Productive Week

Posted on October 27, 2013 by alexk

Another quick post because my partner is picking me up in five minutes.  It was a slow start to the day but I have gathered momentum.  I accomplished three things today.  First, I created a “mind-map” of the literature.  Second, I created a high level summary of the literature and related hypothesis.  This is about 60% complete.  Third, I have drafted an update email to an academic advisor.  My plan is to spend an additional hour to complete the summary when I get home, and send both documents to the advisor for feedback.

I have also been reading books about completing a thesis, which is providing a good reminder of where I am going and why!!

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Saturday Breakfast

Posted on October 20, 2013 by alexk

It is Saturday and I am NOT at the library!  Instead, I am taking a break from research and am currently awaiting my breakfast at a restaurant.  I worked hard all week on my literature review and have a very solid spreadsheet that summarizes about 275 papers.  The spreadsheet captures the title, author, journal name, ranking, abstract, topic, and relevance for my paper.  I have also created a frame for the writing of the literature review so next week the writing will commence.

I completely underestimated the effort involved with this undertaking, essentially about 10 days.  One key learning here is that I should have been more diligent and approached this task incrementally!  It is not that I did not do it at all, but my previous spreadsheets had about 60 papers entered, a far cry from what is needed.

My breakfast is here.  Yum!

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The Post-Thanksgiving Post

Posted on October 15, 2013 by alexk

I have been “heads down” at the library all day and just remembered that I did not complete a blog post last Saturday because I was preparing for Thanksgiving.  Last week my focus continued to be on gathering papers for my literature review.  I continue with this mammoth effort all of this week.  I hope to have my summary spreadsheet completed with initial inputs by end of day tomorrow.  Simultaneously, I have been reflecting on the approach that I would like to take in Chapter 2.  This task is both detail oriented and creative –sigh!!!

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NEW Research Summary Spreadsheet

Posted on October 5, 2013 by alexk

It is a very grey fall day and freezing in the library.  The upside to this combination is that I have not been distracted or sleepy in the least despite spending the whole day populating a research summary spreadsheet!  I continue to understand why I avoid this type of task because it is essential foundation work that will pay dividends in the long run but is very unsatisfying for my “converger” learning style that seeks to “think and do” now.

I have also created some categories and fields in the spreadsheet that will help me to prioritize what to read first and will provide the a useful starting place for integration into my literature review.  I was able to input approximately 100 papers today and know that I have about 100 papers already so this is good progress.

I am going to sign off now  and do some errands.  I hope to devote a few more hours tonight to importing some of these articles to ENDNOTES.  Think I will need a glass of wine as company for this task!

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“Off” but Oddly Productive

Posted on September 28, 2013 by alexk

It is 4pm and I have had very “heads down” day so far at the library.  I battled some serious sleepiness at noon.  I think this is partially due to my focus on reading and summarizing the literature.  I can see why I tend to avoid this area of research because I much prefer data analysis!!  The good thing is a have a very rough draft of 5000 words for my literature review completed which means that I am 20% complete.  If I can get to 50% complete before mid-October then I should be in a good position to write the remainder of the chapter during my week if vacation.

In addition to the sleepiness, I have simple felt “off” for much of the day.  That said, I just updated my project plan and realized that I have accomplished more than I thought so I feel a bit better.  I am going to devote my final hour to printing off articles that I need to start reading and integrating.  It is all about the literature!

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Four Up Four Down

Posted on September 22, 2013 by alexk

I completed my fourth, and final, colloquium for 2013 earlier today.  We discussed my research for two hours and the commentary, debate, and advice was invaluable.  The chief take-away is to “Let the Literature Do The Talking”, lots of reading , reflecting, and writing ahead!!

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10 040 Words & 56 Pages

Posted on September 14, 2013 by alexk

It is 730pm and I am smackered.  I need to depart before the sun goes down!!!  I just forwarded the deck for next week’s colloquium to the host along with my draft Abstract, Chapter 1, and Chapter 3.  It feels really good to hit a milestone.  I am definitely behind plan with my thesis writing, but am glad that I have reached the 10 000 word mark.  My slow progress was due to the fact that I spent most of the day working on the colloquium deck, which is very solid so I feel good about the trade off.

I also sent all of the documents to my supervisors and look forward to meeting with each of them in early October.

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10% Complete

Posted on September 7, 2013 by alexk

It is 11pm and it has been a grueling week.  I spent very long days at the library for most of the week and did not make as much progress with my writing as I had hoped.  That said, I worked very hard and the outcome was about 9500 words and 8 Appendices.

I hope to complete my Data Preparation and Analysis Part I by the end of this week, and have already finished my Abstract, and Introduction Chapter.  I am planning to get feedback on these draft documents from my supervisors and also from the attendees of my final colloquium for 2013.  The location has changed from the US to Europe, so I will be attending via Skype, the colloquium is in two weeks so I am also focused on final preparation of my presentation.

I have added a thermometer in my home office to chart my progress.  This was a very good addition and will help me see the progress throughout this LONG final leg of the doctoral journey.

I have decided to take the weekend off.  I deserve a break!!

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Chapter 3 –Methodology Underway

Posted on August 31, 2013 by alexk

This is a two minute post because the library is closing imminently!!  I have commenced the writing on my Methodology chapter and have been muttering under my breath since I arrived.  Why did I not heed the advice I received repeatedly, write as you go???  Spent a god deal of time searching through documents and emails to remember the sequencing and details of data collection –argh!

I am off work next week to focus on writing so will have more to say at the end of the week.

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The Official Draft Is Underway

Posted on August 24, 2013 by alexk

It is 430pm and I am pleased with my progress today.  For the first time in a very long time, I wrote all day and have completed a draft Abstract and Introduction section using the proper formatting for a thesis.  The formatting took a bit longer than I thought because I am using a different version of WORD but I can definitely see the benefits.  The key reason that drove my prioritization today was a commitment to have three chapters ready by September 13th in order to present at a colloquium in Norway.  I am presenting via Skype which should be interesting, this new deadline definitely “lit a fire under me” to get going!!

I am now going to close off the day with reading some of my statistics text book and updating my project plan for the week ahead.  I am taking off the first week of September to focus on writing so if I am committed I should be able to meet my deadline.

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