Current updates

This Ramadhan has been a blessing in disguise! I actually got some work done. :-P My current progress:

1. Chapter 1 (Intro, problem statement & rationale): More or less complete

2. Chapter 2 (Literature review): Constantly adding
3. Chapter 3 (Methodology): Thinking about it

Want to send a first draft of these chapters by Fall, and hoping to start on, specify and refine Chapter 3 by this October/November.

In the meantime, I am also working on a research paper to be submitted for publication with my supervisor. The paper was presented at the National Communication Association (NCA) conference last November (here's a link), and we are hoping to submit it for publication end of this year. Right now, I am helping her with coding the questionnaires, and she wants to finish writing the manuscript by end of this year. I am grateful and happy that she included me in this project; it's a great learning experience for me as I've never done content analysis of communication messages before (she's an expert in that) so I am learning the proper and right way of doing it! 

Hopefully, targets get reached soon, and I hope to come closer to my goal of finishing this and finally going home!

Summer update

My progress is still slow. But I'm working on it! I wanted to submit my prelim over summer but that didn't work out. Most of 'em will be gone during summer so I decided to delay the submission till August. My advisor was OK with it, and she just reminded me that come August, I won't have much time for the comps, which is scheduled in October or December. I know the risks so I am thinking if I don't do my exams in October it shall have to be in December. It is a risk because I don't know if I will pass my prelim or not. It's not a guarantee but my SV thinks I will be OK. So we'll see. 

At the moment my prelim paper is like 80% done. But I don't think I shall be getting much work done during the summer because of personal reasons. You do your best but you don't know how things will turn out. Plus, I only have another two years (1 year in the official time + 1 year extension) left so I am trying very hard to get it done. But you realize that it not only depends on you but on other people. At least that's how it works in my department. He he he.

I did manage to appoint committee members so that's good. I think I can work with the people I have on my committee so probably I will stick with it for my dissertation too. We had a doctoral defense last week and I met up with my seniors. They are in their 5th and 6th year! Isn't that scary? But like Dr. H tells me 'your dissertation if you think about it, it's just another study'. He certainly thinks I can finish under 5 years. I hope so.

Anyway, these past few months I've come to appreciate my supervisor. She's been very helpful (as much as is expected) and I appreciated her dry humor and her relaxed stance on things. I mean it doesn't help if your advisor is just as stressed as you are right? She certainly is more confident in me than I am! Ha ha ha. This is my last post I think for spring/summer. I will be back again in August and hopefully will be able to submit my prelim paper, pass it and sit for my exams! Wish me luck!

 

Alhamdulillah!!!

Last week after reviewing my transcript to be sent as part of my progress report to KPT, I noticed that the course codes for my subjects during two semesters were a bit funny. It was registered in Masters course code. I must have accidentally registered using the wrong course codes. Mula2 ingat nak diamkan aje, mungkin boleh settle kemudian tapi lepas tengok Graduate Handbook jadi seram sejuk. "As part of the graduation process, a doctoral candidate has to finish these following subjects at the 7++++ level". Alamak!!! Macam manalah careless sangat dulu!!!

Memang risau tak keruan. Tak caya tanya hubby. Almost dua minggu tak lena tidur + makan. You might think I'm being dramatic here, but my school has heavy course loads. Apa nak jadi kalau bende ni tak settle? Dahlah subject yang terlibat tu sekali setahun je offer. Haiya! Pastu pergilah kat Registrar office tanya macam mana nak settle. Dia cakap kene fill in form, pastu kene suruh TIAP2 instructor course yang terlibat, hantar statement melalui e-mail untuk sahkan yang kita ni memang doctoral student. Sangat fussy. Tapi betul lah kan, macam mana dia nak tau kita tipu ke dak. Satu lagi yang x best ni... I am the type of person who loathes asking for help. Malu x bertempat sbb tak suka menyusahkan orang lain. Ha ha ha. Tapi sebab terpaksa, tebalkan muka mintak tolong. Nasib baik dari 4 lecturer, 3 memang prompt dan tolong tanpa banyak tanya. Supervisor lagi best; dia siap salahkan diri sendiri dan mintak maaf sbb tak notice bende ni. Yelah course code master dgn phd sebijik, beza cuma angka pertama (master = 5/6 and phd = 7/8). Kat malaysia takde masalah macam ni sbb kalau kongsi subject, course code sama. Ataupun system akan block kan kalau kita termasuk salah section. Lepas submit form, dan mintak tolong lecturers yang terlibat, hantar form. Pastu tunggu, selama SEMINGGU. Bayangkanlah dalam seminggu tu tak keruan lagu mana. Aduh....

Alhamdulillah pagi tadi dapat jawapan. "Your retroactive petition has been approved". Shukur!!! Sememangnya belajar kat sini, dari observation memang diaorang ni memudahkan cara. Kalau betul2 genuine application nya takkan ditolak. Dan diaorang kalau boleh akan bantu. Lessons for me however, next time to be really2 careful and to double check everything. And hikmahnya nampak kat sini: supervisor memang very2 nice. Walaupun dia tu lain agama, tapi dia ikhlas membantu. Dan walaupun dia tu laser gak lah, tapi cara dia perli2 yang indirect. So tak lah sentap sangat. Ha ha ha ha.

In the meantime, ada classmate sorang tetiba ajak buat paper sekali. He was interested in a proposal I did in my lifespan class last week. (pasal poligami, apa kes!!). Mungkin sebab dia ni paderi jadi dia minat bab2 poligami ni. Ha ha ha ha. But it's a good opportunity for me. He says it has a good chance to be presented a student conference tahun depan ke. I don't mind working with him since he is a fantastic writer. I can collect the data in Malaysia next year if I decide to go back. Hopefully, this will really turn into a real paper, Insya-Allah...

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.

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

Next week

... could be significant. I am organizing my program review (i.e. list of subjects ahead) which should give me more clarity on the direction I am headed. And, I am also close to picking a supervisor. Hope that will materialize!