Second year review

This summer, I am taking an online Qualitative research methods course as part of my course requirement. I thought I would hate it but it's actually not so bad. It's just super intense because it's online and it's been compressed for two months. The workload is crazy, but I'm beginning to enjoy it. The best part of it is the journal taking. It's helped a lot with focusing your thoughts down and narrowing your research. It might work with quantitative project too! I also liked the encouragement given by the instructor. She's so nice! I noticed this is probably cultural difference; Americans tend to be very encouraging. Even if you're not doing it perfectly, they still motivate you, and this is always good when you are feeling uncertain about how you doing and want some feedback. Some instructors in my department are very strict, and they rarely reward you for working hard. I know why they are doing it; they don't want you to be overconfident in your work and they expect you to be aware of the extremely high standards in the Comprehensive Exams and the preliminary paper writing (which is the first step after completing coursework and before CE and defending your proposal).

As of now, I am approaching the end of my second year. By fall, I expect to finish my coursework and start preparing for my preliminary. I have yet to decide what I am going to do! (which is kind of scary but that gives me some goals to accomplish by end of this year). I know I should meet up with my supervisor more often, but she's been away (for sabbatical) and I haven't had significant progress to report to her. I know she'll tell me that I need to start deciding what I want to do for my thesis. It's funny how your ideas change when  you learn more. I thought I knew what I wanted to do but now I am less sure. We'll see.

The most important thing I have to do now is to keep my spirits up. I have problems with fluctuating motivation. Some days are better than others. It gets tougher as I progress and I am trying to steel myself. I don't think I will feel any relief until I pass my preliminary writing, sit for my comprehensive exam and successfully defend my proposal. I still have a long, long, long, way to go!

There goes my summer! :-(

I really wanted a break this summer. I need it or else I will burn out. However, things rarely go my way. Heh. I found out that Qualitative Research Method is not offered in Fall so I have to take a two month web course on qualitative, as well as one intensive week for summer scholar. And it all starts in May so I don't have much of a break from this semester. Sigh. Good news is I have only one subject for Fall 2011 and more time for preparing for my preliminary paper (eh?).

Sometimes I get so tired of everything. My mind especially is feeling lethargic; every bit of energy has been squeezed out of it. But I made this choice so I have to soldier on. One thing good was that it was a last minute decision to take that class, section was closed but the instructor HERSELF helped out by notifying the secretary to add me. She was so kind about it all that I am grateful. I don't want to stay back just for one subject! Hopefully, the one month plus after the class will be enough to recuperate... Plus, I've never taken a web course before so this should be interesting...

Update: bits and pieces

This semester is a bit tough. Here are some random bits about it:

• Stats III is no fun. Same instructor, same headache. The good thing is that there's not that many assignments (so far)
• Two advanced specific topic courses. Tough instructors but good because I am learning to be more detailed, plus I might find thesis topic of interest in these two subjects (who knows!)
• Just found out that my masters thesis was published in the Malaysian Journal of Communication. It's not that much but at least all the work didn't go to waste. My supervisor during my Masters program has to be thanked for this. He pushed me to do it.
• My supervisor is on sabbatical leave. Is that good or bad? She's only off for one semester (good!) but bad if I need to see her regularly, which I don't (yet). She will tell me I need to decide on a research topic soon, and I know that's true. Soon, I hope.
• I only have two more semesters to go before my Comprehensive Exam and also my preliminary paper. 

I know what I have to do, but I am feeling slightly sluggish this semester. Blame the snow storm!

Updates

I've never been busier than this semester! I have a really good and detailed instructor for one course. She's very detailed and that makes me work very hard in the class! We were supposed to do a proposal for her course and she allowed us to send in drafts before turning in the full proposal. Even though she was swamped with work and administrative duties, and had to attend a conference in 'Frisco, she managed to send her feedback to me with loads of constructive criticism and comments. I must admit that I was pretty chuffed up when she said that my work was 'well organized' and that my arguments were 'presented well'! It's a lot of hard work for sure, but I am grateful for this.

A couple of the students in my class are thinking of switching over to the new program. The new program allows us to inter-discipline with journalism (yuck!) and IT (intriguing!), has take home CE and Stats III is not necessary! The only bane is my degree will not read PhD in Communication Studies. Knew what I wanted to do the minute I heard that but had a talk with my dad anyway (who's opinion I really appreciate). I'd rather be a specialist than a generalist any day. Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll pass! Besides who knows, Stats III could be fun. Ha ha ha ha ha.

I still can't decide though what I want to do for my thesis. I still have a year to go, I'll figure it out soon enough. I hope!

Hopefully,

Drama in the classroom

Wow... it's been quite some time since my last entry. There was a lot of things to write but not much time. This semester, my confidence is falling a bit. I am taking statistics with Dr. K, who is a lot less articulate than Dr. C. I really miss Dr. C. He was so good at what he did! Now I appreciate his detailed instruction, the friendly and non-judgmental teaching as well as his pain staking way of explaining the smallest details. You can never assume that everyone knows everything! One thing good from this is at least I have two models on how to teach statistics and how NOT to teach it. If I ever have to teach undergraduate stats. He he he. (Jauh betul fikir!)

Funny thing happened in class the other day. We were having one of our more livelier discussion on research in mediated communication, when one individual, perhaps stoked on the discussion and had a strong compulsion to voice her thoughts, blurted out that the research article written on that topic was 'commonsensical, shallow and wasting time'! We were all so shocked at that, there was complete silence for two or three seconds. Luckily, sensitive Dr. H, who replaced Dr. L for the day kindly saved face by acknowledging the person's comments, but nevertheless stating that 'no research is useless' and that human beings are by nature, unpredictable so that is why we, as communication researchers are continually researching the same topics (albeit with minor alterations) after thirty, twenty years. We haven't found the answers! Another classmate quipped 'common sense can be wrong!'

Me? I am just flabbergasted that the person had the gall to be that direct! Drama does occur  when you least expect it, and in in the most benign of places. He he he he.

Brighter skies!

This week was a good week. I had a meeting with my supervisor. I am encouraged by the improvements that I need to make.  She said several very kind things, and I feel I am on the right track. She also invited me to work with her on her research projects in the future, and I think that's a great opportunity. Sure, it's a double edged sword because I have to make sure I perform, but it's also a chance to learn with an expert. I've been doing well in her class so maybe that might have helped a bit in forming a good impression. Takut pun ada jugak!

I also revised my program a bit; moved some subjects forward and considered adding one or two subjects. According to my program review, I only have three more semesters to go before I sit for my Comprehensive Exams. Everything is so far on track. I can't wait to finish my coursework though, it feels like it's taking forever!

Lets hope this semester will proceed smoothly. I'm off to a good start, Alhamdulillah.

Back to the grind!

A new semester begins. This semester will be the toughest. I have Interpersonal which I think will be OK because of the subject matter (but the instructor is very strict!) but more worrying is the two stats type course that I have to take. Stats II will be with an instructor from another department (my first Muslim instructor in the US) and Measurement and Analysis is with Dr. M, who is usually very structured but I can foresee a lot of pain with it due to the high level of stats needed to pass the course. We'll see.

I am not sure how I feel. After a long summer break I should be refreshed but my confidence is still shaky. I hope this week goes OK! Wish me luck

Tips from workshop

 Source: PhD Comics

I've been meaning to write. Some tips we learned from the getting published workshop that I'd like to share with everyone:

1. Careful with APA, i.e. Usage of ampersand (&) only when in parenthesis  
2. Don't forget to match pronounce "Each student should do his or her work..."
3. Each journal has page length; don't forget to edit!
4. Transitions are important
5. Use active instead of passive
6. Quoting should be sparing; don't use it unless really necessary
7. Plagiarism is a big no-no, so be careful with citing and paraphrasing
8. Simple words are best, so it's better to make your sentence short and sweet
9. Be careful with secondary citation, it's best if you have the original manuscript because the author you quoted may have misinterpreted the original author, or lifted certain passages only to support their stance
10. Text books should also be used sparingly; don't quote from undergraduate text-book!

Happy writing, PhD candidates! :-)

New layout!

Hey all...

It's now semester break, so I have time to design a new layout for this blog. I didn't want to mess with my other blog, because changing it into a three column design messed the whole look. This PhD blog though doesn't have a lot of things in it so I am able to upload another template without doing much tweaking! :-)

Anyway, this week I am getting a good rest after last week's summer scholar class. It was tough. I hope I passed the class. I wasn't really putting much effort into it because I felt so burnt out. Next week we have a Getting Published Workshop, but it doesn't look half bad. Dr. E changed the time for it to finish at noon, so we have more time to rest in the afternoon. And after that, summer break!

Review

It was a good semester. I think I am improving my proposal writing skills plus Dr. C helped prepped up my statistics basics. I dealt better with the 'other stuff' I blogged about previously too; I am glad that it's not just me feeling things. The finals for the two subjects were also OK although I blanked out during the final for about ten minutes. I think I was just not used to doing it on the PC but it really was way more efficient. Dr. M told me "Hmm it's going to take a while to mark your paper right?" I think she was trying to be funny. :-)

Speaking of Dr. M, I appointed her and she said yes! Hurray! Anyway, we're supposed to sit down in summer to discuss my ideas for a proposal. J said she wanted to brainstorm so I hope that works out too. I know I need to start working on small research projects to sharpen my skills. For summer I am just taking one visiting scholar class and a getting published workshop. We'll see how it goes.

I now have about a week to just... be lazy. :-P

New semester, new motivation

I was so spoiled by my winter break that I almost missed today's class. Lucky this morning, one of my classmate updated her FB status and I took a look again at my schedules and I realized I mistakenly assumed class was on Thursday instead of Tuesday! Ha ha ha ha. Teruk betul.

Today's my first class with Dr. K. Hope this semester things go well; I already love the two books she's using for the class, and promptly ordered them from Amazon. New semester, new motivation! :-)

Finally settled

I met Dr. L today, had a great discussion and got my thoughts organized. Here are brief targets:

1. Spring 2010: three courses (one core, one interpersonal, one media)

2. Summer 2010: one credit seminar, visiting scholar and one media class/project

3. Fall 2010: not sure yet but probably statistics (from education) and one more interpersonal

4. Spring 2011 - Fall 2011: Finish coursework

4. Preliminary exam, come up with proposal - Spring 2012

Things to decide:

1. Pure media? Pure interpersonal? Combination interpersonal/media

2. Potential adviser: Dr.M?

3. Attending NCA or ICA?

It's so much clearer when you have a rough target. It's tough, hope I can do all of this within the next two years.

What to take?

My second semester is approaching and I still have not finalized my registration. I only have two subjects I'm sure of and another to add. For the final choice, I have a few options:

a. Freedom of speech with Dr. H - I really, really like him and how he teaches, and I think I can learn a lot from him seeing as he's the best media person in the department but this subject has nothing to do with my proposal (not that I've got it down pat he he he). 

b. Health comm - Another good choice because Prof. C is the only prof. in the department and she's one of the best in the area. Plus, this is a new subject that I could potentially introduce to the department when I come back. Cons: I can't see this as part of my proposal (again) and I heard she's a real hard task master. With my confidence still teetering, maybe I should stay away

c. Persuasion - I love Dr. M! She's a lot like Dr. S. She knows loads about theory and if I'm seriously considering Interpersonal as my major I should take this subject. Problem is, I really don't like persuasion!

I've got about two weeks to stew about this. Time to set appointment with Dr. Lin; she will probably help in guiding me to the right choice.

First semester: a review

The first semester is over, and I think it went OK! I am a perfectionist, so this is hard for me to say! :-P He he he he. I got 3As... one of it is an A minus. I think for that subject I did not speak much (comparatively) and my proposal was not too good (OK, it kind of sucked!), hence the slightly below par results. I am taking a new subject with the same instructor next semester so I am determined to go one step up!

Anyway, it's good to know where my weaknesses are so I can improve on them. I do need to get involved more and I do need to speak up more. There were instances where I missed some sessions organized by the grad student association (i.e. other people's thesis defense) so I need to improve my time management so I can attend these sessions as they are rather useful.

This semester I feel was more of an adjusting semester; to get to know the instructors and my classmates as well as to get a feel of what's coming, and to judge where I am. I am glad that my classmates turn out to be a very helpful and self-less bunch! I am told this is a bit out of the ordinary, (it doesn't happen in all graduate schools) and I am indeed fortunate. :-) Or maybe I lucked out a bit in picking the grad school? Its very important to pick out a grad school that has the right environment for you. I knew early on that I did not want to go for an Ivy league (bukan layak pun he he he he) but wanted one that was small and not intimidating, but yet could give me the right guidance and right amount of competition. I think I picked the right grad school for me. :-)

On the whole, it's been a pretty good first semester; my education in Malaysia might have been slightly different but the four years in IIU served me well, and I think it did help me! Hope that next semester will be just as good, if not even better. Semester will commence on the second week of January, so at the mean time, I'm going to enjoy my winter break!