Dissertation

[Mindchange]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to share the news that I wrapped up writing my dissertation yesterday! I defend in two weeks.

I was hoping to finish before I left for internship at the end of June, and this was enough motivation to get it done. I was wondering what strategies other people used to motivate them to get theirs done?

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[futureapppsy2]

Congrats!

You could use the motivate not to be on year 9, like a grad student I know (in her defense, she had to totally rework her methodology after a year of getting zero participants), and thus being unable to move forward in her career, having already completed internship...

 

[AryaStark]

Congrats! I can imagine that you are feeling pretty good to have that done. I have a question though for all of you grad students out there. I was always under the assumption that you had to finish your dissertation before you went on internship,however it now seems that that isn't so. If you do no finish your dissertation before you go on internship, when do you finish it? Also, what are some reasons that people typically do not finish? Is it just that they haven't had the time or is there typically some other thing that deters people from finishing before internship?

 

[cara susanna]

As long as we're asking questions, I'm wondering: what happens if you get no significant results?

Congrats, btw

 

[irish80122]

At most programs (at least the ones I know) you just have to propose your dissertation before going on internship, not complete it. You are able to defend non-significant results. From what I have seen, the proposal is getting your committee's approval of your project, so the intro and method, and the defense is really justifying how you ran the project and the decisions you made. If you did exactly what they told you to and didn't get results, that is on them.

I say this with a little experience. I collected data for my thesis for four months (on-call every day) and got one participant. Technically, based upon the rules, I could have defended with only one participant if I had to because my committee approved my data collection plan and believed (as I did) that the project was feasible. However, I ended up changing my topic and re-proposing my thesis so I could do it right.

I guess the short answer is that you can defend non-significant results, and in theory, can even defend not having any participants, though that may be a brutal defense.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

An old golfing buddy of mine was finishing year 9 and his department told him he'd have to finish up and defend or they wouldn't let him teach the following year. He was a history professor and didn't have to worry about licensure or any of that.....so he would take months off at a time (to play golf ).

 

[Mindchange]

My advisor required some pilot data to suggest that the results would be significant. Other people in my department are not required to have pilot data and just hope things work out. You can still pass with non-significant results...hey, at least you proved something didn't work.

 

[Eruca]

I have a question though for all of you grad students out there. I was always under the assumption that you had to finish your dissertation before you went on internship,however it now seems that that isn't so.

Like others said, you just need to have proposed. (Though some internships will say they prefer people who will have defended.)

If you do no finish your dissertation before you go on internship, when do you finish it? Also, what are some reasons that people typically do not finish? Is it just that they haven't had the time or is there typically some other thing that deters people from finishing before internship?

Oh gosh, let me count the ways! If you don't finish before, then typically you finish while on internship. Some internships even have built-in research/dissertation time in the work schedule. In some cases, folks come back the year after internship and finish.

There are just SO many reasons why you may not have finished (and I would guess at least 50% of students do not). Depending on how familiar you are with the rigor of most programs (I can only speak for clinical), there is always so much to do; see clients, run groups, supervision, present at conferences, attend workshops, write papers, collect data, teach classes, work associated with externships, etc etc. You can set many a timeline, but things do not always go smoothly. You may need to spend extra time collecting data, or maybe your proposed project doesn't get through in it's first form, maybe your Advisor is MIA (this happens a lot), or maybe your data analysis takes much longer than anticipated. These are just some of the reasons off the top of my head. Sometimes it's a motivation thing - but combined with this are many factors that may or may not be under your control...