Defeating the Dissertation Demon

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Defeating the Dissertation Demon

• For Dr. Bowies PDC

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Overview

• Pre-diss
• Writing the diss
• Finishing the diss
• After the diss
• The job market

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Pre-diss Choosing your topic

• Love it
• Combine 3 areas
• Make it fit your field
• Hole/gap
• Current issues/ hot topic
• Can justify
• Responds to needs
• Work it into your course work Play with it!

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Pre-diss Choosing a committee

• Chair Research topic
• Committee Helps fits
• Whole Committee Consider the makeup
• Who can you work with
• What are their ranks?
• Is it diverse?
• Ask them face to face
• Be ready for Nos

5
Writing the diss Starting

• Ask your chair
• Outline the diss
• Look up the grad school rules and follow from
  the start
• Consider doing the lit review first
• Outline/very rough draft the f1st chapter
• Acknowledge that it will change

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Writing the diss Managing the process

• Consider a mentor/slave driver beyond your
  committee
• Back everything up in a zillion places
• Create a schedule and add 2-3 times extra time
• Set personal deadlines and add time
• Set chair deadlines
• Set committee deadlines
• Talk with your committee and determine their turn
  around times
• Follow the grad school schedule too!
• Include revision time

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Writing the diss Working with your committee

• You are the Bosskinda
• Discuss with your chair her role
• Ask them how they work and what they need from
  you
• Friendly reminders?
• Face to face meetings
• Be forgiving to a degree
• Honor and respect your committee
• Find ways to make it work
• Work out a chapter process with your chair and
  with your committee
• Inform the committee of your plans and how you
  and the chair will be working (generally)
• Dont stress your committee Get them stuff by
  the early deadlines not the must have bys

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Writing the diss Writing the thing

• Good luck!
• Make this the focus
• Plan to get 3 chapters done by any job search, at
  least
• Remember Life happens!
• Make yourself accountable somehow
• Give yourself something else to do (exercise!)
• Schedule reading and thinking time

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Finishing the diss

• Get chapters out by your committee deadlines
• Revise quickly and turn things around quickly
• Once you hand it off
• Give yourself much deserved downtime
• Ask to meet with the committee members
  individually to discuss
• Discuss with your chairs holes, problems, issues
  you need to consider for the defense
• Write your acknowledgements

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After the diss Defending

• Practice!
• Practice!
• Practice!
• Prepare to answer questions you gathered from
  each committee member and more
• Prepare odd ball answers
• Have people quiz you
• Have practice defenses
• Eat blueberries
• Shine! You are the expert!

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After the diss Not done yet

• Get the revisions and revise and/or discuss
• Do school edits
• Give yourself time!
• Thank your committee with gifts

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The job market?

• Have at least 3 chapters
• Know you will miss 3-5 months or more
• Plan easy tasks like the bibliography
• Dont plan to get real work done
• Have initial findings to talk about

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Congratulations slaying the dissertation demon
enjoy the new title