Other gradstudents, upon coming into my office and seeing my shelf overflowing w/"how to" books, often ask me: "If there is one dissertation self-help book you would recommend me buying, what would it be?"
First of all, asking that question of someone who has yet to write word-first of her dissertation is a little bit like asking [insert non-physicalablist, non-sexist, non-anythingist metaphor/simile implying getting assistance from someone who needs it herself].
Second of all, the whole premise is flawed--there is no way, I think, to just use one book to get thru this process. I understand gradstudent life for some is full of [insert secular, non-anythingist metaphor/simile implying living with the constant threat of poverty]. There perhaps are other options to buying multiple books: trolling used book stores (my personal favorite), getting books from the library, starting a book sharing circle with other grad students, starting a "wish list" or "gradschool registry" on amazon dot com or powells dot com and requesting of your family and friends that all your gifts be from that list... But the point is, you need books--booksssss, plural. (Most of us grad students have gotten where we are by being good at learning by reading so I won't address those who will not benefit from reading books at all.)
Why "books" and not "the one, best book"?
Even if every gradstudent had the same needs (which we don't), different books achieve different things. Three examples from my bookshelf:
1) Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis by Joan Bolker
I admit I first picked this book up because I thought its title was "Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes." But as I paged through it, I was sold by these two sentences on page 32: "When I worked at Harvard's Writing Center, we joked that the single most useful piece of equipment for a writer was a bucket of glue. First you spread some on your chair, and then you sit down." That is no joke; That's the real deal. If the only thing the remaining 140 or so pages did was to repeat these two sentences, I'da gladly still paid the $15.95 (divided by 2 at the Half Price Bookstore) to take it home with me. These sentences reflect an idea that other gradstudenting books talk about, but that particularly phrased image is only in Dr. Bolker's text. And that image was what led me to the development of my "A** to Chair" method that enabled me to finish in less than 3 weeks a paper that had previously taken me more than a year of fiddling around with.
But aside from this golden nugget, this book provides an acknowledgement of the more spiritual-quest-like nature of dissertation writing. Dr. Bolker lifts you up with statements like this: "Research requires that your mind engage with the material, ask it questions, and act on it in such a way as to change the material--and, incidently, yourself."
2) Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: A Systematic Approach by Gordon B. Davis and Cylde A. Parker
This book, on the other hand, weighing in at a lithe 154 pages, is less about the spirit and more about the clock. It is truly a systematic approach, a dissertation management approach--with the focus on you (gradstudent) managing your work instead of allowing your work to (mis)manage you. It helps that the authors are U of MN resources--I just saw a notice for a dissertation workshop here on campus led by Dr. Davis--with one author an expert in management and the other in ed psych.
Some of the most precious gems from this little book involve specific tools to help you accurately assess how long the various tasks in the research process are likely to take. The authors state that "students (and professors) tend to underestimate the time required for completing a dissertation." I can only say to this "[insert secular, non-profane interjection denoting complete agreement]!" For example, the authors, using prior research with grad students, estimate that the typical dissertation takes about 15 work months--a "work month" is defined as approximately 6 hours a day, every day. No value judgements here about the dangers of shirking other priorities to complete the dissertation, or reflections about how unrealistic this may be for folks in various situations. Simply: this is what research shows it takes. The implication being: If this is not realistic for you, you need to readjust your expectations of when you will "get outa here" and/or scale back some of your grand plans for your dissertation.
3) Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation by Patrick Dunleavy
I almost didn't get this book. For one thing, it was full price (at the U of MN bookstore). For another thing, the author is writing this from a British gradschool environment, and it is clear that there are many differences between European models and US models of gradschool education. Plus, it's a little on the long side (almost 300 pages).
But I was intrigued by this book. First of all, I liked that it's called "authoring" the dissertation--kinda empowering in a way...as in, this is not something I am doing that anyone could do (write), but it is something that I am doing, as the author. But I was also intrigued that Dr. Dunleavy's approach has a lot of focus on the structure of the dissertation--not just the content (e.g., how to devop a research question) or the process (e.g., how to effectively manage your time).
He talks about both microstructure and macrostructure. Regarding the former, which regards structuring the chapters, he says: "Whenever you are chunking up text, it is a basic principle to try and make sure that the sections you create are similarly sized. Dividing the text as evenly as possible generates consistent and hence more accurate expectations amongst readers about how long each section will be." Throughout he gives specific, word-count-based guidelines about such structural considerations as how long intros should be relative to conclusions, and how more important arguments should garner more wordspace than secondary arguments.
GREAT stuff--even though it may seem at first to be very dry, uncreative, artificial. If nothing else, seeing the dissertation as having a certain structure gives you a straightlined outer border into which you can more effectively, efficiently, and yes--creatively, arrange the internal puzzle pieces. [OK, I like that metaphor, but feel free to insert your own using language involving "frames," "base," "foundation," "scaffolding," etc.]
This idea of structure likely helps with something Davis and Gordon talk about: developing "stopping rules." These are "decision rules for deciding when to stop working on a project and declare that it is finished" and are crucial in an amorphous, unbounded activity like a dissertation.
And I'll stop here.
Posted by perry032 at November 15, 2004 10:43 AM | TrackBack