Getting Started: From Proposal to Dissertation

Jennifer Tucker, Ph.D.February 2010

www.tuckertalk.net

Jenny’s Timeline

• Preliminary Exam: February 2007• Dissertation Proposal Accepted: August 2008 • Dissertation Defense: September 2009

• 18 Months from Prelim to Proposal (TOO LONG!)• 13 Months from Proposal to Defense

• What Happened?!

Why Jenny Got Stuck

• Lack of Accountability Source: No Classes

• Too Many Cool Ideas: Not Enough Reality Check and Little Commitment on Paper

• Other Cool Projects: Reflected My Ambivalence About Why I Was Doing This!

• What Scared Me Most: Literature Search

How Jenny Got Unstuck

• Got over embarrassment and asked for help – New Committee Chair (March 2008)– 2 Months (4 Sessions) with a Dissertation Coach – Outcome: Better Sense of WHY and WHAT and WHO

• Identified concrete ways to remove key barriers– Sought to understand the concrete goal: Got good

templates, checklists, and examples for a proposal – Got real data about what scared me: What was “enough”

in a lit search (defining scope)

Actions: Making It Real

• Set concrete deadlines for interim steps: Small “To Do” lists• Took all writing done to date and consolidated: Started a

repeated and iterative “Brain Dump – Edit” cycle• Used templates and concrete goal metrics to honestly assess

progress • Defined dedicated blocks of time: 4 hours each and built into

planner. • Found good physical place: Required some experimentation• Wrote proposal and honestly reflected: Doable?

Answer: No. Action: Rewrote. • “Real Time” on Proposal: 4 Months – But when finished, I

was READY – practically and psychologically

Jenny’s “PhD Project Plan”Reality: Defended 24 Days After Projected End Date

• One Page: Enforced Personal Accountability Factor

• Made it Feel Doable: There is an End

• Pilot Phase Allowed Early Win and Confirmed It Was Possible

• Actual steps and proposal changed, but intent and pace stayed the same

• Stayed on track and focused

Final Thoughts to Being “Phinally Done” (Ph.D.)

• There is no “right way” to do this: Find your own way• Know why you are doing it: Find ways to fill those motives • Know Yourself: When you get stuck and what to do • Ask for help: Find a support system that works• The best dissertations are FINISHED dissertations• LOVE it AND be able to DO it: Passion + Feasibility