Getting Started: From Proposal to Dissertation Jennifer Tucker, Ph.D.

Jenny’s Timeline Preliminary Exam: February 2007 Dissertation Proposal Accepted: August 2008 Dissertation Defense: September Months from Prelim to Proposal (TOO LONG!) 13 Months from Proposal to Defense What Happened?!

Why Jenny Got Stuck Lack of Accountability Source: No Classes Too Many Cool Ideas: Not Enough Reality Check and Little Commitment on Paper Other Cool Projects: Reflected My Ambivalence About Why I Was Doing This! What Scared Me Most: Literature Search

How Jenny Got Unstuck Got over embarrassment and asked for help – New Committee Chair (March 2008) – 2 Months (4 Sessions) with a Dissertation Coach – Outcome: Better Sense of WHY and WHAT and WHO Identified concrete ways to remove key barriers – Sought to understand the concrete goal: Got good templates, checklists, and examples for a proposal – Got real data about what scared me: What was “enough” in a lit search (defining scope)

Actions: Making It Real Set concrete deadlines for interim steps: Small “To Do” lists Took all writing done to date and consolidated: Started a repeated and iterative “Brain Dump – Edit” cycle Used templates and concrete goal metrics to honestly assess progress Defined dedicated blocks of time: 4 hours each and built into planner. Found good physical place: Required some experimentation Wrote proposal and honestly reflected: Doable? Answer: No. Action: Rewrote. “Real Time” on Proposal: 4 Months – But when finished, I was READY – practically and psychologically

Jenny’s “PhD Project Plan” Reality: Defended 24 Days After Projected End Date One Page: Enforced Personal Accountability Factor Made it Feel Doable: There is an End Pilot Phase Allowed Early Win and Confirmed It Was Possible Actual steps and proposal changed, but intent and pace stayed the same Stayed on track and focused

Tips for Writing Know your style, find your voice – review old work to remind yourself what has worked well for you in the past. Know if your piece is an arc or a collection – plan review schedule accordingly. Know your writing/editing metrics and realistically plan using them. Will help you know when you are getting lost or stuck. Reviewers of ideas and reviewers of writing are often different people – know which is which. Once you get through prelims and a proposal, know that the rest is mostly psychological. You have the talent, you have the skills, you have the tools.

Final Thoughts to Being “Phinally Done” (Ph.D.) There is no “right way” to do this: Find your own way Know why you are doing it: Find ways to fill those motives Know Yourself: When you get stuck and what to do Ask for help: Find a support system that works The best dissertations are FINISHED dissertations LOVE it AND be able to DO it: Passion + Feasibility