Closing this chapter

It's done. It's finally done. :-)

So close to the end

Came back home for good in August. Now it's October.

Did the write up for Chapter 4. Got corrections. Sent in revised version. Got another correction. Revised Chapter 4. Wrote Chapter 5. Got guides on how to write Chapter 5. This week, am trying to submit Final Dissertation Draft, and final feedback. Viva will be scheduled sometime in November (hopefully). There will however be a pre-viva meeting to decide if the dissertation is defensible. I hope so, since I already applied for graduation!

I have a mixture of emotions: fear, apprehension, doubt, impending relief, and also gratitude (to my advisor). She has helped a lot in guiding me (especially with the statistics), and I hope the draft will be good enough to defend.

Can't wait to get this over, and finished!

 

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!

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!

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.

 

Starting again! (sigh)

I've been having a lot of problems lately with motivation. Sigh. As soon as I finished my comps, I got lazy. I don't teach, and hence I am freer than most grad students to focus on my dissertation. But I feel so sluggish and things haven't moved much at all! Last week, I decided to meet my SV. We discussed about my topic and decided to scrap my prelims topic and start with something new altogether!! Sigh.

Although it seems like such a waste, I think it's for the best. My new topic seems more 'me', and although it is not my SV's primary area, she is such a fantastic theory guru she has already given me several useful pointers. Now I just have to come up with a two page summary of the new topic and submit it for her approval so that I won't waste more time delving into something that is not usable. 

I think it's very important to be a self-starter at this stage of your PhD. I've always been someone who can work without much prodding but it takes a lot of self-discipline. I am finding it so slow to start because I've been complacent after my comps.  A heavy dose of reality do wonders though: I only have two more years to finish everything and my scholarship is running out soon! So no more dallying for me! Wish me luck. (and willpower).

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,