Category: Grad School
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A process filled with doubt
While waiting for my committee members’ feedback on a particular analysis, I’ve been working on another thesis chapter. In retrospect, I realize I could have written up this section on the first iteration of my design research study long ago. Those preliminary analyses actually were on the right track and do logically lead to the…
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Fly too high, pay the price
One characteristic that many graduate students have, and people tend to use to describe me, is compulsiveness. I’m often compelled to delve deep into the literature, analyze data, or write on regardless of the rationality of the motivation. This characteristic is not constrained to academic work. Rather, it infects other arenas of my life. For…
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Theory
What theory is and what it’s good for are things that a lot of students seem to struggle with. When I was a master’s student, I found it intimidating when advanced doctoral students littered their speech with references to arcane theorists I was only beginning to read. I’m afraid I’ve become somewhat like those doctoral…
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Statz 4 Life
Another conference proposal done. I still have to set it aside for a while so I can get some distance from it in order to edit and proofread more objectively. Meanwhile, via Klaas is a link to a video that anyone who has taken, taught, or used statistics in their research would enjoy:
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Grad school as you always imagined it
Yesterday was a welcome reprieve from my data analysis and writing isolation. I connected with people in this field, both old and new, and doing so reminded me of how I always imagined my graduate school experience would be like. Over the past three years or so, Wendy and I’ve had many insightful conversations about…
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Thesis defense thoughts
As a graduate researcher working on a research project investigating how online graduate students develop their academic identities, I was really intrigued by my partner Will’s recent experiences in defending his master’s thesis. The external examiner characterized the thesis as “a pioneering study” in their area, and it passed oral examination with no revisions. He’s…