my current school is not feasible confirmed is not such good news, it is very reassuring to hear that my concerns are justified and reasonable.
Best regards,
I disagree that you can use any website you want. If you are writing a dissertation which is a formal document (and a scholarly one at that), you need to limit your sites accordingly. You need to have scholary sites unless your dissertation is about comparing websites. For example when using Google you should consider using Google Scholar scholar.google.com/ instead of simply Google.com.
You don't want to give your committee members the impression that you are not a scholar and that you do not know the difference between scholarly citations and everything else.
Look in your top journal for your field to see what websites they use.
Even in an introductory course for undergraduates I tell them not all sites are equal. For example, I do not allow them to use Wikepdia.
Trying to find testing days, times, cost and location for the GRE or GMAT.
You should start by checking the websites. The GMAT website has an option for you to find a test center in your region: http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/schedule-a-gmat-appointment/find-a-test-center.aspx
Here is the GRE website: http://www.ets.org/gre
Keep in mind that you will have to first register for either test/exam that you want to take.
Thank you.
You may want to take a look at the "Academic Joy Writing Essential", a fine selections of articles and tools to help the PhD student in writing his dissertation.
It's here: http://bit.ly/Id9lwN
Dear friend,
I strongly recommend that you quietly read the following two articles available here at http://bit.ly/yQegxq (section Resources) :
1. "Choosing Your Thesis or Dissertation Topic"
2. "A Word to the struggling PhD Student"
Good luck.
I guess that you have already taken a decision by now. For other graduate students (PhD, Master) who may be in the same situation now, I strongly recommend reading the article "A Word to the struggling PhD Student ". It is available here: http://bit.ly/I6Vd6G
There is a fantastic initiative called "Study Together" .
You can find it through this Web site: http://bit.ly/Ida0hG (section: connecting, title: Open Study)
Good luck
Looking for a book on how to conduct an auto ethnography. Suggestions?
Look inside Open Publications at : http://bit.ly/Id9wYX
Visit this page: http://bit.ly/Id9lwN
Hi,
In addition to the nice advice you already got, I would like to suggest you to take a look at this Web site dedicated to PhD students: http://www.academicjoy.net/
There are a great deal of resources, tools, references and pointers to help you out. I specially recommend: The PhD Candidate section. This section has a Resources page which contains the "Academic "Joy Writing Essentials"
Good luck
How do you approach people you don't know about giving you a chance to work in there organisation?
If you want to break into a brand new field, you might consider volunteering for the organization first. You might also check your professional networks to see if you have any connections in the company. You can use your linkedin connections.
My resume is full of political activities. I've spent a lot of time and energy earning those connections and gaining certain skills by working in politics. My attitude is that if someone doesn't want to hire me because they don't like the political stuff on my resume, I probably don't want to work there anyway. If you have legitimate skills/jobs/references from working in political arenas, no need to hide it.
You know, one idea you might find helpful - given the way you describe what happens when you sit down to write - is to log off of the internet completely and just start writing. No cheating, no checking email. I used to force myself to do that by going to a place with no internet connection. And then just write. When I came to a quote or a citation that I knew I wasn't getting quite right but was right enough, I'd just write (CHECK THIS) or (CITATTION) in the text to alert me to go back later.
Sometimes I'd even write long hand to get away from the computer more.
Best of luck!
Thanks for all of the advice! While I am sorry to hear that other people had to go through this, it is still comforting to me to know that others successfully got through it! It seems that none of you used a coach - I was a bit worried about the cost and what I would actually get from it, so unless I hear wonderful reviews from people who have used them I will probably hold off.
I think that I have thought too much about all of it. I can easily talk myself in circles (there are always other ways to explain things or other variables that need to be taken into account, and people who will think that my ideas are stupid), so perhaps the idea of just "jumping in" is best, especially since no one else needs to see that first draft, right? I definitely get caught in the perfectionist mode, worrying about citations, using the appropriate language and tone, and making sure that I haven't missed anything in the massive amount of literature that is out there. In my mind, I know that I can't read it all (and even if I could, I would not be able to keep it all straight), but when I sit down to write I seem to get in one sentence and then find myself looking up an article to support it (which of course leads to other articles and directions...). All of that means that four hours go by, I have written one sentence and have 8 new articles to read and put into my citation manager... After doing this for far too long, sitting down to write feels overwhelming.
Wow. Sorry about the venting dump there. All I really ment to say was "thanks"!
I'm so sorry the prospectus is stressing you out so much! I can't speak to your questions about services and coaches. But as reagrds the writing itself:
What's worked for you in the past? I used to freak out that it was taking me so long to get started until I realized that my process is just to think and think and think, and then write in one large brain dump.
I've also found it useful to talk through my arguments with another person, or to use a tape recorder so that I could remember the brilliant ideas I have when I'm walking (anything rather than sit at the computer).
Have you tried just writing something - however awful it is - and then giving it to your advisor for feedback? That might help with some of the fear.
One other thing from my own experience: I just couldn't write my prospectis for months (like, 8 months) because my advisor at the time was totally unable to help me understand its purpose. I then asked another professor what the prospectus was all about, and once he told me, I was able to write it over the weekend. Maybe you just need some clarity. (BTW, Advisor 1 was then quickly replaced by Advisor 2.)
Good luck to you!
Great answer! I was reading some articles online that said it is pretentious to add your letters behind your name unless you're working in that specific field only. I disagree with that; we worked hard for those letters, attach 'em proudly!
I have also struggled through a very difficult program, but i remind myself that this pain is temporary but the degree will be forever, and once I have it no one can take that away from me. while i absolutely feel your pain in the process, i recommend sticking out the last semester. you are almost there. honor the part of you that brought you this far, and honor all the work you've done already. Finish, collect your degree, and go far away and make money with the new, higher degree you've received. (and, if you feel it, give 'em the finger on the way out the door. :) keep your eye on the prize and put your energy into developing your new, cooler future outside the institution. this too shall pass.
I have also struggled through a very difficult program, but i remind myself that this pain is temporary but the degree will be forever, and once I have it no one can take that away from me. while i absolutely feel your pain in the process, i recommend sticking out the last semester. you are almost there. honor the part of you that brought you this far, and honor all the work you've done already. Finish, collect your degree, and go far away and make money with the new, higher degree you've received. (and, if you feel it, give 'em the finger on the way out the door. :) keep your eye on the prize and put your energy into developing your new, cooler future outside the institution. this too shall pass.
Hang in there, one semester will be over before you know it.
I don't know if this will help you, but when I wrote my dissertation, I wrote all of my materials and methods first. That gets you into the swing of writing, then I broke down all of my chapters into papers and wrote them for publication. Once that was done, I wrote my introduction as a summary of all of the work. The lit review supported all of the background data from all of the chapters and pulled it all together. Finally, I made sure it flowed well and summarized and followed with a future directions chapter. A thesis isn't as large, so you will just have to adjust as needed.
Thank you for the responses. Maverik that is a good idea, I will try that. Other students deal with him like I do, and others are on his "I don't like you" list and he won't really help them.
What do you think about adoption? It can be a new start for both you and your baby.
I don't know if anyone can answer this question except you. Do you want to be a single mother?
I will tell you, the women in my program who became pregnant never finished, and I'm not in a male-dominated field either, nor do we do physical fieldwork. BUT they are all very happy as mothers. It's just that their priorities shifted - nothing wrong with that. They were also all married with supportive spouses. I don't know how much any of that matters, though, because they're not you. You need to do what you think is best.
Would it be possible to take a leave of absence? That way it wouldn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision right now. Is there a faculty mentor you could talk to, someone you trust? If not, is there a faculty development center on campus? Sometimes they're willing to talk to you about career decisions. A life coach or counselor might also be able to help you sort out what you really want.
Good luck! I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you.
I think it is possible. But ultimately you need to be comfortable with whatever decision you make. Do some research and find out what resources your university offers. Many offer child care assistance or, depending on your responsibilities, you might be able to flex your schedule. Also look into leave policies of your program. You might be able to spend 3 months or even a year with your sister and then return when the baby is ready for day care.
I'm expecting a baby next month (I've already completed my grad program) and I will tell you that the first trimester was the most exhausting for me. Once you get past 12 weeks you'll get most of your energy back. I wouldn't worry too much about lifting unless it's really heavy. Usually your practitioner will advise that you can continue activities you were doing pre-pregnancy. You'll just need to be careful not to strain your back.
I'm not sure that there's ever really a "good" time to have a baby. But people seem to make it work no matter their circumstances. Good luck with your decision!
Hey thanks a lot for your reply.
Hi -
Sorry about your grad school angst - I've been there. I was in a MA-en-route PhD program, and I fought it and struggled throughout the hoops. I was miserable, but everyone kept telling me to "stick it out, you'll be so much better off with the degree than without it." Now that I'm a month or so on the other side of it, I'm glad I did it. Ot maybe I'm just glad it's done. But there are times, even now that I have the degree in hand, when I wish I had not spent this much of my life on getting this degree.
I concur with everything the first poster suggested. Excelllent advice. I'll just add these few thoughts.
About your thesis:
1) Do you have the write a thesis? Sometimes there is another option for those not planning to go on. I'd talk to your advisor, GPD or a faculty member you trust. They are often more than willing to help you get done, especially if they know you are struggling. No grad program wants a high attrition rate, especially on the MA level.
2) What makes you think you don't know enough about your themes? Many graduate students feel like they are underprepared. In some ways, graduate school is designed to make you feel this way. But you may know enough to write a thesis. Graduate work is not necessarily meant to be publishable or even innovative - often it's merely a draft of ideas for possible innovative future work (even the dissertation). Again, I'd find a reasonable faculty member whom you trust and ask them what they think.
3) Do you know a lot about themes other than the ones you've settled on for your thesis? If so, consider switching topics to something you already know a lot about. It'll be easier to do more quickly.
The thesis is just a hoop that says, "I know a decent amount about X, and I can communicate it in the appropriate disciplinary fashion." Don't make more of it than it is.
Another thing to consider: what would you do if you didn't do graduate school next semester? If the answer is, "I don't know" or "Work some low-level job while I wait for my ship to come in this summer," then you might consider sticking it out for the semester. I think that would be a better use of your time because you'd have a credential that you can actually put on your CV.
But if what is really holding you back from leaving is the sense that you're somehow a failure if you don't continue, I'd like to disabuse you of that notion. Lots of very smart, very successful people did not fare well in academia (Kenneth Burke comes immediately to mind).
If you do decide to stay, here is a perspective that will sound hopelessly new-agey but which I found nevertheless helpful. I found that grad school made me most miserable when I felt like I was constantly under someone else's thumb. When I changed my perspective and decided that I was going to finish the degree, I was able to see that I was in control of my own program. Reasonable faculty members are not interested in making you a slave to their ideas. If you find yourself working with one who is not reasonable, I'd drop him/her like a hot rock and find someone better who understands your goals.
Other than that, I'd say, trust yourself. You know what is best for you.
Best of luck!
Hi,
Sorry to hear you're having ambivalent thoughts on your degree and staying in school. Have you discussed this with your adviser? Maybe your knowledge isn't as lacking as you think, or s/he may be able to help you redirect your thesis ideas toward something in which you are more well-versed. You might also see if your school has a counseling center, if that is something you would feel comfortable with.
Here are some thoughts on the topic of staying:
You only have one more semester; right now it seems like an eternity. But if you stick it out you will look back at it and realize that one semester, in the grand scheme of things, was not so long after all.
You have already invested time and, presumably, money. If you leave it's not exactly time and money wasted, but as long as you've invested that much, why not maximize your investment and come out of it with a degree?
You may not want to continue in your field, but having a Master's degree - in any field - on your resume may give you an edge when you're applying for jobs.
Thoughts on leaving:
If you are truly unhappy in the program and it is drastically affecting your quality of life, then go. Don't fret over giving up. One person's giving up is another person's saving their own life. You may come out of the situation with a better sense of how to decide where your interests lie and the best way to pursue them, and, if that's the case, then you learned something valuable.
One other thought:
Can you take a leave of absence from your program? Once you're away from it you may feel like a huge burden has been removed and you may find that it doesn't bother you one bit to be away from it, finished or not. The "one semester left" aspect may prey on your mind enough that you realize it is important to you to finish. Time away from the program, without all this going on in your mind, may also help you rekindle the interest you had in the subject and the idea of getting the degree.
Good luck!
I am having trouble navigating the template for form and editing of my dissertation, help!
If you're at FSU, try a Tallahassee local editing service: www.whizmarks.com. The editor is local and can assist you in person.
Hello,
I am not good at memorizing large chunks of info in order to write 5-7 pages during a prelim writtem exams. What is the best solution? The examination consists of 6 papers, an deach paper you need to write 5 pages at least. How is it possible? Please advise.
I had to do this too; in fact it was also required in the application for acceptance to the program. I can't speak for your supervisor, of course, but when we were required to do it, we were by no means held to it. It was to get us thinking and planning and set us in a direction- any direction. As we worked, it was understood that our thesis proposals would change and refine. Now, there was also an understanding that we had a general topic in mind- SOME sort of narrowing of interest. Anyone undertaking a Masters, it was believed, would have some sort of idea, of at least the subfield we were interested in. What you propose at the beginning of your course ideally isn't a million miles off from what you eventually do.
While it's certainly possible to have selected a topic along the proposed timeline, I find it hard to believe that any adviser would have required you to select one within your first week in school. With my advisor, I hadn't actually selected a thesis topic until after my first semester of classes was completely finished. With that said, I did have two fleshed out "directions" for my thesis project that my advisor suggested I pick from.
If you're concerned about the deadline, discuss your concern with your advisor. Advisors are often willing to work with you on soft deadlines, as they want you to succeed! Good luck.
For the sake of not burning any bridges or risking a reputation of being irresponsible or unreliable among other profs, I would be very diplomatic here. I would casually comment that you were very 'disappointed' that your name wasn't on the last manuscript and really hope that it will be on this new one, since you are 'working so hard to build your CV', and ask again if it will be on this new project 'for certainty' since you are 'counting on it'. If she lies, then you never work with her again, but since you've put in this amount of time you don't want to risk losing credit. If she flat out says No It Will Not Appear, maybe you can ask her if she has any ideas on how you can formally recognize your work in a CV or something to that effect. If you aren't satisfied, just tell her that with all due respect you are going to have to focus your attention to projects where you will be given credit, since you are, as you mentioned, concerned with building a solid resume. And Id probably do the resignation in an email since, personally face to face is far too awkward, and its good to have in writing your very valid reason for leaving the project.
Based on your description, my suggestion would be U of Montreal. In your case, the schools reputation does not matter. U of Montreal is perhaps not as well-known as McGill because it is a french University, however both offer equally exceptional training. What does matter to you is the relationship you have with your graduate advisor. You seem to have a good rapport with the supervisor at U of M and his or her extensive network will be important to you as well. For more advice about choosing the right graduate supervisor, you might want to check out this article I wrote for MyGraduateSchool.com
http://mygraduateschool.com/ChoosingGradAdvisor.htm
Good luck!
Dave G. Mumby, Ph.D.
Concordia University
Department of Psychology
This is why I hate people who specialize in statistics and people who are statistics disabled. C'mon, how can you not have an area of interest and offer your service for publication? You are selling your knowledge in exchange for authorship rather than collaborating. Such a shame!
For the latter group of people I hate, get yourself a statistics course and learn at least basics; like t-test, ANOVA. Even HLM, and SEM are not too difficult to learn at an applied researcher level.
definitely Lincoln, Yvonne for any type of naturalistic inquiry. She is the mother of qualitative research.
I recommend none of those online editing services as they are not open to personalised type of service, directly with the editors. I'd recommend someone you knew to whom you can go and ask to edit specific aspects of your writing.
This is, of course, a personal decision. However, taking a semester off sometimes leads to years off. Think about what you want, what your mother would have wanted, and what your family wants. But bottomline, this is your decision.
No one can really answer this question but you. The answer will be different for different people.
Perhaps your mother would want you to finish. Some would take that approach and channel their energy and concentration into the dissertation.
On the other hand, some people would be unable to concentrate on their dissertation with such a heavy weight on them.
When my son passed away I took time off to get things right in my home life before I returned. No one can fault you for either decision, you have to determine what is best for you.
Yes! Try Elite Editing. For a pretty reasonable fee, they were perfect for a final check for grammar, punctuation, and most of all formatting in an academic style (for me it was APA but you can specify). They did an awesome job just cleaning everything up. http://eliteediting.com
I had my dissertation edited by an editing service, Elite Editing. I have to say, they were really reasonable for the amount of work they did. For their basic service, they totally cleaned up my paper (and references!) and did a lot of formatting I was unsure of. Definitely check them out: http://eliteediting.com
I'm not sure if you were referring to an online program as mentioned in the previous answer, or if you're looking for a professional copy editor. If so, I am an experienced editor in this type of scholarly writing. If you'd like to discuss a potential editor position privately, feel free to email me at khwhite@ucsd.edu.
I'm also looking for an editor. I found three online: White Smoke, Style Writer, and Right Writer. I have no clue which one would be the best for graduate writing. Any hints would be very appreciated.
Try this:
http://thethesiswhisperer.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/how-to-tell-your-supervisor-you-want-a-divorce/
Don't go for profit - no way, no how. I have done both...I have worked at both in higher education administration. Accrediated public universities rarely acknowledge for profit degrees despite what they tell you or their very glossy ads suggest. Yes, there is a snobbery in academics, but if you are going to spend the money - find a reputable public insitution - there are tons out there offering degrees on line and are more affordable than for profit.
Try Kansas State University. There are a couple of good options there that would add to your preperation. Tuition is reasonable as well. Also you may try Penn State or Old Dominion University.
Having worked in the for-profit area for a short time, I urge you to avoid this choice at all cost. There are just other good options.
You might want to go DIRECTLY to the Reference Desk at your library. The professionals there are willing and able to help you find this source again. They might also caution you to make better location notes the next time you find it.
BTW, these kinds of questions irk me to death! WHY would you spend days looking around on your own when expert assistance is so close by?? Everyone should try their own academic library--especially at the beginning of a research project. Everything is NOT on Google(tm)
--Academic Library Director
In higher education, student satisfaction is often measured through the use of standard surveys. You could add questions that are specific to satisfaction with the course design/control.
What is the correct format for a literature review?
Seriously? The expectations of the department you are writing in and/or of your advisor should be clearly stated somewhere.
Thank you for your reply! I vaguely remember I saw it in the literature review section of a working paper, so the experiment / original study cannot be recent. I think the subjects are in California, and the student may have been in Stanford or Berkeley (though I may have remembered this part wrong).
Thank you. I'll look these up. It's hard to know where to start sometimes.
Morehead State University has a new Ed.D program that is experience based, with a practical approach. You might check into their program and see if it fits your needs. I don't know how much of it is online, but I think many of the courses are, since Morehead serves Eastern Kentucky and travel can be a problem.
My advice to you is to get out of academic before it is too late. There is no shame in a Masters degree, but a Doctorate will entail the end of your happy youthful years once you enter the job market. These advice columnist insist that there are jobs outside of the academe, but the preponderance of people who take on these positions already had them while completing their degree. They were simply trying to move up a corporate latter in which they already had two feet firmly established. If you take the road all too often travelled you will end up a miserable adjunct working for wages comparable to a Fillipino in a Nike factory. Do not listen to these people whose advice amounts to malpractice. Get out now while your young and have a world of other opportunities.
Heed my advice,
er383
Respectfully...
1. Contact your advisor and state gently the problem you are experiencing in your relationship.
2. Do this before it gets BIG.
3. Have a discussion of concrete ways about how to address your dissatisfaction. "Do you think there is any way we can change the way we work together in order to alleviate this concern I have?"
4. Check back in in two weeks/1 month and let the advisor know if things have or have not improved. "Thanks, thing are better." or "Hmmm, things still aren't quite right." (Go back to Step 1)
5. When they don't improve and you have found a preferable advisor you are thinking of switching to, alert/warn/foreshadow/hint to your advisor that you are thinking of a swtich because of the previusly discussed dissatisfaction. Give your advisor a chance to respond (verbally and behaviorally). "I have also worked with Prof. Smoe and I feel more comfortable with the way s/he responds to my written work."
6. Make sure you talk with the potential new advisor first to make sure you will have an advisor BEFORE you fire your first one.
7. Make an appointment and politely explain to your original advisor your decision to swtich (which they should already know about), thank them for everything they have done for you (chances are you wouldn't even have been admitted without their advocacy for you) and DON'T BURN BRIDGES. This person might good to have on your committee, just not as your advisor. By doing Step 1-5, you will probably arrive at a mutual agreement that changing advisors is a GREAT idea.
PS I am a professor and I can't tell you how hurtful it is to get an email from a student that says" "You are no longer on my committee" "I have decided to change advisors and Prof. Smoe has agreed to work with me." (It also really damages relationships between professors in a department when it is done this way, which will hurt the graduate program and morale of grad students.) Especially if we are in the same field, you do not want to burn bridges with people who have the same intellectual interests as you.
PPS I notice that students use the "power relationship" to explain why they don't speak with their advisors earlier. Yes, it is hard, but it's part of growing up and becoming a mature professional. Also, when you do get the changes you want from your advisor, you will also get a better relationship with your advisor. Part of being a professional (and this will happen when you are an assistant professor, an associate professor, etc) is learning how to raise concerns about troubled relationships and working it out. Our areas of scholarship and workplaces are too small to burn bridges or have unresolved festering discomforts.
And do it while the problem is still small enoughto resolve. Many people wait til they have already made up their minds and are unchangeable in their judgment that "this relationship is not going to work." They don't want to fix it, they just want a termination of the relationship. That is not a respectful way to make an advisor switch.
So unless you are simply a really mentally unstable person (which does explain why some graduate students cannot do what is suggested here), I would recommend starting with step 1 above.
Yes, I have 4 papers ready:
a) The Maoist Conflict and Leadership Roles in Nepal--20 pages,
b) Learning Centered ESL Teaching in Nepal-15 pages
c) Academic Dishonesty Among International Students in Higher Education-25 pages
d) Multicultural Literature for Young Adult Learning: Whose Writing is Authentic?
Please let me know if you have publication related to these papers.
I would try to go, but if you're not going to go, you should probably tell your colleague in advance. At the same time, is there no other obligation you can cut out to make time for your research? Or is the defense really so long that you genuinely will lose time out of your day if you go? Usually, the defense isn't that long...it may come off like, "Wow, you couldn't afford just an hour and a half of your time to support your colleague?" I don't know how other people would feel, but that's what I usually worry about when I want to skip something that I had adequate time to plan ahead for.
Is it considered rude to stay for the presentation and leaving during questions? Either way, I would just try and go and don't do anything crazy like do work during the presentation because that's much worse than outright skipping it.
My problem and reason to quit my current advisor is different. What do you do when the Professor you are working with lacks ethics and moral values? What if the advisor "abuses" his power of being a Professor for his extreme selfish needs without caring a damn for his students? I want to get out but I also want to inform SOMEONE about the things that he does.
Oh my God! It feels like someone just asked this question on my behalf. Whoever asked it, thanks a ton. Looking forward to the replies.
thanks a lot.
Look for your passion, if you would rather be doing someting else, then do it!
I don't know if I can be much of a help, but if it makes you feel any better, this is exactly what I am going through! For me, my workspace is really important - I have to be comfortable and have all my materials easily accessible. My advisor has tried to convince me to keep a log of the days/times I've worked on my thesis and what kind of work I was doing. I actually hate this because I think it makes me feel worse (of course maybe I could use that for motivation?) I like the idea of setting a timer with short breaks.
How excited must a person be about their research in order to conduct research?
I will say this from my own experience: You CAN conduct research you're not 100% interested in, but it will be like going to the dentist to get your wisdom teeth out every time you have to lay eyes on an article, collect data, or analyze data. Having a topic you're not at least moderately interested in can sap all energy and willingness from you, especially if you don't have a professor over your shoulder nagging you to get it done. In a research career, you can't bank on someone else being there to prod you into action every time you decide to sit and read something else or watch TV while ignoring your work. Put it this way - having a boring topic, for me, was so bad that I stopped 3-4 weeks in and asked my adviser if I could look at another question because I was sick of not being able to stop procrastinating. When I didn't like my topic, I basically did ALL of my work at the last minute and ONLY because my adviser would be checking up on me. If you think you're in an entirely wrong field, it doesn't mean you necessarily give up - you should probably fish around for something more interesting within your field. Maybe this is just my opinion, but I think it's a little easier to do this within the social sciences because the skills you acquire usually don't go to waste when you decide to study another topic within the social sciences.
Thank you dear folks, Yes I do agree that I should broaden my knowledge. Actually I love what I am doing and the fact is that my research is the new component that he has added to his researh area. I may modify my question this way that no one else is doing any related stuff to my research. So other students in group meeting benefit from each other by discussing their research issues since all are working in the same area. So I am kind of feeling I am alone and I do need also to have at least one coallege that does almost the same research to share our ideas. So I was wandering that my research is going very slowly while others' go faster. I was thinking may be I need to select a research advisor while I am working for my supervisor. Sorry I should have stated it more clearly in my previous post. To make it short I don't know waht would my supervisor's idea be if I ask him that I do like to have an advisor who is more fimiliar with my research area. I believe my supervisor is kind of new to the research that I am already performing and his help is vey limited. He is very knowledgable and nice man but his research group's force engine is not as strong as I expected.
I would go to your department head and state exactly what you have here. Perhaps no one realized that the other was also passing you on, assuming someone else was a better fit and that someone else would take you on. Maybe with this knowledge someone will be assigned to you.
At the very least you are asking for some accountability from someone who knows. Perhaps the dept head will have a suggestion for what you should do, or approve you taking a supervisor, or co-supervisor, in another department.
As the topic of a thesis is supposed to be meaningful, it should be finalized after consulting with one's adviser. Too much indecissive over this is not fruitful.
I switched to Mac when I started my PhD and it was the best thing I ever did. Everything works flawlessly. It is more of an immediate investment but it will save you many hours of headache and frustration - something you'll get plenty of while pursuing a PhD. Also, I HIGHLY recommend the laptop instead of the desktop. I used mine during seminar lectures and now I have everything the professor said at my fingertips. I also do ethnographic work and the Mac has been wonderful. Good luck.
Has anyone out there used an internet based assessment to gather data from subjects for a PhD
Sorry I need to give more information. I am looking at creating a assessment tool for are givers to fill in regard to sympotms of Autism Spectrum disorder (likert scales) and then run cluster analysis on the results with an aim to creating a general assessment tool which may better pin point eitiological issues associated with ASD.
One of my professors does work in that area. His name is Ralph Brower and he works at Florida State University in the public admin dept.
should a biomechanical engineer take the FE exam?
Regardless of the engineering field of study, the pathway to become licensed as a professional engineer is to take the Fundamentals Exam (FE) and then take the PE in your particular licensed area. Each state has its own PE areas it licenses.
i think you will be better of with a PhD in Psycology
