Tag: doctoral thesis (dissertation)

Doctoral Thesis Data Collection, Status #1

I want to share my progress with my doctoral thesis data collection that I started in my posting on July 28 where I outlined my research and began to request participants.

I have been absolutely blown away by the support and interest I have felt from so many people who have so kindly offered to assist or otherwise help promote participation in my work. Having already completed 7 interviews lasting between 60 and 90 minutes each, I feel I am indeed learning more about the liminal experiences that occur during doctoral studies related to learning leaps, aha! moments, and passing through conceptual thresholds.

I have learned that I really do not know what sorts of initial findings I can draw from this work until I begin transcribing and analyzing the transcripts, but I have already noticed that some of my questions and frames have developed the more I learn about how current and former doctoral researchers experience and make sense of their in-between periods of meaning-making while on the path to their degrees. Each person I speak with is so different from one another, and this opportunity to hear about what at times involves personal experiences en route to the degree often leaves me in awe.

I so value how generous many people are with their time, and I look forward to engaging with the other participants I have scheduled to interview through the end of the month (when I now hope to conclude my data collection for my research).

Invitation to Participate in a Research Study

Today I begin data collection for my doctoral thesis research at Lancaster University, and I invite you to consider participating in my study. I have all this information, along with the ethical consent form, in a permanent link on my Doctoral (Thesis) Research page on my website.

There are 3 criteria for participation:

1.  Are you doctoral student or have you completed a doctoral degree (in any discipline, with any type of doctoral degree, anywhere in the world)?

2.  Have you encountered any thresholds or had any troublesome experiences while engaged in your degree that left you with a new sense of your discipline or identity of yourself as a researcher / evidence-supported expert practitioner? Perhaps you experienced an aha! along the way? How about a transformed understanding or perspective?

3.  Did you engage in any aspect of your studies from a distance, online, or using any form of technology while engaging in your doctoral degree?

If you answered yes to these 3 eligibility criteria, I invite you to consider speaking with me about it in a single 60-90 minute interview (phone or Skype, as you wish). For more information, my email and contact information are here.

I appreciate any assistance with identifying participants for my study; please share this link or information with anybody who you think may be interested. Thank you.

Data Collection, Here I Come!

I am happy to report that I concluded the pilot testing for my doctoral thesis research, and am now ready to begin data collection in earnest.

I finished the pilot interviewing last Thursday, debriefed it over the weekend, and worked with my supervisor this morning to process it. I learned a great amount about my research area by interviewing some people for the pilot, revealing some unexpected areas in the process. I will then write-up my findings and process the experience to put it directly into my thesis. Now, with one or two tweaks of my invitation to participate in my research study that I do this evening, I plan to seek participants for my research beginning tomorrow.

Wow, data collection. Finally!!

 

Doctoral Thesis Piloting Comes to an End, Tomorrow

The piloting I have been doing as part of my doctoral thesis is wrapping up tomorrow, when I am scheduled to interview one final person.

It was suggested that I pilot test my semi-structured interview questions, and while this is extra time when I should be looking for participants, I do see a great value in the process. Up until now, what I have wanted to ask to get to my research questions has made perfect sense to me, though that does not necessarily translate to working with others. The piloting has helped me to see some gaps in my questions, as well as some places where I can combine things to ask about them in a more targeted way.

Granted, I am engaging in semi-structured interviewing, and while my discussion (what I call the interview) with my participants develops and adjusts along the way, I really like having a bunch of questions, often asking about similar ways in slightly different ways to help trigger the discussion and clarify my research purpose, that have been “tested” with real people. In “testing” them, I mean that I am asking real people real questions about their experiences (as per my research design), and then having a discussion about the experience and how the discussion (interview) fits with my research questions. I am not planning such a debrief after the actual interviews, though this step has been valuable right now.

My supervisors have been very helpful and supportive of this process, and while this piloting is also another check-off I can make on my thesis process, I do know it is serving a valuable step as I am on the verge of data collection. What an exciting time so long in the preparation.

To Pilot, or Not to Pilot; THAT is the question + 52 Answers

As I am preparing to begin my search for participants for my doctoral thesis research, I received a suggestion last week to consider a pilot. Not sure why I had not thought about this before, but that is what having active supervisors and a supportive community of doctoral colleagues is for–help point out things when we miss them ourselves. Seemed like a good idea, though I wanted to get some feedback as to the processes.

Let me be clear, it was suggested (and I agreed) to pilot my semi-structured interview questions, not my research purpose and research questions (I have research evidence from the past 2 years and some literature that suggests this is a real issue that we do not know much about). If I pilot my questions, it can help me determine if they are the right questions (they will give me answers to my research questions and link to my problem and purpose). Nothing like having the opportunity to ask the interview questions and then discuss / debrief them with some people. I think I wrote interview questions that will get me what I want to know, though piloting the interview questions may just be the best way to find out.

Yes, I do follow the suggestions and recommendations of my supervisors, but how about the larger community of doctoral learners (some of whom may even ultimately participate in my study!!) who may have some suggestions for piloting these questions? With this in mind I asked my online doctoral community, #phdchat:

I then received a number of responses, and followed up with one more direct request for thoughts and suggestions and help and support:

The result is there is general consensus that piloting my semi-structured interview questions is useful, though that is not the only thing I learned in this process. I learned that there is power in community, as my two initial posts, along with my individual responses to what others suggested, resulted in 52 responses to me from a number of my doctoral colleagues. They shared their stories, what worked, what did not, what they learned, who to read for more information, and so on. Overall, I am amazed at how generous this network of fellow doctoral colleagues, most of whom I have never met face-to-face though with whom I have established various levels of relationship with, is when there is a need and sharing with one another is just the support that is needed. Can this indeed be a component of a community of practice?

Yes, my supervisors are wonderful, though my fellow colleagues cannot be underestimated!