Usually
the early phases of a graduate program proceed in clear and
very structured ways. The beginning phases of a graduate program
are in much the same manner as an undergraduate degree program.
There are clear requirements and expectations, and the graduate
student moves along, step by step, getting ever closer to
the completion of the program. One day, however, the clear
structure begins to diminish and now you're approaching the
thesis stage. This is a new and different time. You and not
your adviser, the program, or the department more and more
defines these next steps.
1. Be inclusive with your thinking. Don't try to eliminate
ideas too quickly. Build on your ideas and see how many different
research projects you can identify. Give yourself the luxury
of being expansive in your thinking at this stage -- you won't
be able to do this later on. Try and be creative.
2. Write down your ideas. This will allow you to revisit
an idea later on. Or, you can modify and change an idea. If
you don't write your ideas they tend to be in a continual
state of change and you will probably have the feeling that
you're not going anywhere. What a great feeling it is to be
able to sit down and scan the many ideas you have been thinking
about, if they're written down.
3. Try not to be overly influenced at this time by
what you feel others expect from you (your colleagues, your
profession, your academic department, etc.). You have a much
better chance of selecting a topic that will be really of
interest to you if it is your topic. This will be one of the
few opportunities you may have in your professional life to
focus in on a research topic that is really of your own choosing.
4. Don't begin your thinking by assuming that your
research will draw international attention to you! Instead,
be realistic in setting your goal. Make sure your expectations
are tempered by:
... the realization that you are fulfilling an academic requirement,
... the fact that the process of conducting the research may
be just as important (or more important) than the outcomes
of the research, and
... the idea that first and foremost the whole research project
should be a learning experience for you.
If you can keep these ideas in mind while you're thinking
through your research you stand an excellent chance of having
your research project turn out well.
5. Be realistic about the time that you're willing
to commit to your research project. If it's a 10-year project
that you're thinking about, admit it at the beginning and
then decide whether or not you have 10 years to give to it.
If the project you'd like to do is going to demand more time
than you're willing to commit, then you have a problem.
I know it's still early in your thinking but it's never too
early to create a draft of a timeline. Try using the 6 Stages
(see the next item) and put a start and a finish time for
each. Post your timeline in a conspicuous place (above your
computer monitor?) so that it continually reminds you how
you're doing. Periodically update your timeline with new dates
as needed. (Thanks to a website visitor from Philadelphia
for sharing this idea.)
6. If you're going to ask for a leave of absence from
your job while you're working on your research this isn't
a good time to do it. Chances are you can do the "thinking
about it" stage without a leave of absence. Assuming
that there are six major phases that you will have during
your research project, probably the best time to get the most
from a leave of absence is during the fourth stage* - the
writing stage. This is the time when you really need to be
thinking well. To be able to work at your writing in large
blocks of time without interruptions is something really important.
A leave of absence from your job can allow this to happen.
A leave of absence from your job prior to this stage may not
be a very efficient use of the valuable time away from your
work.
Stage 1 - Thinking About It
Stage 2 - Preparing the Proposal
Stage 3- Conducting the Research
Stage 4- Writing the Research Paper
Stage 5- Sharing the Research Outcomes with Others
Stage 6- Revising the Research Paper |
