Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Loving, also, lower tech

Well, I did not get my chapter draft completed (actually, a section of 2-3 chapters), so no wine for me. But in my forced non-relaxed, albeit sober, state it did occur to me to share a couple of my favorite dissertation props.

Folks who know me know that I am somewhat of a technology enthusiast--not an early adopter, exactly. (I see no reason to pay a premium price for the "honor" of being part of a company's unofficial research and development team for their still bug-ridden products.) But I do see myself as an enthusiastic early-average adopter. My dissertation work has been infused with technology: brainstorming with this blog, data analysis with N6 qualitative software, concept mapping with Cmap tools. And whatever my current dissertation duties, my iPod is never far away.

But high tech, as much as I love it, can only go so far. During this dissertation process I have also made great use of lower tech tools. In fact, nothing clears up my "stuck" writing/thinking periods than a trip to my local office supply store, where you can find me gliding through the aisles, a look of imminent purchase on my face and the promise of renewed productivity in my heart.

Some of my favorite products are from the Post-It brand from local Twin Cities company, 3M. My absolute favorite office product of all time are these small clear sticky flags with color coded tips. I use these on everything from books to notes. Over time, the colors have taken on meaning for me, so that whenever I see a green tip peeking from the pages of a book, I know that this sticky is signaling a citation for a reference that I want to look up. Yellow and red tips are general notes. Blue generally alerts me to methodology issues and examples.

I have strayed at times from the brand name sticky flags, sampling the office store generic versions. These are less expensive. But they are also often disasters of sticky engineering. It is nearly impossible to retrieve just one from the pack on the first try. The stickiness is unpredictable and variable--from not staying put at all to pulling up layers of text. On the other hand, I have tried the deluxe Post-It combination sticky flags-highlighter pens. I have found these to be too clunky as highlighters, and insufficient (e.g., just one color) as sticky dispensers. My advice is to just stick with the basic, multi-colored pack of brand name sticky flags.

My newest discovery are these traditional index cards with a new twist--sticky backs. I know many students have probably abandoned index cards--too many nightmares from high school of dozens and dozens of these things written with notes and quotes that you were somehow supposed to organize into a research paper. (And actually, I am not sure that more recent generations of students even use these cards for that purpose.)

One thing I have found with the analysis phase of my dissertation work is that the hardest part of the whole process is trying to see all the different ways that the discrete findings might relate to each other. Printouts of N6 text give me the raw materials. The concept mapping can help me get the ideas into final form. But in between this I have needed a way to manipulate concrete representations of the concepts and ideas. These sticky cards are great for that purpose. After I write things down on them, I can move them around on my big office table and the cards stay put. My ideas can flow off of the horizontal surface onto the vertical plane of the adjacent filing cabinets and bookshelves. Then, I can pack up all the cards, shuffle them, and try a new configuration.

(Oh, and you can get a free sample of these cards here.)

I also have a pad of these large wall sheets. They come in lined and unlined--and even come with sticky backs (of course!) I have several versions of my dissertation outline posted up around my workspace. I have also found these helpful for diagramming and concept mapping. I thought they would be good for posting and manipulating my new sticky-backed index cards, but so far there is something about the surface of the wall paper that makes the cards flutter off within moments. (Added bonus, though: When I am done with them, I have recycled these sheets as art paper for my daughters.)

The tool I have put to most use within the past two weeks is an old microcassette recorder. (I was not sure these were still being made, but I saw some new ones on an office supply store website for under 25 bucks.) As many dissertators come to realize, there are few tasks that are as helpful as regular sessions of free-writing. Book after book after book of dissertating how-to suggests that students make a habit of writing down their questions, ideas, concerns, problems, etc. I still do this type of brainstorming on my trusty yellow legal three-hole punch pads. But I also do "free talking" with my little recorder--which is especially helpful because my thinking generally outpaces my writing speed, but my talking can usually keep up OK.

Another benefit is that I can (and do) take my recorder everywhere. If I have some thoughts while driving my kids to camp, I can whip out the recorder and start talking. If I get an epiphany in the middle of the night, I can grab it from my side table, sneak out to the bathroom, and record my thoughts without having to even turn on a light. I also use the recorder to read aloud sections of text I have written and then play back to listen to how my writing sounds.

So. A few of my favorite dissertation things. But now it's time for me to get back to work. Unfortunately I have found no office supply--high or low tech--that will keep a dissertation defense date at bay.

Posted by perry032 at July 9, 2006 02:23 PM | TrackBack
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