Progress

Things are moving, but very very slow. At least, there has been some progress. So far:

a) I have sent in my first draft in September
b) Based on feedback, have done revision for first draft from November 2013 to February 2014
c) I have sent in my second draft by end of February 2014
d) Meeting for second draft: March 10, 2014

Upcoming targets in the near future:
a) Prepare for prospectus defense preferably this Semester
b) Complete revision for prospectus
c) Complete IRB process for data collection

I get discouraged every now and then, but I keep telling myself I am really close to the end!

 

First draft: submitted!

I just finished the first draft of my prospectus (e.g. chapter 1, 2 & 3) today, and submitted it to my SV.

A couple of worries: my APA formatting is out of wack!, my  model is I think too simple, not enough research questions and hypotheses, not enough lit review to support certain assumptions, etc. Positives: I love my topic. It's definitely a better fit than my preliminary paper. 

Not sure when I can get feedback, right now I have my hands full with data coding for my SV so in the meantime I don't have to think about it. She did say that this process would require multiple drafts, but at least I want to turn something in before I submit my next extension application (that's sometime in November). She's very detailed so I know I have lots of things to correct anyway so submitting it as soon as I can would be a good idea. 

The next step would be to prepare for prospectus defense (probably early next year?) and data collection, sometime mid-next year. As usual, wish me luck!

Topic approved

After a few months struggling with topic refinement and summary, it's finally approved! Right now, am knee deep in my literature review; it's tough because the theory is rather complicated, and not much work is done in that area. I hope to get it to a somewhat acceptable state by end of the year. I am hoping to defend my prospectus by then.

Ramadhan is here and I think it's the perfect time to get some work done, especially after iftar. But I have to admit, some days are better than others. I am still trying to be disciplined and put in a consistent amount of work everyday, but that doesn't always happen. :-P

I am rather homesick and really wanting to close this chapter of my life as soon as possible.

 

Timeline

Just got an e-mail recently conforming the dates for prelim & comps.

1. Prelim paper submission (31st August 2012 by 5pm; first Friday of the semester)

2. Comprehensive exams (sometime in November, subject to passing the prelim)

I have so much work to do!! Pray that I pass both my prelim & comps; there will be one less thing I have to do....

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!

 

Prelim paper: Halfway mark

I am now halfway through my prelim paper. After a bout of restlessness and fighting my flagging motivations, I got my thoughts organized and starting reading. And writing. A lot of people read and read and then start writing. I do the writing while reading. It is easier to get my thoughts down that way and I get stressed at looking at the blank computer screen! Do what's comfortable for you! I got tired of working on the Intro, so I moved to the LR. When I got tired of the LR, I started with criticisms of the theory. I ended up with 30++ pages or so after two months. 

I was worried though that I was not on the right track so I met with my SV last week to finally confirm my topic and specify a few things. Luckily, she was OK with it and added a few helpful remarks. She wanted a last look at my outline, and that would be the last time I would have the opportunity to discuss the paper with her. I think she also wanted to see the outline first before I start writing, and to see if I could provide the right rationale.

Yesterday, I submitted the outline to her and she said she will get back to me ASAP. Hopefully, it will be OK so I can finalize my paper. Like it or not, I only have less than three months to finish it. She sounded confident with me 'it's not a big deal' 'I think you can do it, you are hardworking' but I still have seeds of doubts. She probably said that because she thinks I am worrying too much! He he he he. I think my PhD path has been littered with unexpected things and all I can do is just focus and try not to let it distract me. And oh, revise my timeline if and when necessary. Time flies by really fast though, and I am trying my best to settle things as fast as I can. Insya-Allah it will get done...

Revised timeline

I had my first unofficial meeting with SV to discuss my ideas regarding my prelim @ potential prospectus topic. She seemed to think it was OK, which I thought was really good news! At least I can start narrowing it down. She also gave some useful pointers as to what to expect for the prelim paper submission. I had initially thought that I had to submit by January 13 2012, which is a very close deadline considering there's only two months left. After today's meeting, my SV convinced me that is an unrealistic goal. So for, only one person from my batch (from Fall 2009 intake) anyway has decided to submit their paper in January and that is because she has to go back to her country by that Fall 2012 (gila kan, hantar sambung study PhD tapi bagi 2.5 tahun je nak habiskan semua!). At least, my government is not that bad. He he he. I still have officially two more years to go + an extension of one year. 

Anyway, after the talk, this is the revised deadline is:

1. Submit prelim (latest before summer 2012, maybe around February send in a draft, then properly submit by March/April)

2. Sit for my comprehensive exam in Fall 2012

3. If I pass my CE, defend my prospectus in Spring 2013 (my fourth year)

Rupa2nya prelim deadline is dependent upon when you want to sit for your Comprehensive Exams. There should be a gap between the submission and sitting for your CE because you will be asked to do some corrections for your prelim paper, and have to submit it before sitting for your CE.

I realize I've been pressuring myself needlessly by comparing my timeline with other people's schedules. Ideally of course I should finish in four years, but that's difficult or near impossible to do in the US. Secondly, PhD program very much differs according to the program you take and the school you are going to. Different schools have different requirements. People say it's not uncommon for pure sciences to finish in five years. Well, for social sciences also it's very difficult to do complete in four years, but there are people who finish on time because their PhD route in their school is more flexible. The important thing is to keep yourself motivated, and to always remember that PhD is a very individual path, and at times very lonely but also very much dependent on how you decide to embark on the road and how you handle your challenges.

I know what I have to do. I will try my best to do it. 

Much hulabaloo about prelim

I am rushing to finish my prelim by January. Ntah boleh ke tak. Sigh. It seems though a lot of people have issues with it. Our school is undergoing a lot of changes lately. Those who enter in 2010 are now under the College, not the school. Therefore, they will graduate with a PhD not from Comm Studies but from the college. Therefore, they also have different requirements. I am under the old program, so theoretically I shouldn't be affected at all. 

However, an issue that has caused much contention right now is the prelim. Some of my friends in the old program don't agree with how it's being done, and want to change to the new program so that can escape it (they think it won't be carried out in the new program, but that's not true!). Many people see it as unnecessary or burdensome. It's only once a year (in Spring) and if you don't pass it or fail to submit, you can't sit for the Comps which is in September. When you finish all that only can you defend your proposal @ prospectus.  So if you delay, you will waste almost a year or at the very least six months. Plus, your proposal can't exactly be the same as your preliminary. Therefore, I can see why some people would be reluctant to have this one extra step. It's also notoriously difficult to pass. I hope I can do it. Double sigh. Will be meeting my SV to discuss ideas, and I am told that I have only three chance to see her. When I start writing, I will be on my own.

The good thing about it is that it pressures me to start thinking about my topic seriously. Plus, this is a good test to see if I can apply all that I have learned. I just wished it wasn't so soon. I don't have much time so I better start cracking. Wish me luck!

Update: Prelim deadline

Our first day of class, and I feel exhausted already. Isn't it ridiculous? Blame it on the recent Eid celebration and the one month inactivity after the summer class ended!

My classmate confirmed that the preliminary paper is due in January; if I don't reach that deadline, I shall have to wait for another six months! Which I can't!! So, the target for this semester is to generate ideas for prelim paper, scribble a rough draft and discuss with my supervisor, which means I have about four months to achieve all that while at the same time coping with class. It seems that this semester's class is slightly heavier than usual; we have one paper every week to submit on top of leading one class discussion, summarizing a journal article outside of the class and preparing one research paper. On top of that, I am sure the instructor has more expectations for doctoral students too... I am glad I took only one class this semester! I also volunteered to help out with my supervisor's research just to get some experience.

In class yesterday, I had some ideas swimming in my head, but I am not sure at all if it's any good. My supervisor suggested that we start a file with 'ideas for thesis', which is not such a bad thing. Sigh. It looks like it's going to be a very hard, hard semester for me.

Halfway through the mark

I am almost halfway through the mark. This semester is my last semester for coursework. In the next year or so, I have to:

1. Write my preliminary paper
2. Pass my comprehensive exam (oral & written)
3. Defend my prospectus

Berkerut jgk supervisor when I told her I have to ideally complete within four years. It's almost unheard off in my department maybe? Most people do complete within five years. I don't have the luxury though, I have only four years. In the fifth year boleh extend, but it's without scholarship or income. At the very least at the end of four years, I have already defended my prospectus and am getting ready to collect my data. I have to work very, very hard for the next year or so!

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!

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!

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!

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.