While our experiences are often individual, we can learn from each other. I'm an open book and love discussing success strategies with other doctoral students. We are all driven and learners, but what are some techniques to ease the journey at an individual level? Here is what I wish I knew when I started my doctoral program.
1. Determine a Research Focus (or research interest area)
The earlier you can define a research focus, the better. This insight will allow you to use course assignments to focus on various parts of the dissertation. For example, the research you collect in a law class will differ from what you find in a history class. You can explore your interest area through multiple deep dives through different lenses. I was told this advice before I began my doctorate, but instead of feeling helpful to me it felt very daunting. I felt like I was already supposed to know what I was going to study and how to go about it, but that was why I was in this program – to learn these things.
I’d like to reframe this advice in an attempt to make it more accessible. I wish I would have picked a research interest with as a starting point with the understanding that this interest was going to shift and all further exploration is beneficial even if it felt like I was losing my focus.
Sometimes, through early course assignments, you may see that your research question has been answered, you may find that the field is oversaturated with similar work, or you may find insufficient existing research to justify your study. While this might feel discouraging this insight is still helpful information early on because as you continue to focus on your research area, it is expected to rule out other possibilities. You aim to pare your interest with a gap in existing literature to create a study.
2. Citation Management Tools have come a long way
Citation management tools (CMT) have come a long way in the past 10-15 years. If you are returning to a doctoral program after years away (like I did), this is one way in which technology has developed to help us immensely. I enjoy printing articles and notating them with a pen, but with the volume or research I was reading it was important for me to have an organizational system. Citation management tools can help you stay organized across multiple semesters. Through Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote, you can save the PDF of an article, the APA citation, your notes about an article, and you can apply tags to articles to better organize them for your use. These are entirely flexible software programs that aid you in staying organized. You can reference articles you've already read and filed quickly.
Usually, one or two of these are provided for free through your university library. It is worth understanding how they work and using them from the beginning of the program. If you get the browser plug in and the Office plug in, you can save articles online directly into your CMT. It is worth watching a few YouTube tutorials to understand the functionality of these tools.
3. Attend to your Emotional Wellbeing
In most cases, we are drawn to higher education to think, learn, and grow. While our goal is to learn and grow, getting there can be an uncomfortable journey. Course material can challenge some of our preexisting beliefs. Alternatively, maybe it is the added stress of meeting additional assignment dates. Regardless of the cause, this journey brings unique challenges.
We want to make the most of our time in these classes, so our needs must be met before we seek out this level of mental stimulation and self-actualization. Think Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. We need to have food and shelter before we can focus in class and we must feel emotionally safe before we can embrace the growth that comes with doctoral training.
One of the best pieces of advice I can share with a doctoral student is proactively seeking a therapeutic relationship. From the beginning of classes, meet with a counselor regularly. There is no need to wait until a crisis arises. Having an established point of contact to reach out to will be of comfort when you need them. This objective professional will help you process your experience as it happens so that you can make the most of your doctoral journey and enjoy it!
4. Prepare Yourself to Share your Writing and get Feedback From Faculty and Peers
I came into the program fairly confident in my writing, but I knew there would be a shift in my writing as I became a subject matter expert with more authority on my research. The chairs of my research wanted to see and approve each chapter before I began writing the subsequent chapter. This was standard, and I learned quickly that there would be multiple drafts of each chapter before it was approved.
Writing a dissertation is an iterative process. Writing, editing, and incorporating feedback are all part of the experience.
I wrote my best, proofread, and used Grammarly before I submitted each draft. Every time I submitted a chapter I was sure about my writing and giving my full effort. Regardless, there was feedback. Someone beside me was reading a section of my writing through their eyes and giving feedback on tone, word choice, and organization.
Receiving edits can feel deflating, but this is an opportunity to choose our own emotional response. Am I going to look at this and be discouraged, or am I going to be grateful for the amount of time and effort this person is committing to ensuring my work is excellent? It was a game changer once I shifted my perspective to the latter. Within their notes, my chair shared additional authors to read and a call to justify my findings. My paper became a product I can be immensely proud of through the editing process.
5. The Value of a Writing Group
In doctoral programs, writing groups serve many purposes. These are usually student-initiated groups that meet on an agreed basis. When coursework is complete, the dissertation process is individual, and it was through my writing group that I stayed connected with my peers. This connection encouraged me. We could talk, laugh, and share updates about life. It was also a source of accountability. We would often create our deadlines for assignments before actual deadlines so that we could peer-review eachothers papers. That meant that nothing I was doing was waiting until the last minute. Having a witing group kept me on track and usually ahead. We met and read eachothers writing, and we asked probing questions, we talked through emerging findings. My relationship with my writing group made the entire process less isolating and much more enjoyable.
6. The Importance of Connecting with the Right Faculty Advisor
You will work closely with this person, who will ultimately guide you through the process and approve your research. I
Programs vary in terms of selecting a chair. In some programs, a chair is assigned; in some, the faculty advisor is automatically the research chair. In my program we selected our chair from the department faculty. I knew from the beginning that I would need to initiate this relationship. So as I completed courses I was actively looking for my research chair. What was their expertise? What were their research interests? What is their availability? What is their working style? What type of feedback do they give? How will they work with the other committee members? These were the questions I considered and the answers to these questions ultimately led me to having a great working relationship with my co-chairs.
7. Commit to your Physical Wellbeing
We know the importance of prioritizing our health, but in some phases of life, this comes more easily than in others. As a doctoral student with personal and professional responsibilities, I get it. We are often trying to fit so much into our day that we must prioritize between multiple deserving demands on our time. This is just a call for semi-regular physical activity, healthy eating, fresh air, and enough sleep. Doing our best in a way that will serve our body and minimize the stressors in our lives.
8. Read as Many Dissertations as You Can
ProQuest is the online database for theses and dissertations. You can find examples of dissertations to read through with a quick search. You’ll quickly get a feel for formatting, tone, and language. Examples you are drawn to and examples that you do not care for as much. I looked up dissertations of people who graduated from my program. I also looked up dissertations in which my chair was their chair. This gave me a sense of what my chair was looking for and the work they approved previously.
Did I read every word of every dissertation I found? No. There were probably about 10 that I read word for word. For the dozens of others I looked at their research question to see how it aligned with their methodology and framework. I also enjoyed reading the findings and their recommendations for future research. Many dissertations include sections titled ‘implications for future research’ or ‘limitations to the study.’ These sections point future researchers to existing research questions. Reading through these sections is a great way to begin thinking about your own research.
9. Remember why you enrolled
Doctoral training can be an arduous journey, but it is something that we choose to pursue. Even on the most challenging days, I was grateful to be there. I was in a program aligned with my professional goals, passionate peers surrounded me, and I was reading texts I enjoyed.
In a program that is not intended to be easy and is designed to help us learn and grow quite rapidly, it is often necessary to remember why we are committing so much time every week, year after year for this goal. If you find yourself questioning your why? I’d encourage you to reflect on a broader perspective – why did you enroll? How is this getting you closer to your goals? What do you want it to look like and feel like when you are done?
10. Seek out Organization
When I think about being organized as a doctoral student, my first concern is having an organized schedule to meet every deadline and be where I need to be. When would I do homework? When would I complete my readings? When would I meet with a classmate to prepare our shared class discussion? My desire to reduce the chaos and increase inner peace was at the core of attempting various organizational strategies. Some courses were more challenging than others, and some semesters were more demanding than others. Even in the toughest semesters I knew that with a new semester would bring relief and change. Each semester was an opportunity to try a different technique or habit.
Beyond organizing my time, I needed an organized workspace. I needed a comfortable place where I could sit and read for extended periods of time and I needed a quiet place where I could write.
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Every journey is different, these notes may not be applicable to every student in every program, and as I write I continue thinking of even more. My hope is that a few of these 10 will help make your doctoral journey more enjoyable.
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