February 2012 – Page 3 – Silence and Voice

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2012-02-19

@researchadam Thanks for the heads up on her work! in reply to researchadam #
Webinar this WEDNESDAY with @C4LPT about @JaneBozarth 's job, books and views on social media / social learning http://t.co/OsFxinae #
Webinar this Tuesday with @C4LPT about @JaneBozarth 's job, books and views on social media / social learning http://t.co/OsFxinae #
The words to Naughty By Nature's O.P.P. are either very funny or quite scary depending on one's experience. #
@thatphdgirl Did you get a lot done? #phdchat in reply to thatphdgirl #
@rjhogue Don't worry about it; you will be fine. If anything, get excited about the next steps! #phdchat in reply to rjhogue #
@FrancisNorman How did the interview go? #phdchat in reply to FrancisNorman #
Sitting by the fire trying to get some work done is not working very well #phdchat #
@aeratcliffe @kiwicito @C_J_Cage I wish I were there! #phdchat in reply to aeratcliffe #
@Eingang You have wisdom beyond your years! Don't start the Thesis Writing = Won't Muck It Up. Brilliant! #phdchat in reply to Eingang #
Finished my coffee and olive bread toast with watching the birds with Posey, all favorite weekend morning things. Now to begin the chores. #
Got upstate to find several inches of hardened snow on the ground. Very surprised. #
@HelenHickson That makes so much sense, but is always pressure to follow what works for others. Silly if the work is original! #phdchat in reply to HelenHickson #
@emskibirkett Yes, a half draft is better than a quarter one. I have been thinking about elements to add and further develop as next steps! in reply to emskibirkett #
@thatphdgirl Small wins can indeed add up. Appreciate the encouragement. in reply to thatphdgirl #
@allonsdanser nothing like a #pomodoro to kick start research! Thanks for th eking words #phdchat in reply to allonsdanser #
@Eingang Thanks. Odd how challenging it is to start, especially on a topic about which I have so much passion. #phdchat in reply to Eingang #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2012-02-18

Now working on Chap 2! To the Literature . . . Get Thee to the Literature! : http://t.co/gtHaJXPz #phdchat #
Just submitted Draft of Chap 1 (or at least the first half of it!) for my initial feedback. I seem to be doing this in my own order #phdchat #
Just started pomodoro 'Final writing push for part of the thesis draft (due tonight!)' #phdchat #
@lindathestar Congrats! in reply to lindathestar #

To the Literature . . . Get Thee to the Literature!

Borrowing a not-so-clever allusion to Hamlet from the Great Bard himself, yet without the anger and other baggage he brings (!!), I am now turning my attention to writing the draft chapter of my literature review and conceptual framework. I set myself another ambitious goal, this time to have this section drafted in two weeks. Hey, what better way to celebrate Leap Year than by planning a tangible deliverable for February 29!

I am coming off the efforts of submitting my chapter 1 draft to my supervisors very late last night (or early this morning, depending on how you see the time), so am on a high of diving into my writing with full gusto. While I am writing these sections now even though I am long-finished with my data collection may confuse some educationalists, but there is indeed a method to my process (though that is for a future discussion). Since starting seems to be the hardest part of a thesis, no reason to slow down at this point.

Suffice it to say I will now bridge the literature to my area of inquiry, and have something to submit for review in two weeks. Hey, I can do that!

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2012-02-17

Just finished pomodoro 'Working on thesis draft (due tonight!)' #phdchat #
Just started pomodoro 'Working on thesis draft (due tonight!)' #phdchat #
Well, back to my writing. Think I need some #pomodoro help #phdchat #
@qui_oui I suppose that is more charitable than asking how they can be so sure without reading it in the native French or German! #phdhat in reply to qui_oui #
@qui_oui @ai1sa Very true. Amazing how self-doubt and intellectual insecurity can sneak in so hegemonicly #phdchat in reply to qui_oui #
@ai1sa I planned to begin it in 2 weeks, with or without them. Finishing my draft of chap 1 to submit tonight http://t.co/gFRZxYT1 #phdchat in reply to ai1sa #
@trentmkays Alas, all that comes to mind is Madonna and Vogue. Ahh, good times! in reply to trentmkays #
@trentmkays Yes, like how many have REALLY read most of them (at least more than an excerpt in some second-hand tome) #phdchat in reply to trentmkays #
@ai1sa Yes, as if all the theory is really needed; fully depends on the research design and desire to hear one babble incessantly #phdchat in reply to ai1sa #
@trentmkays I wonder if they know what they are talking about, or just trying to sound it. My defense? Take refuge in postmodernism #phdchat in reply to trentmkays #
Does anybody else get a bit miffed when #phd students throw around the names of theorists they will use and abuse in their work? #phdchat #
Only 3 transcripts remain uncommented / unresponded to for my member checking. Almost there! #phdchat #
@kiwicito Sure we can chat, as soon as I make my first deadline LATE tonight. BTW, what is a Ricoeurian hermeneutic? #phdchat in reply to kiwicito #
@thatphdgirl I tried to give the open box away, but everybody was watching their weight. I watch mine, and watch and watch! in reply to thatphdgirl #
@betsyweber Nothing like you 😉 in reply to betsyweber #
@sarahthesheepu Indeed, even from a qualitative research design! in reply to sarahthesheepu #
I am popular in the office right now–I just opened one of the 15 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I ordered. #
Just heard about a crane accident at the World Trade Center site. Sounds horrible. #
Early morning of research paper brainstorming this morning; interesting projects ahead #phdchat #

Why is there not a single Doctoral Thesis outline or structure?

After working with the transcription for my doctoral thesis, I have found creating the structural outline for the entire write-up to be the greatest challenge.

Now, don’t shake your head wondering why I am considering this. Indeed, we always need an intro, and some literature, methods, data analysis, and the like. The trick I have found, least for those of us working on a doctoral thesis or doctoral dissertation, is to determine the structure of this given that we are conducting original research.

There is the main issue–this is ORIGINAL research. Why (or how?!) can my work follow the same structure as somebody else’s? Yes, we somehow need to address some of the same things, but our research designs and personal interests and writing skills all come into play. Nobody (I hope!) would confuse a randomized control trial with an autoethnographic inquiry, so why (or how?) should they look or be structured the same? My research engages in narrative inquiry (with a healthy dose of actor-network theory), and as my interpretation will be presented alongside the analysis itself (at least in some places), the thinking about using a cookie-cutter approach to chapters and sections vanishes. For those of us who relish in the originality while still wanting to follow a map, this part of the process can certainly cause some concern.

I take 2 mg of klonopin a day. 1 mg I take in the morning and 1 mg before bed. I have been told by doctor that I have severe panic attack.

While an Introduction usually precedes Data Collection, consider that there is not only a single way to organize all of this. Some of these elements, such as the researcher’s ontological stance, disciplinary frame where the research is situated, and significance–to name only a few–can be placed in different locations, as needed. At times they may not even need to be isolated (or even mentioned); again, it depends on your work . . . and original work means there is no standard outline that works best for everybody; you have to make it up yourself.

BTW, don’t forget to be prepared to explain why you did so!