Last week, I recounted my experience hiking Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, an endeavor that I did not take seriously enough, and I suffered unnecessarily because I had not sufficiently prepared. This week, I use this cautionary tale to emphasize the importance of preparing well for your dissertation as you will be doing yourself a huge favor if you appreciate the gravity of this undertaking. There are four important parts to this preparation: inform yourself, prepare well, plan well, and respect the task.
INFORM YOURSELF
Before embarking on your dissertation – or as early as possible after you have begun, talk to faculty and fellow students; read and review some books on dissertation writing (such as my book De-Stressing the Dissertation). Look at one or two recent dissertations in your school library that either used your same methodology and/or had your same dissertation chair.
You will get a sense from this process of how challenging the dissertation is, how much time it realistically will take you, what the many steps involved are, and how to best approach or organize yourself. You will also likely get many good tips about how to best proceed and protect yourself from possible missteps (such as not communicating well with your dissertation chair) or hindrances (such as choosing to study a population that is difficult to recruit or a subject that has very few sources).
PREPARE WELL
By informing yourself, you will also get a sense of the importance of preparing well. You will be deciding in advance important considerations, such as (a) how many sources you will need for the literature review, (b) how to best organize those sources, and (c) how you work best and where you’ll want to do most of your work. You’ll also want to (d) put together a support team that may include your significant other, friends, fellow students, family, your chair (you’ll want to ascertain what your chair will and will not do), other faculty, administrators, and support services.
PLAN WELL
Once you have informed yourself and done the preparations you need before starting your dissertation, you need to create a realistic timeline that takes into consideration the time you need to:
(a) conceptualize your study
(b) collect the sources for your literature review
(c) read, summarize, and synthesize your sources
(d) organize the best way to present the literature review (e.g., via major themes, theories, variables,
or chronologically)
(e) write your proposal chapters
(f) allow time for your chair and others to read and review (such as your second reader, editor,
friends, and colleagues)
(g) revise per your chair’s instructions or your own wish/need to revise, expand, etc.
(h) conduct the research
(i) collect your data
(j) analyze your data
(k) write the results and discussion chapters
(l) create a final draft that adheres to all of the academic rules and is the best representation of
your writing, analyzing, synthesizing, and organizing abilities
(m) complete all the final steps, including obtaining signatures, filing copies with the library, etc.
And depending on your study, you may also need to:
(n) recruit participants
(o) create an instrument or questionnaire
(p) perform a pilot study
(q) create tables and figures
You will also want to:
(r) give yourself an adequate cushion for:
— possibly having underestimated the time you need for doing all of the above steps
—all the many unforeseen curve balls thrown your way (e.g., illness, family emergencies, chair
traveling to India or curating a large museum show)
—the need to take a break from time to time, as well as
(s) planning for your financial needs
(t) planning for your childcare needs, as well as
(u) galvanizing your support team and determining how and when to ask for their support,
as well as
(v) determining how to take care of your health and well-being, including:
—good diet
—sufficient exercise
—adequate rest
—R&R, as well as
(w) planning your weekly schedule (what days and times you will be working on your dissertation),
as well as
(x) how you will celebrate once you have finished your dissertation
(y) how you will recover from this long, intense process, as well as
(z) __________________________________ (other—you fill in the blank!)
RESPECT THE TASK
Don’t underestimate the challenge, such as cavalierly thinking that although others have taken years, you can complete your dissertation in a matter of months. The dissertation is a weighty undertaking. If you give it the respect it requires, you will be in a position to complete this undertaking in the most advantageous manner.
In reflecting back to our Half Dome experience, we thought that we had informed ourselves and prepared well in that we ensured that we would have as much water and trail mix as we needed (√), good hiking boots (√), and gloves for the cables (√). We did one hike in the Berkeley Hills to try out our hiking boots and prepare for the challenging climb. We found accommodations outside the park, determined when we would start our hike, and agreed that we would be down in time to catch dinner in Yosemite Valley.
In hindsight, I realize that we communally and I individually did not respect the extent of the challenge. My boots weren’t worn in, and I hadn’t clipped my toenails. I didn’t take my knee into consideration (I should have had walking poles). We didn’t start early enough — we were the last ones to reach the subdome)[1], and none of us paid attention to where we had parked.
So, I hope I have convinced you to respect the dissertation by informing, preparing, and planning yourself well!
[1] Here are the park’s recommendations: Check sunrise and sunset times and leave around sunrise (or earlier) and then have a non-negotiable turnaround time. For instance, if you haven’t reached the top of Half Dome by 3:30 pm, you will turn around.
