Tag Archives: PHD

Shut Up and Write

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My university along with many others has adopted the concept of “Shut up and Write” where there are designated times that students commit to just writing. It’s a great way to simply get on with it. 

This is something I’ve needed to do in recent weeks. It’s all been a little disjointed lately with too many other things getting in the way of my thesis. In particular my time has been spent dealing with one last work assignment that has involved a considerable amount of time and travel, starting to plan our trip, and marking. However, over the last week I’ve made real progress on my thesis.  Even while traveling it’s been possible to get stuff done. That along with time at Uni, discussions with my supervisor and time at my desk , my thesis is really progressing.

I’ve largely completed my interviews of participants and had most of the interviews transcribed. I have a couple more interviews over the next week or so and then that task will be completed. It’s been a really interesting process made so much better by the locations, topic and the occasional opportunity to sample the product. This was a good topic to pick!

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I’ve revisited my Literature Review. I wrote it last year as part of my course work and as a result it has needed to be refined to take account of my topic. I revisited my definitions again yesterday after a mild panic about whether they were still appropriate having regard to my data. The good news is that they seem OK and it should not need a major rewrite to integrate the subject matter of family wine businesses into it.

I’ve also delved into the history of wine. Its roots in The Middle East, the importance of religion and trade to its progress, and in an Australian context its rocky beginnings as early as “The First Fleet”. The decision to focus on family wine businesses has been fascinating.  Such a rich history in far away places as well as in my backyard, with the region I am focussing upon a region located literally 20 minutes from my home. South Australia has a rich wine heritage, however my focus is on a newer region which will hopefully make my research contemporary and relevant. 

With the majority of the interviews completed its been possible to start the data analysis process. This has involved checking and and rereading transcripts, identifying “rich description” and an early focus on potential themes. It’s both daunting and exciting. My research is really starting to take shape.

As well as being enthusiastic about the topic some early and serious discussion about starting my PhD has provided focus and purpose. My Honours Research is like an apprenticeship or a very long job interview. The good news is that my enthusiasm doesn’t seem to be waning. It’s all reinforced the need for me to do well in my Honours so the best opportunities are fully available to me next year.

Research can be a dark place

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In the last few days I’ve seen the pressure that self-directed study and research can put people under. One was someone just a few weeks from submitting their thesis,  the other had just embarked on their PhD. Both just seemed completely overwhelmed by it all. They were in a very dark place.

It made me think what sort of consolation and comfort could I offer? It’s easy to say, just get on with it and write. I said that to one of these people a couple of months ago. It might have been the right answer, however when you are down at the bottom feeling depressed such comments were perceived as a kick in the guts. So what else could I do or say?

On reflection, I think it’s just about being supportive and providing encouragement. It’s not possible to know if they have done enough work, answered their research question or even asked the right question, even if you think you do know. It’s  important to stress that there is no value looking back as this just wastes valuable time and energy, rather encourage them to look forward. Maybe cooking them a meal or even doing their ironing could be a genuine help. Above all else,  just check-in and see if they are OK.

Research can be such a luxurious place if you have the time but when you don’t it or you for some reason lose your perspective it’s just plain horrible!

Footnote: I wrote this post a few weeks ago as a reflection.  It seemed also appropriate for today’s https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/fifteen-credits/ 

Is this one bite too much?

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I am notorious for taking on challenges. I’m never happy unless I’m busy.

Following a weekend in late 2012, organised by firm on life after professional services I read a book called Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra at the recommendation of one of the facilitators. Thanks for recommending it Tim!

The central plank of the book is to experiment before committing. As I put that thought into practice last year I took a couple of undergraduate subjects in Media. It involved sitting in lectures, attending tutorials and writing essays. I did really well – hopefully not a false positive!

As I continued to experiment I also struck up a dialogue with the Commerce School of a local university about how I might go about undertaking some research.

I also started to write articles for The Adelaide Review, all the time continuing with my full time work.

I took plenty on and certainly wasn’t bored!

As the year went on, I found I was really enjoying my study and was looking to further it. Why not do some Postgraduate study in my field I thought. So I started a conversation with the Commerce School and they were enthusiastic. I was too – hopefully not another false positive

Next step, how to go about it. A Masters by Research and then PHD maybe? Seemed pretty good until we talked more and I realised I had no research skills of an academic nature. I had considerable research and writing experience but business is different to academia. This was likely to be a limiting factor. Then came the suggestion of undertaking Honours which could lead into a PHD.

I applied had an interview and was accepted into Honours – another positive step. I thought that was job done and it would have been if my potential Supervisor hadn’t taken early retirement! This was a potential issue as having a supervisor is essential.

The challenge now was to find a Supervisor.

Over Christmas I wrote a submission. This is when I learned something which I now understand is a key issue, that being, how important having a Supervisor interested in the topic is.

Over the next couple of weeks I had a series of meetings with potential Supervisors, eventually finding one who was interested in a topic which I had initially discussed with the Commerce School in October.

So I now have a supervisor and idea for a research question . With that the journey begins!

The question is have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Photo: An Australian university campus’ Image: An Australian university campus (AimanB; Flickr.com/ Creative Commons)